Less than Perfect

14. Explanation {part one}

                                                                 Chapter Fourteen
                                                                      Explanation
                                                                        Part One 

   A loud noise woke Skye from her eerie slumber, snapping her out of the hollow of nightmares. She blinked quickly, gasping, and pushed herself up on her elbows. In the dark trunk of the car, she shivered, fearing the worst that could happen. She thought of the pain, Bryan's anger seeking revenge on her, and of all the horrible things he could do to her. She wanted it to end, wanted the pain and insecurity to go away. She wanted it all to end.

   She thought of Jules in that moment, remembering the way he was always so kind to her and the way he made her feel, and it was then when she regretted lying to him and letting him get shot. He didn't deserve the mess he was in. And it was all because of her that he was involved.

   Her heart ached for him; ached to touch him, to kiss him, to see him, and, most of all, to help him. She didn't know where he was and how he was doing. She knew he was strong enough to look for help, but feared that he would do something stupid and she would lose him. She couldn't lose him though. Just the thought of losing him broke her heart and suffocated her, squeezing all of the life from her.

   Pain ripped across her head and she winced, falling back onto the floor of the trunk in agony. She felt as though someone had shattered a vase on her head and the shards were still stabbing into her head, piercing her. She wanted to drift away, to slowly and painlessly sink into the ground, unnoticed and uncared for. She just wanted to be set free of the misery she replayed in her heart and mind over and over again. Everything seemed to want to crumble around her.

   A thump echoed through her eardrums, fracturing the brief silence, and she flinched, scrambling back against the part furthest from the trunks' opening. Tears trailed down her cheeks, remembering the immediate situation. She ached, in dire need of sleep and medication. She was too bruised, too violated, that she felt the world closing itself around her as the trunk opened, numb light pouring in.

   It was raining, she realized, grimacing as she blinked away her tears. "No, please—" she tried, looking into Bryan's cold eyes. But she couldn't speak, her throat constricted on even the smallest of words and she wanted to scream at herself to manage. She only had herself to survive and she needed to figure out an escape.

   He was shadowed by the downcast, his shoulders heavy and his eyes weary, looking thoroughly upset. At what, she didn't even want to imagine.

   "It's okay, Skye. I'm not going to hurt you," he told her. The way he said it sounded so sure, so true, but Skye knew otherwise. She wasn't about to give in to the man who was finding ways to ruin her life.

   Trying again and again, she finally managed to form words, even if they came out as croaks. "Bryan, you shot him. You shot Jules back there. Wh—why?"

   He groaned, shaking his head. "Because Skye, he was trying to keep you away from me. And I need to talk to you, Skye. That's all I wanted, even earlier." His eyes lit up, forcing her skin to crawl.

    She gagged, coughing with disgust. "No, Bryan. W—we have nothing to talk about. I don't want you near me anymore, Bryan. Not since you..."she trailed off, unable to say the words.She couldn't say the words, they were too dark, too deafening. She didn't want to think about what he had done.

   He frowned, his expression increasingly darker. "No it's not like that, babe. You never gave me a chance to explain myself, and when I saw him, I couldn't have him ruin my only chance at telling you the truth. I had to do it, he—he was going to try to save you from me. And you don't need someone to save you. I'm not going to hurt you, Skye."