Page 19 of The Secrets of a Sin

“So basically, he reminds you of a psycho murderer?” Priscilla deadpanned with a ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’ look. Her head slightly shook side to side as she snickered in disbelief.

“I’ve always had a thing for bad boys.” Verity shrugged with a grin, and I could already see the gears working in her head as she started nibbling on a finger. “Maybe he has a thing for bad girls?” The question wasn’t directed at either of us, but I couldn’t stop the slight drop in my heart as I listened to her go on about Arsen.

“What makes Verity fucking Bell bad?” Priscilla scoffs jokingly. “I’m sorry, but ingesting pills like it’s candy isn’t exactly on the same scale as stabbing someone with a pencil.”

Verity quickly attacks back. “Don’t be a jealous bitch. Just because I’d much rather have his manly hands all over me then yours, doesn’t mean you need to be a cunt.”

“Verity.” Annalise growled low. “No one wants to hear about the lady boner you have for the dead girl's brother. I especially don’t think Charlotte wants to hear anything regarding Phoebe.” The sharp tone in her voice surprises me but it’s Verity’s fearful face that catches me off-guard. Her nervous eyes peer down into her lap, and she backs down like a scared puppy.

Annalise’s normal fair facial complexion is a heavy shade of red now. Her eyes are filled with a dullness that sends a chill down my spine as I take in her vexed state. “It’s okay.” I speak up, hoping to alleviate the tension between the two. Annalise’s dark stare is still on Verity, but she tilts her head towards me, and her eyes immediately brighten like nothing ever happened.

“Your hair is so shiny.” Annalise says in awe as she slowly leans forward onto her knees and creeps over towards me. “I love the length.” Once she’s stopped inches from me, she reaches out a hand and softly pets my head, dragging her fingers through my light brown locks. “So soft too.” Her raspy whisper meets my ears, and a long sigh escapes past my lips. Her motions on my head feel strangely good, but everything about this was fucking weird.

“Thanks.” I mumble, watching the exposed skin on her chest heave in and out slowly. Her hand moves down the side of my head and brushes the skin of my neck before pulling away with a grin.

“Perfect skin, too.” She mentions, and I swear I hear a low snarl come from Priscilla.

“You know, I uhh...” I start to collect my belongings beside me. Shoving my half-eaten sandwich into my bag, I rise onto my feet. “I should get going. I have a meeting to get to.” I lie, noticing all their eyes shift up towards me. Annalise frowns but trails her eyes along my bare legs and stops just at the hem of my skirt. But from this angle, it almost looked like she was peering up under my skirt, but that idea was swiftly nixed when she focuses on my eyes.

“See you around, little mouse.” She smirks as I slowly step past them and hurry across the grass away from them.

Little Mouse?

What the hell kind of nickname is that?

5

ARSEN

“Arsen.” Phoebe’s soft voice whispered from her corner of the room as I continued staring at the red shovel that was stuffed under a pile of junk. I couldn’t tear my eyes off the metal, and like always, I chickened out from grabbing it. Sighing in anger, I force my head in her direction to find her curled up in a ball with her stained sheet covering her small body. “Will you tell me a story?” Her big brown eyes plead with mine and it only takes seconds for me to move over to her spot on the floor. The cold basement concrete stings my bare feet but once I’m beside her, I snuggle under her blanket and rest my back against the wall.

“I don’t have a good imagination.” I sadly confess because any normal eleven-year-old kid would be pouring with ideas. But when you’ve witnessed nothing but tragedy in your life, happily ever afters don’t exist. Well, at least in my book, they don’t.

“Just try, Arsen.” She begs, drawing my attention to the small bruise that’s swelled up just below her eye. I take in the deep shade of purple and blue and clench my fist beside me, ready to scream his name until my lungs are on fire. I wanted to bash his brain in with that shovel, splatter his blood all over this floor until he was drained dry. “Please?” She scoots closer to me and lays her head against my arm.

“Fine.” I scowl. “But then it’s bedtime.”

She grins happily, and my heart leaps on the inside. Anything to make her happy. Anything to make this nightmarish life bearable for her.

“Once upon a time, there lived a sad unicorn. Her fur was black as night, while all the other unicorns’ furs were bright colors. No one wanted to talk to her or be her friend because they were all afraid of her.” As I’m making shit up as I go, I feel Phoebe’s head tilt up to peer at me.

“Why were they afraid?” She frowns. “Because she looked different?”

“Yes.” I nod. “She also didn’t have a family. She was all alone while all the other unicorns had mommies and daddies to take care of them.”

Her dark brows come together, and a small frown appears on her face. “Is that why she’s sad?”

“She’s sad because no one cares enough to help her.” My eyes trail down Phoebe’s matted down hair that hasn’t been brushed in God knows how long. We’ve been without the simple necessities for so long that our cleanliness and smell were nothing to us anymore. As long as we were given food, water and warmth, we were okay.

“What happens to her?” She asks.

“She survives.” I stare down into her eyes with emphasis. “She learns to be on her own and proves all the other unicorns wrong.”

“Does she find her prince?” She smiles, clearly enjoying my story.

“Not all happily ever afters need a prince to make the girl happy.” I let her know, but she just giggles softly. A sound that I haven't heard in forever.

“One day, I hope I find my prince charming.” She sighs. “I want a big house with a big cozy bed and all the donuts I can eat.”

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