Chapter 73 #2
Instead, I storm out of the room, then realize I still have the ICEE in my hand.
I jerk to a stop, unsure what to do with it and not wanting to make a mess, but not wanting to go back into the room.
I’m paralyzed there for a second, but then I storm off, taking it with me.
I storm to the stairs and take them down, cussing myself out.
How could I be so stupid? How could I trust him?
As I go down, I don’t notice the black shadow on the second step from the bottom, and I trip over something soft. The soft thing makes a squeak.
“Shit.” I catch myself with one hand, looking for whatever it was. I spot it arching its back and looking at me with flashing eyes.
It’s a cat. A black cat.
Fuck. I feel bad immediately and crouch down, holding my free hand out. “I’m so sorry, baby, I didn’t see you.”
The cat’s hair is fluffed up, and its back is still arched.
Then, it pounces at me. I scramble back, but the cat is fast, batting at me with its paws.
The sudden movement kicks my brain into fight or flight, and I scramble away, only to be chased by the animal as it bites at my ankles.
My heart races like it did when the man chased me with the sword.
Like when Oakley chased me after I got the supplies, and how Wyatt chased me over the edge of a creek bed.
I find myself scrambling into a kitchen where Cali is.
She turns around with a surprised look on her face.
I keep going, looking for an exit, but the kitchen opens up into a dining room with no door.
Instead, I scramble behind the bar counter, looking to see that the cat has stopped. Now it’s curling around Cali’s feet.
“Are you okay?” Cali leans down to pet him, and the cat sweetly nudges her. “Did you see a Mukade?”
It takes me a hot second to recognize what’s happening. I’m standing here in stupid fucking PJs, scared of a fucking cat. I feel so dumb, and yet my body still feels like I’m being chased by a bear.
Cali peeks around the corner. “Centipedes are everywhere in this fucking house.”
The adrenaline peaks in my system, and I’m reminded I am being chased by a bear, in a way. I’m stuck in the house with the person who’s responsible for kidnapping me.
The emotions overwhelm me, and I can’t breathe. I try to slow my breathing for the four, seven, eight, and I can’t. Instead, I look around the room wildly to try to ground myself. There’s a candle burning on the counter, and I suck in a breath. I smell apples and something tart.
Cali is on the other side of the counter, leaning in and grabbing the ICEE from my hand. “Do I need to beat his ass?”
The flame licks around in a lazy dance. Like it has no worries in the world, and that makes me unreasonably angry. I should be worried. The world is not simple and pretty like stupid fucking candles and sweets. Things can look good, but they never turn out to be. Like fucking Peeps.
Oakley is my fucking Peep.
The rage in my system burns hot, followed quickly by betrayal and a steep drop of sadness. I wanted him to be good, just like I wanted to like Peeps. I wanted Oakley with his sweet attentiveness and loyal stubbornness. Tears start burning in my eyes.
“Damn girl, more than an ass beating?” Then Cali is there, sitting in the chair next to me, and it just makes me want to cry more. Because why is she showing any sort of compassion? She doesn’t know me. I can’t even get friends who know me to show up for casual dates.
“I’m fine,” I grit out, but I’m not. Cali might not be someone I can trust either. Is there anyone I can trust? My brain immediately goes to Wyatt. Wyatt has never pretended to be anything other than who he is to me. A dangerous man who deep down just wants to submit.
Dangerous man. Oh good. I’m thinking of the murder-island game master when I think about someone I can trust.
That’s when the tears break loose. I put my hands on the counter, and a deep choking sob escapes me. I try to cover it up. I don’t want to show weakness, but where else am I going to go? I’m trapped.
My chest aches for the betrayal. Tears slip out from the stress.
I can’t breathe due to the fact that I’m trapped now, and I’m not safe.
How can I be safe with someone who ruined my life?
I’m safer with Wyatt, who tied me up and left me for days, than with Oakley.
Wyatt didn’t lie to me. He doesn’t lie to me.
He’s up front about who he is. Kyan wouldn’t hurt me; he’s the one who wanted to get us off the island in the first place.
Cali just sits there, petting the fucking cat who wraps around our legs like it wasn’t just biting my ankles.
She doesn’t ask, she just sits there. Sitting with me.
And slowly, I find myself coming back to a more regulated state where I’m not shaking with adrenaline, the smell of apples floating around.
I glance at Cali. I don’t apologize for feeling feelings, and she doesn’t seem put out by them, but I’m not sure what she wants.
“Which one was it, girl? I’ll cut his nuts off while he’s sleeping.”
I don’t want to talk about me, so I try to deflect. “You cut off balls often?”
Cali shrugs. “I’ve seen it done, I think I could do it right.”
Are all the women here dangerous as hell? I snort. But slowly, I realize they are. You don’t survive a place like this without being a bit dangerous. I didn’t.
For a second, the power of knowing I’m dangerous flows through me, making the tears feel odd. I won the fucking game, and now I’m crying over a man who kidnapped me. Where’s the self-respect?
“This is so fucked up,” I grumble into my arm.
Cali snorts. “I can imagine. Miles nearly shit his pants when he heard there was a woman on the island. And Miles isn’t scared of shit.”
I look at her again. Cali gives me a look that she tries to hide, but I see the hopeful energy. Like she wants something from me. I remember the way she greeted Rachel. Almost like they hadn’t seen each other in forever. Is it possible Cali is lonely?
I glance around the place a bit more. It’s not huge, like it was built for a single family. I don’t remember seeing any other houses here either. Or any boats.
“What happens next?” I ask. She might be lonely, but I’m not under the impression that Cali and her men are some sort of saviors. If anything, I’ve jumped from the frying pan into the fire.
“I assume you’re not talking about what we’re having for dinner?” Cali picks at her nails.
I shake my head.
Cali looks slightly uncomfortable. “I’m not sure if anything is set in stone.”
I turn my full focus on her. What is she hiding?
Cali looks at me and raises her hands. “I truly don’t know. I just heard the guys talking.”
“About what?”
She gives me a look that’s almost pitiful. “About building another house.”
Another house. As in, for us? As in, we’d stay here? Like, live here?
My breathing picks up, and I stand off the stool. I can’t stay here. I mean, I can’t go home, not to my apartment, but I can’t stay here.
Not that I even know where here is.
My mouth is dry, and it opens and shuts before I ask, “Where’s here?”
“We’re off the southern coast of Japan.”
Japan. For a second, it feels like my heart stops. That’s so far away from home. How the fuck did I get here? How did this happen?
I didn’t let this happen. Oakley did.
My stomach clenches, and I can’t tell if I’m sick from the betrayal or maybe it’s just been hours since I’ve eaten.
He deserves…something. I’m not sure what, but something.
Cali just pets her cat, who looks at me and narrows his eyes.
I don’t feel good. I’m sure I need to sleep. Next to Oakley? Every night for the rest of…forever? Stuck on this island?
The thought makes me angry. Angry because I don’t deserve this.
Angry because I know he will give me those eyes and do everything he can to make it better.
My hands start sweating because I know the more he tries to help, the weaker my defenses will get.
The easier I’ll fall asleep next to him, until what he did is just a memory we try to forget.
I might be sick.
A door opens, and I glance toward the mud room. A muscled man strides in from the shadowed room, with a dark, angry look, and for a second, he looks like the guy who came after me with a sword.
As I’m jumping out of my seat, I recognize Miles. As soon as he spots Cali, his features soften.
The adrenaline dump makes me look for a trash can to puke in. With great effort, I suck in air and hold down my stomach.
Miles kisses Cali, then strides away. She gets up, sending me a look. “Balls. I’ll cut them.” She follows him out of the room.
For a second, I’m hovering there, in a PTSD flashback that I didn’t ask for. Then, an idea fills my mind.
What if I made Oakley feel the same way he made me feel?
“Wait.” Before Cali can fully disappear, I dart after her.