Page 30 of Eat Me

Blinking a few times, I meet his green eyes, “Now be a good girl and let Jasper and Marcus take you to lay down.” Elijah gives me a small smirk, before letting his hand fall from my hair and nodding to his two younger brothers.

“Take care of her. She should snap out of it soon.” Owen says as I feel a blindfold placed around my head to cover my eyes. I let it happen, not saying or doing anything, even as I’m being lifted into strong arms. I don't pay attention to anything else they’resaying as I lean against a hard chest. I start seeing spots right before darkness took me.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Victoria

Iwoke slowly to light murmuring around me. I groan as I curl into myself, not wanting to be awake. I don’t want to face what happened or what will happen.

“Come on now. I know you’re awake, princess.” Snapping my eyes open, I feel a hand in my hair. Marcus is leaning over me; my head is in his lap. I shift and sit up quickly. Marcus is sitting on the cell floor with me, Jasper’s leaning against the wall not far from the both of us, a smirk on his face.

Quickly scooting back from Marcus, my heart’s racing as I take in my surroundings. I’m back in my cell, but Marcus and Jasper are here with me. Memories of what I’d just witnessed came flooding back - Amber's screams, the blood, the sickening sound of saw on bone. I fought down the urge to vomit.

"Easy there, princess," Marcus says softly, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. "We're not going to hurt you."

Letting out a harsh laugh, "Right. Because you're all just so kind and gentle." My eyes dart between Marcus and Jasper warily, trying to gauge their intentions. "What do you want?"

"Just checking on you," Jasper drawls, pushing off from the wall to saunter closer to me. "Making sure you hadn’t broke after that little show earlier."

Bile rises in my throat as flashes of Amber's mutilated body flash through my mind. "You're sick," I spat. "All of you."

Jasper's eyes flash dangerously. "Careful with your temper little bird. You don’t want to get your wings clipped do you.” I tensed at the threat he gives but I take a deep breath, eyes burning with unshed tears. I won’t let them see me cry. I need to keep myself together.

I tense as Jasper steps closer, his eyes glinting with that dangerous light I'd seen earlier. Marcus holds up a hand, stopping his brother's approach.

"Easy, Jasper," Marcus says calmly. "She's still processing." He turns back to me, his blue eyes intense. "We understand this is... difficult for you to comprehend right now. But there are reasons for everything we do."

I shake my head, anger and disgust warring inside me. "There's no reason that can justify what you did to Amber. That was torture, plain and simple."

Jasper's eyes flash dangerously, "Careful, little bird," he warns, his voice low. "You don't want to end up like your friend, do you?"

Clenching my jaw, anger and fear are warring inside me. "She wasn't my friend," I say coldly. Which was true. I didn’t like the girl, but no one deserves to be murdered like that. "But she didn't deserve that."

Clenching my jaw, I force myself to take a deep breath. As much as I wanted to lash out, I knew it would only make things worse. I had to stay calm, rational.

"It's how our family has survived for generations," Jasper says coldly, eyes gleaming in the light, "The weak are culled, the strong survive."

“That's insane," I whisper, shaking my head. "You're all completely insane." I didn’t think maybe I was at my breaking point. Would they kill me that easily too? I know they like me well enough, but is that enough? I know for me to be safe I must pass every test.

Can I do this? Am I strong enough? I don’t know. I already feel like I’m losing myself while here. Taking a deep breath, I’m trying to understand their motives.

"Why are you really here?" I ask changing the subject. I don’t want to hear any more about this crazy family. They’re all insane. I know my voice is tight with suppressed emotion. "What more could you possibly want from me after... that?"

Marcus leans forward, his blue eyes intense as he studies me. "As I was saying, we want to see how you're processing things. How you're coping with what you’ve witnessed….you were in shock, and we want to make sure you have someone with you when you woke."

"How I'm coping?" I let out a bitter laugh, not understanding how they could murder someone and now be worried about me. I don’t understand at all. "You just forced me to watch you torture and dismember someone. How do you think I'm coping?"

"Better than most," Jasper said with a smirk, as he looks me over. "You didn't scream, cry or even beg like the others. You stayed calm, even when Elijah was touching you afterwards."

The memory of Elijah's blood-covered hands on my face makes me shutter. "I was in shock," I muttered. " And I still am." I shake my head, disgust churning in my stomach as his other words sank in. "Is that supposed to be a compliment? That I managed not to vomit while you butchered someone?"

"It shows strength," Marcus says softly. "Mental fortitude. The ability to endure difficult situations without breaking. Those are traits we highly value." Marcus pauses taking a breath as his blue eyes bore into me "But shock doesn't explain your composure during the other tests. You've consistently shown more resilience and rationality than the other girls."

"I don't want your approval or to be of value to you," I spat. "I don't want any part of this sick game you're playing."

Jasper's anger is radiating and I’m not sure I care. "It's not a game, little bird. This is our way of life. The sooner you accept that the easier things will be for you."

"Accept it?" I spat, my body filling with anger. "You expect me to just accept cold-blooded murder as a 'way of life'?"

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