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DAMON
Paige was brazen, I had to give her that. After discovering her creeping around my house like a fucking cat burglar, I had to do something. The weight of her absence was taking its toll on everyone. My little sister from another mister especially, I hated the way Phoenix put on a show, trying to make everyone believe she was okay with Paige’s absence. Phee had been through enough and I knew deep down this was just another person she believed had abandoned her.
It angered me, how could someone claim to always be there for you and then just disappear, ghosting everyone that cared for them, ghosting me? I despised the way she made me feel. The gaping hole she left inside me was something unfamiliar to me. I’d never let myself catch feelings like this but something within her called to me. Like somehow Paige Lennox was the other half to my already blackened soul.
Storming back into my house I followed the crisp apple and cherry scent of Paige’s perfume down the hall, I could see my bedroom door had been left open as she’d made her quick escape. Scoping the room as I entered, it didn’t look any different to when I left for work this morning, that was until I noticed the drawer to my dresser half open and the picture that Phee and I took after her graduation missing from its spot on my desk.
The next room I checked was Phee’s, like mine nothing was out of the ordinary, except for the purple envelope placed on her pillow. That big brother instinct taking over, I snatched it up and headed back to my room. I knew she’d been trying to reach Paige ever since she took off, and I didn’t want this to set her back, things had only just become good for her. She didn’t need Hurricane Paige storming in to upheave her progress.
I already knew what I was doing was all kinds of wrong but my intentions were good and that had to count right? Back in my room I closed the door. This note could hold the clues I needed to track my princess down. My fingers traced across Phee’s name, as it would magically summon Paige back.
Opening the envelope carefully, I took out the note. Paige’s handwriting jumped from the page, calling to me like a siren’s song.
* * *
Dear Phee,
I’m sorry for taking off like I did, and I want you to know that I don’t blame you. I know what my family is like, some are still stuck back in the fifties where they believe women should be good housewives and nothing else. To some extent my Aunt still plays into this, but don’t get me wrong, if there is anyone there that you can rely on it will be her.
What my uncle and cousin did is unforgivable. Not only have they kept this from me but I now know they have known for a while. Stryker could have broken rank at any time yet he made a conscious decision to follow the family line. You’re the only one I know that will understand where I’m coming from.
I have to do this my way Phee Phee, just like you, I need to face my captor, the asshole who tormented me in unimaginable ways, and I need closure. Without it I can’t move on, constantly checking over my shoulder, so I’m asking you not to tell anyone about this.
I promise you I won’t be gone long and I will check back in once things have settled and I have achieved my mission. All I am asking is for you to look after my cousin in the only way I know you can, and to look out for Damon. He can be hot headed and acts before he thinks, but I can’t have either of them coming after me. They will blow it and the scum bag will slip through my fingers if that happens.
I miss you heaps and wish I could call you but they will be able to trace that if I do. I will see you as soon as I can.
Luv
Paige.
* * *
I reread the letter over and over again, hoping that there would be some hidden clue, a hint to anything I could use. But there was nothing, the determination and independence that I loved about her was also the things that made me hate her in this moment too.
“Damn it Paige,” I cursed the woman who secretly held my heart. This little temper tantrum of hers had gone on long enough. It was time for her to come home and face the music. “You can run princess, but trust me when I tell you, I’m coming for you and when I get a hold of you, you’ll wish you’d let your family handle this.”
It had been weeks since my pampered princess had taken off, and I was no closer to tracking her down. I’d been all over this god forsaken town, following every lead that Jonah had been feeding me to no avail. We had to expand our search. It was clear that she was no longer in Southport. I doubt she had been here for weeks. We were just chasing herrings at this stage. When I finally get my hands on her she’d be lucky if I let her leave my goddamn house. It was time for plan B.
