Page 39 of Reflections of Peonies
“Bianca…” Julian began, distress lacing his tone. “We really should go inside and talk about this as a group. Titus and Miles are—”
I didn’t want to hear any more excuses. “Tell me now.” I needed to know what I’d done so I could never do it again.
“Bianca,” Damen said, turning back to me. “We know about Eric Richards.”
“What—what about him?” I said.
Julian watched me in trepidation and said, “My mother told you there was an investigation.”
“Y-yes, and as I told her, nothing happened,” I argued. My voice cracked. With every passing second, the car began to feel smaller.
“Bianca—” Julian began, glancing toward Damen. But I interrupted him.
“What are we t-talking about?” I pressed myself closer to the door.
“Bianca, everyone knows what Eric Richards was doing,” Damen said. “They were already gathering evidence before they found you. You don’t need to protect him.”
“What does everyonethinkthey know?” I could scarcely hear over my pounding heartbeat.
“You don’t need to be afraid,” Julian added gently. “He can’t hurt you anymore—”
“What does everyone think they know?” I repeated my question. Why was my voice trembling?
“We’ve seen the reports and the notes,” Damen told me, his gaze holding mine. There was an anger there, deep but not directed toward me. This time, I didn’t doubt it. “We know that he bought and sold children and what happened to them. And we know that you were one of them. We know that—”
I’d had my hand on the doorknob since the beginning of this conversation, and as soon as it became apparent what was happening, I escaped.
I hadn’t made it ten feet before the doors slammed behind me. Damen’s alarmed yell reached my ears.
“No!” I shouted, turning toward them. They froze when I pointed my hand in their direction. “This is none of your business!”
“But Bianca,” Julian said. “We’re here to help you. You don’t need to go through this alone. You can talk to someone. You can talk to us.”
“Why?” My voice was slightly hysterical now, but I didn’t care. Titus and Miles had rushed onto the porch, and my following statement was also directed to them. “You can’t walk into my life and try to make everything better. I’ve been on my own since my first parents were killed in front of me, and I’ve lived this long without needing to talk about everything that happened after. So why bother now? It’s not going to change anything.”
“Bianca—” Damen began, but I ignored him.
I glared at the ground. Why was my vision growing darker? “If everyone knew… all this time…” A horrible realization occurred to me, and I touched my mouth. “Is that why they’ve been lying to me?”
Julian stepped toward me, and I turned my wrath on him. “Don’t come near me!”
He stopped instantly. I couldn’t let the hurt on his face waver my resolve.
“I will handle things myway,” I told him. “I don’t want your pity!”
“Baby,” Damen said cautiously. “I know this must be very hard. Especially since you’re very trusting of those you let in. But it’s all right to be scared.”
His words cut like a knife. Panic and fury warred for dominance. I didn’t want to deal with this right now. Hadn’t I been through enough?
“Leave me alone!” I squeezed my eyes shut as the words exploded from me, and with that, my wish was granted.
I was suddenly cloaked under a canopy of trees. Damen’s house was close—I could see the lights from here—but I’d moved some distance away.
It didn’t matter how. My heart was still racing in a dizzying rhythm. I stood for a second, wondering if I might have gone too far. Done something that couldn’t be undone. But it was too late to back out now.
So I ran.
Damen POV
