The Wrong Kind of Love

Jude is such an asshole, he couldn’t even let me enjoy a book. I’d always loved Alice in Wonderland. My mum used to read it to me when I was little, and I guess I found a bit of comfort in the words, a sense of home. And he couldn’t even give me that. “By the way. Your dickhead brother took your book.”

“Yeah. I know. He came downstairs and laid into me about letting you borrow it.”

Guilt jabs at me. “Sorry.”

A pitiful look falls over his face. “It was our sister’s…”

Was? Their sister’s dead? I can’t bring myself to ask. Partly due to the sadness lingering in Caleb’s eyes, mostly because I don’t want to feel an ounce of pity for Jude.

He turns the TV volume up, and I know he’s done talking. Caleb’s usual smiling face is set in a mask of grief, one I know only too well. If I do ever get free of this place, I might actually miss him. In another time, another place, he’s someone I would befriend, maybe even date if he was a couple of years older.

The silence stretches between us, and I allow my mind to drift as the ruckus of the game blares around the room.

Life and death. Death and life, and the brutal unfairness of it all.

Round and round it goes until I close my eyes and drift into sleep where I dream of Jude. His hands on my body, his merciless eyes boring into me like he would kiss me and kill me in the same breath. Then he places a gun to my chest and pulls the trigger.

***

Day three. I watch the sun make its way across the sky with an impending sense of doom. I wonder whether this is what Caleb usually does–watch football and play video games. Or if it’s just while I’m here. I know he has a job.

He seems so nice, but how nice can he really be if he’s willing to let his brother kill me?

“Do you know if Euan has paid yet?” I ask. The first words I’ve spoken to him today.

He pauses his game, then turns to look at me as he slips his headphones off. “I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to Jude since this morning.”

I nod, my stomach churning in anticipation. What if he didn’t pay? Will Jude just come in here and pull that gun from the waist of his jeans? Will he give me a chance to beg, to bargain, or will he simply pull the trigger?

The four walls suddenly seem to press in on me. I can’t just sit here and wait for Euan to play some kind of savior. He’s far from it, and clearly doesn’t care about me the way I thought he did. The way I once cared about him…

“Hey.” Caleb leans across the bed, touching my ankle. “It'll be fine. I’m sure he’ll pay the money.”

“And if he doesn’t?” I whisper.

Caleb’s brows pull together.

“Jude will kill me, Caleb. You know that, right?”

He shakes his head. “No. He wouldn’t…” I’m not sure who he’s trying to convince, himself or me.

“And what if he does?” I see his wavering belief in his brother’s morality. “I have to get out of here, Caleb. I didn’t do anything.” I pull at a thread on the comforter, sniffing as tears prickle my eyes. “I’m going to die because my ex is an asshole.”

Moments of silence pass, and I watch the conflict play out over his face.

“Please help me,” I beg.

Then Caleb’s youthful expression hardens into something that reminds me of Jude. “I’m sorry, Ria. I can’t.” And with that statement, he turns away from me, sliding his headphones back on.

I swallow down the lump of betrayal that sits in my throat. Of course he’s loyal to Jude. I’m just a girl he got lumbered with for three days.

At least now I know what I have to do. Caleb’s left me with no choice.

Pushing to my feet, I reach behind the nightstand and unplug the lamp from the wall. Caleb’s busy playing his game, he doesn’t even notice when I pick it up and move behind him.

I really don’t want to hurt him, and it takes everything in me to force myself to get a good swing on it before smashing it over his head. He sways in his chair for a second before slumping.

My heartbeat threatens to choke me as I reach into his pocket and pluck out the key for the door.

I unlock it, check that the hallway is empty, and then I run. I don’t look back as I crash through the front door, across the gravel drive, and hit the woods.

I’m free.

Jude

Three damn days. And I still have no idea where Euan fucked off too, and I definitely don’t have a clue what the hell I’m going to do with her.