Page 114 of Tell No Lies

“You’re still in high school. Do you think Brandon would be okay with it?”

Hmm. I hadn’t even thought about Brandon. Oh gosh, he would kill us both.

I let out a heavy sigh and felt myself deflate. “It meant something to me, Carter.”

I felt as if he was avoiding looking at me.

“Me too.”

“So, we just go on as if nothing happened? You’re just another big brother to me?”

I watched him shudder from the corner of my eye. “No. I’m not your brother.” His voice had become deep and gruff. “I’m another friend. I’m here for you for anything, but I want you to enjoy being in high school. Enjoy being a teenager.”

“I can enjoy being a teenager, and dance, and get good grades while being with you.”

He rubbed his hand over his face, clearly as frustrated as I was. “It can’t work, okay? The sooner we accept it and move on, the better.”

“I don’t want to be with anyone else. Every guy I date hurts me, but I trust you.”

“Then don’t date anyone.” His eyes were pleading with me to listen. “I’m just asking you to understand. I don’t want to hurt you, but this is how it has to be.”

My shattered heart fell to the floor with each step he took to the door. Without a word, he let himself out, never once turning back. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited. He would come back. He would never just leave like that.

Seconds had turned into minutes when I finally opened my eyes and allowed the tears to fall. He’d meant it. He didn’t want me.

Ten

My alarm was the enemy when it went off Monday morning. I glared at it with half-open eyes, willing it to shut up on its own. No luck.

The only energy I had was wasted by flinging out one arm to turn it off.

Something fell to the floor.

I rolled over to the edge of the bed and saw an envelope that I didn’t recognize. As carefully as I could, I slid out of bed and sat on the floor.

Turning the envelope over, I saw my name written across the center. No address, just my name. That didn’t make sense. Had one of the girls dropped this off last night? I carefully opened it and pulled out the contents.

Picture after picture of me from last weekend fell to the floor. Getting on the yacht, sitting with the girls in the room, sitting on Tucker’s lap, me in my bikini before snorkeling, lying out on the beach next to Mckayla, riding a bike through the town. They had all been snapped from a distance, not something a friend would take.

My breathing became shallow, and my heart raced. Not again. This couldn’t be happening!

I screamed out in frustration. Morgan was locked up! He wasn’t anywhere near me! There hadn’t been anything since the night of the formal. Why was this happening now?

Brandon burst into my room, calling my name. I sat up and looked at him from across my bed. He ran over and threw his arms around me.

“What’s wrong? Why did you scream?” He was searching my face for the answer.

I held up my hand, showing him the photos. I couldn’t speak; I could barely breathe. He took them from me and looked down, then back at me. He knew what was happening without having to ask.

This couldn’t be real. Not again. I barely managed to survive the first time. This was supposed to be a new start. No more threats. No more lies. I was supposed to be safe.

My body shook with sobs, and I looked at Brandon in desperation. His arms caught me as I fell over. He laid me down and took my face in his hands.

“Aubrey, you need to calm down. Please, just take a deep breath in.”

I tried to listen to him but ended up gasping repeatedly. Realizing this wasn’t working, Brandon pulled me into his arms and held me against his chest. He rubbed circles on my back as he pleaded with me to breathe.

After several minutes that felt like hours, I began to calm down. Brandon was on his phone, telling Mckayla I was going to miss school today. He hung up and made another call.