Page 38 of Tore Up

“What do you want to eat?” Iris’s voice called out.

“A number two, no tomato,” Carina replied.

“Did you leave her the letter?” Ares asked.

“Mmhmm,” Carina said.

“On the counter, like I said to?”

“Yep. Your favorite sister will see her letter.”

“You’re daddy’s angel. Don’t be a bitch.”

“Yes, I am. Besides, she’s not your sister. Thank God. If she were, your gross obsession with her would be incestuous.”

“Carina, shut up!” Iris barked at her.

“God, you’re a little shit,” Ares snarled.

“Whatevs. I have a burger to eat. Go whack one off, imagining Halo. Just think, she’ll be living in that apartment with you. You can watch her shower all the time now and not use that creepyspy camera,” she said into the phone.

Iris shouted Carina’s name again.

“If you keep on, I’m not helping you move your shit in,” Ares told her.

“Fine. Bye.”

Then, the room went silent.

No one spoke. The words were on repeat in my head. Would there ever come a day that I didn’t have something punch me in the stomach?

“When—” My voice cracked. “When was that call?” Although I’d been able to tell. It was the day they left me. Ares wasn’t at boot camp. He’d not gone. It had been a lie, but why lie about that?

“The night they moved out,” Linc replied. “You didn’t get a note, did you?”

I shook my head, and my throat burned with bile. I didn’t want a note from Ares. What I’d heard … I didn’t want to think about that. It was disgusting. He was my brother.

I was afraid I was about to be sick.

“How did you get that?” I asked.

“We have a lot of connections, and those within our ranks can pull just about anything from anywhere. Did you know Ares wasn’t your brother?”

I looked up at him. “He is. What she said about—” I grimaced, swallowing the sour rise in my throat. “That’s not true.”

Linc sighed, then reached for a piece of paper.

I took it. “What is this?”

“DNA results from a test Ares had done to prove he wasn’t Nick Talley’s son. Seems he had known it for a while, but that was for you. To show to you. I believe it was probably one of the things he left you in the note that your sister didn’t leave for you.”

I handed it back to him and stood up. Holding out two hands, I shook my head. “Please stop. I’m going to be sick. I need air.”

Bane moved quickly, jerking open the door, and I hurried out into the hallway, realizing I had no idea where the nearest bathroom was.

“Here,” Bane told me as he grabbed my arm and led me into a bathroom.

I didn’t look back as I dropped to my knees and heaved.

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