I can’t believe them. That Shelby betrayed me, that my father is having an affair with my best friend. I can’t believe it. Everything I discovered tonight weighs heavily on my shoulders. My father and Shelby. The mysterious letters and photos. It feels like I’m suffocating, drowning in all the lies that seem to surround me.
I have to find a way out of this mess, out of my father’s life.
I have to escape. Break free. I did it once before, and I’ll do it again.
I wait for Shelby and my father to finish.
“She can never know about this. Keep your mouth shut, and your legs closed or there will be consequences, do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir,” Shelby answers softly. In her eyes, I see love for my father, and that makes me sick, so fucking sick. They leave the room a few moments later, and I remain standing, barely holding myself together.
Time ticks by slowly, and eventually, I pull myself together and escape the room, listening for footsteps, or any noises as I head down the hall and back toward my room. I’ve barely made it five feet when a cloth-covered hand comes out of nowhere and presses against my mouth and nose. A scream catches in my throat, and I struggle helplessly as a thick arm wraps around my middle, pulling me back against a wall of muscle.
Oh, god, no, this can’t be happening again.
“Shhh, it’s going to be okay,” a voice whispers in my ear, but I’m too far gone, drifting off into the darkness, to tell if it’s a familiar voice or not.
To Be Continued…