Chapter Twenty-Nine
Camp Weonoke—thirty-two years prior
To Mine,
We’re ’til fucking death.
—Billy
Sonny stormed into Billy’s room. She was angry and yelling. “Stop writing these. Stop giving them to me.”
Billy stood in the middle of the room in those familiar navy work pants while rubbing a towel over his head to dry his inky-black hair from the shower.
“You made a promise,” he said, not looking at her.
Sonny’s voice felt shrill to her, but she wasn’t just angry; she was scared too.
“I said something stupid in the moment. It meant nothing. I love Davis and he loves me. Me and you . . . We aren’t anything, Billy.”
His voice was steady, and unwavering. “You made a promise.”
“Billy, I ended things with you.” She was pushing her point, but she still sounded like she was begging. “I told Davis about us. So you have to stop this, or he’s going to hurt you.”
“You. Made. A promise.”
“Stop saying that,” she yelled.
Sonny could feel her anger overflowing and spilling into her veins.
Billy looked up for the first time, and it made her breath halt because the hate in his eyes wasn’t fleeting; it was real and palpable. He walked toward her in the small cabin, backing her into a wall.
“I told you we meant forever. Are you saying you lied to me when you said you were mine?” His two fingers forced her face up to his. “Look at me when you say it.”
“Billy.” Sonny’s voice was shaky. “I’m sorry. I never wanted any of this. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
His hand hit the wall next to her face, making her shoulders jump as she squeezed her eyes closed.
“I watched you, ya know.” His deep voice sank over her, close to her ear, leaving goose bumps. “You let him fuck you.”
Her heartbeat picked up an impossible pace. She hadn’t realized he knew.
“Were you thinking about me?”
She wouldn’t answer. Billy was fueled by cruelty. It was quiet and deep, and it always hid the rage he felt underneath.
“Say it,” he snapped, making her cringe and her eyes stay shut.
She couldn’t say that. She’d betrayed Davis in the past, but she wouldn’t do that now.
“Billy, please . . .” she whispered.
“Say it,” he gritted out as he grabbed her jaw, and it hurt. “Open your eyes. Look at me.”
She did, but he brought his fingers to her lips, forcing them to move as he made his voice higher pitched.
“‘I want you to fuck me, Billy. I love you, Billy.’”
Tears had sprung to her eyes now. And even though she fought him, swatting at his hands in an attempt to make him stop, he wouldn’t.
He continued speaking for her, saying disgusting, crude things, until he gripped her cheeks between his fingers so violently a sob ripped from her chest.
“You made a promise,” he threatened. “And that meant forever.”
With his free hand, he began unbuckling her jeans. He was going to hurt her, and unlike the other times he’d been mean, this would leave a lasting mark.
“You want to be a whore? I’ll treat you like one.”
She tried to shake her head, but he was staring into her eyes as he held her in place against the cabin wall. There was no escape, and each button that popped on her jeans was like a countdown to hell.
“Say it . . .” he whispered as he licked her bottom lip, making her squeal in disgust. “Tell me you want me to fuck you.”
He would take her no matter what she said, so he would never get the satisfaction.
“Say it.”
She refused. He slapped her.
The stings ignited across her face before he kissed it, speaking softly against her skin and making the bile rise in her throat.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he said. His fingers felt rough against her skin, and it made her sick. “I just wanted you to say it because you hurt me with everything you did. And I love you too. Not just him.”
He knew nothing of love, only manipulation.
Billy’s eyes met hers. “But if you tell me you love me, I won’t touch you. I won’t be angry anymore.”
She didn’t want him to touch her, so she swallowed her pride and her loyalty to Davis in exchange for survival.
But her voice was barely her own. Her eyes looked away as she said it. “I love you.”
He shook his head and hit the wall again. “Say my name.”
More tears fell from her eyes. “I love you . . . Billy.”
He grinned, then flattened his tongue against her cheek and licked her tears.
“Get on the bed.”
Fear shot through her, but as he tossed her on the mattress, the cabin door flew open, and Davis stepped inside.
“Get the fuck off my girlfriend.”
Sonny screamed because Davis was on Billy in an instant, hitting him in the face with his fists. Blood splattered her cheek before Davis called for his friends.
More boys crowded the small room, but for some reason all she could focus on was the loose nail that had popped up on a floorboard.
“Are you okay?” she finally heard as her face met Davis’s.
He was breathing hard as his friends held Billy by the arms.
Billy’s beaten body sagged, and his face was turned toward the ground. She stared at him but couldn’t find any sympathy to give him. He was going to hurt her, in the worst way.
Davis reached for Sonny, but she recoiled, her fear still fresh.
“It’s okay. Your face is bruised.”
This time she let him touch her, then pull her into his arms. Davis walked her past Billy, giving orders to the other boys.
“He put marks on her—make sure we repay the favor, then take him to the boathouse. I’ll meet you there.”
She didn’t know what any of that meant, but as they walked out the front door, with her snuggled in Davis’s arms, she looked back to see them pressing Billy’s face into that loose nail just before he screamed.