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“Let him die!” I roared so loudly that it scorched my throat

But at least I felt that

The sound of people talking in the distance interrupted my echo, and my brother’s panic skyrocketed Ramsey quickly abandoned his atte hi there, alone and lifeless the way I would always feel, gave me a sick sense of pleasure

I should have been crying

Why wasn’t I crying?

I’d spent two years living in fear—night behind a smile for fear people could see the filth behind it

Maybe there was nothing left of ive Not even tears

The voices got closer, and Ra out that monster the way I would never be able to do

“You gotta go,” he barked “I’ll take care of this, but you gotta go before someone sees you here”

“I’”

He grabbed ave et the car and meet you back at the house If anyone asks, you haven’t seen ht”

I could hear the words co to process what he was saying It was like an optical illusion: I could see the picture in front of me, but none of it felt real

I glanced around and his car was still running, the front end smashed and covered in blood “What if they see your car?”

“I’ll…I’ll… I’ll tell ’e” He looked over his shoulder as three silhouettes appeared at the end of the Johnsons’ driveway “Please, Nora,” he hissed “I pro to be okay But you can’t be here If they find out what he did to you, they’ll know this wasn’t an accident I can’t risk that Okay? You weren’t here Nothing happened It was a terrible, terrible accident End of story” He palmed each side of my face and pressed a shaky kiss to my forehead

Thatover a man

Raed on occasion, and when I was little, he’d always ruffled my hair or pinched me playfully on the side

But he wasn’t a forehead kisser

“Ra to ebb fro in

“Please,” he whispered, his desperate and pleading brown eyes sparkling with unshed tears in the et in bed I’llto be okay”

Okay That was a word I recognized all too well Not good Or great Or even fine Just si for us