Page 267 of Shadowman
Darkness, trees lining long paths that seemed to go on for miles… No escape.
The clap of their dress shoes on the pavement.
Their laughter.
On my knees, cold wetness seeping into the denim of my jeans. My face being smashed into the grass…
Rough hands grabbing at me forcefully. Tears and snot running down my face.
The searing hot pain, and the violent smacking of their hips against my backside…
One… after another… after another.
Sniffling, I blink hard. “I realized rather quickly that fighting was pointless. There were four of them, and they were bigger and stronger than barely-sixteen-year-old me. So… yea. That was that. They raped me, all four of them. It only lasted, like, twenty minutes, but it felt likedays.” I inhale deep, letting it out slowly. “When they were done, they left me there… Bruised and bleeding in the dirt. They left me for dead.”
I feel hollow inside as my eyes slink up to Byron’s. They’re glistening. And a lone tear rolls down his cheek.
He wipes it away quickly, but I’m thrown off for a moment.
That’s not like Dr. Love…
I’ve never seen that type of reaction before.
“Trev…” His voice is hoarse, full lips parted and sort of quivering. He bites down on the bottom one.
It’s such an adorable little pout, I find myself wanting to comforthim.
“I’m sure they thought I was dead.” I continue quietly. Still struck by this man… “Or as good as. But I wasn’t. Because you can’t kill something that’s already dead inside.” Reaching out, I brush my thumb over that succulent lip. “I got up, dragged myself, beaten and bloody, to my mate’s house… And that was when I began planning it. My revenge.”
“Wedid,”Leo croaks.
“I spent the next few weeks tracking them down, following and studying them. I waited for the right time, which was difficult, since Isobadly wanted to attack them any time I saw their pig faces, going about their lives like everything was fine. Like it was allnormal… As if my body, my life, myexistencemeant nothing.”
In a flash, my jaw is tight, heart rate picking up to a steady thump.
I still have fury in me. Whether they’ve been dealt with or not, I don’t believe it’ll ever go away.
“I harnessed every bit of patience I had, and I waited until the perfect moment to strike. And it paid off.” My lips twitch. “I killed all four of them, one by one—within a span of three days? If I’m not mistaken… Lyle Ferguson, Connor Wainscott, John Beckten Jr., and Vincenzo Puglisi. Those were their names, but I just call them one-through-four. And now they’re dead.”
Byron is gawking. I don’t think he’s even breathing. He looks shocked—obviously enraged on my behalf, only slightly horrified—but relieved and impressed all the same.
I’m trying to imagine how Alice might have reacted to hearing all this… I don’t mean to always be comparing them, but it just happens. They’re my only two relationships. For what it’s worth, I know Byron does the same with me and Michelangelo—and maybe Ren too, but that’s a whole other thing.I can’t fault himfor it while I’m doing the same thing.It’s just a part of our shared baggage, I suppose.
Sighing, I feel like I’ve been talking forever.And we’re still not done.“Afterward, I didn’t go into hiding… I felt prison was a small price to pay for my well-deserved revenge. Iwaseventually arrested, held as a minor while they built a case. Ultimately, there was only enough evidence to convict me of two murders, so I spent two years in a juvenile detention center. After I turned eighteen, I was sent to a psychiatric facility in Connecticut. If I’d done life… It still would’ve been worth it. I mean, I’ve grappled with feeling like I let them off too easily…”
“I don’t know…” Byron hums. “Seems to me, you made them pay. With interest.”
I chuckle, and he smirks.
Lifting his hand, I run my lips over his knuckles. “I was only in the Connecticut facility for a few months before they moved me down to Atlanta, to a place calledRiverwoods. And that’s where I met Dr. Love.”
Saying his name now, as a part of my story, after everything we’ve been through… It floods me with emotions. But they’re not what they used to be.
The feelings I had for him weren’t real; I see that now. It was a crush on someone who helped me when nobody else did, and who saw me as something more than a deeply troubled and severely scarred individual.
Because we all know Dr. Love appreciates emotional damage.
“Trev… This is insane,” Byron breathes. “It might be the craziest story I’ve ever heard. I mean, damn… What am I doing writing my shit??Youshould write a book! Your story makes mine seem like an episode of Teletubbies.”
