Page 96 of Bound in Darkness
I’ve gotta get out of here.
Without a word, I shoot to my feet, stumbling as I take several steps across the room. Dr. Wilkinson’s voice sounds faint and far away as my gaze locks on the door.
Just get to it, Kenz. Freedom is right around the corner.
I bolt as though Orpheus is chasing me, my sweaty hands twisting the knob twice before I finally open it. Stepping through it, I slam it behind me and take off running toward my salvation. The only one who can help me right now.
My feet pound down the hallway, and my lungs are not getting enough oxygen.I need Chase. Dear God, where is he?
I’m hyperventilating as my shaking hands grasp the door to Chase’s therapist’s office. Tears blind me as I struggle to open it. Finally, the knob turns, and I shoulder my way inside, practically falling through the door. My gaze darts around the room, landing on his wide-eyed therapist, but there’s no sign of Chase.
Oh, shit. He’s vanished.
Why isn’t he here?
Did something happen to him?
Although it’s completely irrational, my mind plays tricks on me. For several heart-stopping moments, I fear Chase didn’t make it out of that godforsaken hellhole, and he’s gone.Never to return.
The words repeat inside my head.Never to return.
The tombstone in the clearing of that thick forest rises in front of me, the dark gray marble shaped like a large coffin. Instead of the name Gage Thornton, it says Chase Landon.
Who the hell is screaming?
I close my eyes, my hands tugging on my hair, trying to pull it from my scalp.
“Mackenzie. It’s okay.” Chase’s therapist stands in front of me, his hands gripping my arms. My eyes fly open, noting the worried frown on his handsome face.
But my gaze tracks back to the tombstone, its massive size crowding the small office, Chase’s name etched into it like a knife through my heart.
And when I turn to my head, it’s not Chase’s therapist I see.
It’s Orpheus.
His grip is unrelenting, long nails piercing my skin.He’s never going to let me go.
“No, it’s not,” I finally rasped out as the darkness pulled me under.
54
CHASE
I’m seated on the light blue couch across from Dr. Liam Lawson, trying to steady my breaths. There’s something about his aura that suggests he’s nonjudgmental, giving his full attention to you as you blurt out whatever comes to mind.
Even so, my own feelings of inadequacy and the deep-seated fear that he might look at me and tell me I’m not good enough for Mackenzie because I failed her nearly chokes me to death.
No matter how inadequate I am, I love that girl more than anyone in this world. I can’t—and won’t—give her up.
“How are you doing today, Chase?” Dr. Lawson’s blue eyes study me like he’s analyzing a specimen beneath a microscope. If there wasn’t so much warmth and concern beaming from his irises, I’d be uncomfortable.
I lift one shoulder in a shrug, the guilt making my throat so tight I can barely swallow my own saliva. “I’m here.”
“That’s a very good thing, Chase. You survived a harrowing ordeal.”
I nod, staring at my running shoes. I survived… Now I just have to figure out how to live without the weight of the guilt and regret breaking me down.
“You seem bothered by something, Chase. Why don’t we talk about it?”