Page 63 of Tis the Season to be Bullied

I don’t even bother looking at him.

We’ve all got twisted world views. But we also have an excuse. We never got to see the world as other kids did. Our crayon drawings didn’t have rainbows and stick-figure family portraits. Ours—if we’d ever had any—would have been black and red landscapes crosshatched with repressed pain.

Cassius thinks everyone’s a closet slut, and would fuck anything that moves if I didn’t reign him in.

Apollo is a full out voyeur. He’d rather film someone masturbating than actually have sex with them.

Reuben will probably die a virgin. Kind of.

Me? It’s best if I became a priest and swore celibacy for the rest of my life. Because unlike my brothers, there’s only one thing that actually brings me joy.

They’d crucify me in a heartbeat if they ever found out what it was.

“She’ll break,” I say, shifting in my seat.

Reuben’s staring at me so hard it’s like he’s digging through my brain with his fingers. If anyone’s got me figured out even a little, it’s him. But I’m hoping—dear God, I’m hoping—he knows better than to say anything.

Apollo sighs. “I guess if we keep pulling her hair long enough, she might?—”

“I’ll send her to the Hag,” I cut in. My eyes cut to Cassius. “That okay with you?”

Cassius shows me his teeth. “Pics or it didn’t happen.”

“Why would I be there?” I ask calmly.

“You could be, if you wanted.” Reuben cuts me off. “She’s a girl. Wouldn’t be appropriate for you to punish her yourself.”

Cassius is already nodding furiously before Reuben’s done talking. “But he can watch, to make sure she receives her penance, right?”

Reuben nods.

I swallow. Hard.

This was exactly what I’d been trying to avoid.

From the first day I’d had Trinity in my class, I could tell she wasn’t brittle like the countless other children who’d crossed my path the last few years.

I knew this would come to outright violence. The kind of pain and hardship people rocked in the Old Testament.

And, secretly, I’d hoped the girl would meet my expectations. Because, besides this bunch of misfits, I’ve never met someone I could truly regard as my equal.

She’s looking to be a strong contender.

It will be a pity to break her.

“Bro, I want details,” Cass says through a devilish chuckle. “I mean, blow by fucking blow.” He sits forward, eyes shining. “Hear me?”

Cassius isn’t a sadist.

He is, however, sitting on the fence between sociopath and psychopath.

I nod, and drop my eyes as I get to my feet. “I’ll make the arrangements.”

Cass lets out a laugh, clasping hands with Apollo.

Reuben watches me, silent and forever judgmental.

I guess I’m being naive thinking he doesn’t have some inkling about my own dark heart. He was by my side for months before the others showed up. We’re all brothers, but he’s my twin. We mirror each other’s darkness in different ways, but we emerged—reborn—together.

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