Forever Yours

SIX

Abigail Green's lungs burnt with exertion. Her legs felt like jelly. Despite daytime succumbing to nightfall some hours ago, heatstroke continued to make her head pound and vomit brew in the pits of her stomach. The world around her was beginning to turn yellow as her body loomed closer to the edge of collapse. The owner of the hand clasping hers tightly didn't care of her fatigue as he continued tearing across the landscape, able to pick his way across the terrain expertly despite the darkness. Unlike Abigail whose feet were begging to hook and stumble on rocks. Through her blurring vision she could see the glow of a nearby town. Relief seeped into her, but with this her body gave up, and with a surprised shout she stumbled on a small branch before landing in the dirt.

A loud wheeze came from her as her chest collided with the hard ground, still warm from the day, and she fought the urge to cry out in pain when it felt like knives had been pierced into her lungs. She looked down to her round belly which had taken the brunt of the fall, feeling guilty for being glad. She even willed for the monster growing inside her would be dead. But a strong kick reminded her it was stronger than any other creature she knew. It'd survived months of malnourishment and physical exertion in the early days of pregnancy. Now that she was a little over a month away of giving birth, it was at its strongest.

'What's wrong now?' Levi glared down at her, the darkness making his yellow eyes glow against his silhouette. A frightened shiver rattled Abigail's body.

'I need a rest.' She coughed against the dryness of her throat. The last drink she'd had was before they'd began running. If she hadn't been pregnant, she would've lasted all day and night, but Levi's offspring was sapping every ounce of energy and strength from her with each passing day. 'I-I'm thirsty.'

Levi gave a disapproving snarl making Abigail automatically flinch, waiting for the stinging sensation of his hand across her face to come. Instead he threw the rucksack, which looked like it could belong to an army soldier onto the ground, before yanking the canteen free and tossing it at her. Abigail clumsily grabbed for it, her trembling hands fumbling to unscrew the cap before lifting it to her lips. She gulped the sweet water greedily, basking in the feeling of it soothing her dry and dusty insides. Before her thirst could be quenched, the canteen was yanked from her grasp, causing her to fall onto her hands.

'You're being greedy,' spat Levi. She looked up at him, chewing the inside of her cheek with anger as he sculled the rest of the water. He wiped his mouth with the back of his arm, his yellow eyes blazing down onto her. 'We need to ration our resources, stupid girl.'

Although he'd called her numerous insults, Abigail still found herself flinching at his icy words.

Levi shoved the canteen back into the rucksack and slung it over his back. 'We need to keep moving.'

Abigail groaned and stood to her feet, staggering about until she found her balance. 'But we've been running all day.'

Levi rounded on her, his strong hand wrapping around her throat. Abigail let out a cry of panic, wincing against the pain of his fingers enclosing around the already bruised skin. 'It's your fault why we've been running, idiot. If that small brain of yours hadn't allowed your weakness to take over and raise attention by stealing from the farmer's market yesterday then they wouldn't have noticed us.'

'I-I'm sorry. I was so h-hungry.' She clawed at his hand, her eyes widening as she struggled to get an inch of air down her lungs. 'I was trying to look after the pup.'

At the mention of his offspring, Levi's hard gaze quivered and his hand released to allow her to drop to the ground. Abigail stayed on all fours as she gulped down oxygen, tears brimming her eyes. She looked to her bare wrist, where the rose quartz bracelet had been. She wished it was still there, so she could be oblivious to the abuse. So she could see her life as cupcakes and rainbows when it was far from it. Now instead of being brainwashed, she was being manipulated into staying with Levi. If she dared try leave him, he'd promised to hunt down her parents and give them a slow and painful death, forcing her to watch.