Page 9 of Wrangled
“A five-pointed star,” he states, as if I’m unaware of the mark I was born with.
“It’s nothing special.” I tug my sleeve down and fold my arms.
“Somehow, I doubt that. Get some rest.”
I offer him a wobbly smile and wait for him to leave before I release a shaky breath. Jesus, that man is intense.
I settle in to watch the show, sipping at the tea, which is the perfect blend of sweet and bitter. By the time I’ve finished it, my eyes are heavy, the day finally catching up to me. I pop the glass on the table and rest my head on the cushion just as Austin walks in. He crouches in front of me, tugging the blanket from the back of the sofa over me.
I try to open my eyes, but it’s like a weight is hanging from them.
“I’m sorry it’s come to this, little one.”
I swear I feel lips on my forehead for a second before it’s lights out.
Hands pawing at me pull me from my slumber. Knowing better than to let my guard down around my dad, I try to fight him off, but my movements are sluggish. It takes all my energy just to turn my head a fraction.
Too many thoughts tumble through my brain in a chaotic mess of panic and fear. I manage to squint my eyes open. The moon shines in just enough to tell me this isn’t my home. And the man on top of me isn’t my father. I whimper, willing my body to move as his hands yank my dress up, but it refuses to respond.
Terror threatens to suffocate me as my underwear is violently torn from my body. My fingers twitch as I push with everything I have. As my attacker lines himself up with my opening, I know it won’t be enough. A silent scream of horror gets trapped in my throat as he tears into my body, ripping away my innocence in the blink of an eye. Agony washes over me as he thrusts into me over and over, my dry walls tearing under the invasion.
Lightning splits the night sky, charging the air with electricity that makes goosebumps break out over my body. My birthmark feels like a brand burning into my skin, but it barely registers as this monster takes the one thing I had left to give. Hot tears slip down my face, scalding my cheeks as my assailant buries themself deep. They groan into my hair before I feel them finish with a shudder.
Thunder rumbles loudly, as lightning flashes again and again, as if the storm is on top of us and trying to find a way in. Whatever makes me, me, shatters and reforms. I’m floating outside my body as the impact of what just happened sinks into my bones.
The monster climbs off me, his body shrouded as he slinks back into the shadows, leaving me hollowed out and bleeding like road kill discarded in the gutter. I don’t know how long I lie there, drowning in shame and fear, before my body respondsto my silent screams. It could be minutes, it could be days, but once I can move, I do. I roll off the sofa, welcoming the pain as I hit the unforgiving wood with a thump. My dress slips down to cover me as I drag myself across the floor with my arms, my legs still refusing to respond, before I collapse by the front door. I drift in and out for a while. What happened to me plays in my head on a continuous loop like a horror movie that won’t end until I’m sobbing so hard I can’t breathe. I pray to any god that will listen to get me out of here. Eventually, I manage to crawl to my knees. It takes three attempts to get to my feet.
I unlatch the door and push it open, stumble down the steps, and fall back to my knees with a yelp as the gravel tears into my skin. I ignore it. I don’t want it to stop me from getting away from here. I walk for what feels like miles before I collapse. My body shivers, soaked to the skin from the deluge of rain trying to drown me. I lie there wondering why I’m even trying. Wouldn’t it be easier to give up now? To just rest my eyes and let go. No more pain, no more sadness, or anger. Just freedom and peace. I lie there in the dirt as oblivion threatens to pull me under.
When the wind stirs my hair, for a moment I swear I feel fingertips stroking the side of my face, willing me to keep going. I crack my eyes open. There is nobody there, but even so, I can feel a presence. It’s enough to knock some sense into me. I don’t want to go out like this, cold and alone in the dirt. I won’t give people the satisfaction of saying I got what I deserved.
Somehow, through the pain, I get to my feet and stumble like some reanimated creature. When I can’t stand anymore, I crawl, shredding the skin on my palms and knees until they’re slick with blood. If it weren’t for the rain, I’d be leaving a clear trail behind me. The sun is beginning to breach the tree line as I reach home, bathing the place in an ethereal glow as the rain finally tapers off. I don’t think about the monster ahead of me, too focused on the one I’m running from. As I press my bloodyhand to the wrought iron gate, a sense of warning blasts through me. Though I know I should listen, my fear overrides everything else.
It’s a testament to my sheer force of will that I make it inside. I won’t make it upstairs—the staircase might as well be another five miles long. Instead, I collapse in the hallway, my back sliding down the wall as I bring my knees to my chest. I drift between awake and oblivion until I realize I’m not alone.
Fear runs up my spine as the house shrieks a warning. I lift my head and find my father crouched in front of me, a manic gleam in his eye as he takes me in. “Run into some troubles, did we?” he mocks.
I don’t have the energy to respond. Perhaps if I’m lucky, he’ll beat me to death, and this will all be over.
“I thought I would have more time. But when you didn’t come home, I knew you were whoring around. You always did like to fuck with my plans. No worries, you don’t get to take the throne without learning how to bide your time.”
I have no idea what he’s talking about, and I don’t care. I turn my head, so fucking done with this life, but he grips my jaw, hard enough to leave bruises.
“So weak. Just like your mother. Why the devil blessed you, I’ll never know. But I’ve found a way around that.”
He pulls his hand back, thumping my head against the wall, making my vision blur once more.
At the sound of footsteps, I look behind him. I’m not surprised to see Dale approach. He takes me in, and his eyes widen at the state of me, a reaction I’m sure surprises us both. He quickly masks it. “It’s time. You sure about this?”
“Don’t question me now, boy. Have I ever led you astray before?”
Dale doesn’t answer. His eyes flick from my dad to me, and for a brief moment, I taste something different in the air.Guilt.
My father grabs my arm and twists it, showing Dale my birthmark. For some reason, it looks like it’s streaked with black. “An unmoored witch is a dangerous entity. You think she’ll spare you when she comes into her own?”
Dale’s face hardens at these words, and any chance I had at swaying him to my side is lost.
A witch.I can’t say I’m surprised, and yet I am. Even though all the signs were there. I don’t understand any of it, but somehow it feels right.
