Page 51 of Cruel Love
Chapter 18
Willow
Igaped at James, not grasping his words.
He wanted me to go?
Where?
Why?
And more importantly, why did my heart hurt so much at the vitriol hewas spewing?
Surely this was a good thing. He was letting me go. Yet, without thecollar around my neck, reminding me that I belonged to him, a strange feeling cascaded through me.
I’d never felt so empty.
James glowered at me, his eyes narrowed on mine as he waited forme to make a move. Options ran through my head. Should I go? Should I bend down and pick up the discarded collar, and beg him to put it back on me like I wanted to do? Even if I knew this could be my one and only chance at freedom?
A lone tear slid down my cheek, his gaze tracked it, his featuressoftening fractionally.“James…”I whispered, unable to stop myself from calling his name.
I didn’t know what my next words would be, but it didn’tmatter. James put a stop to anything I could say when his eyes hardened again.
“Go!”he roared, his fist crashing into the window behind me. It wasonly by some miracle that the glass didn’t shatter like it had back in his room.“Get the fuck out of my sight, Willow.”
And still, my feet didn’t move.
I didn’t mean to disobey him, but my mind and my body were ondifferent pages, both struggling to comprehend this sudden turn of events. Was he acting like this because I’d cuddled into him in bed? If he gave me a chance to explain, I’d tell him that I never meant for it to happen, and it would never happen again.
He cursed under his breath, suddenly yanking open the driver’s door,and for a split second, I thought he was going to tell me to get back in the car and we were going home.
Until he pulled a gun out and aimed it at me.
The blood drained from my face, and my legs turned to jelly,threatening to buckle any second.
“I won’t tell you again,”James snarled menacingly, his dark eyes coldand hard.
He cocked the gun.
Finally, my brain and my body caught up with each other. Turning, Iforced my legs to move as fast as they could, my heart pounding as I ran toward the cover of the trees.
Sobs escaped me, fear that James would shoot me powered meforward. Despite the last eight years of my life being hell on earth, I didn’t want to die.
I didn’t believe in God, how could I after all that I had experienced?But in those few seconds as I bolted toward the safety of the forest, I prayed that if anyone was out there listening, they would help me.
Maybe James just wanted to scare me, or someone really was outthere answering my call for help, I didn’t know. Either way, I made it to the trees without breaking an ankle in my heels or receiving a bullet to my back.
The thick canopy of the trees blocked out any moonlight that wouldhave helped me find a path. Scared that James would follow, I kept running, my ankles twisting as I made my way over uneven ground, low hanging branches scratching my bare arms, as the forest around me grew darker the further in I went.
My heart beat harder than it ever had before, and my lungsburned as if they were on fire, making it impossible to breathe. When one sharp branch tore my arm, warm blood trickled from the gash.
Still, I continued, fear propelling me onward.
Climbing over a fallen tree, rough bark scratched the insides of mythighs because of the stupid dress I was wearing, but when I put my foot forward, ready to continue running, my ankle twisted on a rock. I fell, pain tearing up my spine as my ass hit the muddy ground. Soft,helpless whimpers escaped me as I tried to move my ankle in a circle, but the agony shooting up my leg was all-consuming.
With shaky fingers, I undid the buckle of my shoe and slid it off, tearsstreaking down my face as I tried to move my ankle again, only for more pain to take my breath away.
Defeat collided with me like a freight train. Even if I wasn’t injured, Iwas in ahugeamount of trouble. Where was I going to go? The only place I could go was back to Peartree House, but I had no idea how far away the house was. Not to mention, I’d vowed that if I ever got out of the house, I’d be damned if I was ever going back.
