He Said I Couldn’t Leave. Then I Died Chapter 04

Dazed, I curled up in the corner of the bathroom and refused to leave.

“I’m not sick. I don’t need treatment!”

Tessa grew impatient. Her knocking became louder and harder.

“Why aren’t you out yet? Graham, don’t you want to marry her and live a normal life? You’re only hurting her by dragging this out!”

Conflict and pain flashed across Graham’s face, but he still pulled me out of the room.

“Lily, just cooperate. Once you’re better, we’ll get married. I swear you’ll never have to suffer again.”

Tessa smiled in satisfaction.

Ignoring my struggles, she forced me down into a chair in front of the living room television.

I fought with everything I had.

“Evan, please. Help me.”

My brother looked at me with a complicated expression, then turned his eyes away.

Maya patted my shoulder casually.

“Just put up with it, Lily. It’ll be over soon.”

Tessa handed Graham the remote.

“You do it yourself.”

Evan sighed, lit a cigarette, and left the room.

Graham gave me a long, searching look.

“Lily, remember this. Whatever I do, it’s for your own good.”

The screen lit up.

Lavender blossoms littered the floor, their delicate petals splattered with bright red blood.

My drunken father had Mother by the hair. He slammed her head against the wall.

My limbs went ice-cold. It felt as though the blood in my veins had stopped moving.

I thrashed so hard that the veins stood out on my face.

“Turn it off!”

“Graham, I’m begging you! Turn off the TV!”

Nobody answered.

Tessa came out of the kitchen smiling, carrying a plate of lavender shortbread cookies.

“Look what I’ve got for you.”

When she saw that my reaction was so severe I was nearly passing out, she grabbed my chin and forced my face toward the screen.

“You can’t close your eyes. That would defeat the purpose. Graham went to a lot of trouble to get this footage, you know.”

My pupils widened.

Graham?

“You promised me I’d never have to go through anything like this again!”

Maya stepped closer and held my eyelids open so I couldn’t look away.

“Don’t be so weak, Lily.”

Tessa jerked her chin at Graham.

“Feed her the cookies. Exposure therapy has to engage every sense: sight, smell, taste. That’s the only way it’ll work.”

My eyes widened with horror as I screamed with everything I had.

“No! You can’t do this to me!”

My voice cracked as I pleaded through tears.

“Graham, save me!”

“Maya, aren’t we best friends? You can’t do this to me!”

Graham hesitated for a moment. Then he picked up the plate and walked toward me, one step at a time.

He crouched and held a cookie to my lips.

“Just hang in there, Lily. We’re only doing this for your own good.”

On the screen, my father’s foot struck Mother’s head.

Blood sprayed across the scene, and at that exact moment, the sweet, buttery flavor of lavender shortbread touched my tongue.

My heart clenched violently. The taste of blood rose thick in my throat.

I slumped helplessly in the chair, my heart pounding like a drum.

My vision blurred. A harsh buzz filled my ears.

The only sound that reached me was Mother’s final plea from the surveillance footage.

“Don’t cry, Lily.”

Only then did Tessa release my chin, satisfied.

“There. That was intense enough. She has to be cured now.”

Graham knelt to undo my restraints.

He gently rubbed my wrists, his face full of sympathy.

“You did so well, Lily.”

“As a reward, I’ll take you home to meet my parents tomorrow. I’ll tell everyone I’m going to marry you!”

Evan pushed the door open and came back in, standing beside Maya in front of me.

They all watched me expectantly.

Off to the side, Tessa deliberately made a call, her voice sugary sweet.

“Mother, I finished my research project! I miss you so much.”

“No one loves you like your Mother does. Kids without Mothers have no one to care for them.”

The last thread holding me together finally snapped.

Before their expectant eyes, I coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed.