Page 27 of Deviant Secrets

“Who does she belong to?”

Immediately regretting my next statement. My eyes met the floor in defeat. I tried to block everything out that cornered me like he did. Licking the blood from my lips, I clenched my jaw and my whole body trembled in pain. “She’s yours.”

“That’s right. Now, be a man and get up. And get out, before I change my mind.”

The pressure left, and I heaved myself up, shakily dragging my injured body back to my car and left, never looking back. I never told anyone what happened that night and I’d always regretted it, my heart heavy for not doing more.

A few days later Angel busted into my room in an uproar about how my brother’s fiancée was dead, and I refused to believe it. Making my way back to the house in the middle of the night, I found the locks had been changed. Not only that, but bars lined the windows except for one. The attic. If she tried to escape, he knew that fall would kill her. There was no other choice at the time. So, I gave up

One day after I had finally pushed my grief down far enough. I noticed her walking past the windows of the gym I frequented. My eyes widened at the sight and I rolled right off the treadmill, laughing it off, confused.

But I continued to stay away, sticking to the cowardly way of social media stalking and leaving the locker room as soon as possible to avoid running into her.

I was thankful for the mask at this moment, shielding what needed to be hidden, but my eyes gave away everything.

Clearly, this was his way of asking permission to take care of the situation, and we would. Those fuckers would never see it coming.

My brother wouldn’t be going unscathed, we would be coming for him too. I just needed to hear the list of offenses before I decide what exactly is going to happen to him.

“Sometimes I wondered if his brother had feelings for me. I even questioned if they were mutual a few times, but it would’ve never worked out.”

“Why?” I shot out, slightly offended, and King gave me a warning look through furrowed eyebrows.

Despite sharing her trauma with two strangers, she giggled softly. “Well, for starters, I’m older, seven years to be exact. Which even today would only put him at twenty-three.”

“Well, I think that’s hot, and younger men sometimes have a lot to offer a woman of your age.” King replied in a playful, mischievous tone.

Her laugh rang in my ears like cannon-fire, and I couldn’t help the smile that painted itself across my face. Tracing circles into various parts of her soft skin, I asked her what I already somewhat knew.

“What happened?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“He was playing cards with a few friends. It was my fault really. We had to be up early the next day and somehow it went from him screaming in my face to his friends dragging me upstairs. I remember fighting outside the door and screaming for help, but not much else. I kept passing out.”

11

LUX

Iwanted her to stop talking. The more she told, the angrier I got. Her face morphed to match every emotion, and I felt that punch deep in my gut. Anger, sadness, hatred, loneliness, and shame.

King interrupted her with an angry growl, which was directed more toward me, then lifted his hand and gently wiped the tear from her eye. “Is that why you do this? Give your body away so freely?”

I could see the genuine curiosity in his eyes. He was the polar opposite of me. He worked for everything he had and grew up not knowing where his next meal would come from.

He was my best friend, and that’s all I cared about. He’s made a name for himself and took his family out of poverty with his abilities. Angel was a good son. Seeing him in a more caring light was nice, and I hope it stays.

“According to my therapist, there’s two sides to the spectrum after an assault. Either you become hyperactive, or you don’t want to be touched at all, but I beg to differ. It’s not really as cut and dry.”

“Can you help us understand?” I asked, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear and listening intently.

“I guess I’m somewhere in the middle. I crave intimacy. I want to be touched, but I also seek out pain more often than I should. It’s easy to focus on the person giving the pain rather than the hurt that pumps through my veins every day, spreading like a fucking disease.”

She paused to catch a shaky breath and continued. “Sometimes I just stand in the scalding hot shower. It’s twisted, but I feel like I-I deserve it.”

Her words sank in, and my anger flared.Damn.I never realized how deep her pain ran. Every time I saw her, every picture, she had a smile plastered on her face, failing to see the storm behind those beautiful eyes. I wasn’t there when it mattered, and I’ll never forgive myself for that.

Her eyes pleaded for one of us to say anything as they moved between us and I sat up straighter, rubbing my chin in thought.

“We want you to feel something real. Something raw. You’re so much more than what happened to you. Can we do that?” I asked, hovering just outside her earlobe before taking it into my mouth, biting down and nibbling slightly.

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