Darkness Before Dawn

worry about them. You're going to die if you stay in here without a doctor. You've had a fever for four days now."
    "They'd be happy to let me die," I reply tiredly.
    "They need you alive, Blake. Trust me."
    "Trust you," I whisper, mostly to myself.
    "Yes, trust me. I haven't done you wrong, have I?" he asks, his hazel eyes narrowing at me angrily.
    I shake my head slowly.
    "Besides, you know better than to say anything or try to run. He's already warned you before. If you say anything to anybody, Cole's dead. If you try to run, we'll add Aubry to that," he says flatly.
    A whimper escapes me. "You're a heartless son of a bitch," I say hoarsely.
    "You have no idea," he replies. "So don't fuck with me. I like you and I don't agree with what they're doing, but if I have to pick between my life and one of theirs, it sure as fuck isn't going to be mine. Understood?"
    I nod yes with tears in my eyes and remind myself that even the nicest people can't be trusted.
    He groans. "Damn it, chick. Just be good and nothing will happen. I brought you something for your fever, drink it and go back to sleep. I'll come get you in the morning."
    I do as I'm told and watch him leave the room. Leaving me in the darkness, nursing my ailments with my tears—again.
    I go to sleep thinking of Cole. Wishing it was his arms around me, instead of my own.
     

     
    I wake up sometime after Dean left, my stuffy nose not letting me go back to sleep. After a while of just staying in bed, I get up and dress before lying back down to wait for Dean. I look up when I hear the door unlock and find Benny staring at me angrily. My instinct is to push myself back, toward the wall. He's pushed me around, and I still have a couple of bruises on my arms from the last time he was here.
    "Dean's taking you to the doctor today, girl. Don't you for a second think this is your chance to escape. Try something, your famous boyfriend gets hit first. Got it?" he says in his icy voice, gruff from his smoke-filled lungs.
    "Got it," I whisper.
    "I can't hear you. Speak up, girl," he spits.
    "Got it," I say loudly. I stiffen when he stalks over to me. He grabs me by the throat and squeezes, cutting my breathing as he pushes my head roughly into the wall.
    "Don't fucking talk to me like that," he spits.
    "BENNY!" Dean screams as he rushes toward us and tears him away from me.
    Benny looks over to Dean and hacks out a maniacal laugh. "You keep playing knight in fucking shining armor for her, don't you?"
    Dean's eyes narrow. "I'd rather keep her safe while you figure out what the fuck you're going to tell Jamie when he finds out."
    "I call the shots 'round here. Fuck Jamie! He didn't do shit when her pops did this to me, did he?" Benny screams as he points to his face.
    I clasp my mouth with both hands. It's not that I care that my father did that to this monster, sad excuse for a man. My father is a stranger to me anyway, but the thought of him being anything like these people doesn't sit well with me. I clutch on to my stomach and try not to lose my breakfast.
    "She had nothing to do with that," Dean responds as Benny walks away.
    "She had everything to do with that!" Benny shouts over his shoulder not turning back around.
    Dean looks at me with guilt in his eyes, and for the hundredth time since I've been here, I can't figure out why he's chosen this life for himself. He crouches down directly in front of me.
    "You okay?" he asks, searching my face. I nod rapidly, my heart still drumming loudly in my chest as he helps me up.
    I follow Dean out of the room in the basement and up the stairs. When we make it to the top step, I squint at the brightly lit house. We round the corner and end up in a living room where the walls are white and the decor is opulent. Not what I expected. I hear loud male voices and instinctively plaster myself to Dean's back, clutching on to his shirt. I feel his body stiffen under my hold, and he turns around, placing me by his side. His hazel eyes are looking at me, wildly confused.
    "I'm scared," I whisper, because I am. I'm scared out of my mind.
    His eyes soften. "Don't be scared. I got you."
    I nod, but his words don't soothe me. Nothing about this place makes me feel safe, not even him.
    He leads me toward the back door, the opposite direction of the voices, and outside. He holds my hand tight in his, and I know it's not to make me feel safe, but to make sure I don't run.
    "Blake, remember what I told you. You run, Cole's dead. You wouldn't