Her eyes dart to my face for a split second before it looks like she’s curling into herself, her expression growing sad.
“Were you safe before you met me?”
Jenna’s chin begins to quiver as she shakes her head.
“What do you have to lose,meu anjinho?” The urge to get up and pull her into my arms almost overwhelms me, but I force myself to remain seated. “If you stay with me, you’ll never go hungry again. You’ll be cared for and healthy. No one will hurt you.” A tear rolls over her cheek as she peeks at me. “Tell me your dreams and I’ll make them all come true.”
She brings her trembling hand to the page.
What will all of that cost me?
My tone is soft as I answer, “I get to call you mine.”
She shakes her head and writes again.
I can’t be yours.
She hesitates, a distressed expression flashing over her face.
I’ll never be able to give you what you want, so you might as well let me go.
I tilt my head as I read the words, and knowing she’s referring to sex, I say, “I won’t force myself on you. It’s something…that disgusts me.”
Her gaze flies to my face as I add, “Let me save you from the hell your life is.” I lean a little forward. “And if you tell me who hurt you, I’ll kill them for you.”
Pulling her legs up, she wraps her arms around her shins and presses her mouth to her knees, strands of hair falling over the side of her face. It gives me the impression she’s trying to hide from me.
“Let me make you happy,” I murmur, hoping she’ll give me a chance. I don’t want to force her to stay with me.
But I will.
A wave of dizziness hits, and I wipe my palm over my forehead.
When I stand up, Jenna startles and quickly scrambles to her feet, but as her eyes touch on me, she freezes for a moment, then she darts around the coffee table, coming right at me.
She takes hold of my arm and moves it away from my side, and glancing down, I see the red stain covering a large area of the shirt.
I was so focused on Jenna, I didn’t realize I was bleeding again.
A crimson drop splats on the tiles, and Jenna looks at it in horror as she whimpers, “No!” She pushes me backward, and I sit down again.
When she runs to the front door, I decide to wait a couple of minutes to see if she’s going to try to escape.
It doesn’t even take a minute before she comes rushing back into the living room with Oscar right behind her, and I feel relieved.
Jenna points frantically at me, panic tightening her features once more tonight, but this time it’s for a different reason.
She went to get help for me.
She cares.
Oscar steps closer, and seeing all the blood, he jogs to the kitchen only to return with the first aid kit.
Letting out a sigh, I unbutton my shirt and lean forward to shrug it off. Jenna darts to me and helps pull the fabric down my arms.
Feeling her fingers brush against my skin makes goosebumps erupt all over my body, which is a reaction I’ve never had before.
I relax against the couch again and glance down at my side, seeing that the stitches have come undone.
