18. Fiora

When my phone rings, my gut already knows who it is before I even pick up.

"I've been trying to get a hold of you for days," Storee says the moment I answer. "What the hell is going on?"

"I—"

"Locke told me you are a Godwin," she interrupts. "Care to explain? And he said your brother was killed, and that you're engaged to Braken Frost! I had to hear all this from him!"

I knew this day was coming, and I hated that I had to lie to my new best friend. My only best friend.

"I've been meaning to call to explain, but everything has been happening so fast and?—"

"Why did you feel you had to hide the fact that you're a Godwin from me?"

"I wanted to get away from everything. Life. I wanted to become someone new and— I don't know. I shouldn't have lied. I'm sorry. I really am. It's hard to explain just how suffocating my life was and why I so desperately wanted to get away."

There's a pause followed by a heavy sigh. "I shouldn't be making this about me," she says softly. "I'm sorry. You just lost your brother. How are you?"

"Numb, I think. My brother and I weren't exactly close, but… my life feels like I'm churning in the sea right now."

"Braken? Marriage?" she asks.

"Yeah… welcome to my life as a Godwin. See why I wanted to run away and be someone else?"

"You have to marry someone you don't even know? This sounds so archaic."

"It is. But now that I'm the oldest…" I release a sigh and run my fingers through my hair. "My father is a man that… I wish I could describe this better. It's just a mess."

"I like Braken. He's a great guy and one of Locke's best friends," she offers. "I guess it could be worse."

Flashbacks of him hunting me in the forest, fucking me in ways I didn't know was possible, come flooding in. "Yeah, I suppose it could be worse."

"But…" she begins. "You do realize who Braken is right? I mean… he owns The Vault. Runs The Hunt."

"Yeah, I know."

After an awkward silence, she adds, "And you know he is in some sort of relationship agreement with Merrick and Soren?"

"What do you mean? They are all together?" This is news to me. I've seen them all three together at the club, but I didn't know he was with them.

"No, not like that. Merrick and Soren are an item, or as much of an item as the two of them are willing to go. But the three of them have always shared and had group sex and stuff. I don't know all the details, but I know that Braken is about as far from vanilla as one could get."

"I'm not exactly vanilla either."

She chuckles. "I suppose none of us are, but I just wanted to give you a heads up that things may be a tad messy with the three of them."

"I appreciate that, but one thing about being a Godwin is that everything about us is messy. So Braken and I have that in common."

"Why Heathens Hollow?" she asks. "You could go anywhere."

"I didn't want to use my father's money or credit cards. He'd track me down. So, I needed to go someplace I could afford. Paris or London would be out of my price range."

"You worked for the Godwins," she adds. "All the catering jobs we did. I don't understand how they didn't know it was you."

"My father and Troy Godwin don't speak unless they have to. My cousins and I don't know each other."

It was nice to be able to view them from afar and not have the weight of being the hated Godwin cousin or niece hang over me. With the number of Godwin family members, most people assume that we are all close. They possibly picture huge holiday parties and massive birthday celebrations. The reality is very different… and very sad. Unity is not a word that goes with Godwin.

"Storee," I say then pause, searching for the right words. "I'm sorry I lied to you. I'm not usually a liar, and it's a trait in people I normally detest. I just… I was trying to reinvent myself."

"I get it. I do. I know our friendship is real."

"It is. I swear that," I say. "I don't have friends other than you. I'd hate to lose that."

"You want me to come to Seattle and be with you?" she asks.

"I'm actually here in the cottage. Braken suggested?—"

"Oh, then I'll come over."

I glance out the window and notice the rain. "Stay put. A storm is happening, and I don't want Locke to stress out with you being caught in it. I'm fine. We can catch up tomorrow." I notice something else while staring outside. I blink a few times because, surely, they wouldn't stand out in a storm…

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. We'll catch up more, I promise," I say before we say our goodbyes and hang up.

I reach for my rain jacket and boots then head toward the two madmen getting drenched.