bones. “Are you willing to bet your life?” he asks, his smooth voice a stark contrast to mine. He grinds his pelvis against me, the hard, thick length of him digging into my stomach. When I don’t answer, he smiles. “I think my little mouse is a /iar,” he growls the last word into my ear, sending violent tremors throughout my body. His mouth caresses my cheek, the soft flesh of his lips skating lightly towards my lips. His mouth skims against mine, eliciting electric shivers from every spot that our skin clashes. I suck in a sharp breath, the ever-present fear and adrenaline still steadily pumping into my bloodstream, nearly drugging me with the potency and making me delirious. “Yes,” I whisper, answering his question before I snap my leg up and knee him right between the legs. He manages to dodge the brunt of the hit, but it gives me enough room to slip from his grasp and run. A loud, cruel laugh rings out as I nearly rip the door off its hinges before taking off into the night air. Cold, wet droplets of rain splash onto my skin, soaking me immediately, but I don’t let the downpour deter me. Terror pushes me forward, my legs kicking as I bolt off into the woods. My feet slip from the slickness on the porch, and it’s then that I remember I’m fucking barefoot. Too late now. I forge on, gritting my teeth against the bite of rocks in my feet as I bolt across the driveway. As a child, I had always wanted to explore these woods. They’re deep and incredibly easy to get lost in. My mother and Nana never let me step foot inside them as a kid. Somehow, that restriction carried into my adult life. The warnings I received as a child subconsciously kept me from ever going into the woods and exploring. And now, I wish I had. It doesn’t even take a minute before I’m completely turned around. The only light offered is from the moon, and even that is weak due to the canopies of trees clouding the sky. I keep pumping my legs, harder and faster. Too scared to stop. Too frightened of the devil nipping at my heels. Until I trip over a root, my body pitching forward and then crashing noisily into the ground. I land awkwardly on my hands, pain flaring in both wrists as they give beneath my weight. My toe throbs from where it caught on the root, my feet bloodied and abused from running barefoot in the goddamn woods. I’m breathing heavily, heaving out panicked puffs as I roll onto my back. I have to shut my eyes from the onslaught of rain, blurring my vision and leaking