His words don’t penetrate where they should. Something has changed inside me. He changed something inside of me, even if he doesn’t want to see it. My chest swells with a determination I’ve not felt since I’ve been here. It outn h. He weighs my need to escape, and it outweighs my need to survive. Loving him is a sin; of that I’m fully aware. But a sinner I am.

I won’t stop until he shows me everything he is.

I know there is more to William than three, cold elements.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

“Watch out for William’s pet,” one of the girls snarls as I walk past two days later, carrying a basket of laundry.

They’ve been taunting me for days, some of them claiming to have heard my “screaming”. Number Twelve hasn’t looked at me, refuses to speak to me, and the rest of them think I’m sleeping with him so I don’t have to endure what they do. I hang my head and walk, not interacting with any of them. What’s the point? There is nothing I can say that will change what they think of me.

I head down to the basement, it’s raining out today and I need to put the clothes in the dryer. I drop the basket onto the ground, taking a deep, steadying breath. William hasn’t seen me for two days, completely avoiding me at every cost. He’s made sure he’s not around when I am, making sure that I am left to suffer.

My body aches for him.

I take hold of the damp clothes and I shove them into the dryer. I can deal with being an outcast. I never really fit in anyway, but the idea of them having heard William and I...it hurts. That was a moment between us that I didn’t want shared. I don’t want them to come in and taint something that I found so faultless.

“Hiding down here won’t save you,” a voice grunts.

I spin around to see two of the girls; a quick glance tells me I’m dealing with Number One and Number Eleven. It surprises me that Number Eleven would have the nerve to come in here and start something with me when she knows very well that the line she’s on is already very fine. She has a problem with me, though. She has from the beginning. I’m starting to doubt if letting her off so easily when William gave me the chance to bring her to shame was a good idea.

“I don’t know what you want from me,” I say, turning and continuing, even though my heart is beating wildly.

“No one wants anything from you. You’ve got everything easy.”

I turn around, feeling my chest clench. “Are you jealous? Is that what this is about? Because, quite frankly, I can’t figure out why the hell you’re picking on me.”

She storms forward, and I let my eyes go up quickly, hoping to see a camera. The only camera down here is facing the wall with the shackles. It’s at least twenty-feet away. Her hand lashes out and curls around my shirt, then she proceeds to yank me forward, getting right into my face. My skin prickles, and rage fills my veins.

“You don’t scare me, and neither does he. I don’t have a problem with you, as such. I have a problem with individuals that suck up to get what they want. To avoid having to fight.”

“You think I’m not fighting?” I growl, feeling my tiny frame filling with the fight she’s accusing me of not having.

“You don’t know the meaning of the word. He’s taken you under his wing since the moment you got here.”

“Then shouldn’t you be angry at him?”

She laughs, bitterly. “Girls like you piss me off.”

f.&to doubt

She jerks my body so hard my teeth rattle. I squirm, but let’s face it; she’s twice the size of me and twice the strength.

“Girls like you feel the need to pick on others because they know what a shallow existence they really have. It makes you feel better,” I bark in her face, twisting my body.

I don’t see her fist rise, but I feel it. It connects with my jaw, and my head snaps to the side. My vision swims as I struggle to keep myself from blacking out. Another hard, jaw-cracking punch hits me before her fingers let me go, and she drops me. I land on the ground with a thump and then I hear her yell, “Shit, let’s get out of here. Now.”

I don’t get up. I’m quite capable of getting up, but I don’t. I roll to my side, tuck my knees to my chest, and I just lay there, feeling blood trickle from my lip to the floor. I don’t cry; that’s not the sort of strength I want them to take from me. They don’t deserve that.

I don’t deserve this, but here I am: not a soul in the world to defend me, because the only person I care about is angry with me too.

I don’t know how long I lay there, but I feel the room become darker. I feel a small creature crawl over my arm, but I don’t move. There really is no point. While I’m down here, I think about Number Three. I wonder if she’s happier now? I wonder if her sacrifice was worth it? Was she truly saving herself from something far worse than death? I close my eyes, steadying my ragged breathing.

I hear shuffling above a few hours in, and then I hear William’s voice in a way I’ve never heard it before. Booming.

“Where is she?” he bellows.

I don’t know if I’m happy he’s looking for me, or angry because it’s his fault I’m here in the first place. I hear the door swing open above, and a light suddenly flicks on. Moments later, there he is, my knight in...shit, I don’t know...it’s certainly not shining armor. He kneels beside me, and his eyes grow hard. He swipes a finger over the dried blood on my lip. Then his knuckles graze over the bruise I already know is on my cheek.