Page 23 of Light From The Dark

When I was finally able to catch my breath, I stumbled over to the shower and flipped on the water as hot as it would go. Struggling out of my clothes and whimpering when my shaking fingers had trouble with the button of my jeans. Finally, I got them unbuttoned and stumbled, trying to kick the jeans off, getting tangled over the shoes I had forgotten to take off first.

With a sob, I collapsed on the floor. I had to pull the jeans back up to reach my shoes, but I finally managed to completely untangle myself. Using the sink, I pulled myself to my feet, my muscles weak and barely holding me upright. With trembling knees, I stepped numbly into the shower, barely feeling the heat of the water as it rained down over my head.

As I looked down at my body, all I could see was the blood that had coated me that day. With another sob, I grabbed the body wash sitting in the corner and poured it into my shaking hands. In my haste, I dropped the bottle, and it made a loud thud when it hit the shower floor, startling me all over again. I furiously scrubbed at my flesh. I would never not see the blood. Megan’s blood.

There hadn’t been a time I slept since that day that I didn’t dream of slipping through the rapidly cooling puddles, knowing that a woman had died within feet of where I had lain curled up in a ball. I had listened as she took her last breaths and would never get the sounds of her screams out of my head.

With heavy, wracking sobs, I fell to the shower floor and cried. It had been so long since I’d had the privacy to cry. When I first came home from the hospital, I had cried almost nonstop for days. It wasn’t until I had seen what my tears were doing to my mom that I finally forced myself to hold it in.

But now I was alone and the whole ordeal came back to me, flooding my mind with every horrific, gruesome detail. I didn’t know when it would ever stop. I just wanted it to stop. I didn’t want those other women to be dead. I didn’t want to know that Megan had died next to me.Goddamnthat asshole for doing this to us.

I couldn’t tell how long I stayed lying huddled on the shower floor. All I knew is that by the time my emotions had settled enough for me to stop crying, I was exhausted. I was also shivering in the cold water that was still raining down on me, the heated water long since depleted.

I struggled to my feet, my teeth chattering so hard I was afraid I would chip a tooth. My arms and legs were covered in goosebumps, and I wanted nothing more at that moment than to sink into a hot bath to warm up my insides, but I had royally screwed that up for myself. Of course, I wouldn’t even need to warm up if I hadn’t laid there like the emotionally wrung-out girl I was.

I moaned my frustration. At myself, my situation, and the cold that seemed to have rooted itself deep in my bones. I grabbed the nearest towel, and with numb hands, I rubbed the towel over my body as well as I could, my fingers stiff from the cold. The quaking in every inch of my body made it difficult to wipe the moisture away properly. Eventually, I gave up completely, just held the towel against my front, and stumbled as quickly as I could down the hall and into my bedroom.

I clumsily wrapped the already damp towel around my wet hair and collapsed onto the mattress. With another groan, I reached behind me, blindly searching for the edge of the blanket before finally finding it and pulling it tight across my shivering body.

It took a few more minutes for my body to calm down, and once the tremors subsided, my body edged itself toward sleep. I clenched my jaw tightly against the unwelcome and persistent chattering of my teeth. More tears welled with the intrusive thoughts that I would have to pack up and leave soon.

There was no future here for me. Not really. The only men I had ever really been interested in were already taken—with each other. I finally drifted off to sleep, knowing I wouldn’t be able to watch them day in and day out and not have my heart crumble bit by bit a little more every day until there was nothing left of it.

***

The sound of my name being called out had me bolting upright in bed. My eyes felt swollen, and my body was still chilled. It took me running my hand through my hair to brush the tangled strands away from my face to remember where I was and what I had been doing prior to collapsing onto the bed in a state of depression. I ran my hands over my face, trying to wipe away the memories of what I had read in Ethan’s office, when the door to my room opened.

I looked up to see the two gorgeous men that I was half in love with staring at me. I watched as their eyes changed quickly from looks of happiness to looks of concern, then finally to looks of such intense desire that I had to squeeze my thighs together to push back the sudden need I felt to pull them closer.

Shaking my head in an effort to push back the need I was feeling, I blinked up at them and noticed their eyes were laser focused, not on my face, but on my body. I glanced down, finding that the sheet had pooled around my waist, and my breasts were on full display to the room. With burning hot cheeks, I grabbed the sheet and yanked it up to cover my nudity.

“I, uh, I guess I fell asleep,” I finished lamely as the guys continued to stare as if spellbound, like they could still see the shape of my breasts even though they were covered. I glanced down again to double-check. My nipples were hard as diamonds and clearly poking through the thin sheet. I cleared my throat.

Ethan was the first to blink, coming out of whatever fog he was in, while Brent just seemed to grow hungrier. It was as if the sight of my body had made him ravenous, and it was me that was on the menu.

“Shit, sorry, sugar. We should have knocked.” He backed out of the room, having to grab Brent by the arm and yank him back with him. “We’ll let you get dressed. Dinner will be ready in a little bit.”

I started to say that I wasn’t hungry, but the door closed with a loud click, cutting off my words and taking away the green eyes that said he wanted to rip the sheet off me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that the two men were attracted to me. And more than just a little bit. The thought of what it could mean for their committed relationship, for me, for all of us if it were true, sent arrows of electricity through my veins.

Fourteen

BRENT

“Fuck!”I cursed as I ran my burnt hand under the cold water at the kitchen sink. I couldn’t get my mind off the beautiful girl that had been haunting my every thought since I’d first laid eyes on her. I didn’t know how much longer I could wait now that I’d had a glimpse of her succulent tits burned into my retinas. I knew it couldn’t be much longer.

I shut off the water and dried my hands, ignoring the pain. I was having a hard time focusing on the stove, which led me to be uncharacteristically careless. At least I hadn’t burned dinner. The steaks were grilled to perfection, and the zucchini was ready for our plates. The only thing left was to check on the rice.

As I stirred the rice to fluff it up after boiling, Ethan walked in with a hard look on his face. I threw down the serving spoon and gave him my full attention.

“What is it?” I asked on high alert as I braced myself for whatever bad news he had.

He pulled open the refrigerator door and reached in for a bottle of beer, unscrewing the cap and tossing it in the trash before taking a large gulp. I was becoming impatient as he took his sweet fucking time when he finally opened his mouth to speak, his words low to ensure they wouldn’t go beyond the kitchen.

“I know who she is and what she’s running from.”

I stood there, waiting, ready to force him to talk, when he finally cursed and rubbed the back of his neck. I growled in frustration. “If you don’t tell me right fucking now…”

“She’s a survivor of a serial killer. Theonlysurvivor.”