Chapter 186

NATALIE’S POV The moment I got back to my room, I shut the door and locked it behind me. My hands were trembling. My knees felt weak. I could still feel the weight of it all, the stench and the horror of Ned’s presence all over me. I ripped my clothes off and threw them across the room. They hit the wall but I didn’t care. I ran into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and stepped under the hot water. It wasn’t enough. I scrubbed. And scrubbed. And scrubbed. My skin was raw, red then bleeding. But I didn’t stop. I needed him off me. I needed to erase the memory of his body pinning mine down, the way he whispered threats into my ear, the way I couldn’t move, couldn’t scream, couldn’t breathe. I let out a strangled sob as I collapsed to the floor of the shower, letting the water drown out my cries. He had touched me. he said those awful words about my body. He had almost— My chest clenched so tight I thought I might die right there. The panic came in waves. It felt thick and suffocating,