Chapter 12. Darkness

“A-Are you insane?” I whispered, my eyes widening as I looked at him in disbelief. “Do you even hear yourself?”

Smirking, River took a step closer as I took one back.

But then, I realized there was nowhere else to go. I’m tracked on the rail, the very place where he told me to step away because I might fall.

“I thought… You told me to get away from here,” I told him, my throat dry, and my cheeks reddening. “Yet you’re the one who brought me to the rail.”

River didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, his hands went on both my sides. He didn’t touch me, nor did I feel trapped.

Yet he completely blocked my escape, and at the same time, he shielded me from the open edge behind.

I feel cornered… yet protected.

The entire opposite of what my parents were doing to me.

“As long as I’m here, nothing bad will happen to you,” River said, meeting my gaze. “And I don’t say things I don’t mean. Ever.”

I could hear the reassurance in his voic