Page 176 of Brutal Prince

Really still think Addy sent you this?

My hands curl into fists on either side of the laptop and I close my eyes in utter disbelief. I never suspected Marcus, because evidence against me would be evidence against him covering up for me. But if it was Addy blackmailing me…?

His plan fell through. Or maybe he hadn’t thought it out well enough.

“Tell you what, bro. I’ll help you get the princess to bed, yeah?”

“Bed sounds good,” I say. “Don’t it, Jess?”

She giggles at me.

The video ends.

I stare at the square of black on the laptop screen, my heart thundering in my chest.

But then, a new video begins playing.

Jess (6)

The last video.

A black screen. The sound of breathing, shoes sloughing over carpet, fabric rustling.

“She’s so fucking trashed, bro,” Marcus says.

“Tha’ was the point, wa’nt it?” I slur back.

“Almost there,” Marcus says.

“Jess? Still with us?” I ask.

There’s the faint outline of a doorway. A silhouette approaches it. Opens the door. A low light from inside splashes over the guy’s face.

It’s me. I’m standing in the doorway to Marcus’s bedroom, swaying as I hold open the door for him.

I turn in the chair and stare at the closed door. My stomach tightens, and for a second I’m convinced I’m going to puke. When I face the laptop again, it’s with a grimace and slitted eyes.

I don’t want to watch this any more than I wanted to look at that picture Marcus drew. Because I know what happens next, and I don’t want to have to face it like this.

But if I don’t, then I’ll never know if she said yes or not. It’s always been her word against mine, but now—

Judging from how drunk she is, I already know she couldn’t possibly have consented to anything.

I tap the spacebar anyway. And I force myself to watch.

“But it’s your birthday, bro,” Marcus says. “She’s supposed to be giving you head right about now, not passing out in my bed.”

“You’re th’ one that got her this drunk in the first place,” I say.

Got both of us drunk it seems. On the contrary, Marcus’s hand is steady, and his words come out just fine.

Marcus brings Jess over to the bed, but instead of gently putting her down, he collapses on the mattress with her, letting out a theatrical groan.

She tries pushing his arm off of her, and then starts giggling.

My chest grows tight again.

Nothing could ever get Jessica down for long. She was always so happy, so fucking optimistic. My little Hollywood starlet.

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