Notice:

The latter part of this chapter contains a brief scene that may be triggering to some survivors of abuse.

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Owen and Mandy enjoyed themselves for hours, drinking the rest of the beer while telling jokes and keeping the mood upbeat. As for Ethan and me, we endured the loud, obnoxious chatter in silence. Whenever Ethan laid eyes on Mandy his face would contort with disgust before he'd turn away.

How much of his reaction was due to her behavior and how much was due to his jealousy?

Most of the time, I had directed my attention outside the window to the lake. However, I took note that as time went on, Owen and Mandy became more comfortable with each other the more intoxicated they were.

Her words often slurred and she wobbled while in the sitting position. Owen seemed to have much more control of himself and his alcohol intake. As he drank, he seemed more at ease and comfortable. It was obvious how his beauty and liveliness attracted a mere stranger and persuaded her to follow him and Ethan back into the middle of the woods. Would Owen end up luring Mandy into having regular kissing sessions with him too?

"Oh my god. It's getting dark out there." Mandy's words merged into one and her eyelids barely remained open long enough to catch a glimpse of the diminishing light.

Owen lay back on his elbows, resting on the mattress. "Maybe Allison could give us a show before the sun goes down completely."

All heads turned to me.

He must've wanted me to look out on the frozen lake and let my imagination soar. However, I was reluctant. The last time I did that it didn't turn out so great.

"Actually, that's a good idea." Ethan smiled and a sense of warmth came over me. If my stories could get him out of his funk, who was I to deny him the pleasure? His smile widened. "Who is it that you see today, Allison?"

I focused on the glistening, ice capped lake, and thought about Ethan's smile when a somber and lonely feeling tried to engulf me. Sitting in my chair, looking across at nothingness, I conjured up some random characters.

"There's a little girl with a yellow flower in her hair. She's walking her puppy on a long pink leash. The puppy is brown with white patches and has a little fluffy tail that's wagging nonstop." Surprisingly, the image made me smirk.

"There's a freaking girl and her puppy out there?" Mandy stood to look out the window too.

"She's pretending," Owen explained. His eyes fixed in awe as he became fascinated with the imagery. "I never saw her do it before. It's actually kinda—"

"—stupid? Yea, I agree." Mandy's laugh was jarring, cutting through the room and making everyone take notice.

I turned and glared. "When you're away from people for years this is what you have to do to keep from going crazy."

"For years?" Mandy burped and wiped drool from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. "You mean you've been in this crappy dump for years?"

Owen sat forward and scoffed. "I wouldn't use the words 'crappy' and 'dump' when describing this place." His words came out like a warning. "My dad built this."

"This place is a crappy dump. Guys, come on." Was she trying to make a joke? If so, no one was laughing. She looked around the room at each of us. "Oh, you guys are no fun. I'm outta here."

Owen stood. "What do you mean? I thought you wanted to stay?"

"I did, but I changed my mind." Mandy stood just to fall back to the bed. She held her belly in laughter, but I was never more concerned for our seclusion than I was now.

I turned to Ethan. "I told you this was a bad idea. She's going to tell someone where we are. We won't have privacy anymore."

Ethan looked to Owen. "I thought you said she was staying?"

Owen nodded. "She said that. Didn't you say that?"

"Yeah, I think." She shrugged. "Maybe I did. I don't know, but now I want to go home."

"But you can't go home." Owen chuckled nervously. "We were having fun."

"Well, the fun is over." She sat forward and dry heaved. "I need to eat something before I puke myself."

Owen kneeled before her, to be at eye level. "We have food here. Remember, you bought it? So, you don't have to leave."

I moved to Ethan's side so he could see the worry on my face. "I knew she was gonna be a problem."

"There's no problem." Owen shook his head and with confidence he declared, "Mandy isn't going anywhere."

"I am." She rolled to her side to push herself off the bed. "I gotta go now."

Owen stood, visibly aggravated. A look I hadn't witnessed before and caught me off guard. "I wouldn't have brought you here if I knew you weren't serious about staying."

"Oh, come on. Remember, it's not a big deal?" Mandy finally stood, successfully maintaining her balance.

I needed to know she would keep our secret. "Just promise us you won't tell anyone we're here."

"I'm not." She walked toward the door. "Don't worry. Your parents aren't gonna find you. No one will find me if I get lost out there." Her chuckle was short lived.

Owen stepped in front of her, preventing her from getting near the exit. "You won't get lost because you're not going anywhere." He grabbed her arm and squeezed, and his lips twisted with the strength of his grip.

Mandy yanked but couldn't break free. "Let me go."

"No. Sit," Owen shoved her. She stumbled back and landed on the bed. "Women," he said through clenched teeth.

I gasped. "What are you doing? She wants to leave so let her go."

When Owen looked to me, the heated anger in his eyes startled me. "No, she's gonna yap her mouth off about who she saw and where she was."

"No, I'm not." Mandy stood again. "I already told you, asshole."

"She's not gonna say anything, Owen." My heart pounded so hard my body shook as it absorbed the impact. "Let her go."

Owen looked directly into Mandy's eyes without as much as a blink. "No."

"Ethan?" I murmured.

Ethan went to Owen's side and gently placed his palm on Owen's shoulder. "Hey, what are doing?"

Mandy's eyes settled on Owen's, the door, then back to Owen. "You can't keep me against my will. That's kidnapping."

Owen grinned. "I know." He shoved her back onto the mattress hard enough to make her bounce on it like a ragdoll. He moved forward, attempting to crawl onto the bed before Ethan pulled his shoulder to stop him. He shrugged from Ethan's grip and grabbed Mandy's ankle.

She screamed. "Let me go, you fag!"

"I'll show you fag." Owen rushed forward, trying desperately to get to her. Ethan grabbed him by the rim of his shirt and yanked him back. Owen used the momentum to spin and land a violent blow to Ethan's temple with his fist.

I screamed as Ethan went down. "Ethan?! Oh no, Ethan." Within seconds I was at Ethan's side as he lay on the wooden floor at the foot of the bed. His hair shielded his face and he didn't move even though I shook him vigorously.

I looked over my shoulder to see Owen straddling Mandy with both hands around her neck.

Instantly, I was transported back to the day when he and the dark-haired girl were on the lake. Adrenaline rushed me, before I knew it I was attached to Owen's back, pummeling him with my fists. "Stop! Let her go!"

Mandy pulled Owen's hands, trying to release them from her neck. But when she proved unsuccessful, she reached out with long arms to push his face in the hopes that he would give up and let her loose.

"Get off of me," Owen grunted. His elbow made contact with my gut and I collapsed to the floor beside Ethan.

While struggling to catch my breath, I took in the sight of Owen reaching into his pocket with one hand and pulling out the blue bandana.

I struggled to catch a decent breath as Mandy did too. Her arms up, outstretched, and pushing at Owen's face. My tears mimicked her as they fell down my cheeks at the sight of her tongue hanging from her stained lips.

A scream tore from me and I shook Ethan again. "Ethan, we need you. Wake up. Please." I pushed the hair from his face to see a purple bruise forming on his swollen temple. I knew I couldn't fight off Owen by myself. Most of my hesitation came from knowing that without Ethan, I might end up in the same position as Mandy. "You're gonna kill her. Stop, Owen. Please."

I cried and pleaded to no avail.

Owen's hands remained around her neck until her arms went limp and fell at her sides.

"Let her up!" I cried but Owen refused to satisfy my command.

Instead, he lifted the blue bandana his father had given him and twisted it into a rope. He wrapped it around her neck once and pulled.

"No!" I screamed, feeling defeated and worthless. Tears covered my face and blurred my vision.

"Sshh." He readjusted himself over her. "We have a problem, so I'm taking care of it." He quickly unbuttoned his pants and glared down at Mandy's limp body. "I'll show you who's a fag," he said through clenched teeth.

I never thought Owen could be as ugly and repulsive as he was now.

I eyed the rusted hatchet on the top shelf of the bookcase. Scenarios entered my mind. Most of the scenes ended with dozens of police officers, live news broadcasts, and a brutal setting behind bars.

Instead of ending up at either end of the hatchet, becoming culprit or victim, I lay beside Ethan on the hard floor and pressed my sweaty forehead to his. I squeezed my eyes shut and imagined I was somewhere safe and peaceful.

Somewhere like the middle of the beautiful snowy forests far away from the dangers of civilization.

My heart raced erratically as I focused on Ethan's sweet breath. I whispered, "I love you. I love you," over and over to drown out the squeaking bedsprings that saturated the atmosphere around us.    

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