Moon, Bitten

Chapter Seven

After three cups of coffee and a half-eaten hamburger, Kate pushed her plate away and asked for the bill.

Julie approached with a crooked grin, "Sleaze-ball hasn't looked your way since he sat down, probably still licking his wounds, the dirt bag." She paused, eyeing the man with cerulean-daggers, "Ronan should have wiped the floor with him."

At the mention of her unlikely savior, it prompted a sudden tingling along her skin, one that drove her from her seat as the invasion of sharp, gray eyes arose to mind. "I should go. Thanks for dinner."

Julie seized up her plate and waved her out the door, all the while glaring heatedly at the man huddled shame-faced in the corner.

The air had cooled some with the approaching dusk and she tilted her face to the breeze that carried to her.

She quite liked BlackMountain. Aside from a few impertinent stares, no one asked questions. Her newfound haven appeared seemingly befitting and hopefully would prove to be therapeutic, though she imagined it would take some lengthy time before retrieving any happiness that was once her.

She tried recalling ever being happy with Danny. She had loved him, so much so she would've done anything for him. She hadn't realized that she'd unknowingly given her heart to a monster.

Would she ever truly be free of him? After waking in that hospital room with no recollection as to what happened, unaware that she'd lost a small part of her along with her memory – had all been a monumental realization.

She would never make the mistake of returning to him.

She reached home just before nightfall and decided she'd go for that run in the morning.

Taking the few steps that led up onto her rickety porch, she paused to survey the encroaching darkness that which enshrouded the surrounding trees.

She wasn't so much disquieted by the actuality of being alone; vulnerable to whatever may lurk in the surrounding wood. She in fact, quite genuinely, relished the very idea of it. She was certain her solitude would be her key factor in ensuring her safety. It just might protect her from the impending danger that was Danny Horner.

Kate awoke abruptly the next morning, gasping desperately for a breath while clutching at her throat.

Her eyes danced wildly about the room, momentarily caught in the aftermath of a nightmare. Steadily, awareness settled and her shoulders went slack. Her chest arose and fell with uneven breaths and she could do no more than give way to the onset of tears that consumed her.

Trembling, she shoved the blanket aside and swung her legs over the bed. She remained there, arms on either side, palms gripping the mattress as she tried shaking the lingering remnants of her fears.

She may have been eager to forget her painful past but it appeared as though her subconscious-self refused to do so.

After ten minutes of crying softly, she wiped her tears and straightened from the bed. Running a shaky hand through her tousled hair, she moved towards the window and peered outwardly.

The sunrise was a soothing, welcoming sight.

She knew it was going to take some time before she was completely free of Danny and all the horrible, inconceivable things he'd done to her.