Book 19: Reject Me

Oakley

“Come on,” I snarl, leaping over a fallen tree as I crash and stumble through the woods. Clouds block what little moonlight could possibly breach the thick canopy of trees trembling overhead, so it’s nearly pitch black, and I’m basically blind, nothing but frustration and spite leading my way. I don’t want to keep doing this night after night. I refuse to, honestly. This is it. The one defining moment. Tonight will determine everything. 

Whatever everything turns out to be. 

But I stop running when I realize I haven’t heard his telltale crashing through the forest sounds. I whirl, squinting into the dark, and find myself impossibly alone in a thick stretch of forest that feels awfully familiar. 

The cottage rises out of the mist just beyond the tree line and looks even more abandoned than it d