15. Violet

Violet

15

Istand motionless for what feels like an hour, but must only be a few minutes. Even when their footsteps are long gone, I'm too scared to open my eyes.

It's only when a cool breeze up my skirt reminds me of the now cold come in my underwear that I open them.

James and my stepbrothers are gone.

Humiliation reddens my cheeks, as reality sinks in at what just happened.

I thought James was actually going to hurt me, he started rambling about how he's always being nice to me and his grip on my arm was so tight, I only just managed to get away. Then someone pinned me to the wall and I came on their leg.

What the hell is wrong with me?

If it wasn't for the familiar heat of Max's body against mine, I would have put up more of a fight. I've spent too many nights curled up against him to forget exactly what he feels like.

I'm sure it was Maddox that grabbed my jaw and…oh God. I bump my head back against the wall as I sink deeper into the humiliating hole I've dug for myself.

I came right after he spat in my mouth!

Just when I thought the baseball bat was degrading enough, I had to get off on that as well.

I'm starting to wonder if I even have any limits when it comes to them.

It still feels like there are eyes on me now and I quickly straighten my clothes before running to my dorm just around the corner.

My phone pings and I quickly check it. A text pops up from the all too familiar unknown number. There have been a few more odd messages calling me disgusting names, but whenever I reply they ghost me. I'm sure it's my stepbrothers playing more games with me so I open it.

You're still mine

Can't wait to have that pussy

Their messages are so confusing. If sex is what they want then why not just take it? They've already proven their point that they can do whatever they want to me.

"Oh, hey, Vi!" Sarah calls out to me from outside our dorm and I almost drop my phone. "Are you going home this break?"

I try not to groan as she comes to a stop in front of me. "Nope," I say, popping the p.

I don't need to deal with her speculations about why I never go home. I'm sure everyone on campus knows all about my family. All it takes is one quick internet search and I know Sarah lives for gossip.

I'll be here, alone in my dorm and burning through the library's collection of books until everyone's back for the fall semester.

My skin heats at the mere thought of the library again.

Maybe I won't be alone?

After all, they did just say I was theirs.

"Are you okay?" Sarah asks, her face plastered with concern. "There's blood on your shirt."

I quickly blink as I look down and gasp when I see the red smears on my breast that clearly look like someone's groped me.

Quickly covering it with my hand, I say, "Yeah, I fell over earlier and scuffed my hand, guess I didn't realize it was bleeding." The lie comes far too easily.

This could be my chance to tell someone what's been happening to me, but for some reason the words don't come. A twisted part of me can't wait to see what my tormentors will do to me next.

Sarah looks at me oddly and I must look like I'm crazy. My face feels boiling hot and I'm sure it's bright red. "I should get inside, clean up." I smile at her, but my lips tremble as I try to hold it.

"Look, I know you don't like me, Vi—Violet, but if you need to talk to someone, I'm here."

She can't possibly know what's been happening to me…can she?

Looking down at her feet, Sarah scuffs the toe of her shoe on the ground. "I…" she trails off and clears her throat, before looking back at me. "Just be careful dating James. He's…look I'm just here if you need a friend, okay?"

"Dating? I'm not with him, Sarah." I frown at her, confused by the sudden mention of him.

Her eyes suddenly widen in what I think is fear and she quickly stammers, "Oh, sorry, I must have heard wrong. Forget I said anything. I'll see you in a few weeks. Have a good break." She rushes off, before I can ask what she meant.

"Umm, yeah you too," I call after her and I'm not sure if she even heard me as she keeps her head down.

Has James really been telling people we're dating?

I'm starting to think that the sooner I get away from him the better. I thought he was nice, even whilst being a little too persistent and I was the one too caught up in my own head to give him a real chance, but maybe that's for the best.

That uneasy feeling creeps up on me again and I don't want to hang around outside any longer so I run straight up to my room.

As soon as I close the door, my phone rings in my skirt pocket. I answer it without even looking at the screen, hoping it might be them. That this might be my chance to finally hear their voices again.

"Nice of you to pick up this time."

I inwardly groan at the shrill voice on the other end. Disappointment settling heavy in my chest.

"Hi, Mom."

"Your father and I need to know if you're coming home for the summer. It's about time you showed your face here. It's so disrespectful, Violet. I can't believe you wouldn't even come home to show your brother some support when he needed it and now you're still making me look bad." Her icy words pierce right through my heart and I do my best to hold myself together.

"Mom, I'm not—"

"Your brothers won't be here, if that's the problem. You should at least come and visit your father." She sounds nervous about something, like she might really need me to help smooth things over with Reginald, but that's not my problem. If she's screwed this marriage up, that's her shit to deal with, not mine.

"Are Max and Maddox not at home? Where are they?" I try to not get my hopes up for the answer. If she tells me they're at home right now, then I've really gotten myself caught up in something dangerous with two strangers.

I'm about to take a seat at my desk, but realize I can't sit down like this. As I wait for her reply I pull my underwear off and grab a wet cloth to clean myself up.

I should have a shower, but I don't have the energy right now. All I plan on doing after this is sleeping.

"Oh, I don't know, something about a wilderness holiday or something. They should really be thinking about their futures, not going off to some cabin where I'm sure they'll be doing nothing but drugs, alcohol and girls."

She goes off on a rant about how bad their prospects are looking and how it makes her look bad. Knowing I won't be able to get a word in, I take the time to clean up at the sink, throw some fresh clothes on and collapse into my desk chair to apply my moisturizer.

I don't pay much attention to anything she's saying, I'm stuck on the thought of them partying in some cabin, hooking up with countless girls.

"What cabin?"

"The one the boys used to go to when they were younger. Reg has always wanted us to have a little family vacation there, but I'm not staying in some rundown shack," she scoffs.

That must be why I've never heard of the place before now. I would have loved to have gone on a trip like that, but of course she didn't think to ask me what I wanted.

"It's actually not far from you, now I think about it. Maybe you could get the boys to give you a ride home, then again I doubt they want to see you. You know, Violet, you really have to put some effort in, if you want people to like you. Why do you think I've not come to visit? I'm not traveling all that way, if you can't even be bothered to come home for the holidays."

I ignore her emotional manipulation, I'm so used to it that it's easy now and focus on sifting through the questions in my head. Surely the twins going to the cabin at the same time two masked strangers come to my college isn't a coincidence.

"Mom, I have to go. I can't come home. Actually, I'm going to a friend's place for the summer," I lie again. It's becoming increasingly easy to do now.

"Her dad's a movie director," I add on because I know how much she'll latch on to that idea and push me to go. That part isn't even a lie. Sarah's parents are both in the movie industry and I can pretend that we're actually close just to make sure Mom gets off my back.

"Oh, really! Violet, you should have told me sooner! You never tell me anything these days. Make sure you get his number, is he married? That doesn't matter much. Make sure you make a good impression and tell me everything when you're back."

"Sure," I say, then I quickly say goodbye and hang up before she can keep talking. Tossing my phone down on my desk, I lean back and groan.

My head's pounding and now all I want to do is take that nap, but I can't just lie down because there's a book on my bed, one that I know I didn't leave there when I left.

Hesitantly, I go to pick it up. It's mine and I know I left it next to my bed this morning. I always flip through it whenever I'm struggling to sleep. It helps me to remember the good times with Maddox and Max.

A few days after Mom's wedding, I was sure I'd lost it, but I forgot Maddox took it. It appeared randomly one day on my bed, the pages that were hanging off it from rereading it so many times were glued back into place. It wasn't done by a professional, but so much care was put into it.

When I thanked Maddox for it, he acted like he didn't know what I was talking about, but I saw the small smile he tried to hide from me.

There's a note on top of it, weighed down by two batteries. I put them on the dresser, confused why they're even there in the first place and read the note.

What the?

I reread it a few times, trying to figure out if there's any other meaning than just my stalkers claiming their ownership of me.

Oh my God.

I pull open my drawer to find both my dildo and vibrator missing.

They seriously broke in here to steal my sex toys?

I'm not sure if I should scream or laugh. I'm certainly frustrated since I had plans for them this evening, but does this mean they'll be coming back again soon?

That Max and Maddox really do want me?

My heart rate picks up and I feel like they could be watching me right now.

Moving towards the window, I look down then shake my head when I realize how ridiculous I'm being. There's no one out there.

I go back to my bed and pick up my book. As I move it, a stack of photos fall out and scatter across my bed like some sort of erotic mood board.

They're all of me in the library. It's more than just the one photo I know they took of me. These are all from a different angle, higher up like they were recording the whole thing.

They set the whole thing up. They knew exactly where they wanted me and what they wanted to do to me.

I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.

I notice another note on my bed and I snatch it up, reading it quickly.

Little whore. Sweetheart. Baby.

The names the masked men called me, I've only ever heard from Max and Maddox's lips before.

This settles any doubts I had that it might not have been them. That I didn't come for two complete strangers.

No, I came for my stepbrothers.

If this is a punishment for leaving them and destroying Max's life, then I'll accept it all. I'll be their whore for as long as it takes to earn their forgiveness.

Even if it takes forever, even if there's no coming back from it, I'll let them destroy my body and mind until there's nothing left.