CHAPTER 8 #7
“We began dating our third year in college. Even went to the same high school, though we were only friends back then,” I told him.
“We moved in together pretty early on in the relationship, first as dorm roommates then off campus after we graduated. At first, it was the typical first-love romance. He was everything I could have ever wanted. But... it was all a lie in the end. It was all a facade; all part of the many masks he wore to keep me tied to him. Relying on him and only him.”
The tighter the noose had become, the less I’d realized I was being deprived of oxygen. Not until I was suffocating entirely with no lifeline to cling to.
“I ignored the red flags. Things I noticed but tolerated, shrugging them off as not that big of a deal. It started small with things like him not wanting me to talk to certain people or cutting off friends who he thought were ‘trying to take me from him.’ He was always demanding to know what I was doing, where I was going, who I was with. It was like he didn’t trust me, even though I’d never done anything to warrant his suspicions.
And it took me far too long to realize what he was doing.
I hadn’t until the damage had already been done, when I didn’t have anyone left. But him.”
His jealousy and possessiveness had been the poison that slowly rotted away at me, eating me alive, corroding me from the inside out. Until I hadn’t been able to recognize the person staring back in the mirror.
“Once I was isolated, it was far too easy for him to control me. Manipulate me. What I said, what I did, how I thought, how I dressed, what I ate...”
I let out a long, shaky breath, voice growing hoarse from the lingering terror these memories brought up. But I kept going. The damn was cracking, breaking under the assault, and the waters were flowing free at last.
“I don’t even remember what it was that set him off that day.
All I remember is him getting furious with me, angrier than I had ever seen him before.
I didn’t even see it coming. The first few punches hurt.
But when they kept coming and... And didn’t stop...
It all gets hazy after that. I remember a gun though.
” I still shivered as I recalled the icy cold metal pressing into the side of my forehead where he pinned me to the ground.
It was ingrained in me, down to my very bones.
“I blacked out at some point and when I woke up, he was gone. I thought he was going to kill me. Maybe he’d tried to and that was why he left me there for dead. I didn’t stick around to find out.”
I still didn’t look at Cam yet. Couldn’t.
“That day... That was what it took for me to realize what had happened over the years.” Cam stiffened next to me, fingers tightening around mine.
But he remained quiet as I continued, “After that, I left. I just ran. I didn’t wait for him to come back and force me to listen to his excuses.
I didn’t want an explanation or apologies or more empty promises...
Promises that he would never do it again.
That he loved me. That he was only ever doing what was best for me, for us.
” I scoffed. “‘Us.’ What a sick joke. I knew how those kinds of relationships went, so I ran away before I sank even deeper. Before he actually killed me.
“I grabbed what I could take with me the next day when he was at work, took what money was in the safe, and got a new phone with a new number.
I stayed at different motels for a while working odd jobs before finding a cheap place to rent.
I heard about the job I currently have from a friend when I was working nights at a convenience store.
Briarwood seemed nice and quiet, so I applied.
Imagine my surprise when I actually got the job.
Then I got lucky again when I found the house I live in now.
Bought it for a steal, probably ‘cause of the ghost.”
Telling Cam all this was... cathartic. It was like a weight was immediately lifted from my chest now that it was all free. Breathing was easier, lighter.
Somehow we had circled the entire cemetery and found ourselves almost right back to where we came out of the corn maze.
I sighed, “We should probably head ba-”
“Victor.”
The seriousness in Cam’s voice made me go quiet.
We had stopped walking, but for some reason I couldn’t meet his gaze.
Strong but icy fingers gripped my chin, forcing my eyes gently upward.
His other hand reached up, thumb swiping across my cheek and taking the errant tear I hadn’t realized escaped with it.
What? When had I…
“Thank you,” he whispered. “For telling me.”
I held my breath as Cam leaned down and kissed me. It was soft and sugary and lingering. Oh, how I melted. His lips forced the chill of the night air from my body, leaving simmering heat in their wake.
The tender moment was broken far too soon as an authoritative voice called out,
“Hey! You two! What do you think you’re doing here?”
Me and Cam broke apart, gazes whipping around to see a man several rows down with a flashlight trained on us. I froze. Full on froze as my heart skipped. Then, with no idea why, I grabbed Cam’s hand with a manic giggle.
“Come on!” I urged him as we disappeared back into the corn.