Torment: Part Two (The Bleeding Hearts, #2)

by Dylan Page

To anyone who has ever felt trapped in the darkness, who have felt lost, consumed by the cruel thoughts in the back of their minds. To anyone who has ever felt like giving up by giving in to those words that rip your heart apart, and make you feel like you don’t deserve happiness or love. Tell those voices to shut up. Pick yourself up, and please reach out for help.

You are WORTHY! You are a FIGHTER! You are STRONG! You are BEAUTIFUL! You deserve HAPPINESS!

Don’t let the nightmares of the past ruin your hopes of the future. Don’t let your worries of the future overrule your present. Be silly. Be kind. Be present in today and just do the best you can do. This is your life. Whenever anything tries to knock you down, pick yourself back up, and tell them they hit like a bitch.

I feel like the man, who was once my faithful guardian and protector, is now transforming into my dark demon.

“You’re my girl, Mina,” he murmurs, at last while reaching out with his free hand to cup my face, “it’s time you fully embrace that.”

“I just want you to be with me, Mina. Stop fighting it. Just be good and do as I say, and I’ll fucking love you with all that I have.

I needed to get the fuck out of here… I needed to save myself.

For years I’d been trying to help him fight his demons, but now? He’s forcing me to dance with them instead.

“You’ve never been a fucking toy, Mina…” he practically growls at me, “You’ve just been mine. You always have been, from the very first time that I held you in my arms and looked at you. I felt it then, even if I didn’t understand it. You were always meant to be mine.”

His eyes are shining, his mouth slightly open, and he’s looking up at me with a sort of euphoric expression. I’m his world.

“Don’t tell me you don’t love this. Don’t tell me that this isn’t right. This is the most fucking right thing in the world… you and me.”

He was no longer my protector. He was my tormentor.

My protector had turned into my tormentor, and now, he is something I don’t know how to live without. He is the only one that makes me feel truly loved and safe. He is all I have.

“All I’ve ever wanted was you, Mina. Even before I understood how much… why the fuck would I throw that away for some nothing when I have the only thing my heart cherishes right here, waiting for me?”

“The only reason you feel this attachment to him is because he has isolated you from anyone else who cares!” He half shouts in my face. “He’s made himself the only one available to you. He is the only one who has had a chance to show you any love. That’s why you think he’s all you’ve got. But it’s not real. It’s dark and twisted! It’s an illusion! He’s broken you down and put you together again in a way that suits him, but it’s not who you really are!”

“I didn’t mean to fall in love with you. I knew it was wrong, that it made me a sick person. And I fought every urge I had to want to hold you and kiss you. But that day on the beach, when I saw you standing in the sand, the wind whipping your hair around, your pink cheeks, and your bright green eyes… I fucking fell apart.”

“Keep the phone, okay? Turn it off, hide it away. If you ever need me, and I don’t give a shit if it’s a year or two years from now, you message me on it. I’ll always be waiting in the wings for you, love.”

“I’ve always been selfish with you. I broke you. I never wanted this. And now, I’m going to let you go, because it will keep you safe.”

“I hope one day, you’ll forgive me, Sweetness. I never wanted to hurt you. I just… I-” his breath releases in a shuddering gasp, “I wanted us to be forever…”