Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 46398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
We make it to the sofa, but neither of us turns on the TV. I lay her back on the cushions and push her hair out of her face and kiss her, letting my body take over.
Both of us need gentleness tonight, so I take off her clothes slowly and carefully, kissing every bit of exposed skin I find along the way. She arches underneath me, making little sounds and pulling me as close as she can. I drag my lips over so much soft skin.
I kiss down over her ribs and over the soft dip at her belly and lower, to where she’s wet and eager for me already. She whines when I kiss her clit and lifts her hips to make it easier for me.
I take my time with every inch of her. The tender skin at the inside of her thighs. The curve of her calf. Between her legs. Loving her for loving me. For covering for me and cleaning up after my mess.
I crawl over her, her taste everywhere, and push myself inside her, slow and savoring every moment.
I stroke into her, emotion swelling up in my chest. I don’t have to look over my shoulder anymore. I don’t have to let all that pain consume me. I’m free to enjoy the pleasure of her. To give her more pleasure in return.
It’s too much. How could I ever be worthy of her?
“I don’t deserve you,” I say into her mouth, fucking her as slow as I can so that it lasts. I want it to last.
She pushes on my shoulders and turns us over so she can ride me, running her fingers through my hair again and looking into my eyes. I think I’ll always get a thrill from looking at her like this.
“You deserve more than me,” she says, her voice trembling. She grinds down on me in intoxicating circles. I won’t be able to hold out if she keeps this up. I’ll have to fuck her again. Once isn’t enough for tonight. It will never be enough. “I love you so much. There’s nothing you could ever do that would make me not love you. You know that, right?”
“I know.” I’m telling her the truth. After what she did for me tonight, I could never doubt her. “I know.”
“I’ll protect you.” Her mouth meets mine for a kiss that matches the movements of our bodies. Slow. Soft. Deep. “I promise.”
And then I breathe something I know I shouldn’t, “I love you, Haley.” I say it so low, I don’t know if she hears me, but she doesn’t stop her movements, and she kisses me deeply like she needs me more than ever.
HALEY
10 years ago
He’s gone.
He’s gone, and I don’t know what to do.
I can’t think. He’s gone, and that means there’s nowhere for me to look for him.
He’s gone, and in this place, that can only mean I’ll never see him again.
The fear consumes every thought and feeling. Is my heart even beating anymore?
I stare at the open door of the room with no cameras, both hoping I’ll see him and hoping I won’t.
If he made it out, then I never want to see him in this place again. If he’s free, then he should stay free. I know that’s what he’d tell me to do. If I got away, he wouldn’t want me to come back for him.
Keep running. Don’t look back for anything. Never let them see your face again.
My eyes sting with tears, but I don’t let them fall. I’m just so scared, and I’m not even scared for me. I’m scared for him.
He could be dead for all I know.
I’ve seen what they do to him. The people in charge of this place would do it. They would kill, and brush the murder under the rug. That’s how they get away with everything. If they really screw up and hurt somebody too badly, they just blame it on the kid.
It makes my hands shake with rage. They can blame it on us because our parents already think we’re lost causes. The teachers could tell my parents anything, and they’d eat it up. They want to be reassured that we need help beyond anything they can handle. We have to be the worst of the worst or else it’s our parents who failed.
My mother is the one who sent me here in the first place because she thought I was evil. She probably still thinks I’m evil. I have no way to tell her I’m not. I don’t know what she hears from the school or if they hear anything at all. They’re probably just living their normal lives, hoping these kind people can get me back on the right track.
I reach down and curl my hands around the seat of the chair to keep myself from standing up and screaming.