Page 29 of Firethorne
My father’s lip curled up, almost like he was snarling, and he replied in a bitter tone, “You don’t belong...with your father?” He shook his head in disgust. “How do you think that makes me feel?”
“I don’t think we’re safe here,” I replied, my shoulders sagging as I tried to get through to him. “These people... they aren’t what we think they are.”
His snarl was more pronounced now, and his brows almost touched as he sneered back at me. “What? Polite, helpful, considerate, kind... I could go on listing more adjectives, but I don’t think I need to. You think that’s something we can turn away from? Us? In our position? I have nothing, Maya. And that means, neither do you. This is my lifeline.Ourlifeline.”
He didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. He didn’t know what he was dealing with.
“Someone’s been leaving me messages,” I blurted out, expecting his expression to change. For empathy to seep in where revulsion currently radiated from him, but it didn’t.
“What messages?” he replied.
“On the train here, and this morning, on the porch.” I gestured to the bathroom. “And just now, in there.”
I don’t know what I’d expected, but I honestly thought he’d believe me.
What I didn’t expect was for him to widen his eyes, almost like he was mocking me.
“This is crazy talk,” he said. “It’s probably just kids messing about. The messages might not even be for you.”
He didn’t bother to ask me what the messages said, and from the way he was reacting, I didn’t want to tell him.
“If you want to go, I can’t stop you,” he added. “But if you leave, you’ll be leaving me with a broken heart. Don’t you think there’s been enough heart break in our lives recently?”
Guilt, like a ten-tonne weight, fell heavy onto my shoulders.
Duty that had been instilled in me from birth, like an invisible thread, wound its way around my heart.
The thirst to please and the hunger for pride thrummed through me, despite the blaring warning signals firing in my brain.
“I won’t be targeted. I won’t let anyone scare me,” I stated firmly. “But... But I... I don’t want to leave you here.”
“Then stay.” My father stepped closer to me, and with his hand, he cupped my face. “I promise, no one here wants to scare you. I think it’s all just a misunderstanding.”
I nodded, my eyes dropping to the floor, but I didn’t believe him.
Therewassomeone targeting us. The messagesweremeant for me. Someone had broken into our fucking home and scrawled one on the fucking bathroom mirror, for Christ’s sake. This was serious shit, and when I found out who was sending these messages, they’d live to regret ever crossing my path.
Chapter Thirteen
Maya
Ididn’t belong here, and I didn’t want to be here, but I had to bide my time. It was the only way I could survive, knowing I’d find the culprit of the sick little notes, and eventually, I’d get out of here. Those were the thoughts running through my head as I put my trainers on, after deciding to go for a morning run around the estate. I let my father sleep for those last few minutes before his alarm went off and I crept out of the cabin.
As I emerged into the crisp morning air, I breathed deeply, the coolness refreshing my lungs despite the knot of anxiety in my stomach. I scanned the porch for anything nefarious that might’ve been left there overnight, but there was nothing.
I was hoping a good run would distract my racing thoughts, so I took off, running through the woods first, my feet pounding the uneven woodland floor. Then I emerged into the open, heading for the lake. I did a few laps around it, then made my way into the woods on the opposite side to where I’d started.
The muscles in my legs burned, as did my lungs, but I wanted to push myself. Running meant all the other crap in my headquietened a little, because all I could focus on was the pounding of my feet, the rasps of my breaths, and the urge to keep going. To never stop.
And then I saw it.
My feet faltered as I came to a stop, bracing my hands on my thighs as I bent forward, panting, but my eyes didn’t waver from the sight in front of me. I peered up, squinting, then grimacing as I tried to make sense of what I saw.
The woods were much denser around here, it felt dark, spine-chilling even. A fact that was magnified by what was in front of me. High up in one of the trees, swinging gently in the breeze, was a rope. A noose, to be more precise.
“What the fuck?” I whispered to myself as I stood up, stretching my back, rolling my neck, and shaking my aching limbs. “What the fuck is this shit?”
I took a step closer, the whistle of the light wind and the creak of the branches adding to the creepiness of it, and I shuddered. “This is so fucked up.”
