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“I'm going to fix this,” Vega said. “I'm going to make it right. You deserve better.”

“How?” I asked. I didn't even know what I was being protected from. I had one memory that I knew all along was real. That was it. The rest was a mystery. The rest was as tangible as fog on a muggy night.

“I declared war already. Now, I have to finish it. Set you free. Give you back your life.”

“What do you mean you declared war? How?”

War? What the hell is he talking about? There's no war.

“By not killing you.”

I rubbed my temples. My head was starting to hurt. “I have a headache. I don't want to talk about this anymore.”

“You're probably going through withdrawals.”

I glanced at him and then shut my eyes. “How can you be so sure about all this? What makes you an expert on my father and what you think he's doing?”

“Poppy, I told you before that I'm good at what I do. But you have to remember things for yourself. Anything I tell you, you're going to doubt or question. It has to come from within. You have the answers; you don't need me to give them to you.”

“But you think I need you to save me? I spent eighteen years with my father; he could have killed me at any point, but he didn't. What makes you so sure I need saving?”

“You still think I'm the monster chasing you, and that's all right. I don't blame you. Like I said, the answers have to come from you. And when they do, which they will, you'll see him for the man he truly is.”

I stood up and paced the room. “If what you're saying is true, then why not call the cops? Wouldn't that be the right thing to do?”

Vega chuckled and shook his head. “Think about what you're asking. What do you think would happen if I called the cops? You think they're going to come rushing in here to save you? You think they're just going to take my word for it and go arrest the people after you?”

“Not the people. The person. And we both know who that person is. It's you,” I said as I walked back to him. “I can see right through you. You're trying to fill my head with all this shit to make me confused.” I threw a finger in his face. “You want me to believe you so you can keep me trapped here. It's not going to work. I don't believe you! You're fucking with my mind!”

I threw my hands into my hair and grabbed the roots. I had enough of the mind games. My head was killing me. I couldn't take it anymore. The games had to end. My father had been there for me for eighteen years. I had known Vega for a week, and he kidnapped me to get me here. He was a crazy fucking stalker, and this was his attempt to get me to stay willingly.

I wasn't going to fall for it. It was bad enough that I let my guard down and slept with him. Vega put on the nice guy act. He was smooth and convincing, and I got roped in.

I'm a fucking idiot!

“Poppy, I know this is hard to imagine, but I'm telling you the truth. The things I know—”

“Fuck you,” I spat. “You're a sick, twisted son of a bitch, and I'm not falling for your games. I'm leaving.”

“Where do you think you're going to go? We're surrounded by fifty-plus acres of dense forest. I followed you for quite some time before taking you, and I know you're not an outdoor enthusiast. You can't even stand it when you get dirt under your nails.”

Vega leaned back with a smug expression on his face. He thought he had me cornered. As if his natural fence would me in. Keep me contained. Keep me tethered to him.

“Fuck you!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. Blood rushed to my head, making my cheeks blaze with anger. “I'm fucking leaving!”

I turned and ran to the front door. It wasn't locked or bolted or nailed shut. Vega didn't move. He sat lazily on the couch like I was making an empty threat. He honestly expected me to yank open the door and freeze like a house cat who had never stepped a foot outside in their life.

But I didn't. I ran. I ran over the vast expense of open grass and into the trees. I threw myself through bushes and thick debris. I ignored every thorn and puncture as I decided to take my chance in the forest again. We were alone this time. He didn't have anyone to come capture me. Vega would have to hunt me himself.

There was no plan in my head other than getting as far away from him as possible. That was my only goal. If I died there, hidden beneath a layer of decaying leaves, eaten by wild animals, and consumed by the earth around me, I would take it. It was better to die by my own hand than that of another.

I slowed down after a few minutes. The sun was hanging high in the sky. Every so often, it would light up a patch of earth like it was lighting my way out. There were no sounds around me. No feet pounding, giving chase. Vega wasn't yelling my name and waiting for a response or noise to give away my position.

It was just me and nature. Squirrels chatted and scampered from tree to tree, and birds sang songs to each other from within the canopy. The trees were still; there was no breeze to ruffle leaves or make treetops crack from dancing.

I walked in the direction of the sun, following its beams. And when there was no room for the rays to reach me, I followed thesound of distant water. My bare feet were numb, making walking more sustainable.

As I pushed through a thicket of overgrown bushes and closely knit tree trunks, the water I had been hearing appeared. It was a wide, shallow stream with smooth gray and black rocks jetting up from beneath the surface and ruffles of small waves tumbling over the tops.