AllFreeNovel
Share Us
For the first few seconds, I stared at him. Derick and I were not best friends, but if anyone knew the extent of my grievances toward our father, it was him. Not only had he invited me to lunch while conveniently leaving out that we wouldn't be alone, but now he was playing devil's advocate? The betrayal stung harder than I expected, especially since my brother made it a point to stay out of my disagreements with our father.
I snatched my hand back and stood, hanging my tote bag on my shoulder. I carefully avoided my father's angry gaze and focused on Derick instead. "The next time you blindside me like this, I'll make sure you don't see me for a full month."
And then I walked away.
If I were being completely honest, I couldn't care less about the company I worked at as long as it wasn't Blizzard Games. Anywhere but there. The thought that I could be happy anywhere that wasn't where he wanted me to be was such a foreign concept to him.
Once I was at a safe distance, the emotions swelled to the surface and my eyes watered. But I didn't let the tears fall. As weird as it sounded, I wasn't as strong as the image I painted. I hated the arguments and constant back and forth, but it was so hard to forget everything that happened and how it fucked with my brain.
If my dad couldn't get off his high horse and admit he was wrong, we had nothing to discuss.
five
Felicity
Due to the tasteless dinner with my family, and Aaron's weird propensity to zone out during conversations, the rest of the day was relatively uneventful.
As a rule, I stopped driving four years ago after I'd almost gotten myself and some other people killed. The fear that I’d nearly been the cause of another person's death never entirely disappeared, and it was the reason I preferred being a passenger.
Nothing would ever make me get behind the wheel again. Nothing.
The bus ride back to my apartment in Lower Manhattan was mostly a blur. I was still reeling from the episode with my brother and father. Usually, I’d have put the incident behind me as quickly as it happened, but Derick's betrayal ran deeper than I thought. Right from when everything happened four years ago, he'd always been on my side. At least, that was the impression he'd given me.
Turned out he just wanted me to do what my father wanted, even if it was the opposite of what I wanted.
Sighing, I rested my head against the window of the bus as images, figures, and trees passed by. If I were being completely honest, I was exhausted. Mentally. For the past four years, I'd had to live with the daunting knowledge that trust was a myth. Everybody eventually did what was best for them. And nine out of ten times, what was best for them was usually terrible for someone else.
I'd been that someone else. No one would have thought I’d ever be in that position. I certainly hadn't. But I'd been young, naïve, a girl of nineteen who'd suddenly been given a taste of the forbidden and realized she wanted more. The cup had been offered, and I'd drank from it greedily, without any thought to whether the contents had been laced with poison.
The bus came to a stop, and I stood, halting all thoughts of the past and my crazy familial issues. Thankfully, my apartment building was right in front of the bus stop, so all I had to do was walk inside.
Once I was in the building, I headed to my mailbox to check if I had any mail or deliveries. I usually didn't, except when I was expecting something I'd ordered online. Still, I checked every day. It’d slowly become a routine, and I wasn't bothered enough to stop it.
I turned the key in the lock, pulled the small door open, and frowned. A brown envelope lay in my mailbox. Was I expecting a delivery? Why didn't I remember ordering anything? Reaching in, I grabbed the envelope.
The package was completely plain and didn’t include a return mailing address. Maybe someone mistakenly put it in my box – it was my address but didn’t have my name on it. I shook the package near my ear, but there was no sound to give me an idea of what could be in it.
I was still puzzled when I unlocked the door and entered my apartment. My stomach chose to grumble at that time, and I tossed the package on the coffee table in my living room, momentarily forgetting about it.
I needed food. The walk to my fridge ended in me bringing out a slice of leftover pizza and throwing it in the oven. I quickly showered while it was heating up and threw on a comfy pair of pajamas.
It took me only a few seconds to wolf down the pizza, and then on to my favorite part of the night: Jungle Justice.
Or, rather, a particular character who had somehow managed to grab my attention.
But before that, I had to take care of the gnawing voice at the back of my head. I went to the coffee table, picked up the envelope, and tore it open. Maybe I shouldn't have. It might have been meant for someone else.
But my hands were already moving, and in mere seconds, the torn envelope was sitting on the coffee table, and in my hands was a white sealed box. With a sense of strange urgency, I opened the lid and had my breath knocked right of me.
A freaking dildo…with a vibrating head.
The purple thing stared back at me. No shit. It felt like it was actually looking at me.
It was definitely meant for someone else. If I'd ordered a massive purple dildo with a conjoined vibrator, I’d remember. A quick snicker escaped my mouth. Whoever this was meant for was certainly sex-starved.
There was only one person I wanted to tell. Dropping the toy on the table, I was filled with anticipation as I switched on my laptop. The game took a few minutes to set up, and a message popped up once I was logged in.
I clicked on the message, and a dialogue box opened on the screen, revealing text from AaRogue.
