Page 9 of Twisted Redemption

But instead, the opposite has happened.

I’ll forever regret not murdering that motherfucker when I had the chance. And I sincerely hope I get to—soon.

Before I can think to stop myself, I’m in front of her and pulling her into my arms. “He’s an asshole.”

Her body melts into mine as she shakes her head against my chest. “He was good to me, I promise. We had a lot of happy moments. The end was just... awful.”

I stroke her hair as she tries to collect herself, taking deep breaths. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve held her while she cried, which is probably why I know she’s close to it right now.

As kids, I always tried to be there for her—even when she hid. Francis was awful to her, and you could barely call Everly her mother, that’s how present she was. And then, out of the blue, Brooke pushed me away. I’d place a pretty solid bet that she’s been crying alone for the past year.

For a moment, I understand Alex’s motivation six months ago to kill his father.

Because right now, I’m ready to march into David’s home and completely gut the man. That’ll take care of my regrets.

“Why don’t you sit down and let me bring everything in?” I lead her to the couch, throwing my phone on the coffee table so I don’t accidentally drop it. “Just take some deep breaths, maybe drink some water if you want.”

“Are you sure?” But she doesn’t sound up for protesting. She sounds exhausted.

“Positive. Take however much time you need.”

She sighs. “Thanks. Oh—I’m staying in the bedroom to the right of the stairs. Not the master.” She avoids my gaze.

“Got it.” With a kiss on her forehead, I head back outside to grab more boxes.

Getting her stuff inside doesn’t take long. I bring her clothes upstairs, that ball of anger growing steadily as I walk through the halls and into her bedroom.

There isn’t a trace of her left behind. Just cold, hard emptiness.

Back downstairs, I find her opening up one of the boxes and pulling out a framed photograph of her and Alex on a beach. She sighs, setting it aside, before reaching in for another.

“You still have all your old stuff, right? You didn’t get rid of it?”

Brooke doesn’t look up. “Yeah. I hid it all in the attic.” She pauses, tilting her head, before it clicks in her head what I’m really asking. “I don’t need it all right now. I want to bring this place back to what it once was, but I just—I don’t have the energy right now.”

I look at her for a second too long, and she starts squirming. “I think I’ll be okay unpacking everything. I really don’t even know what to do with any of it yet.”

I nod, understanding the meaning behind her words: Please do whatever to the security system and then leave me alone. “I won’t take long.”

And I don’t. She already has an alarm system for the doors, even though she doesn’t use it. All I do is add alarms to the windows, make sure they’re all locked tightly, connect everything to the main system, and then I’m done.

When I return to the living room, Brooke is still sitting on the couch, staring blankly into one of the open boxes. I resist the urge to sit next to her and pull her into my lap, to tell her she can cry or scream or do whatever she needs to get back to being her.

But instead, I just give her a wave, saying, “Call if you need anything. And don’t forget to set the alarm when I leave.”

She gives me a half-smile, her gaze anywhere but on me, before I go. I’ve missed the old Brooke—the real Brooke—even if I can’t have her. Maybe redoing this house will be what finally brings her back.

The drive to my house isn’t long. Hell, most of us live within five minutes of each other. Alex and Dominic would deny doing it on purpose to stay close, but that’s exactly what happened.

We’ve always stuck together, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. Especially after discovering what Tristan and David have been up to. We’re going to end them, together. No matter what it takes.

When I pull into my garage, I sit for a second, my head falling back on the headrest. Lately, being around Brooke is a special kind of torture that I can’t seem to get enough of.

When she heartlessly removed me from her life a year ago, I barely saw her for ten months. Then she broke up with David early this summer, right after she finished her junior year of college and I graduated. And just like that, she was hanging out with me, Dom, and Alex again.

When Charlie and I ventured into our temporary relationship, it was only a week or so before Brooke broke things off with David. To her credit, she tried to apologize and fix things with me—further fueling my theory that David was behind her cutting me off the entire time.

But it didn’t matter. Charlie and I had—have—to make our arrangement look real. So I’ve continued keeping Brooke at a distance. It’s been hurting her, but after what she did to me, she deserves it.

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