e shred of the man I loved, the man who had promised me forever, woul

should just... just call. For Hayden' s sake. She looks really hurt." It was his

oderick explained it all." He looked down at me, a cold fire in his eyes. "You want me to call? Fine. Bu

espair. He was going to call. He was going to help. I nod

reen, and his face hardened. It was Broderick. He put it on

nd self-satisfied, filled the cabin. "Hayden, are you

bleeding! They shot her!" I screamed

o get a grip. Mom just called me back, frantic, saying you were talking crazy. She said eve

d gaslit my own mother into believing she wasn't bleeding to death. The sheer, aud

g with rage and despair. "Mom is dying, and you're covering for t

one who always causes trouble. You just can't stand that I'm happy, can you? That I

ou! She's behind all of this! Don't you see

snarled. "She's the best thing that ever happen

h a sharp click. The silence that f

u'd make up some story about Mom." He kicked my leg, not hard enough to break anything, but enough to convey his contempt. "Get ou

o scramble up, to grab him, to make him see.

rick said you' d resist. He told me to teach you a lesson." His eyes, once full of te

pping forward, her face pale.

rutal force. A sharp, stinging pain exploded across my cheek. Then another, an

ick was right about you." He kicked me again, sending a jolt of agony through my in

he snarled, his face contorted in a mask of rage. "For trying t

it, a flicker of irritation crossing his face. "Who is it now?" he muttered, pick

on. We just received a panicked 911 call from your address. The dispatcher patched it through. We have reports of a v