Page 20 of Rescuing Tobias

“Nooooo!”

The scream echoed in her ears as she bolted upright in bed.

Isabella was panting, her breath sawing in and out of her chest at a near-frenetic pace. Her body was coated with a sheen of icy sweat, and she had been tossing and turning so much in her sleep that the covers were tangled around her legs.

Doing her best to slow her breathing to something that might resemble normal, Isabella leaned down and untangled herself. This wasn't the first night she’d woken from a nightmare, disoriented and panicked, unsure whether the dream was thatshe was safe and back home, or that she was still in those men’s clutches.

Those seconds when she wasn't sure what her surroundings were going to look like were the worst. But then reality would sink back in. She’d remember that she had been rescued, that she was staying with Becca and Connor. It wasn't a dream, she really was free now.

If she was free, then why did it feel like she was still trapped?

Maybe she wasn't being held in an old school, in filthy clothes, with a shock collar locked around her neck, but those memories were so vivid, so real. It felt like the power they held over her was the same as the power those people had held over her.

Funny thing about being held prisoner was that you believed that everything would be perfect again if you could just get away. Life would go back to normal, the way it had always been. You’d be happy, and the joy of being saved would eradicate all the darkness you’d lived in.

Only life didn't work that way.

While of course she didn't wish she was back there, she had seriously underestimated the difficulty she would have finding peace again. Sure, it had only been five days since Becca and Connor had picked her up and taken her back to their house in Maine, and it wasn't like she thought she was just going to immediately jump back into being the woman she’d been before she’d been trafficked.

But she didn't think it would be like this.

She wasn't getting any better, she was getting worse.

Sleep was virtually nonexistent, and when she did manage to drift off all she got were nightmares, which were hardly conducive to proper rest. Her appetite came and went, but was more gone than present, and she actually wouldn't be surprised to learn she’d lost more weight since she got home, not that shewas going to step on a scale to find out. Every little noise made her jump, and she kept waiting for something bad to happen.

Worst of all was seeing the worry in her best friend’s eyes.

This should be a happy time for Becca. She was pregnant, she was planning her wedding to the man she loved, she should be enjoying every second of it, not having to babysit her best friend who was one bad day away from a complete mental breakdown.

Not that Becca complained. Connor didn't either, although he must already be anxious to get rid of her.

If she had another place to go, she’d leave in a heartbeat, but depressing as it was, she didn't.

Maybe if Tobias had reached out once in the last five days, she’d …

No.

Don’t go there.

Best to just leave that door closed.

They'd agreed on one night, he’d done way more for her than was necessary, and she was not his responsibility. Even if he had stayed in contact, she couldn’t go back to his place, it wouldn't be appropriate. He shouldn’t have to be saddled with her any more than Becca and Connor should.

She wondered if she should move into the house her parents owned. But it was states away, and she didn't know anyone there, and unfortunately, it turned out she was selfish enough to stay with Becca even knowing that she was putting a major dampener on her wedding planning and pregnancy enjoyment.

Never before had she considered herself a selfish person. It wasn't like she went around believing she was some sort of selfless saint, but she hadn't realized just how selfish she could be. The thought of being alone was so terrifying that she kept shoving away her guilt over ruining what should be the happiest time of Becca’s life.

Terrible friend she was.

They’d caught up on everything, well, almost everything, everything on Becca’s side anyway. And Isabella knew what her best friend had to go through to get to the place she was in now. What Connor’s entire family had endured. Every member of the Charleston Holloway family, those she already knew and those she’d just met, had welcomed her with open arms, and she knew they’d all been through their own version of hell, but it didn't change anything.

She shouldn’t be there.

The problem was, Isabella was starting to believe she didn't belong anywhere.

CHAPTER 7

March 25th

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