Page 61 of Blind Sin

He runs a thumb over his bottom lip in a way that I used to think was sexy but now makes me want to throw up. “So you could rape her while I was in the next room?”

“It’s not rape if it’s consensual.” He sighs deeply. “She came to me, Luce.”

I close my eyes and suck in a deep breath. “I swear to god, I must be losing my mind, but I’m fine with that because in a minute, if you don’t let me go, you are going to lose your balls when I twist them off out of pure fucking rage.”

“Luce...”

The casual use of a nickname has my stomach clenching.

“I’d never do anything to hurt her. I fucking love her and I think she loves me.” He brings his eyes up to somewhere behind me and I feel the others standing at my back. “I think she might be in love with all of us.”

I turn, hoping that the expressions on Alexander and Nolan will mirror the horrified shock I feel, but both of them nod their heads as though this is a thing. This can’t be a thing. I can’t breathe.

I shake my head, tears springing to my eyes. I can’t remember the last time I cried. Maybe this is the first time. “No,” I whisper, my voice cracking.

“She’s been coming to all of us.” Alexander says softly. There’s no ambiguity in what he means by that. They are all sleeping with her. All three of them.

“And you let her?” I cry out. I feel like my heart is splintering.

“She’s not a little girl anymore,” Nolan adds. “She’s a grown ass woman who can make her own decisions. We love her... all of us.”

I hear a noise and look over behind Josh. Lauren is standing at the door to the house. Her eyes are puffy with tears, but she’s not cowering.

“Lauren?”

“I'm sorry, Lucy,” she croaks, her voice barely audible above the sound of the waves crashing against the shore behind me.

Without a second thought, I push past Josh to get to her.

“I should have told you,” she says.

“It's not your fault. You didn't know what you were doing.”

“Lucy,” she looks up at me through red and swollen eyes. “I knew exactly what I was doing.”

I pull back from her, suddenly feeling like an invisible wall has sprung up between us. My mind races as I try to understand what she's saying. “No...I...” I stammer, unsure of what to say next.

And then it hits me. I shake my head in disbelief. “They took advantage of you,” I say firmly gesturing vaguely behind me.

But my sister's response is immediate. “I took advantage of them. I wanted to know what it felt like to be normal.”

I don’t want to believe it. My heart feels like it’s turned to stone in my chest. I turn to face Josh, my eyes boring into his. “I don’t know Alexander and Nolan well, but I thought you were someone I could trust. I did trust you.”

His face is a mess of grief and pain. “Luce. I’m in love with Lauren. I love her.”

“Me too,” Alexander echoes. Nolan remains mercifully quiet.

“Love?” I scoff, incredulous. “Look at the three of you. You are players, the lot of you. Sick disgusting fuckboys that prey on the innocent. You don't know the first thing about love.”

Nolan opens his mouth to protest, but I cut him off. “Save it,” I snap. “I don't want to hear it. You took advantage of my sister, and now you're trying to justify it. That's sick.”

I turn back to Lauren, pulling her close to me. “We're leaving,” I say firmly. “Now.”

She shakes her head. “I’m not going. I love you, Lucy, but...” She brings her eyes to them and gives a soft smile. “I love them too.”

I bring my hand up to my head and massage my temples. “We’re trapped on a desert island with them and I blame myself for not teaching you more, but this is Stockholm Syndrome. They saved you so now you feel like you have to give them something in return.”

Josh buts me as he heads inside. “I guess you would see it like that.”

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