Page 102 of Scarred in Silence
Every mile closer to the compound, I think about Astra—how she hasn’t spoken much since Evelyn’s visit, how she walks like her bones carry secrets now. How she asked for revenge…
And I’ll give it to her.
* * *
We arrive just after dark.
Dante helps me drag Miles inside. We toss him in the basement holding room—a concrete floor, no windows, metal restraints.
He whimpers through the gag. I remove it.
“Why her?” I ask.
He laughs, choking on blood. “She was easy.”
I break two of his fingers.
“You’re going to see her tomorrow,” I say, turning calm once more.
“You’re going to tell her the truth.”
He spits blood at me. “She’s not yours to save.”
I lean close. “She is now. She is my fucking wife.”
* * *
I shower in scalding water. I watch the blood spiral down the drain. My reflection stares back at me—cuts, bruises, smeared mascara from Astra’s trembling hands last night.
I think about her mouth on the barrel. The way I shook when I saw her like that. The blank I’d loaded wasn’t enough protection. I need more. I need Miles to be erased from her world. I need silence to return, but on her terms.
* * *
I find her in my bed. Curled into the pillows. Still, quiet, but awake.
“I heard you come in,” she whispers.
I sit on the edge of the mattress. “It’s done. He’s here.”
Her body stiffens. “Alive?”
“For now.”
She turns to face me, her eyes unreadable. “Can I see him?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Will you stay?”
I lay beside her and drew her close. Her fingers brush the fresh scabs on my knuckles.
“You always come back bleeding,” she murmurs.
“I only bleed for you.”
She doesn’t smile. She doesn’t cry. She just clings tighter.
And I let her.
