Tamed: A Huntress Spin-off Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

with them?
    “I have to go,” Taylor said as he quickly left the room.
    Despite my curiosity, I didn’t go after him. I was too busy struggling to keep myself together to care what was wrong. The pain was growing, and I wanted so much to end it, but I couldn’t. Aware of the amount of emotion I was unable to hide, I kept my head down as my eyes filled with unshed tears.
    “Paige,” Eli said.
    I couldn’t talk. I was so consumed with sorrow that I couldn’t get a word out. My voice had left me.
    He took my hand in his. “Are you okay? I don’t think you should be alone right now.”
    With much hesitance, I looked up. I could see the worry in his eyes, and I knew it was because I let him see how upset and panicked I was.
    I shook my head and stormed past him as tears fell from my eyes. I grabbed my flask filled with fireball and opened my bedroom window.
    “Hey!”
    I had an urge to turn around and go to him as he called after me, but fought against it. I was already halfway out of my bedroom window as I climbed on the roof, using the white colored ladder to get down.
    “Where are you going?!” he yelled from the window.
    I didn’t answer him. I just kept walking until I reached the trampoline that Taylor and I had since we were kids and laid down on it. I gazed up at the clear night sky as the moon and stars shined their light down on me. It was so beautiful.
    I wiped the tears from my face and brought the flask to my lips, letting the fireball fill my mouth. It tasted of cinnamon and burned all the way down to my stomach. I loved that feeling. I tried not to think about what just happened. Instead, I focused on the sky because the scenery was the only distraction keeping me from going insane.
    Try to forget, Paige. Please try to forget.
    “Hey.” There was an edge to Eli’s voice as he approached me with a look of uncertainty on his face. He must have been unsure about whether or not to follow me just in case I wanted to be left alone. Little did he know that being alone was my worst enemy.
    “Do you ever look up at the night sky and just feel at peace? Like you’re completely absorbed in serenity from the mesmerizing beauty of it?”
    “It can be quite breathtaking at times. Is this your escape?”
    He climbed on the trampoline and laid beside me. The heat from his body seeped into my pores, warming my insides. He was so close…I liked that.
    I snorted at the thought of my mind ever being at peace. “Unfortunately, nothing is my escape. I don’t get that kind of luxury.”
    I was surprised by my ability to open up to him. When someone tried to get too close to me and asked personal questions, I totally shut down and refused to let them in. There were certain things from my past that I couldn’t avoid telling them, and I hated having to walk down memory lane when all they would do was judge me for what I had done, anyway. It was a waste of time. Unlike everyone else, it was easy to open up to him, and before I could even think about stopping myself, the words came flowing right out of me.
    “Life is what you make of it,” he said.
    “When there is darkness, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel…at least, that’s what my therapist used to say. Fireball?” I held out the flask for him to take.
    He held my gaze for a moment before grabbing the flask and taking a drink. “I love cinnamon.”
    “Me, too, especially in my coffee.”
    I closed my eyes and sighed. When was the painful feeling of dread going to leave me for good?
    “You look pretty tired. I think you need sleep; not alcohol. You’re already slurring your words.”
    “I can’t sleep. There’s no distraction. I just need everything to be okay.”
    “Everything will be okay.” His voice carried so much certainty in his words; certainty that I wished I had.
    “No.” I shook my head as my warm tears coated my face.
    “Paige, look at me.”
    I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. I was in tears in front of someone I barely knew yet