Page 143 of The Masks She Wore

?“So why are you attacking me?” I asked, my voice raising an octave. “You wake up in the middle of the night, asking me if I called your brother, I did,” I told him, my heart skipping a beat. “I called him, why? Because Zo said he went through torture.”

?“He is torture,” he responded calmly.

?My heart was racing, my breathing picking up. “I needed answers.”

?Jack stopped in front of me, searching my eyes. “All you’re going to find is advice,” he replied. “Nobody is qualified to give you the answers you want.”

?I glanced to his hands and back, still at his sides. He made no move to touch me, no move of any kind, actually. “What are you doing?” I asked, taking a step back, my back hitting the cool window, sending shivers across my skin. “I just need to understand what’s happening, that’s all,” I went on, not waiting for an answer. “I love you too, did you know that? Because I do, and I asked for what you did to me. I was so sure of it. I needed it for answers. We both did. We both wanted it. My mind is fine. It’s fine.”

?“Well, I had hoped that you would reveal that information when you weren’t having a panic attack, but I’m glad you do.”

?My face twisted, my fingers digging into my pained ribs. “I’m not havinga panic attack. I’m fine.”

?“I’m not touching you because you’re not ready to be touched,” Jack answered my first question. “I’ll give you time to work through that, but not a lot.” His eyes scanned over my body. “A few days.” His eyes lifted back to mine. “You were tortured for four months, Princess, there was always going to be repercussions. You aren’t reacting to my touch in the way that you think you are.”

?“It makes me want to vomit,” I spat, my hands shaking. “That’s not reacting in the way I think it is? I don’t want you touching me, Jack. It makes my stomach twist, how is that not what I think it is? Thinking about you touching me makes me want topuke.”

?“You didn’t blink,” he told me, his voice soft, clearly unaffected by my weak attacks. “When I was changing your bandages, you didn’t blink. It’s not my touch that makes you sick, it’s theirs. You keep your eyes open because you don’t want to see them. Your mind is confusing you, and that’s okay, like I said, I’ll give you a few days to work through it, but then I’ll claim what’s mine again. Whatever Azrael told you, he’s right.”

?My brows pulled together, my heart skipping at his words. “I…I thought you hated him.”

?Jack shrugged, his eyes falling to my breasts again, my hardened nipples. “He’s my brother,” he answered as if that was enough.

?I swallowed, gripping a hand at my side, my legs tired from the pressure of the stab wounds. “He told me to rape their minds like they did mine. That I should use what they turned me into and destroy them with it. That I have been doing this longer than you, that I should be better because of it.”

?His eyes found mine again, dark with lust. “Like I said, he’s right. Now get to bed, Princess, before I lose the shred of control I have. For the next week, we study, we strengthen your mind, stretch your muscles, and then we get back into our routine. Understand?”

?My shoulders fell a bit, relief filling me. He truly was giving me the week I asked for. “Thank you,” I told softly. “I’m—”

?He shook his head, cutting me off. “Don’t apologize for your broken mind, Rae, just work on fixing it so I can have my friend back.”

?My heart fluttered, my eyes widening in slight shock at the word he had chosen to use. “Friend?” He didn’t seem like the type to have any kind of friend, let alone admit that I was one.

?He gave me a flicker of a smile. “Goodnight, Rae.” And with that, he turned around and headed back for our bedroom.

?We were friends?

?I guess I had never thought about it before, that term for us, but something about it made my stomach flutter and a warm feeling fill me. He was my friend. We were friends.

?God, how could something so simple make me feel so… relieved?

32

Jack

February 7th, 2020

“Hey, Viv,” I heard Rae say as she walked into the living room and waved me down.

?I took my glasses off and set my notebook to the side, watching her carefully. It was the first time Viv had even tried to call since the club.

?During the last week, Rae had been doing everything she could to remain in good shape while she healed. She had reopened a few cuts during those first couple of days, but as of the last two, she had lost her limp, her slight hunch. Several of the deeper wounds were far from healed, but by the looks of her, I highly doubted I’d be able to keep her from doing anything anymore. She was ready to leave.

?It was fine with me, I was getting stir-crazy too, but Zo, who had been helping her stretch, looked worried. She didn’t want Rae to push herself. If we pushed too far, it could set her back a couple of weeks this time around, and we both know she would hate that.

?Zo was just trying to look out for her new sister.

?She knew about Rae’s father now, about what he had done, and while Malachi was AWOL, on purpose or because he was actually busy, I didn’t care. I had given up on reaching him for now, we could handle this ourselves, without answers. Like Rae had so perfectly put it, we shouldn’t be worried about the past, the reason, we just needed to focus on our next move.

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