The Girl He Marked by Laila Callaway novel Chapter 3

TRIGGER WARNING— ASSAULT MENTIONED.

Callie's POV.

His hands are roaming my body as I try to squirm out of his grip. He is too strong. He pins me to the floor with his weight, he's crushing my chest and I feel like I can't breathe properly.

I thrash underneath him and scratch at his face with my hands, but he grips my wrists with one hand, stopping me from fighting back.

I can't get him off. He's too big and I hate it. I'm screaming for help, but no one is hearing me. No one is coming. I'm alone.

I lurch upwards, sitting in my bed. My breathing is ragged, and dots spot my vision.

'Cal It's okay, I'm here,' my brother's voice grounds me.

I focus my eyes on Ben, sat on my bed and looking worried. His hand is on my forearm, and I place mine over his.

'It was just a nightmare, you're safe,' Ben whispers soothingly.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I can feel the sweat on my skin already drying in the cool air.

'Thank you,' I mutter, my voice thick with sleep.

'Do you want me to stay until you fall back to sleep' My brother offers.

I shake my head. 'No, I'll be okay. Thank you.'

'Are you sure' He looks uncertain about leaving me.

'I'm fine, thank you, Ben.'

Reluctantly, he leaves my bedroom.

Twenty—eight years old and still having nightmares. Only, the monster in my nightmare was once very real.

Was.

Past—tense, Callie.

'He's gone,' I tell myself aloud. 'He is dead, and he cannot hurt you.'

With those soothing words, I lie back down and pull my covers up to my neck, praying for a dreamless sleep.

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Once again, I hide the dark circles under my eyes with concealer as I get ready for my second date with Nate.

When I was younger, I thought that I wouldn't have nightmares because my attacker was dead. I was naïve and very wrong.

Then, after we killed his father, I thought it would offer enough closure that my nightmares would stop.

I thought that meeting my mate might end them, too. But no. They're still there, as haunting and realistic as they have been for the last ten years.

I stare at my broken reflection and wonder what Nate sees when he looks at me.

Does he see the same broken girl that I do

Does he see the same fragile woman that needs to be protected, like my brothers do when they look at me

I hope not. I want him to see me as something different, stronger.

I straighten my shoulders and steel myself. I need to fight this. I cannot let my attacker win and I refuse to let my past define me.

I want to move past this. I want to be different from this broken girl. I want to be strong.

Nate's text instructed me to dress warmly. I'm wrapped up in a scarf and jacket when he arrives to pick me up.

I don't invite him in. Ben is downstairs and I don't need the protective brother speech right now. He's not as bad as Rixon, but he can certainly give a good shot when he wants to.

'So, where are we going' I ask Nate when we get in the car.

He gives me a secretive smile from behind the wheel.

'You'll see,' he replies cryptically.

I huff quietly. I don't like surprises, I like answers.

He drives out of town and towards the city. My eyes land on an enormous, oddly shaped warehouselike building in the distance. As we get closer to it, I get more excited.

'Are we going there' I ask him, pointing at the building.

Nate grins. 'Maybe.'

'I've never been! I've always wanted to go,' I tell him enthusiastically.

I'm bursting with excitement by the time he parks the car. He takes my hand, and we enter the huge place.

It's an indoor ski center. We don't get cold enough weather to have thick snow around here, so we fake it indoors.

I've skied before on school trips, so I'm excited to see what it's like inside.

We pay for our fare and move onto the next booth to get our equipment fitted.

Once we're ready, we follow the line up to the top of the 'slope'. There is no snow, obviously. The floor is made of a kind of mat with holes in it. It's really slippery.

I'm both nervous and excited as Nate and I reach the top. We step onto the matting, and I try out the skis, pushing myself along the flat surface.

Nate turns to me when we reach the edge of the slope.

'Ready' He asks.

I nod eagerly. 'Yes!'

Together, we push off the matting and slide down the slope.

It's a weird experience. Not exactly like skiing, but probably as close as you can get without snow. It's fun and I'm grinning by the time we get to the bottom.

We join the queue to do it all over again and that's how it goes for the next hour or so.

Towards the end, we hand our skis back in and decide to try the donuts instead.

A man hands us an inflatable donut—ring at the top of the slope and Nate gets into it. He pats the space next to him and I realize how close we're going to be.

Panic starts to rise in me before I squash it down.

I've been close to him before. He's my mate. It's not a big deal.

I take a deep breath and climb into the donut with him. Our bodies are close together, but his touch is comforting.

The man pushes our donut, and we go sliding over the edge. We go down much faster than we did on the skis and the experience is exhilarating. The air makes my hair fly back and I find myself laughing when we reach the bottom.

Nate helps me out of the donut, and I throw my arms around him the second he gets to his feet, surprising both of us.

He grins down at me, obviously pleased with my outburst.

'That was awesome!' I exclaim. 'Can we do it again'

Nate leans down and kisses my nose. 'Of course we can.'

I lose count of how many times we go down the slope together. It becomes second—nature to have Nate close and I don't feel at all nervous by the end of the evening.

We stop only to eat hot dogs and share a pot of churros. I never thought I would meet a guy I would be willing to share my churros with, but apparently, Nate is the exception.

The evening ends too soon. My cheeks ache with how much I've been smiling. During the drive home, Nate holds my hand and drives with the other.

He runs his thumb over my knuckles absentmindedly and the action soothes me enough that I fall asleep.

I wake when he gently shakes my shoulder.

'Baby,' he whispers. 'We're home.'

I blurrily blink my eyes open. My cheeks are warm as I realize that I fell asleep on him.

'I'm sorry, I fell asleep,' I mumble.

Nate grins at me.

'Don't worry, it's cute. Our date wore you out, huh'

I smile back at him. 'It was so much fun. I loved it.'

Nate gets out of the car and rushes round to open my door for me. I take his offered hand and step out.

'Well, I've got lots planned for us,' he admits. 'I've had a long time to plan this, you know'

We both laugh at that. We're the same age, twenty—eight, and we've waited a long time for each other.

Nate walks me up to the door again and we turn to face each other. Like the night before, we move in unison and our lips meet.

I feel confident enough to wrap my arms around his neck, pulling myself closer to him. Nate places his hands on my lower back, keeping me pressed against his chest.

His tongue nudges my lips and I take the hint, opening my mouth to him. Our tongues collide and my heart suddenly starts beating much faster. This man sends my thoughts haywire.

The porch light flickers on and off, like someone trying to send a Morse code.

I chuckle and pull back from the kiss, whilst Nate looks confused.

'That is Ben's subtle way of saying, stop making out and come inside,' I tell him and Nate laughs.

'Well, I better respect his wishes then,' he replies good—naturedly. 'I'll see you on Friday.'

'Okay. Thank you again for tonight.'

Nate kisses my forehead and takes his leave. I let myself inside and find Ben waiting for me, a chastising look on his face.

Oh, brother, here we go.

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