I have lived the past 8 years in relative peace. Instead of being hunted by Xavier himself, I was only haunted by his memory. Asher has remained by my side, always the supporter, and is there for me when the memories become too much. As the years pass by, the power those memories hold has become less and less, but will never leave my mind. Every year on the anniversary of that awful week my nightmares resurface, memories flooding my brain and emotions closing up my throat with their intensity. I still struggle with any sort of physical contact with pretty much everyone. The only exceptions have been my mom and Asher, but I still have my limits. With my mom dead due to a horrible car crash a few years ago, Ash is the only one allowed to touch me at all. They were both very careful to not overstep my boundaries, while also pushing me outside of my comfort zone in order to heal.
As for Xavier? He has remained in prison and will remain there for the rest of his life. Luckily, the court considered his crimes harsh enough to give him a life sentence. However, I have never been able to rid myself of the fear that he will come back for me one day. Being forced to live on the same planet as him has always felt cruel, for my monster is not so imaginary. He's very real, and he's very dangerous. That's not to say I wish he was dead, I have never been able to fully hope for that outcome for reasons I have yet to understand. By all means, I should wish for his brutal demise for what he did to me, what he continues to do to me, but I don't. Something in me is always reminded of the good I knew he had in him at some point, no matter how tarnished it surely is now.
Despite Xavier being in prison and therefore unable to reach me physically, Ash understood my wish to move far away from my hometown as soon as we graduated high school. Everywhere I went was a reminder of what had happened. We chose a university on the opposite side of the country, and though the weather was a stark contrast to the warm and sunny area I had always known, its lack of Xavier's presence and memory made it the best place to be in my mind. After graduation, Ash and I bought a house together and have been living there for the past three years. While Asher is a manager for a business in the city, about 30 minutes from our home, I work from home as an editor for a journalist. He is so perfectly understanding and warm, and, as I'm sure you have guessed, has practically forced me to love him with his kind nature. How could I not love him? He has been my rock, my protector, a pillar for me to support myself upon. Our relationship is a little unconventional, primarily due to my fear of physical contact, but we make it work.
However, I recently received a letter in the mail, completely unmarked. Instead of being sent to me through the mail, this letter had been placed in my mailbox. The only thing written on the outside of the letter was my name, but the actual content was much more concerning. I pull the box the letter is hidden in from the back of my closet, pausing to listen for a moment in order to make sure Ash is still watching TV downstairs. I carefully remove the letter from the box, thumbing over the creases in the paper where I had crumbled it up and threw it away once. I had pulled it from the trash only moments later. This letter has been hiding away in my closet for the past few weeks, as I can't bring myself to tell the police, or even Asher. It could just be an awful prank, but part of me knew it wasn't. The letter read,
Dear Katherine,
It's been a while, hasn't it? I bet you thought you'd never hear from me again. But here I am, a ghost from your worst nightmare.
I don't want you to think that you're safe, just because Xavier has been locked away. Safety is an illusion, one he shattered for you a long time ago. You know who I am and what I'm capable of. And let me tell you, I haven't changed. Neither has he.
I don't want anything from you. I just wanted to remind you that you are never far from his thoughts. You are still very much a part of our little game. The fear, the helplessness—you must still feel it every day. I hope it eats away at you, every waking moment, and haunts your dreams at night.
YOU ARE READING
Belonging to Him
Teen FictionSequel to The One He Wanted It has been eight years since Katherine managed to gain her freedom from Xavier. So far, she has managed to keep her life and sanity in check, but Xavier's recent escape from prison is threatening to both. Are escape and...