Page 73 of Master of Lies

“What happened with them?”

I blew out a long, calming breath. All of the giddiness from the intense closeness and the laughter had drained away, and the filthy, jagged garbage underneath was starting to make itself felt. “They were super religious, but in that toxic, scary way,” I said. “They wanted to control what we thought. They hated us. The boys scared them, not that I blame them. Ethan and Shane were pretty scary. And I think Jean had been jealous of my mother, for being smarter, prettier, happier. So she hated us by reflex.”

“Did they hurt you?” he persisted.

“Not at first,” I said. “The situation with Ethan and Shane went south pretty fast. Uncle Orren had them accused of some stuff they never did, and got them locked up in a juvenile detention center. I tried to run away. When they brought me back, they chained me up in the basement. They left me down there in the dark. For days at a time. Weeks.”

Jed looked at me in horror, but I was careful not to turn my face his way. It was hard enough, just staring up at the burnt-out lightbulb. Listening to the silence.

“Jesus, Frey,” he said quietly. “That’s horrific.”

“Yes, it was, because then they got a taste for it. It was supposed to make me pray. Because I was such a bad girl, going straight to hell. Sometimes Orren beat me.”

“Did he ever….” Jed’s voice trailed off, afraid to ask the question.

“No,” I said. “But I think he was working up to it. If he was down there with me alone, he would get that look on his face, and I’d start screaming for Aunt Jean. I figured, he wouldn’t touch me if she was there with us. Even if she was hitting me.”

“How long were you stuck in their house?”

I thought about it for a while. It had been so long since I’d let myself remember anything about that period in my life. “Maybe six months? They locked up the boys after about two months, and it took them about four months to break out of the Eagle Crest juvenile facility. Then they busted me out. Longest four months in history.”

“Your brothers never told me about that,” he said.

“Yeah, they’re still traumatized about it. They blame themselves. Macho idiots. They think they’re supposed to be superheroes. Sort of like this other guy I know.”

Jed smoothly ignored that. “So, that was a stress flashback, when I came in?”

“Yes,” I admitted. “It’s been a really long time since I had one. I was back in the basement, and I thought you were Uncle Orren. So I started screaming for my aunt.”

“God, Frey. I am so sorry.”

I turned and looked straight at him. “You should be,” I said bluntly.

He looked pained, but he didn’t push the reproof away. “Yeah, I know,” he said. “So are they still out there?”

“Who?”

“Your aunt and uncle. Are they still alive?”

“I assume so. Why do you ask?”

“I have a few things I’d like to say to them,” he said.

I shuddered. “I never want to see them again. I thought I’d put it all in the past. But they’re still in there, fresh as ever. Locked in that basement room in my head and just waiting to pop out, like a Jack-in-the-box.”

Jed seized my hand, pulling me toward him. “I never wanted to hurt you.”

I was too wound up and tense to give in to his pull. “Nobody means to, unless they’re a monster. It’s just what people do. People hurt each other. Even the ones they love.”

“You’re the one I love,” he said.

I opened my mouth, but had no words to respond to that. I started to shake. My face turned red, my eyes wet. My throat melted. Shivering too hard to speak.

I breathed carefully until I could control my voice. “Dude, please,” I said carefully. “You’re under the influence of a massive dose of powerful, largely untested drug. Maybe hold off on the big declarations until you’re straight again. It could get weird for you later.”

“Don’t push me away, Frey. Nothing will change. It’s the way I felt before. I just couldn’t get the door unlocked on my own. I needed you to blow it off with a shotgun. But it’s open now. You’re incredible. You rock my world. Tell me if you feel the same way. I know you can’t lie to me now. Give it to me straight.”

The words fell out. “I love you,” I said. “I always have. I love you more now.”

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