Ari
I stood in my room, staring out the large windows that overlooked the beach, purposely standing far enough away that if anyone looked up they wouldn’t see me.
The party had been raging in full-force for an hour, and I’d yet to join.
The easier choice would have been to hide in my room all day and night like I did most days.
But that gig was getting old.
I’d left one prison and put myself in another of my own making.
I was terrified that if I didn’t hide Blaise’s people would find me. Somehow. Some way.
The chances of one of his people being at Liam’s party were slim to none, but still, that microscopic chance kept me chained to my room and the shadows.
When I escaped, I thought I was finally going to be free, but if anything I was even more scared and tied down than I was before. At least then I knew the deal. Now? I knew nothing and as long as Blaise was alive, I’d always be looking over my shoulder. Was that really a better life to live? Or would I have been better off to have stayed?
I closed my eyes and inhaled a shaky breath.
I took a seat on the end of the bed and buried my head in my hands.
“What are you so fucking afraid of?” I muttered to myself. “The worst he can do is kill you.”
That was a lie.
I’d witnessed Blaise torture people before gutting them like a fish.
Death would not be all that would befall me if he got his hands on me again, but the life I was living was only aiding in the torture leading to the grand finale.
“Stop fucking hiding, and live,” I scolded myself.
I knew I looked like a psycho talking to myself, but sometimes you needed to hear the words out loud instead of in your head. They had more effect that way.
I stood from the bed, my decision made.
I strode into the bathroom and yanked the ponytail holder from my hair. Talia had helped me to get some hair products and makeup, so I had a nice little stash of things to use.
I brushed my hair and grabbed one of the bottles of serum, using it to tame any fly-aways and help boost my natural wave. I applied some mascara to my lashes and pink gloss to my lips. It was a beach party, so I didn’t see the point in using much else.
Satisfied with my appearance, I padded back into my room and over to the dresser. I dropped to my knees, rummaging through the bottom drawer. In the pile of clothes Liam had gotten me there’d been plenty of bikinis. I hadn’t worn any of them.
Most of them were super revealing.
That pig.
I grabbed a random one from the drawer and changed into it.
The top and bottom were both black with a bunch of other little black straps. I guessed it was supposed to be sexy, but I found it to be an inconvenience.
I grabbed a loose, crocheted-looking cover-up that was open in the middle. I didn’t bother with any shorts, and on my feet I wore a simple pair of black flip-flops.
I took a deep, fortifying breath and made my way out of my room.
There might’ve been a massive party raging outside, but you wouldn’t know it. Liam had closed off his house to the guests. No one was allowed inside. Not for anything. It was obvious Liam took his privacy seriously. Why he’d agreed to let me stay there was beyond me.
I opened the back door to the outside and was immediately hit with sensory overload.
Music blasted from industrial-sized speakers and was so loud the bass thumped like a second heart beat inside my chest.