Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
A small smile tugs at her lips. “Don’t forget.”
Shaking my head, I say vehemently, “Never.”
It’s a promise I intend on keeping. I have to pull my shit together long enough to get back to my house and make a solid plan. I’m getting LuLu the fuck out of here, far, far away from my father.
He wasn’t the one watching as she was violated…
I want to beg for her forgiveness, but I know I don’t deserve it. In that moment, I chose another life over hers. To me, Calista was the end game and of utmost importance. Having to witness what happened to LuLu was a terrible consequence of that choice.
It was a horrendous mistake. A mistake only a fucked-up, brain-scarred human like myself could make. Any good person would’ve stopped it.
Romy didn’t.
I think back to her hiding in the cabinet, witnessing everything. She saw the monster I was and still wanted to be with me.
My memories are still foggy when it comes to our relationship, but I know we were together after that. I have flashes of seeing her in my house putting puzzles together. She stayed with me for some reason.
“I’m going to get you out of here,” I vow to LuLu. “Back to your home wherever that is. Just…” I run a hand through my hair, messing it up. “I need to be smart about this.”
She nods, eyes flaring. “I trust you.”
An ache forms in the middle of my chest. I don’t deserve her trust, but I’m going to earn it. I’ll die freeing this girl if it’s the last thing I do.
I’m done being selfish.
The time for turning a blind eye on things that should be condemned is over.
“Dry your eyes,” LuLu says, handing me a wadded up tissue from her pocket. “Theo will wonder what’s wrong.”
I take her offering and swipe at my cheeks. Then I swivel around to the computer and start snapping pictures of anything I deem important that I might want to look at later. This goes on for at least fifteen minutes until Theo reenters the room.
After shutting down all folders except Olivia’s, I stand and make my way over to my brother. His eyes narrow as he studies me.
“Headache,” I grunt, pointing at my temple. “You think you can run me and Lu—” I curse under my breath. “Sorry, can’t think straight. Can you take me and Calista home?”
And once I’m home, it won’t be for long.
Theo drops us off in front of my house and then drives away. I exhale heavily, relieved he didn’t interrogate me. I’m suddenly worried there are spies watching me from the woods or hidden microphones waiting to rat me out.
That’s ridiculous.
Still, we can’t be too careful.
“Tonight is business as usual,” I say softly. “Pack for our vacation. We’ll load the car tonight and leave out in the morning.” I pat LuLu on the head, and for once, she doesn’t seem like she wants to bolt away from me. “Everything. Take everything.”
The girl beams at me, making her whole face light up like I’ve never seen before. My heart finishes shattering. We killed her smile. I killed it with apathy and selfishness. Others killed it with abuse.
Who were the others?
Whose yacht were we on?
These are all answers I need to work out and soon. Once I do, I have every intention of making them pay for what they’ve done. I may not be able to rewind time and change the man I was back then, but I can certainly change our future.
People will answer for their part in her abuse.
Every last one of them.
Once inside, I head straight for my cold, emotionless office. Is this the kind of man I was? Empty, driven by a singular need to find Calista, heartless? I feel dissociated from that part of me. Like he died when most of my memories did. This new man emerging is not a savior for just one.
He’ll save them all.
A new sense of purpose fills every crevice of my dark soul.
The urge to work tirelessly until I find all the monsters who hurt people like LuLu or Romy is so intense I feel as if I could explode from the anger surging inside me.
I have to be patient.
One step at a time.
The first step in this endless game is saving LuLu like I wouldn’t save her before. I owe this and so much more to her.
My office is sparse aside from a bunch of books that mean nothing to me now. I do empty the contents of my two locked drawers into my laptop bag. Once I’ve stuffed my MacBook in there too, I zip it up, ready to start packing the rest of my life up.
When I leave, I’m never coming back.
There’s nothing but heartache and pain here.
It’s a mindfuck of mysteries and madness.