Chapter 4

I reached for the money.

"That's mine. I earned it.

"Give it back. I was saving it for my future."

Marissa lifted the bills out of reach.

"You're demanding stolen money? Keep dreaming."

We struggled over it.

Right then, Graham's footsteps sounded outside.

"Elise, we should talk again."

I never got the chance to answer.

Marissa shoved me away and let herself fall backward onto the broken ceramic, and the blood came fast.

She screamed.

"Elise, don't push me!"

I looked from Marissa crying among the shards to Graham coming through the door.

For several seconds I couldn't move.

Graham rushed forward, pressed a hand to the bleeding wound, and lifted her into his arms.

Then he turned and glared at me.

In that instant I saw hatred in his eyes.

My parents came at the noise. They didn't even stop to accuse me before crowding around Graham and Marissa and rushing her out for medical care.

I stayed where I was in the wrecked room.

Before I understood what had happened, my mother slapped me and my father started kicking.

They hit me and shouted while they did it.

"Marissa only came in here to look for something, and you did this to her. Have you got no conscience?

"You stole money and then you tried to kill your sister.

"Get out. Go back to whatever gutter raised you. The Winslows have no daughter this poisonous."

Their voices ran together until I stopped hearing words.

The beating was brutal.

Every part of me hurt, and I couldn't stand up.

As I started to lose awareness, a pair of shoes stopped in front of me.

Graham put out a hand and pulled me upright.

He motioned for my parents to stop and spoke in an almost gentle voice.

"Mr. and Mrs. Winslow, don't get too angry. Elise may not have meant it.

"I'll take her out and talk to her. Maybe we can settle all of this calmly."

I looked at him with gratitude and wanted to thank him for stopping it.

I wanted to tell him I hadn't pushed Marissa.

Then I saw his eyes clearly and got scared.

There was nothing in them but disgust.

He hated me.

As Graham led me out, we passed the sitting room.

Marissa was stretched out on a sofa while a private physician bandaged her like she was made of glass.

She smiled and waved at me.

Then she shaped another silent message.

"Goodbye, filthy bitch."

The sky had gone nearly black, and a storm was building.

Graham drove so fast that I gripped the door handle and never got a chance to explain.

He finally stopped on an abandoned county road with nothing but dark around it. I didn't recognize a thing.

Only then did he speak.

"Elise, something's caught under the tire. Get out and see whether a rock is blocking it."

I did as he said and got out of the car.

Cold drops of rain started hitting my skin.

I'd barely got both feet on the pavement.

Graham leaned toward the open window, contempt all over his face.

"Honestly, I felt a little sorry for you when you ended the engagement.

"Then you went home and went after Marissa while you played helpless. You're cruel beyond belief.

"Since you can't stop tormenting her, stay out here and think about what you've done."

He hit the gas before I could answer.

The tires threw mud behind them, and the car was gone.

Thunder broke overhead at the same moment, and the rain came down hard.

I stood there without moving until I was soaked through.

At last I understood what Marissa's goodbye had meant.

I'd been thrown away.