Page 76

Willow

The bat swung round my shoulders until a loud crack permeated the air, followed by a delayed thump to the floor.

I vaguely registered a sharp scream from behind me, the click of an opening door, and a cool breeze following.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself alone in the hallway. Cain’s body was slumped on the floor, lying in the doorway to the kitchen. Semi-conscious and groaning, his bloody hands were raised to his mouth rather than his nose. He was completely incapacitated.

So why wasn’t I moving?

Why wasn’t I rushing after Fran?

Why wasn’t I allowing the police to do their job?

Satisfaction sparked. Looking down at the person who had tormented me, now curled up and whimpering.

I wondered if this is what I’d looked like to him on the days he’d pull my hair and land a sharp slap to my cheekbone.

If I’d looked this weak and pathetic when I’d beg him to stop the pain and cruelty, promising to do better.

I watched as he groaned and added pressure to his busted nose and swelling jaw, recalling the ice packs I’d pressed into swollen skin and the extra-coverage concealer used to pretend everything was fine.

Reality swept through my body as I registered Jack calling my name. I blinked, dropped my arms from their defensive position and breathed a sigh of relief.

I turned to the door, finding Jack just beyond the gate, his cheeks damp, and chest heaving with suppressed emotion. Relieved, I stepped over Cain’s pitiful body, ready to fall into the arms of the man I called home.

I reached up, wiping moisture from my cheeks, keeping my eyes on Jack like he was the golden gates. It was over and we could finally move on together, away from the terrifying clutches we’d existed in.

Jack’s expression shifted from that of relief and adoration to panic, his gaze moving from my face to my feet. He attempted to dart forward, only to be held back.

“Willow, move, ” he shouted. Confused, I tipped my head .

With a grip around my raised right ankle, a tug so firm caused me to fall forward, both feet wiped from beneath me. I landed with the bat to my ribs with a loud curse.

“I don’t fucking think so,” Cain growled from behind me, as I felt the pressure of his body crawl up mine.

Jack shouted, frantically trying to get through the barrier of officers. I gulped, my hands stuck underneath from breaking the fall.

The more Cain pressed down, the further I reverted back to the girl I’d hoped to lock away forever, too afraid to speak her mind or fight back.

The one who shut out everyone who cared for her for a man who never cared.

The girl who put blood, sweat and tears into proving her love for a man who never deserved it to begin with.

Clinging to the promises of my future, I let out an angry roar and put into practise everything Mack had taught me.

Cain was seated on my lower back, foolishly thinking that would keep me restrained.

I used my legs for momentum, flicking them from left to right until I tumbled us over, him crashing into the wall beside me.

I straddled his body, like he had done to me so many times before.

He made useless attempts to overpower me, reaching out to grab whatever he could to push me off him or render me weak.

But I wasn’t the girl he thought I was. Not anymore. I was loved, I was fearless, and I wasn’t afraid to bite-fucking-back. Cain had messed with the wrong bitch in the wrong era.

Grabbing the bat, I smashed it down on the hand that reached for my throat, forcing it into the floor with enough force it made a loud crunch.

The other hand quickly replaced it, fingers desperately dipping into my mouth to push me away.

I bit down on the digits. He cried with pain before he pulled his hand away, holding it to his chest pathetically.

I gripped both ends of the wood and slammed it down against his throat, providing enough room to breathe, but not enough to escape.

His legs and hips jostled me to fight me off, but I’d trained with the brickhouse that was Mack.

Cain’s eyes were wide with fear, it was a delicious karma.

Between us, we were a congealed mess of grunts and groans. I took the opportunity to catch my breath as he writhed beneath me.

“Enough,” I grit out. “You’ve had your say, now it’s my turn.”

He faintly shook his head as if he had a say in the matter. I pushed down harder, forcing him to stay in place and listen. His arms stretched out until his hands tightened around my throat, the grip nowhere near enough to cut oxygen.

“You want to know why I said no?” I asked, but when he failed to reply, I continued with confidence.

“You were never on your knees promising me a life of love, you promised fear and lacklustre limitations. You took my joy and passion, you took my fucking spark. I’ve spent years wondering what the fuck I did to deserve you, and you know what I’ve realised in the months we’ve been apart?

” With no answer, I bounced down on his throat as his eyes bulged.

“ Do you ?” He finally shook his head. “I realised it was never about me. It’s always been about you.

How you feel. How you progress. How your cup can be filled even if it means draining mine.

And that’s all you’ve ever. Fucking. Done.

” With each word, I pressed harder on his throat.

“You said all I do is take, but I’d say the only thing I’m taking is what’s mine. This is me reclaiming my life.”

I leaned forward so that the only thing in his line of sight was me. His peripheral was me. Every single sense was me. I growled and tipped my chin to the door, never losing eye contact. Tears dripped onto his skin, mixing with his blood.

“He is everything I could ever want. He respects me, adores me and shows me life’s endless possibilities. He has never once hurt me like you. You act like this has been some great love affair, like you’re the love of my life. But you’re the loss of my life and I cannot wait to fucking lose you.

“So this ” —I pushed further onto his throat, noting his laboured breathing— “ is for every single ounce of hate you spewed until I believed it. This, ” I pushed again, “ is for every spiteful and bitter touch you landed on my body. And this?” I coiled back, collecting spit in my mouth and shooting it in his eyes.

“This is for daring to come near the life I love. You fucked with the wrong girl, Cain.”

With nothing left to say, my chest heaved with the effort taken to unleash the years of restrained and unresolved heartache. Seconds passed as we stared each other out, when finally, I reached a conclusion, and my eyes darted around his face.

Regardless of the frequency and number of injuries Cain had caused, I’d never had a desire to return the gestures.

I’d never felt the need to fight back, once because of fear, but there was nothing to fear now.

It wasn’t who I was, and it wasn’t how I was going to be.

The pathetic man below me, the one who whimpered and wriggled with feeble effort, had taken so much already and I couldn’t, wouldn’t, shouldn’t let him take more.

Relieving the pressure on his throat, the hands around my throat lessened their pressure too.

“This ends now. Nobody else needs to get hurt.”

He faintly nodded and gulped. I finally felt the calm I’d craved for nearly a decade. I loosened my grip on the wood, letting it clatter to the floor.

“Poor na?ve, little Willow,” Cain rasped, just as Jack’s voice called out.

“ Willow, move !”

With one swipe, Cain’s left arm rolled the bat out of reach as his right hand snapped out, curling around the handle of the knife. And the only thing I could do was sit and watch. In slow motion, the blood-covered blade sliced through my T-shirt and into the flesh of my belly.

With a scream, my head fell back. My face crumbled as I desperately tried to hold myself together and ignore the pain. My grip and heaviness on his body lessened. He tumbled us to the side, my head cracked off the floor and the blurry face of Cain hovered above me.

Beyond us, beyond the house, Jack’s frantic voice bellowed, causing Cain to whine in frustration.

His distraction gave me the time to focus on our position.

The tables had turned. Where I’d straddled his body, he was straddling mine, his thighs pressing down on my hip bones, exactly where his fingers once left bruises.

I’d been here so many times. But there was one significant change. I wasn’t going down without a fight.

He turned his head from the front door, regaining his focus. A wicked smirk spread, a twinkle fluttered across his toxic green eyes.

His silver chain hung between us. I glared at it like it had personally offended me.

For seven years, it lay across his chest or dangled over my face.

For seven years he committed his love and attention to a shitty strip of metal than to me.

For seven years, each loop and connection mocked me and reminded me of the confines he’d forced on me.

Reaching up, I yanked the chain from around his neck.

I chucked it across the room, where we both watched it skid across the smooth floor.

I smiled, proud until a harsh slap sliced my cheekbone.

“You bitch,” he blared, sending another slap across my cheekbone.

“You should have killed me when you had the chance, little Willow.” Pulling back, he grabbed the knife from the floor.

“You see, there’s no life for you without me.

Fancy a romantic getaway? I’ll be there watching you sip your margarita.

New job? I’ll be there on your first day.

Planning your perfect little nuclear family?

I’ll be waiting at the hospital. Whatever you do, little Willow, I’ll be there ready to swipe it all out from under you.

” He spoke slowly to make sure I took it all in, a glint in his eye.

Without warning, he pulled his hand over his shoulder and slammed it down.

With a squeal, I jolted to the right, missing the blade by an inch. Tugging the knife from the dent in the floor with a grumble, he took the knife in both hands and slammed it into my stomach again.

His eyes narrowed at me when the knife slipped, hitting something hard and flat rather than my soft flesh. I stopped breathing, frozen in place. Tears trickled as I stared at him as white noise took over.

I turned my head to the left, finding Jack who was hysterically trying to push through the arms of officers, silently roaring with all his energy for me.

His face was red and drenched with tears, but he was still the most perfect man I’d ever seen.

I parted my dampened lips and willed for him to feel every ounce of love I held for him.

I spied the glistening blade approach me out of the corner of my eye.

Snippets of my brief, but beautiful time with Jack flowed like a film reel. I was grateful I’d cherished every single touch and created the most perfect memories together. I was thankful I’d jumped with him and decided that, despite everything, I was open and trusting in love with Jack.

I closed my eyes, accepting fate.

Just as I expected, my body jolted. Only it kept on jolting and wouldn’t stop. There was no pain, or no extra pain. The confusion had me peeling my right eye open where I found Cain’s entire body shuddering above me right as he collapsed on top of me.

He continued to tremble as I lay frozen and shell-shocked.