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The pain is searing, a blinding splinter of heat and pressure that cripples my knees, but falling only adds weight to the pull.

“Make one sound and I’ll break your fucking arm,” he warns when I give a strangled scream.

His promise is solidified by the hard tug of my arm that I’m sure dislocated my shoulder. The overwhelming pulse of agony fills my throat with bile. Spots dance across my vision as my entire body sways.

I’m vaguely aware of dropping my purse. My keys. My list tumbles away with the breeze and vanishes beneath a car. It all means nothing as I obediently let him propel me to the very back of the lot. To the bright, cherry red Escalade I bought with my money.

“Get the fuck inside,” he hisses yanking the passenger side door open for me for the first time ever.

I’m shoved inside. The door cracks behind me. Within seconds, before I can even process my breathing, he’s behind the wheel.

“You really fucked up, Everly. You stupid bitch. You really thought you could fuck with me?”

I can’t answer. The pain is beyond comprehension. It’s a brutal fist of heat destroying my senses. I can do nothing but cradle my arm and will back the waves of nausea bubbling up my chest.

I think it’s broken.

I’ve never broken a bone in my life, but I can’t feel my fingers. I can’t move them.

In the distance, Bron is screaming words that keep getting shredded in the piercing shrieking between my ears.

“Did you think you could keep hiding behind my dad and Weaver? Did you think they could stop me just because you let them fuck you?”

Fire explodes across my skull in a sharp crackle that has tears springing behind my eyes. I just become aware of the fist he has twisted in my hair when stars explode and the world momentarily dips into darkness. Pain busts from the temple he slams into the window.

He’s screaming louder. I think. I’m barely keeping my eyes open as the heat of the assault chokes the air.

“Please...” I think I whimper, but my entire face feels puffy and numb.

“Begging isn’t going to save you.” He’s breathing hard. Dark patches of color rides high across his cheeks, emphasizing the murderous fire behind his eyes. “You ruined my entire life. You fucked everything up.” His fist catches the steering wheel, releasing a blast of horn. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

I don’t think he wants an actual answer, but he does when he swings his arm back and catches me in the chest with five knuckles.

“What is wrong with you?” he shrieks louder. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

We turn down somewhere. The pavement turns to dirt. The road closes to walls of dense forest. I hadn’t been paying attention and I have no idea where we are.

He won’t hurt me. He wouldn’t.

The heat in my arm, the pounding in my head disagree as I’m taken deeper into the unknown.

“Where are we going?” I choke out.

I get a slap for my attempts. A clap against my ear that sends the bells ringing.

“Shut up!”

There is only one reason to take a person into the wilderness tochat. Only one reason to not want witnesses. Not a soul knows where I am. No one is coming to save me.

We hit a dead end in a small clearing. He pulls the SUV off to the side and kills the engine.

There’s a second of silence before he’s on me. Fists and palms fly in a waterfall of pain. Defending myself with one arm does nothing when he has my hair twisted up in one hand.

“You worthless bitch! You dumb fucking cunt.” Blood erupts across my tongue with the slap of his palm across my mouth. “I’m going to kill you. I’m going to bury your worthless, whore body in the woods for the animals to find.”

“Bron, stop!” I cry, trying to pry his fingers from my hair. “Please. Stop!”

He’s not listening.