he drug-induced fog. It was the mother instinct,

nother kick, I uncoiled. With a strength I didn't know I

. He howled in pain and su

lull. The crowd quieted. Ryan and Mark stared

fleetin

th rage. The game was ov

seethed. "You wa

y feet dangling uselessly. I clawed at his hands, but his grip was like ir

u," he whispered, his

the impact jarring every bone in my body. A sharp, crac

deliberate menace. He was going to hurt me in a way that was

y body, but at my head. Then he stoppe

Not

screamed, a raw, voiceless sound that w

s. My fiancée, Ava... now she's strong. She deals with death every day and she's still the kindest

ng his memory of me to torture me. He was holding up a twisted, idealized v

saw his leg swing back. I saw the expensi

o shield myself, but I

in that was different from anything I had ever felt. It wasn't just

t I knew was happening in that instant. It was the final, complete death of hope. The man I loved, the future we had planned, the family w