Page 30 of Fractured Remains


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I didn’t want to eavesdrop. I really didn’t want to. But they were yelling so loud I couldn’t block them out. Well, Devon was yelling. It was pretty hard to hear what East and Tex were saying in response.

Devon’s angry words are on repeat in my head, but muffled like I’m underwater, so I don’t even know if I’m hearing them correctly.

Devon thinks I hate him. I know it. I don’t need to decipher his angry shouts to know the truth. I see it in his eyes, on his face, every time he looks at me. He hates me because he thinks I hate him.

He couldn’t be further from the truth.

We kissed.

We kissed and it went nowhere. I kissed him and the universe punished the shit out of me for it. Now I have to keep him at arm’s length.

I remember when I was trapped in that hellhole praying to gods I don’t even believe in, that if I could just get home safely, I would never fuck up the good thing that I have with my three guys ever again. No more wanting them, pining for them, fantasising about them at night. I would be good. A good girl who left them well alone.

But I didn’t manage to keep that promise. I fucked up. Again. I had sex with Tex, and the universe came back to punish me once more, almost immediately, with that phone call.

Fuck…what am I going to do about my mama?

I couldn’t say anything in front of the guys, couldn’t tell them my fears about what she said without opening the whole ‘Joe’ can of worms.

My mama sold me to bad, bad people, and they snatched me the night I was meant to finally meet Joe and be happy. I’d decided to give up on Tex, East and Devon, and to fully invest in pursuing a future with Joe. Sure, I would always love my three guys, but I was developing feelings for Joe too. I thought if I could focus on making it work with him, my love for the others could fade into the background. Morph, over time, into something more familial. Brotherly love maybe.

But even a future with Joe was snatched away from me.

No.

That’s not right, is it? My mind keeps racing, swirling, going round in circles. I have to shake it to clear it. I know I have something wrong. Some detail I’m missing or I’m overlooking. What is it?

The only time you’ve ever been any goddamn use to me was when I sold you to that nice medical student guy and his friends.

Mama’s words come back to haunt me, slamming into me with such force that I gasp and stagger back onto my bed. I don’t have the strength to hold myself up.

Useless fucking bitch, you couldn’t even open your legs right and then die properly for your mama!

My breathing comes in sharp, shallow pants as pain lances across my chest. Fuck. I try to call out for Tex, but no sound slips out of my panicked lips. There’s no-one here to save me this time. I’m alone once more.

When the guys found me, or what was left of me, they swore I would never be alone again. And true to their word, they kept that promise. I’m not really alone right now, they’re just on the other side of that door, but I can’t breathe, can’t speak, can’t call out for the help I so desperately need.

I gasp and close my eyes, slammed back into the horrors of my past.

* * *

“Peaches...Peaches…”

I wake groggy and disoriented from a delicious dream featuring East. In my dream he was teasing me, calling me peaches while smiling and tugging my hair. We were just playing video games together, but the feelings of warmth and comfort were intoxicating. God, I miss him. Miss them all. I long for home.

“Peaches...Peaches…”

I recoil in horror, cringing back into the wall when I realise that it wasn’t East calling me peaches, but him. Scar face. My tormentor. He’s bottom of the rung pond filth in this place, for sure. He’s the muscle, the threat of brutal punishment they use to keep us in line. He isn’t part of the program, the sessions. He’s never been in the room with me. He just terrorises me from outside my cell each night.

I never thought I would be so grateful to be locked up, but during the night those iron bars and old school locks are the only thing that keep me safe. I think they’re the only thing that keeps me alive, if the murderous look in scar face’s eyes is anything to go by. He’s had a taste of my blood and it wasn’t enough. He’s addicted. A hunter. And he’s made me his prey. He’s obsessed with taunting me.

“It’s my birthday today Peaches. How about you crawl over here and give me a little birthday treat.”

I sink deeper into my mattress, pulling the threadbare blanket up over my head, as though it will give me some kind of protection from his words.

“I have a surprise for you. As it’s my birthday, one of the guards gave me a little gift. Can you guess what it is?” He chuckles, a sick and terrifying sound that has me trembling. “It’s a key. Guess where it’s for?”

I don’t have to guess.

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