Page 89 of Lost in the Broken Woods

There had been red flags.

So many red flags.

Sodamnmany red flags.

But I’d been so lonely, and he’d paid attention to me.

So, I forced myself to act colorblind. The red was green, and I insisted to myself that everything would work it.

It hadn’t worked, obviously.

And now, here I was.

Trapped in an abusive relationship.

I had stopped trying to hide the bruises, and everyone at work had stopped asking about them. I’d tried to leave… and he had chased me.

Repeatedly.

If I tried to leave again, there was a good chance I wouldn’t survive it.

My parents and older sister were held captive by their drug addictions, so they wouldn’t help me unless I offered them money. And unfortunately, Allen controlled that too.

I had nothing, and no one.

Even if my google search had brought me to the black market, I wouldn’t have been able to pay for the new life I needed.

My phone buzzed again.

And again.

And again.

I fought the urge to throw it into the damn river.

The texts were more of his usual:

Allen: Who are you with?

Allen: What are you doing?

Allen: I’ll be there in ten minutes.

Tears welled in my eyes, and I pushed my long, damp blonde hair off my face.

A woman sat down on the bench beside me, but I didn’t look her way. I was so tired of lying about being okay.

“What’s your name?” she asked me.

“Rory,” I said quietly.

“Pretty. I’m Serae.”

If she was asking about my name, she wasn’t asking about the bruises, at least.

“You’re crying, Rory,” the woman added.

My throat swelled.