Page 15 of Forever Filthy

“Fuck you!” I scream, then cross my arms over my chest.

“You were warned,” Archer teases. I sit here smugly, knowing they won’t smash a car window to get inside—the smugness evaporates within a fraction of a second when the car beeps and all the locks disengage. I’m too slow, the door is yanked open before I can hit the lock again. Archer reaches for me, I kick out and relish in the sound of his grunt as I scramble to get to the other side, but he grabs my ankle and drags me toward him. I scream and kick to get free. He yanks me down the leather seats until my ass teeters on the edge and he is standing between my open legs. I sit up and attempt to smack him across the face but he grips my wrist halting my attack. “And here I thought you would put up more of a fight.”

“Go fuck yourself, Archer.” I sneer.

“Your bratty attitude is starting to piss me off, baby.”

My eyes widen in indignation. “Good, then leave me the fuck alone, asshole.”

“You were free for twelve fucking months. You came back to us not the other way around, Vivian.” His words smack into me like an avalanche. I hate to admit it but they fucking sting like a bitch. Whatever Archer sees in my eyes has him dropping my wrist and stepping back. He doesn’t ask as he grabs my handand yanks me out of the car. He drags me toward the house and I hear the other two following after us. When we enter the house I expected to find it messy since they clearly live here but surprisingly, it's clean and has a real homey type feeling to it. He bypasses the modest kitchen and rounds a corner to a living room with the most stunning view of the ocean. I don’t protest when he shoves me into one of the seats, I just sit here and stare out at the water.

Oh what it must feel like to be the ocean and be free to do as you please.

“We need to talk.” Ezekiel’s words drag me out of my thoughts and smack me back into reality. I release a long exhale and cross my arms over my chest. I don’t miss the way the three of them drop their eyes to my tits.

I scoff and glare at the bastards. “You want to talk, then stop looking at my tits!” I snap. The three of them ignore me and continue to stare so I choose to be a real bitch and yank the small triangles to the side exposing my tits to them. “Take a good look, boys, they’re tits and every girl has em!” The three idiots groan and don’t even attempt to look away. I fix my top and let out a huff of annoyance.

“Well, that was distracting,” Hayze says but the husky tone of his voice indicates he enjoyed the show more than he is letting on.

“Why the fuck am I here?” I bite out. The three of them just stand there and stare at me like I am the final piece to their unsolvable puzzle. I realize then that I left my phone and my stuff at the beach. “One of you better go get my shit from the beach!”

“Nova grabbed your things, she’ll drop them off at your dorm,” Archer says in a bored tone that pisses me off.

“Well, could you assholes at least get me a shirt or something so you can stop checking me out?”

“Now, why the fuck would we do that?” I gape at Ezekiel.

“Uh, because it’s my body and I don’t want you looking at it,” I defend.

“The marriage license you and I both signed says I can look and touch whenever the fuck I want.” I choke on fucking air! Hayze and Archer both mumble beneath their breath but my focus is rooted on Ezekiel.

“That’s not what that means.” My retort is weak and we all know it.

He shrugs. “Don’t give a fuck. You can try to rationalize what’s happening all you want, Vivi, but it doesn’t change the fact that we are here andweall need to talk.”

“Talk about what, Ezekiel?” I scream as I climb to my feet and get right in his face—well, chest but who the fuck cares! “You faked your death and didn’t tell me, then those two assholes took off and left me a fucking note, a fucking note! None of you thought to call or text, you just left me behind.” Ezekiel’s eyes fill with guilt but I’m not done. “Do you have any idea what watching you die was like?” He opens his mouth but I push on. “It fucking killed me!” I scream and I hate that tears begin to fall down my cheeks. “I wanted to lean on Hayze and Archer to help me, but then they left. I was on my own and grieving the loss of not only my brother but the three of you! So, now tell me what the fuck we have to talk about because from where I’m standing, I don’t think anything you three say will change my mind and make me want to stay.”

“I’m in love with you.” I stumble back a step and lose my balance, falling onto the seat I just vacated. I stare up at Archer with wide eyes and my mouth open. I search his gaze and I see nothing but the truth.

He means it.

I shake my head trying to deny his claim. “It’s true, Vivian,” he implores.

When he takes a step forward I raise my hand halting his movements. “No,” I whisper and bat away my tears, my chest is on fire and my mind is reeling. He finally said the words I longed to hear from him for years. “You don’t get to say that to me, not now. Not after everything you put me through.”

“I’m so sorry.” When he reaches for me I smack his hands away. Hayze pushes him back and warns him not to try that shit again.

“You fucked me, then left me. You acted like I didn’t exist. Stopped replying to my texts and when I would enter a room, you would leave. It took me years to come to terms with the fact you just wanted to be the one to fuck the infamous Vox Hatchett’s sister.”

His face pales. “That wasn’t why I did it!” he roars.

“Everyone calm down,” Ezekiel shouts. “How about we all take a minute to calm the hell down and maybe just cook some food then we can… talk.”

I sigh dejectedly. “I have nothing to say,” I admit quietly.

“Well, then you can listen because clearly we all have a lot to say and you aren’t leaving here until everything that needs to be said is said,” Ez answers.

“What is your hope out of this little pow wow?” I snark.

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