Page 75 of Sparks of Insanity
“Are you just going to keep threatening me, Ethan? Is that how this’ll work? I get mouthy, so you threaten to force me again?”
I stroked her cheek, knowing the gentle touch would confuse the hell out of her, just like it was doing to me. My muscles were tensed with how much I wanted to be less gentle, but I was determined to try, at least this once.
“Do I need to, Ember? Can you not just be good for me? Can you not just do as I demand? You know you’re more to me than something to breed, but I can’t stay calm if you keep acting out. You have what you wanted. You wanted me. You wanted to be with me, well, here I am, little saboteur. You’re literally all I have now. Just like you wanted. Am I the same man you started messing with? No, but I can try not to always be the asshole, as long as you try too.”
She swallowed hard, and my eyes traced the movement in her delicate throat. How I ached to wrap my hand around itand squeeze again, feeling her desperate attempts to swallow, to breathe.
“Ethan?” My eyes lifted from her throat, halting me before I just took the plunge and did it anyway.
“I want to try. I still love you.”
Love. I wasn’t even sure what that was anymore, but there was no way she knew either. No way a person raised by those psycho assholes had the first clue what love was. Still, she was trying now, so maybe I should too.
“Okay, good. I’m not sure I know how to love now, but I’ll try too. It starts here though, Ember. No running, no fighting, no tricks, no anything. Just be with me. Do as I ask. Let me have you. We can make this work.” She nodded once, her breath catching in her throat.
“Okay.”
41
Ember
With our new agreement,we fell into a somewhat comfortable, if mostly tentative, state of companionship. Ethan allowed me to put on sweats and a t-shirt, and we went down to the kitchen to make drinks, and kill time until bedtime. The place was impeccably tidy, which at least felt a little more like Ethan’s normal state, as in Ethan before whatever the hell mental break he’d had.
We sat in front of the TV, and he let me flick through channels while we held mugs of tea. It felt too normal after how things had been when he’d first kidnapped me, but I knew at any second, things could turn and we’d be back where we’d started. If we could find a way to work together, around each other’s issues and urges, maybe we really could make this work. The TV shut down suddenly, along with the lights, and Ethan chuckled. Why would that be funny to him?
“I guess they figured it out after all. The question is, will they survive trying to get in…”
Oh my god.I leapt up and ran to the front door, and Ethan caught me just before I touched it. There were wires running from what looked like several car batteries, and attached to the metal door surround, and the handle, and I had no idea if any of it was legitimately dangerous, but I didn’t want my dads to get hurt!
“Careful, baby. I prefer you conscious, remember?”
“Please don’t hurt them, Ethan! Please!”
He groaned, walking closer to the door and holding me beside it, safely away from any wires.
“The door’s rigged, assholes. For some reason, your daughter wants me to warn you of that.”
Silence was their response. It made me wonder if maybe it wasn’t them at all. What if the power just went out naturally? That could still happen now and then, right?
We stood still, silent, waiting.
“I wanna hear it from her,” a voice replied, and through the wall, I honestly couldn’t tell which dad it was. They sounded so similar after years of living together.
“Em? Are you in there, sweetheart?” Okay, that was definitely dad Dory.
“It’s true! I can see it all on this side of the door. Don’t touch it!”
We could just pick up muffled grumbling, but no actual words.
“Let us in, little pig, or I’ll feed you to the fucking wolves.”
“That’s not even remotely logical,” I heard my other dad say, chuckling quietly.
“We want to see Em. We need to know she’s okay.”
“Ember is just fine. She’s alive, conscious, and even wearing clothes. I’m a kind owner.”
“Listen, fuckhead-”
