Page 68 of On The Edge
I put my hands on Adam’s stomach, feeling his washboard abs under the thin fabric of his shirt, and push him lightly so he looks at me.
“I’ve got this,” I whisper.
“I promised that I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you. That includes them, too.” He tips his chin in Reis' direction. I pull at his shirt, begging him silently to keep focused on me.
“And I am so thankful for that. For you. But this–Reis' shit–I’ve got to handle it myself. Okay?”
His baby blue eyes stare down at me with a beautiful, burningneedto protect me, but he nods. Leaning up and kissing his soft cheek, I turn to face down with Reis.
Reis' eyes narrow, watching the two of us with a mixed expression.
“Melody, really, I’m,” he stutters, and takes my hands gingerly in his. Sighing deeply, his eyes lower to where our joined hands lay between us, almost like he has to double check that I’ve let it happen, and haven’t smacked his hands away. Reis' amber eyes find mine, and for a moment, the world stills.
There’s love there—deep and aching– but he continues to stare like he’s memorizing me, drinking me in, in a new light. Like he thinks he’ll never get the chance again. But beneath it, regret lingers, dark and heavy, pooling in the tight press of his lips, the flicker of something unsaid behind his gaze.
He swallows thickly and takes a deep breath.
“Why didn’t you tell us you were being bullied?”
That is… not what I was expecting him to ask first.
My brows knit together and I slowly turn my head to look at him out of my eye. What’s he getting at?
The old Reis, the one I knew, wouldn’t mess with me, but this new one… so far, he’s made it clear he hates me.
Sighing heavily, I ask, “Does it matter anymore?”
“It does.” He steps closer to me, staring at me so openly that it feels like it’s just the two of us. I know the other guys are there–I can feel them–but Reis is asking me about the fuck-up that sent them away. The bullying that caused the lying, the lying that caused them to leave. The thing that has obviously been weighing on him for years.
“Because I didn’t think I needed to make myself look more pathetic in your eyes.” I shrug, and Reis leans forward, squeezing my hands. He’s giving me an anchor so I’m not sucked into the memories that are so fucking awful. “It was mostly the girls. They were either jealous that you guys were with me and didn’t give anyone else attention, or were trying to convince themselvesand methat I was a charity case to you guys. I was able to push it aside most of the time. When I kept ignoring it, they pushed it further… and found the button that really pushed me over the edge and they knew it.”
“What was it?” Reis whispers.
“Look,–” I start to say, but Adam cuts in.
“Tell us the truth, Melody. Don’t sugar coat it or push past it. Tell us,” he pleads, not unkindly but in such a way that I can tell he needs to know just like Kai did.
“It’s been too long, Mel. This can’t go on,” Markus agrees. “Please, baby girl, let us be there for you now.”
“They deserve to know,” Kai urges softly. I jolt my head to the side to shoot him a dirty look, but the soft pleading look on hisface gives me pause. “It’ll hurt, but we all have to know exactly what our actions caused when we left in order to move forward. To build a future with you. That’s what we want, if you want it too.”
So, it’s four on one. Fuck.
My head drops back as I look to the ceiling to try and keep the tears from falling.
“Let us carry it with you,” Reis says gently.
“Reis,” a small sob leaves my lips involuntarily as I say his name desperately. I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to keep bringing this up. I barely survived it the first time, and now I have to tellthemhow badly I was treated?
Goddamn it.
Reis looks determined, his fingers tightening in mine as I cry to keep the tears from falling. “Please, Reverb.”
“They were convinced that you all were fucking me,” I blurt out quickly.What a place to start, Mel.“That all four of you wanted me and they had no idea how I kept your attention. So I must have been wild in the sack. The girls were brutal and ruthless, and the guys all thought I was easy. They all knew that you guys would punch their lights out if they got caught grabbing my ass or brushing up against my tits.” I try not to look at their faces, but I knew I’d lose that battle with myself.
Reis looks… wrecked and murderous. Like his whole world is crashing down at the same time he’s planning on going on a murder spree.
“I got called all kinds of nasty names because… because they said I was letting you all run a train on me and that I was a whore because I wanted you all. They said it like it was some kind of nasty, bad thing to be in love with the best guys I knew.” I hug my arms to my middle, trying not to fall apart. “I endured it, but their sneers stuck in my head. Was it wrong to want you all? Isit?” I throw my arms out to the side,looking at each of them to gauge their real feelings.
