Chapter Twenty-Five

" I really don't want to go," I say.

Mom sighs and aggressively scrambles the egg mixture in a bowl. Once upon a time, that would have made me squirm in my seat and worry about what I've done to make her mad.

"You have no choice in this," she says. "Besides, it'll be good for you to get out of the house."

I roll my eyes and lean into my chair. The manga paperback I've been reading drops to the table with a thump that earns me a glare from my mom.

"Okay," I mumble. "I'll bite. Why?"

"Speak up, Dahlia. You're mumbling."

I bite back the snarky comment I want to say, and I refrain from starting anything. I'm exhausted and don't have the spoons for her bullshit. When will people listen and stop focusing on themselves for once? I'm sick and tired of everyone but Jaxon not listening to me.

"I said, I'll bite. Why?"

Mom pours the egg mixture into the frying pan. I hate scrambled eggs. Anything she cooks is always terrible, and to avoid hurting her fragile feelings, I have to pretend I like it. "After your little tantrum the other day, I figure this is a great reason to do a mental-health vacation."

My little tantrum the other day... Are you fucking kidding me?

That's not the real reason, and we both know it. She knows I heard her conversation on the phone the other day. "What is a Reckoning?"

Mom's shoulders tense, but she doesn't look at me. She whisks the mixture in the pan, pretending to be busy with cooking. "Look it up in the dictionary."

I stand from my seat, snatch my paperback, and give her back an icy glare. "I'm not stupid."

Mom huffs, turns around, and folds her arms over her chest. "Speak up."

"I'm sick and tired of you not listening to me. If you can't hear me, maybe you should shut the fuck up for once and listen." I snap my mouth closed, my eyes widening a fraction. Did I just say that out loud?

Her lips flatten, and fire burns in her gaze. "How dare you talk to me like that! I'm your mother. Show a little respect."

I let out a sarcastic laugh. "Respect is earned, not given. You haven't done anything to earn it."

"Tell me how you really feel, Dahlia." Mom storms across the kitchen to me.

"You're the most ungrateful child I've ever known," she continues. "I feed you, clothe you, pay for anything you need and want. You're under my roof and don't have a job because you're a lazy piece of shit."

Rage ignites in my veins like a match striking the box. The lid I kept tightly shut over the years bursts open, and I can't hold back all the things I've been dying to tell my mother .

"And you're a self-centered, money-hungry bitch who slept with a married man and became his mistress!"

Mom grabs her chest, horror-stricken. "Who the hell do you think you are? My relationship with your father is my business. So stay the hell out of it!"

She raises her hand to slap me. I duck to escape the blow but move too late. Her palm cracks against my cheek, the force whipping my head to the side. The side of my face throbs like a heartbeat, and tears sting my eyes. I pinch my lips together and touch the sensitive skin with my fingertips while I glare at my mom.

She stabs a finger at me and makes that stupid bulldog face that shows off her bottom teeth. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but it stops now." She backs away, then stops to drive the figurative knife deeper in my chest. "You know what? I do know. You're around Jaxon way too much, and he's clearly rubbing off on you. If you have half a mind, you'll stay away from that boy."

I ball my fingers into tight fists by my sides. "Yeah, maybe he is rubbing off on me, but he's taught me more about boundaries and sticking up for myself than you ever did. I'm not going with you. I'm staying here."

"You're coming with me whether you like it or not," she says. "You want to know what the Reckoning is? Just ask your precious brother. He'll know all about it and maybe then it will repel you from him."

"The only person who repels me is you. You did this! Not me." I put distance between her and me, but she doesn't understand personal space and looks seconds away from beating the fuck out of me. "By the way, I didn't have a little tantrum the other day. It was a mental break. Tantrums are what you're good at."

"Oh, please, Dahlia." She waves her hand to dismiss everything I said. "You've always been the dramatic one. You want the attention. Well, guess what? You got it from everyone else, but I refuse to give in to your childish behavior. You broke something of mine that's important, just out of spite, and I know those stitches on your arm are fake."

"They are not." I want to strangle that woman so bad. When this is over, I'm looking into places to live. I don't know how I'll get a place without a job, but there has to be something out there. I can't do this shit anymore.

Mom rolls her eyes. "Stop it. You're always lying."

I tremble with rage and hold myself back from attacking her. Then something inside me snaps, and I relax my body. My face falls, and an icy demeanor takes over.

She notices the change and takes it as a win. She sniffs and turns, giving me her back as she returns to the stove.

"And you're a creepy old hag who has a thing for my brother," I say calmly.

Mom freezes. In a blink, she's crossed the room and raised her hand to slap me again.

A flash of tan skin and black fabric knocks her away from me. I cover my mouth and stumble back into the seat I abandoned. Jaxon slams Mom onto the table. Her back smacks the surface with a loud thump , and the silverware and china clatter on the table.

"Get off me!" She grabs Jaxon's arm...the arm he's pressed against her throat to pin her down.

He ignores her and holds a large pocketknife to her throat. Leaning down, he bares his teeth. His eyes lose their light and become vacant as he blacks out.

I lunge at him and wrap my arms around his lean body. I mold myself against his side and tug him to get him off of my mom. He doesn't budge and shoves his arm into her throat to quiet her screams.

"I warned you, Evelyn." Jaxon's voice deepens and is scratchy from his barely held together restraint. "I told you we can find out together what would happen if you hurt her."

She shouts for Dad as she struggles to get out of Jaxon's hold. "Get your"—she sucks in a ragged breath—"hands off of me."

The corners of Jaxon's lips tip up in a humorless smile. "No."

"Jaxon," I murmur, and squeeze my arms around him.

"You've made her cry," Jaxon growls. "Hit her. Ignored her. You've done a lot of things to Dahlia, and I've given you chance after chance over the years to change your ways."

Mom whimpers and kicks her legs. Her feet weakly knock into me. Jaxon digs the knife's blade into her neck, drawing a bead of blood.

"Jaxon, please." I tug him again.

His smile broadens and his pupils dilate. "My father is gone. It's just us, bitch. No one's going to save you."

A shiver rolls down my spine, and I suck in a breath as he drags the tip of the knife down mom's throat to the top of her chest.

He chuckles. "Let's see how you like it when I make you cry."

I swallow hard and weigh my next decision before I throw caution to the wind. "Let's go to your bedroom, big brother," I whisper in his ear, low enough for only him to hear.

Jaxon freezes and holds his breath. I slip my hand down his back and grab his ass, hoping that'll be enough to distract him. He loosens his hold on Mom, and life returns to his dark eyes.

"Get off of me!" Mom weeps.

He shoves off her, swings his fist back, and punches her. Her eyes close and she slumps off the table and lands in a heap on the floor.

My jaw drops. I barely have time to check on her before Jaxon grabs my hand and drags me up to his room. He twists my arm so that I face him before the door shuts, and then he pounces on me. His mouth devours mine, full of need and desperate for more than what we've been doing. Despite his roughness, his hand on my cheek is gentle and loving, treating me like I'm a baby bird with a broken wing.

"I need to feel you wrapped around my cock, sis," he says.

I bury my fingers in his wavy black hair, pulling at the strands just to hear him snarl. He walks me backward until I bump into the mattress and fall onto my back. I open my legs wide, allowing Jaxon room to settle between them.

He grabs a bottle of lube from his nightstand. Disappointment tightens my chest because I know he won't fuck my pussy. I don't understand why he won't.

Jaxon rips my shorts, fishnets, and underwear down my legs to pool around my ankles. The way he manhandles me makes me feel smaller than I actually am. He frees his cock and slathers it with lube, then turns his attention to my asshole. When we're all greased up, he tosses the bottle onto the mattress and yanks me to the edge so he's standing with my legs over his shoulder. He positions himself outside of the tight hole.

"I want you to know something, flower," he says as he bends over me to squeeze my throat. "I love you with everything in me, but right now, I'm about to fuck you like I hate you."

I yell as he spears into me, sinking every pierced inch of his dick inside me until he bottoms out. He pulls out and drills back into me. Every thrust of his hips shoves me backward. He has to hold my waist with his free hand to keep me from escaping him.

"You're doing so fucking good for me." He grunts. "My slutty little sister. "

Our flesh claps, and he bares his teeth as he ruts harder into my ass.

My lips part on a breathless scream. His fingers tighten around my throat, cutting off my airflow.

Jesus, he didn't lie about fucking me like he hates me. His expression twists in anger and his eyes blacken like he's losing himself, but he hasn't blacked out. The spark of life in his dark eyes burns brighter every time I let out a breathless wheeze. I can't move because he has me bent like a pretzel, so I'm left taking everything he gives me.

"You know why I like your ass so much?" He rolls his hips, grinding into me. "It's because I get to see it clap as you take my fat cock like the good little fuck toy that you are."

He slaps my ass to make his point.

"You're going to come," he snarls. "Show your big brother how thankful you are for him."

My eyes roll into the back of my head as my climax reaches its highest point and I'm sent hurtling over the edge. I've never come without having my clit played with.

Jaxon loosens his hold on my neck, allowing me to breathe while he ruthlessly fucks me into the mattress. Blood rushes to my head, making it spin like I drank too much.

"That's my good slut. Come all over yourself." He swipes his fingers between my soaked folds and shoves them into my mouth, forcing me to taste myself. "Suck it."

I curl my tongue around his fingers, tasting the muskiness of my arousal. He groans, his hips stuttering. I yelp as he pulls out of me and forces me onto my knees, putting his glistening dick in my face.

"Suck my cock and make me come." He fists my hair and pushes me toward his groin.

I barely open my mouth before he's forcing himself past my lips and hitting the back of my throat. My shoulders heave with a gag as he roughly fucks my face. I can't take all of his length, so I hollow my cheeks and suction his driving dick.

Jaxon's moans feed the fire burning in my body and make this act of ass-to-mouth worth it. His head drops back and he glances to the side, his mouth parting in a slight smile. Thick ropes of cum spurt into my mouth. I barely keep up with swallowing his load before more floods down my throat. His dick throbs as he finishes with grunts, and then he shoves my head farther down his length until it bruises the sensitive skin at the back of my throat.

"What the hell is going on here?" Dad's voice booms behind Jaxon.

I tense and shove my hands against Jaxon's thighs. He holds me still, keeping his dick in my mouth as he continues unloading in me. His lips curve into a deviant smile, but he doesn't stop fucking my face. My heart breaks over the fact that Jaxon knew our dad was in the bedroom before I did.

Dad grabs Jaxon's shoulder and yanks him away from me. His dick slides out of my sore mouth, and I fall forward and catch myself on my hands. I suck in ragged breaths, filling my burning lungs with the oxygen he deprived me of.

Jaxon tumbles back, then turns, taking a swing at our father.

I shakily get to my feet and fix my clothes. "Stop it!"

"You sick son of a bitch." Dad blocks the punch and swings. His much larger fist connects with Jaxon's jaw, throwing him off balance. "She's your sister!"

Jaxon laughs, and the evil coldness in that sound raises the hairs on my arms. He pulls up his pants and faces our father with a bloody smile.

"Yeah, she is." He swipes his arm over his mouth and laughs again, devoid of emotion. "You wanna know how she feels when she's taking my dick? Like a fucking dream."

Dad's face turns a bright shade of red, and he lets loose on Jaxon, catching him off guard as he slams him against the wall. His arm pins Jaxon in place, like what Jaxon did with my mom.

Jaxon laughs through the punches until blood leaks from his nose and travels over his busted lip.

"She sucks a mean cock, too," Jaxon says with a louder cackle. He grunts when Dad punches him in the gut. "She can take all nine inches of me like a greedy slut."

How dare he? How could he say all of those things like it doesn't matter to him?

Like I don't matter to him.

Mom runs into the room, her hand already on her chest and eyes wide as she takes in the unfolding scene. Bruises have already formed on her temple and neck from Jaxon almost killing her.

Dad grabs Jaxon by the collar and shakes him. "She's your goddamn sister, boy."

Mom looks me over, taking in the messy hair, ruffled clothes, and the flush on my cheeks. Her eyebrows furrow in confusion, and then she realizes what Dad means. "You had sex with your brother, Dahlia?"

This is why I wanted to keep us a secret. Our parents won't understand. No one will. We'll be the town's laughingstock, and the bullying will get worse.

"You have nothing to say?" Mom shakes her head in disgust.

"Take her with you. You're both leaving," Dad says to Mom over his shoulder.

"Let's go, Dahlia," my mother says.

I take a step back, then another. "I'm not leaving."

Dad glares at me while still holding Jaxon against the wall. "Go with your mother."

I cross my arms over my chest and stand my ground. "No. I'm not leaving Jaxon. "

Dad's eyes narrow.

Mom closes the space between us and grabs my arm. "We're leaving."

"No!" I dig my heels into the wooden floor and shove her hands away.

Mom growls and grabs me again.

"I'm not leaving him!" I scream.

Dad shifts as he pulls a gun from behind his back. He holds the barrel against Jaxon's head. My older brother frowns, but he doesn't show any fear about the possibility of dying.

"If you don't leave in five seconds, I'll shoot him, and his blood will be on your hands." Dad clicks the safety off.

My stomach twists in knots until I'm seconds away from puking.

Jaxon turns his gaze to me with a strange look that I can't put my finger on.

There's no way they'll let us be together. If I leave now, I have a feeling this will be the last time I see him.

"Five," Dad growls.

My bottom lip wobbles, and tears form in my eyes. Jaxon's face falls, and his eyelids droop as something sinister inside him looks back at me.

"Four."

My vision blurs as I longingly gaze at him, wishing he'd do something. I can get over the heartbreak of him betraying me like this. What I can't get over is the heartbreak if he dies. I'd join him in death.

"Three."

Jaxon mouths, Go , and smirks.

I don't understand what he finds so funny about this.

"Two."

"Let's go, Dahlia." Mom yanks my arm and drags me to the door .

Jaxon's head dips so that he's looking at me from beneath his lashes. The corner of his lip quirks, and death looks back at me. My heart beats quicker and feels like it's skipping in my chest.

"Find me," I whisper, and a tear drops from my bottom lashes and travels down my cheek, followed by another one.

Jaxon's disturbing stare follows me as I'm dragged out of the room.

"Cry, little sister," he says in a dead voice. His warning nips at my heels and sticks with me as I'm forced to grab my bags and get in Mom's car.