29. Silas
Silas
In the few hours I had her restrained, I learned many new things about Ember.
She had a total of five scars hidden throughout her body, most in places you couldn’t see. There were also a few scattered freckles that dusted her chest and shoulders. When she moved her left arm, a large dimple formed on her back, one that most people didn’t have.
She was wildly ticklish on the left side of her body, and the laugh she gave while being tickled was not the same one she gave when she was uncomfortable.
Every time she claimed a release, I explored more, touching and tasting her as I pleased.
As much as I wanted to make everything about her, I quickly became selfish.
By the time I finally let her rest, there was no area on her body I hadn’t thoroughly examined.
By the time I took off the restraints, I’d memorized every sound she made.
Even though I didn’t think it was possible, I felt even more devoted to her now.
I hadn’t taken my eyes off her, even now as she slept.
With one arm tucked under her pillow, her hair fell in an uneven mess around her.
Sweeping some behind her ear, I picked up her wrist and held it carefully, examining the bandages.
I’d forgotten about her wounds, but there was no fresh blood, which meant the gauze had acted like a protective layer against the straps.
I moved my thumb in slow circles over the bruised skin there, pressing gently along the dark marks originally left from my zip ties.
My hand drifted up her arm, tracing her shoulder, where my fingers paused against one of her scars, a two-inch line on her shoulder.
It was thin and pale, barely noticeable unless you were looking for it.
I followed the line with my fingertip, tracing it over and over again, memorizing it.
Her body twitched slightly before her eyes fluttered open for a brief second. After registering that I was still next to her, they closed again. Her voice was scratchy, almost like she was dehydrated. “I need food.”
I laughed quietly at the statement because I honestly couldn’t tell if she was asleep or not.
Regardless, I stood and carefully slipped away from her.
Walking over to my phone, I pulled up the closest restaurants and clicked through the menus to find something to order for her.
As I finalized some items and received a confirmed delivery time, several messages began to come through. At first, it was a text, then videos.
The vibrations kept going, even as I opened the thread. I noticed Knox’s name and narrowed my eyes on each item that flashed on my screen.
Thirty-seven times total over the course of the year.
I went as far back as I could go and sent you everything.
You never see his face, and he never fully takes advantage of her, but I would suggest thinking about what you might see before watching the clips.
Everything has been downloaded to the file on your phone as well.
Give me two hours, I have a lead and the police on standby.
And just like that, the temporary world we had created came crashing down as a feeling of grief slammed into me. Thirty-seven times. That number, that thought, made me want to vomit.
The other thing about this situation was that I was trying to build our relationship on sturdy ground, and yet, I hadn’t told her anything.
Ember was strong, stronger than most people, but this news wasn’t something anyone could take lightly.
Learning this could make her spiral in a direction that was away from me.
How was I supposed to tell her without cracking the foundation we had just built?
I tried to push aside the overwhelming feelings that I’d already let her down.
The messages Knox sent contained seven different files, including videos.
I frowned when I noticed the preview images were all identical.
Each tiny box showed her sleeping in different positions.
Nothing could have prepared me to learn that there were this many instances.
I tried to focus on the fact he had a lead.
Two hours would go by pretty fast, and it seemed like a reasonable amount of time to keep her occupied.
If I could do that, I could provide her with everything she would need to know, and we would go from there.
A cold sensation slid down my spine as I convinced myself to tap the first video. I paced in the corner of the room as I watched the footage play.
The angle was unmistakable. Knox had pulled footage from the camera in her bedroom TV.
I was now viewing everything from a high vantage point in the corner of the room, pointed directly at the bed.
In this video, Ember slept in only a tank top, tossing slightly in her sleep.
A black blanket was wrapped around her waist, and it was clearly the middle of the night.
I was too busy figuring out if she had pants on when I noticed someone step into the frame. Just like before, the figure quietly moved next to her bed. Same broad shoulders, same dark clothes. As if in some weird form of deja vu, I watched the blanket slowly peel back—
I clicked the screen and paused the video. All the contents of my stomach threatened to come up because I knew, I knew, what I was about to watch and looking at Ember now, I didn’t think I could follow through.
With one large inhale, I forced myself to push play and observe as a hand slid over Ember’s leg then moved higher. They weren’t just touching her bare legs, but her chest too. Grabbing the light fabric of her shirt, they lifted it over her head, exposing her body underneath.
The video was shut off before I even realized I had been the one to do it. I debated throwing my phone across the entire room. It was like I was right back in Knox’s garage. I couldn't think. I couldn’t breathe, but I needed to know everything in order to help her.
With shaking hands, I opened the next video to the same cover and the same room.
Again and again, I watched as boundaries were pushed and Ember was touched.
On the final video, I only made it thirty seconds before I had to stop completely.
There, on the phone screen, was a frozen image of his fingers deep inside of her.
My stomach rolled violently as I placed a hand against the wall. I needed to throw something, to strangle something, to hurt in some way so that she wouldn’t have to.
The thought of going upstairs and ripping apart my office surfaced in my mind, and my hands ached in response, begging for that type of release. Making it two steps toward the door, I stopped and looked back at the beautiful woman who was sprawled across the bed.
I couldn’t leave her.
Not now. Not ever.
Balling up every emotion, I promised myself that she wouldn’t have to worry. No matter what happened after I told her, no matter what it took, I would find this person and kill them for violating her.
Knox had said that he had never “fully” violated her, but these things were equally unforgivable.
I just hoped she would understand why I kept it from her for so long.
I paced the room, trying to convince myself that everything would be fine, but the videos played repeatedly in my head.
As much as I fought them, the images began to sear themselves into my brain.
A type of pain washed over me that I had never felt before—one I couldn’t identify.
I knew that even this was nowhere close to what she would feel when she found out.
Through the entirety of my mental breakdown, Ember didn’t stir. She just laid there, completely unaware of the crumbling walls around us. Blind to the fact that someone was touching her while she slept, because she still had no idea.
I couldn’t help the avalanche that was occurring in my head. Truthfully, I knew that when it came to this situation, my feelings and thoughts were irrelevant. Nothing about me mattered because this, this was going to destroy her, and I could do nothing but let it.
The mattress dipped under my weight as I settled back next to her, scared to touch her. “How come you never woke up, baby,” I whispered under my breath as my hand slid into her hair, pushing it gently off her forehead.
I just sat and stared at her, fighting against everything that twisted in my chest. Using my thumb, I brushed over her temple until I had slightly calmed. By then, I’d convinced myself that I needed to tell her as soon as I got the name from Knox.