Chapter 46

The air in the shed grew thick with tension as Bruce hovered over Timothy, his knife dripping with blood. Timothy was sprawled on the ground, his injured shoulder clutched in his hand.

“Oh, God!” I screamed, though it was muffled through the tape.

Bruce’s face contorted with a mix of anger and desperation as he tried to process the turn of events.

It was clearly far more than he had anticipated. After a few seconds, he was marching toward me.

He leaned over me and spoke through gritted teeth, “Shut up, Evie! Just shut up so I can think!”

I bit my lip, attempting to mute my cries as he began pacing the room. He began ranting to himself, waving the knife menacingly. I flinched with every wild gesture.

I looked back at Timothy, and to my surprise, he was struggling to his feet. He used his uninjured arm to support himself on the wall as he stood. Bruce’s attention too fixed on his rant that he failed to notice Timothy’s attempt to stand back up.

“Fuck- This is your fault!” Bruce hissed, pointing a finger at me.

dior Taking advantage of the distraction, Timothy steadied his breath and slowly approached Bruce from behind. Every movement was agony, but he continued forward.

Right at that moment, Bruce turned his attention back to Timothy, and his eyes. widned in shock.

“What the hell?”

Timothy gritted his teeth. “I swear, if you lay a finger on her…”

Bruce laughed coldly. “She belongs to me now. Besides, don’t act like you care now!”

“I do care!” Timothy shouted unexpectedly.

Bruce lifted an eyebrow, tapping his chin with the tip of the knife. It left streaks of blood on his messy beard. “Oh, really? How’s that motorcycle treating you?”

“I made mistakes in the past,” Timothy admitted, his voice steady. “But I’ve changed, and I deeply regret how I treated Evie.”

III 11 21 Thu, 21 Mar C G A Bruce scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Changed, huh? That’s hard to believe. I still your face plastered on the news with a new bitch on your arm every week.”

Those are just the tabloids being messy,” Timothy replied earnestly. “I care about Evie, and i want to make things right.”

Bruce’s eyes narrowed, and a cruel smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. “Well, we’re not so easily fooled. In fact, if it weren’t for your little public trial, I wouldn’t have found her.”

Timothy turned his gaze to me, “I know,” Timothy said, his voice wavering. “But that won’t stop me from protecting her, regardless how what’s happened between 1. us.

Bruce laughed bitterly. “Protect her? From what? Yourself?

Timothy winced and grabbed his shoulder. Blood was dripping down his fingertips and onto the floor, leaving a trail behind him. I feared he would collapse any moment.

“I won’t let my past mistakes define me,” Timothy said firmly. “I want to be a better myself.” person, for Evie and fo Bruce shook his head, a sneer on his face. You think you can just waltz back into her life and play the hero? It’s a little too late for that.”

Timothy took a step forward, meeting Bruce’s gaze with determination. “I’m not playing games with you. I won’t let you hurt her.”

Bruce’s eyes narrowed, and he took a step closer to Timothy. “And what are you. going to do about it? I don’t accept dick as compensation, so try another route on this one.”

As Bruce advanced toward Timothy, knife in hand. Timothy decided to make his next move. With a burst of adrenaline, he lunged at Bruce, sending him crashing” to the floor. The knife slipped from Bruce’s hands and lands at my feet.

Bruce was animalistic, kicking and screaming at Timothy pinned him down. Their struggle was fierce, and Timothy resolved to punching Bruce in the face. Despite his determination, I could tell Timothy’s injuries were taking their toll.

He paused, and Bruce took advantage of the opportunity, delivering a sharp blow A hu, 21 Mar to Timothy’s shoulder. However, Timothy’s focus was unwavering. The room echoed with the sounds of punches landing and bones snapping. Bruce’s taunts became gargled nonsense as blood gushed out of his nose.

Finally, one powerful blow sent Bruce crashing to the ground. His swollen eyes. were sealed shut and a groan escaped his busted lips. He lay there, unconscious and defeated.

Timothy stood up and gave him a harsh kick to the ribs, but Bruce merely rolled. over like a weightless doll. Timothy was breathing heavily, his hands still trembling from the adrenaline coursing through his veins. The skin was torn from his knuckles from where they had connected with Bruce’s teeth.

Slowly, he turned his attention to me, and I couldn’t help but shiver under the intensity of his stare.

He moved to my side, his anger dissipating, replaced by concern and tenderness.

“Are you okay?” Timothy asked, his voice gentle as he reached for the ropes that bound my wrists.

I nodded, my eyes never leaving Timothy’s. There was a certain level of turmoil in his gaze, the battle between his past and his present that Bruce had callously enticed. I wasn’t too sure myself if the old Timothy would have beaten Bruce the way this one had.

Timothy took the knife at my feet and began working on the ropes. Within a few cuts, I was freed. I felt compelled to reach out and touch his hand, my thumbs ghosting over his marred skin.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

Timothy’s shoulders relaxed slightly as he closed his hands around mine. “I won’t let anyone hurt you, ever again,” he vowed, his voice filled with determination. “Not even me.”

“That’s quite the promise,” I said, attempting to be lighthearted.

Timothy started to grin, but that was quickly wiped away by the pained expression that took over his face. He fell to one knee, his hands falling to grip my legs for support.

“Timothy!” I reached out to check Timothy’s wound. At the feeling of thick, warm Thu, 21 Mar G blood beneath my fingertips. I couldn’t help but retract my fingers. A sigh escaped. my lips as crimson liquid trickled down my wrist.

“The bleeding is getting worse,” I said. “We need to get you to a hospital.”

“I’m fine.” Timothy grunted, but as he tried to stand, his body betrayed him and he fell onto his side beside an unconscious Bruce.

My heart raced as I knelt beside him. “Timothy, hold on!”

“I’ll be fine,” Timothy repeated, though his face had turned pale, and sweat beaded on his forehead.

“Just need a moment…”

I needed to act fast. With all the strength I had left, I managed to haul Timothy up. I held him against my side and limped past Bruce, who was still lying motionless.

We stepped out into the pouring rain, which obscured my vision of the dense. forest that awaited us.

I looked around, at a loss of where to go.

“Timothy,” I looked up at his sunken face. Thankfully his eyes fluttered open as his name. “Do you remember which way you came from?”

Without a word, he pointed at the thin, dark trail to his right. I huffed, mentally preparing myself for the strain.

The rain came down in sheets, drenching us as we made our way through the muddy trail. Timothy was slowly becoming less stable, his feet dragging on the ground with every step. My own exhaustion and hunger weighed heavily on me, but I refused to let it overpower me./

“Almost there,” Evie called out over the wind. “Stay strong for me!” Timothy nodded, his jaw clenched in pain.

We pressed on, each step taking us closer to the lot not too far ahead. I recognized Timothy’s car immediately and relief washed over me. I quickened our pace as much as possible.

When we reached the car, Timothy handed me the keys and I unlocked the side doors. Carefully, I helped him inside and laid him across the seats.

We were both soaked to the bone, and the cold had us shivering violently.

“I need to take a look at your wound,” I told him, wiping his bangs away from his.

111 eyes.

Timothy nodded, wincing in pain as I gently peeled away his wet shirt to reveal the bloody gash on his shoulder. The wound looked deep, and I wasn’t sure there was any way to stop the bleeding.

“I’m taking you to the ER. In the meantime, I think we’re supposed to apply pressure to it,” I said, although it was a wild guess.

“I have a first aid kit in my backpack,” Timothy said, pointing at the trunk. “It should have some bandages and antiseptic.”

Without missing a beat, I jumped out and ran to the trunk, popping it open. I found the first aid kit tucked away under the bag of ice scrapers and snow brushes. When I ran back to Timothy, I caught him eyeing the wound with an expression of terror.

“That’s a lot,” he said faintly, his eyelids drooping.

I pressed on his chest, lightly pushing him back against the seat as I popped open. the kit. As one hand unwound the gauze, the other searched for a set of scissors to chop of a strip that was long enough.

“You’re going to be okay,” I promised him as I dressed the wound as best as I could with trembling hands and hardly any lighting.

I had to be strong for him. I had to.

“Evie,” Timothy’s eyes fell shut, but his hand came to rest over mine with urgency. “Evie…”

I shushed him. “I’m going to get you to a hospital, but I need you to rest right now,” I replied, my heart aching for the pain he was enduring.

Timothy nodded, but it was clear that he had more to say. We both knew we couldn’t stay in this car for too long with him bleeding out.

“Keep some pressure on it as much as possible,” I said, before shutting the side door. I hopped into the driver’s seat and turned on the car. “You’ll get through this.

I hoped dearly that he would.

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