Never Let You Go (a modern fairytale) Read Online Free PDF

pleasantries with the cashier at ShopRite last night, and the minute they got back in his truck, Jonah had grabbed her arm and accused her of flirting.
    Still staring straight ahead at the kids, Maya’s voice was soft when she asked, “You ever gonna tell me, Zelda? What happened to you? I mean, besides the old news reports I can read on the internet?”
    Griselda turned to her friend, and Maya faced her, her chocolate-brown skin satiny in the sunshine and her deep brown eyes profoundly sympathetic.
    It had taken Griselda a half a day of hiking through woods barefoot before she made it to a highway at dusk. An older lady picked her up, chastising her soundly about the dangers of hitchhiking before dropping her off in front of the Charles Town sheriff’s office. Griselda ran into the building like a maniac, delivering her entire story to the first person she saw and ending with the demand, “Please! You’ve got to find him!”
    The sergeant working the front desk had stared at her for a moment before calling a female officer to escort Griselda to a small interview room. They found a sandwich in the kitchen, half a sleeve of Oreos, and two cans of pop, which they placed in front of her, and someone rustled up a blanket, which the officer placed carefully around Griselda’s shoulders. Although she was starving, Griselda wouldn’t eat until she had shared every bit of information that she possibly could: the names of her foster parents, how she and Holden had been taken, the general location where they’d been held captive, and how she’d escaped. She begged them to race to the Man’s house, and only when the officer assured Griselda that two cars were en route did she lay her head on the metal table before her, weeping with fear and relief and exhaustion.
    How tempting it was to tell Maya the whole story. It would be like stepping off the side of a pool into warm water, free-falling, sinking into the compassion of a friend, then drowning as she faced the awful truth of what had happened.
    Her breath was ragged as she inhaled deeply.
    “No, Maya.”
    Griselda pushed off the bench and fixed a smile on her face as she walked over to the slide.
    “Time for lunch, baby,” she called to Prudence. “Playtime’s over.”
    ***
    “You know where my fishing pole’s at, Zelda?” Jonah asked, peeking his head into the bedroom.
    Griselda looked up from where she sat on the edge of the bed and shook her head before turning back to the TV.
    “Aw, baby. Can’t you try to crack a smile? We ain’t had a vacation in months.”
    Actually, they’d never had a vacation. Not in the year they’d been living together. They met when the cable company sent Jonah to her apartment block to check on a faulty connection. He’d buzzed her apartment instead of the super’s, and even though—or maybe because—she suspected he was so mean, they’d started dating that night. He’d been rough the first time they had sex, and she hadn’t liked it, but then he’d held on to her as he fell asleep, and it felt so nice, she didn’t ask him to leave. Mostly, she hated him for his meanness, and she hated herself for liking the moments he was gentle.
    To Maya’s point, Griselda wouldn’t let herself be with someone kind and decent. That would mean that while Holden’s life was likely a living hell, she was pursuing a happiness that she didn’t deserve. Being with Jonah made her pay mightily for every embrace, every kind touch. She couldn’t relax or let her guard down. Whatever tenderness she received from him was balanced by his meanness, which was the only reason she allowed it.
    Sometimes, when she went days without a kind word or touch from Jonah, she almost likened her time with him to doing penance. Penance was a matter of choice for the transgressor, wasn’t it? It was punishment for the wages of sin. It felt good to do penance, even though punishment hurt by nature, because it moved her life closer to redemption.
    But tonight?