Page 52 of Broken Pieces
"It's actually not far from you, now I think about it. Maybe you could get the boys to give you a ride home, then again I doubt they want to see you. You know, Violet, you really have to put some effort in, if you want people to like you. Why do you think I've not come to visit? I'm not traveling all that way, if you can't even be bothered to come home for the holidays."
I ignore her emotional manipulation, I'm so used to it that it's easy now and focus on sifting through the questions in my head. Surely the twins going to the cabin at the same time two masked strangers come to my college isn't a coincidence.
“Mom, I have to go. I can’t come home. Actually, I’m going to a friend's place for the summer,” I lie again. It’s becoming increasingly easy to do now.
“Her dad’s a movie director,” I add on because I know how much she’ll latch on to that idea and push me to go. That part isn’t even a lie. Sarah’s parents are both in the movie industry and I can pretend that we’re actually close just to make sure Mom gets off my back.
“Oh, really! Violet, you should have told me sooner! You never tell me anything these days. Make sure you get his number, is he married? That doesn’t matter much. Make sure you make a good impression and tell me everything when you’re back.”
“Sure,” I say, then I quickly say goodbye and hang up before she can keep talking. Tossing my phone down on my desk, I lean backand groan.
My head's pounding and now all I want to do is take that nap, but I can’t just lie down because there’s a book on my bed, one that I know I didn’t leave there when I left.
Hesitantly, I go to pick it up. It’s mine and I know I left it next to my bed this morning. I always flip through it whenever I’m struggling to sleep. It helps me to remember the good times with Maddox and Max.
A few days after Mom’s wedding, I was sure I’d lost it, but I forgot Maddox took it. It appeared randomly one day on my bed, the pages that were hanging off it from rereading it so many times were glued back into place. It wasn’t done by a professional, but so much care was put into it.
When I thanked Maddox for it, he acted like he didn’t know what I was talking about, but I saw the small smile he tried to hide from me.
There’s a note on top of it, weighed down by two batteries. I put them on the dresser, confused why they’re even there in the first place and read the note.
What the?
I reread it a few times, trying to figure out if there’s any other meaning than just my stalkers claiming their ownership of me.
Oh my God.
I pull open my drawer to find both my dildo andvibrator missing.
They seriously broke in here to steal my sex toys?
I’m not sure if I should scream or laugh. I’m certainly frustrated since I had plans for them this evening, but does this mean they’ll be coming back again soon?
That Max and Maddox really do want me?
My heart rate picks up and I feel like they could be watching me right now.
Moving towards the window, I look down then shake my head when I realize how ridiculous I’m being. There’s no one out there.
I go back to my bed and pick up my book. As I move it, a stack of photos fall out and scatter across my bed like some sort of erotic mood board.
They’re all of me in the library. It’s more than just the one photo I know they took of me. These are all from a different angle, higher up like they were recording the whole thing.
They set the whole thing up. They knew exactly where they wanted me and what they wanted to do to me.
I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing.
I notice another note on my bed and I snatch it up, reading it quickly.
Little whore. Sweetheart. Baby.
The names the masked men called me, I’ve only ever heard from Max and Maddox’s lips before.
This settles any doubts I had that it might not have been them. That I didn't come for two complete strangers.
No, I came for my stepbrothers.
If this is a punishment for leaving them and destroying Max's life, then I'll accept it all. I’ll be their whore for as long as it takes to earn their forgiveness.