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Before I can ask for the real story, because I know they are definitely keeping something from me, Sawyer and Grant come in with bags of food. He starts tossing paper wrapped burgers to everyone while Grant hands out the rest. He makes sure not to make eye contact as he sets my container of fries in front of me.
Every time he ignores me, it’s like a knife to the chest. Luckily, I’m already so broken inside that it doesn’t pierce what vital pieces are left. I let myself fade into the background as they joke and talk as usual. I noticed Lake lean in and say something quietly to Sawyer and Grant when they came back. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a directive to not ask me to open up more tonight.
The first bite of the burger hits my tongue, and it is too good for words. The cheese, the greasy beef, the crisp lettuce. I moan at how much I missed it.
Everyone’s eyes shift to me, and they pause with looks of surprise on their faces. My heart shrinks in fear. If Tripp were here, I’d be punished for making a scene. The first night we attended a black tie gala at a Hollywood mansion, I moaned at how good the dessert was. He backhanded me in the car on the way home for embarrassing him. He apologized as soon as we got home and made love to me, claiming it was stress from a deal he was working on and that it would never happen again. It didn’t for months. Every time the punishment increased in severity until he didn’t care at all anymore.
I set my burger down quickly. “I’m sorry, it’s just been a long time since I had a burger. I forgot how good it tastes.”
“You don’t have to apologize for enjoying food, Liv.” Sawyer’s brow creases. He looks over at Grant whose jaw is clenched.
“Keep eating, Liv.” Lake picks up my burger and hands it to me.
I make sure to keep myself quiet as I devour the burger. I can only eat a handful of fries, so I hand them off to Nolan, who still eats everything left over. I can’t help but smile a bit at that. We used to joke about how he was our human garbage disposal. Grant and Sawyer didn’t even know what a garbage disposal was because they grew up in homes with staff.
Nolan was at our school on scholarship and lived in on-campus housing. Lake immigrated from Costa Rica in elementary school, but his parents had him live in on-campus housing because their offices were in New Jersey.
I only ended up at Founders Prep because my parents were both doctors who traveled for a non-profit providing medical care in poor and rural areas around the world. They homeschooled me until high school and then decided I needed a legitimate high school experience. My uncle had a home in Founder’s Ridge so that’s where I landed.
“I’m going to head out. I need to check on a few things at Seven,” Grant announces as he wads up his burger wrapper. “I’ll see you guys later.” He walks out of the apartment without a glance spared at me.
The rest of us spend the evening watching a movie together. It almost feels like old times again. I feel so at ease and safe with the guys again that I fall asleep on the couch between Nolan and Lake.
3
OLIVIA
“Olivia,baby, you have to stop. I only do this because you get so out of hand.” Tripp says as he stalks toward me. “Did you really think you could go to the police and lie about me?” He steps toward me. “I own the police and the DA. Don’t you get it? I run a charity that saves women from human trafficking. I would never abuse my own beloved wife.”
I walk backwards away from him. Away from those stone-cold eyes. I know this tone. The softer his voice gets, the angrier he is. He removes his belt, then his cufflinks. I try to keep the bed between us, but he crosses the room and blocks my path.
The slap is so fast that I never see it coming. Heat blooms across my cheek and tears fall from my eyes. I don’t know how I got here, but it is impossible to ever get out. He grabs my hair and pulls my head back.
“You ungrateful bitch.” He spits in my face. “You have no one but me. Your parents are dead. Your friends abandoned you.” He releases my hair and pushes me face-down on the bed. “Time to use you for the only thing you’re good for,” he says as he tears my jeans down over my hips.
I wake up from the awful nightmare covered in sweat and in an unfamiliar bed. My mind races as I fight to calm my breathing. I go through the steps that Lake explained earlier, which works to calm me down. Once I’m feeling steady enough, I get up to go get a bottle of water from the kitchen.
I fumble around looking for a light switch. Relieved as soon as I find and flip it on. Darkness isn’t quite as bad as tight spaces, but I could use a nightlight for sure.
“Can’t sleep?” Lake’s voice hits me like a punch to the stomach.
I gasp and clutch my chest, the reflex more pronounced as my nerves are heightened from the nightmare. “Fuck!”
“Sorry.” He stands up from the couch and walks into the kitchen light. He’s wearing a white undershirt and maroon sweatpants. When I look over his shoulder, I see a pillow and blanket. He notices my gaze. “Nolan and I both decided to stay here tonight. I gave Nolan the other guest room because I don’t sleep well, either.”
“Oh, thank you.” I walk to the refrigerator and grab a bottle of water. I offer him one, too. “Yeah, I have nightmares. While I was on my way here from LA, I didn’t sleep deeply enough to have them, but I guess I’m a little more relaxed here with you guys.”
“Until I scare you in the middle of the night.”
“Trust me when I tell you I’ve experienced much scarier times,” I say softly.
“I hate that I believe you.” He steps up to me and slowly cups my cheek. “I’m sorry we weren’t there to protect you.”
I let the warmth from his palm sink into my skin. I haven’t been touched in anything other than hate and malice in so long that I can’t get enough of their hugs and touches. At the same time, I’m terrified of becoming reliant on them.
“May I hug you?” He opens his thick arms to me.
“Yes,” I step into his embrace, “thank you.” I can feel every muscle in his back as my hands run up his spine. He feels twice as strong as I remember. I let my fingertips graze along his sides as I pull away from the embrace, but he reaches around and grabs my left hand. He gives it a squeeze and drops it, which is weird because he didn’t move my other hand.
