Page 33 of Fallen to Thievery
I smiled. “Fine. It was Jimson Weed. If you mix enough Vervain and Jimson Weed, you get an incredibly strong sedative. You didn’t stand a chance.”
He chuckled. “Clever girl.”
That made my cheeks warm up, just like my insides.
He opened the food pouches and emptied them into the pot. “So, you know a lot about plants, hmm?”
I nodded. “Been fascinated by them for almost all my life. You should try it. At least my hobby doesn’t involve the police.”
He looked at me devilishly. “It has the potential too.”
I scowled at him.Right.“Yeah, maybeyoushouldn’t try it.”
We ate in silence, listening to the beautiful sounds of nature while we still could. When we were done, Grayson went to wash the dishes in the stream.
While eating, I had found the crow in a nearby tree, watching us. I had kept the last bit of my food for him and placed it onto a piece of bark. I wobbled over to the tree and positioned it on the lowest branch of the tree. “You are such a brave boy,” I cooed to him. “Thank you for watching out for me. I hope we can be friends.”
He ruffled his feathers, and hopped down to the food, accepting my offer, before flying off with a loud caw.
“The water’s not that cold. Would you like to go wash up?” Grayson asked as he walked back. “I’ll go get some more wood before its dark,” he added quickly.
That did sound nice. “Yes, thank you.” I smiled up at him.
He rummaged through the bag, taking out a clean shirt, and handed it to me. He pressed his hand deeper into the bag but frowned. When he pulled it out again, he had the photo in his hand.
My heart stopped.
He unfolded it. I watched his face go ashen, then red with rage, as he stared at it.
“Where did you get this?” He still stared at it.
I swallowed hard. “In… in the bottom drawer.”
“You had no right.” He closed the photo. His voice as calm as the centre of a tornado.
“Who is…”
He was looming over me in an instant, my jaw gripped tightly between his fingers. “You had no right,” he sneered through his teeth.
“Grayson…” I breathed, shock sucking the air from my lungs.
He turned and stomped off into the forest.
I was shaking. What had just happened? Why was he reacting so badly to the photo? Did he not like to be reminded of what he did?
I bristled. He acted likeIwas the one who committed a crime.
I waited a half an hour for him to come back so I could tell him what an unstable asshole he was, before I gave up and took my clothes down to the stream. The water was delightfully, sparkling clean. I took extra time washing the mud from my hair, which wasn’t an easy feat without getting the bandages wet on my foot. By the time I was done, the sun was low. Gathering some firewood seemed like a good idea, since Grayson was still nowhere to be seen. No fire at night was asking for trouble. The last rays of the sun were gone when I dropped the last bundle of wood next to the fire. I made myself comfortable, as close as possible to the flames, to keep the creeping cold away. I cursed Grayson for leaving me alone with my own thoughts. Not even the moon was there to keep me company. It was still out of sight, hidden behind the trees.
There was a constant flash of images and feelings from yesterday, running through my mind. I’d been suppressing it. It doesn’t matter what Mom says, I just couldn’t face it.
What happened to Digger? Nothing good, I hoped. He was a slimy piece of shit.“My wife left me a few years ago. Said I loved other women too much.”The sound of his voice swilled through me. How those words had suddenly come to mean something else. Maybe I wasn’t his first victim.
“Stop fighting. You’ll like it, I swear.”
I pressed my fists over my eyes. I couldn’t get his voice out of my head. I couldn’t stop reliving how it felt when he pulled my pants down; how I could feel his hairy stomach scratch against the skin on my back; how his hand struggled with his belt against my bare backside; the stench of his sweaty body filling my nostrils; and the feeling of utter helplessness when he finally had it undone. I couldn’t stop him. I could do nothing. I had been defenceless. I had been helpless.
A broken cry escaped me. Then another. And another. I let it consume me. Mom was right, as always. I had to face it. The horrible things that had happened to me. And the horrible things I narrowly escaped.
