“I’ll come let you out when you’ve learned your lesson.” He started for the door to the downstairs.

“No!” I screamed. “You have to let me out now.”

But Michael didn’t listen. He never did. I searched my mind for any possible transgression that might’ve triggered this punishment. I hadn’t given him my cookie at lunch. He’d stopped by my and Hannah’s table and demanded it. I’d said no. I should’ve known. You never told Michael no.

I tried to fight through the memory to bring myself back. I didn’t want to live through the next eight hours I’d been trapped in the trunk before my parents found me. How I’d wet my pants. The way my muscles cramped for days afterwards. How I was scared of the dark for years. But the memory was too strong. I couldn’t fight my way out.

19

Brody

The shouts coming from down the hill stole my attention from my sketchpad and had me pushing to my feet. They weren’t like the shouts I’d heard coming from the construction zone before. These were laced with anger and possibly fear. I was jogging towards the noise before I could think twice. I hadn’t laid eyes on Shay since breakfast.

That knowledge and the rising voices had me turning my jog into a run. I hopped over a root in the path and then came to a skidding halt in front of the shed. Hunter and Sam were locked in a standoff. But I barely had time to register the move because my gaze was already zeroing in on Shay. Huddled on the ground, leaning against the shed, her knees pulled up to her chest as she trembled.

“Shay?” I sank to my knees in front of her. “Shay, talk to me.” She didn’t move a muscle. I glanced quickly at Hunter. “What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know,” he gritted out. “I heard shouts and came running. Sam was cursing, and Shay was on the ground, trembling.”

“I was talking to her, and out of the blue, she freaked out. Tried to knee me in the balls.”

Hunter shoved Sam towards the construction site. “Quiet. We’ll talk about this later. You’re done for the day.”

I blocked out Hunter and Sam. I couldn’t focus on them right now. The only thing I cared about was Shay. I cupped her face in my hands, ignoring the small jerk her body gave at the contact. “Shay, it’s Brody. You’re safe. I need you to come back. I’ve got you. No one’s going to hurt you.”

She kept trembling, and when Sam’s shouts rose, she gave a small jerk. “Get him out of here, Hunter,” I barked.