Page 39 of Sacrificing Zoriah

“What do you mean?” Corbin asks.

“Richard. He, uh… He always made gross comments about me growing up. He was always touching me and telling me my body made men happy. He would mention the birthmark on my inner thigh and the scar on my hip,” I say. “When I took that road trip after graduation with Haley, he made me blow him while Haley was asleep in the back. When I was taken a few weeks ago, Richard made a comment that God had been calling him to me again since he first met me. Doug said he was doing good being patient until I was ready for them again.”

“So, Richard shot Mom?” Corbin says.

“Yeah,” I sniff and pull back to wipe my face. “I suddenly feel way more sober than I want to be.”

“Just wait until you find out how much that bottle of whiskey was,” Ben chuckles. “That’ll sober you up.”

“Roman, I’m sorry,” I turn to him and say. I am still incredibly unsteady, so he puts his hands on my waist to keep me from falling. “I’ll pay you back for it.”

“It’s okay,” he smiles.

“Really. I will,” I say.

“Mi amor, you drank a fifty-thousand-dollar bottle of whiskey,” he laughs.

“Oh… I don’t have that,” I say. “I’ll blow you for it. Deal?”

“Alright,” Dad says.

“I mean… It’s a good trade-off considering,” Corbin shrugs.

“Sounds like a good way to make her puke,” Dad says.

“Careful. He might like that,” I say but giggle when Roman shakes his head at me. “What?”

“Get your drunk ass to bed,” Ben laughs.

“Care to hang out a minute?” Roman asks.

“Yeah,” Ben says.

“Drink some water and go to sleep, okay?” Dad says, hugging me.

“Okay,” I sigh.

“Night, Sis,” Corbin says as he hugs me next.

“Night.”

When they leave the room, I flop down across the bed. “You good?” Roman asks.

“I’m hot, and my clothes are going to burst into flames,” I mutter.

“Hold on,” he laughs. One of them turns the ceiling fan on, and the other sits me up to help me get my shirt off.

“Hey. It’s Kudzu,” I smile at Ben when I open my eyes.

“I’ll give you a pass tonight,” he smirks and pulls off my sports bra. Roman moves onto the bed to pull my hair up into a bun before they lay me down.

“Why is it so hot?” I ask as I get my shorts off. Ben and Roman just chuckle and shake their heads at me. I toss my shorts but burst out laughing when they hit Ben in the face.

“You are a silly little drunk,” Ben says as he scoops me up and lays me in the middle of the bed. Roman covers me up to my breasts, and they both move back and pull their shirts off.

“Am I too drunk to consent to all ofthat?” I say as I wave my hand in their direction.

“Far too drunk to consent,” Roman says. “Think of this as your punishment for trying to drown your problems instead of talking to us.”

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