Page 37 of Bound By Threads
I nod, swallowing hard. How can I tell him that those words felt freeing but also like imprisonment? My mental walls are low right now, and the memories that I try so hard to keep at bay are threatening to swallow me whole. “Yeah,” I manage, my fingers tightening around the fabric of his uniform—grounding me just like he did the night he pulled me out of the water. “I’m… I’m just glad you’re finally home.”
Archer doesn’t answer straight away, his eyes tracking over my entire face, searching for something, though I’m not sure what.
“I came back early for you, Lottie. I wanted to surprise you.”
I feel my heart skip, the warmth of his words sinking in, and the way my new name slides over his tongue. It’s intoxicating to have Archer’s full attention, but I know it’s because he feels a sense of obligation to me after that night.
My hand moves on its own, unable to form any words, and I reach up to touch his face, tracing the line of his jaw. His hand captures mine, holding me still, his breathing heavy. “Don’t,” he clips, his eyes darkening. “My sanity is barely hanging by a thread right now, Lottie.”
I don’t know what he means by that, but I don’t get the chance to ask. Oscar’s cough interrupts the moment again, and I turn to see him standing a few feet away, watching us with an unreadable expression on his face. His eyes flicker to mine for a second, and I swear he’s checking to see if I’m hurt. But this is Archer.
My savior.
He would never hurt me… and yet somehow I know that isn’t true as my eyes connect with his. Familiar demons swirling inside them… the same demons that I see when I look in the mirror.“Come on, you two. You’re making everyone jealous,”Oscar rolls his eyes as he moves his fingers, and I huff out a laugh, burying my head in Archer’s chest as my cheeks burn.
Archer chuckles, the sound vibrating from his chest. “Can you blame them? Our girl is beautiful.”
I pull back, hating myself for how my heart flutters at his words, and make my way toward Oscar’s car, which I know is parked in the parking lot.
As I take a step forward,three familiar faces—ones I thought I’d only ever encounter in my darkest nightmares—stare back at me. The shock on their faces mirrors my own, but theirs twists into anger and hatred, while mine contorts into pure horror.
It can’t be.
If they are here, then that meanshemight be.
“Lottie?” Archer’s voice breaks the spell, and I turn to look at him with watery eyes. “What’s wrong?” he immediately asks, crowding my space as he grips my chin to look at him.
With shaky hands, I sign.“They are here.”
“Who?”Oscar asks, his hands moving fast.“Who are they, Lottie?”
“Archer.” My voice is a broken plea that cracks and breaks, barely able to form the words as my throat closes like a vice around the words I so desperately want to say.
“They. As inthem.” He growls out the word, knowing my past, and I lay myself bare for him when he saved me.
I’m not sure why I trusted him, why I spilled everything to a stranger.
Maybe it was the softness of his touch, so different from the pain I knew. His hands were the first to offer comfort instead of pain. Or maybe it was the desperation. Trust him, or death.
I search for them again, but there’s no sign of the three boys… no, not boys. Men. The three men I never wanted to see again.
I don’t think I could survive them again.
Chapter20
Elijah
We pull into the college parking lot, and I grip the steering wheel, the drive already feeling longer than it needed to be. Crew’s withdrawal symptoms are obvious. His usual energy drained, his eyes unfocused. He denies it, of course, like he always does when we confront him, but the signs are too obvious to ignore.
Roman’s been barking orders down the phone the entire ride, directing his men to wrap up the final shipment for Pacheco until his next one in three months.
The place feels too quiet, unnervingly still, the kind of silence that settles deep into your bones. I notice it as soon as I turn off the ignition; the engine hums, dying away, leaving only silence.
The sun hangs high, casting sharp shadows on the pavement. A subtle, cool breeze drifts through the air, but it does nothing to ease the discomfort, twisting my insides from being away from my love.
“Come on,” Roman barks after we’ve lingered in the car too long, and we all jump out, following his orders.
The campus seems to sprawl out in front of us. Students are talking, laughing, and rushing to their next classes as if the world is moving forward just fine, without a care in the world. We’re nothing more than shadows now—out of place, unnoticed—just the way I like it because none of them areher.
