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He swings the door open and steps past Blake, whose eyes sweep up and down my body. As soon as they land on the bruise around my neck they harden. He swallows and looks away for a couple deep breaths and once his emotions are back in check he looks to me again.
I don’t know if he’s upset because of the bruises or because I was showering with Cody. I think about explaining how I can’t lift my arm but then I remember who I am. I remember why I’m here and a bolt of anger floods me. I’ll do what I want from here on out. They brought me out here, and while my attack wasn’t their fault, they started this mess. I’ll fuck right back with them all I want.
Grabbing the bag from Blake, I close the door in his face. I pull my last set of clothes out of the bag and set them on the counter. The bruises on my neck and shoulder look sinister as I peer at my reflection. My black hair curls against my pale skin, a combination that some have told me over the years reminds them of Snow White, especially with my bright blue eyes and refined features.
Nothing about me feels pretty right now, but I do feel a weird sense of power. A shift has occurred between me and the guys. Their concern has lowered their walls and now I see that they have some sick sense of ownership over me. I’ve always felt a pull toward them, but shoved it down into the darkest part of my soul in order to survive. Now I realize that pull that has always gone both ways.
I struggle to get dressed with the way my shoulder aches, so instead of using my shirt, I open the drawer Cody pulled his shorts out of and find a bunch of white undershirts. I wince as I pull it over my head, but get it on with minimal trouble. I manage to tug the leggings up easily enough.
Cody and Blake are standing at the front door when I emerge from the bathroom. Their heads are together, deep in conversation, but they look up in unison at me. Cody’s eyes heat as he realizes I’m in one of his shirts and Blake looks me up and down again with another look of appraisal. Knowing him, he’s already probably mentally cataloged my injuries and how they’re progressing.
“Where’s West?” I ask.
“Out chopping wood.” I hear the unmistakable sound of a piece of wood splitting open right as Blake answers me. “He went out to start as soon as we walked into the cabin.”
Cody looks over at me with a smirk, his eyes twinkling with mischief. He’s either reliving our shower together or he’s amused at West’s reaction to it. Either way, I need to remember now that the adrenaline high has left my body who I’m dealing with here. I can’t trust them.
But I can fuck with them.
ChapterFourteen
I’ve been watching Violet for the past hour, keeping track of the severity of her injuries and watching for any slight tells regarding her state of mind right now. She seems to be doing well, all things considered. Cody keeps grinning at her and making her blush; clearly something happened while he was helping her in the shower.
West has been going at the pile of wood since we walked in and realized that they were showering together. We agreed to share her when we came up with this plan, but we knew he would struggle with his possessive feelings the most. We’ll work through it though, we always do.
I’m most concerned by the subtle difference in Violet. She’s looking at the three of us just a little differently now. It’s like something’s shifted in how she sees things, sees us. I don’t know if her mind is opening up to us. Is she starting to see why we did what we did? Or is she shutting the door completely and working on an exit strategy?
“If he keeps that up, no one in my family will have to chop wood until next spring.” Cody stands beside me, looking out the window at West. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“We should have him come in. It’s getting dark and we need to eat.”
“I’ll go get him,” Violet offers from behind us.
We both shift so she can walk outside between us. She approaches West from the side, tentatively reaching out to grab his forearm. He stops and looks at her, and for a minute I think he’s going to say something rude and be dick. Instead, he tosses the ax away and grabs her face, pulling her in for a deep, long kiss. The kiss ends, but they stay together, their foreheads touching.
“Good. Maybe he’ll stop being so fucking annoying now,” Cody says as he walks back into the cabin from the doorway.
I follow him inside to give Vi and West some privacy. “I think we should just come completely clean with her tonight.”
“About everything?”
“Yes. Everything. Our reasons for why we were so mean. Our plan for the mountain. And especially our plan for college.”
“She might get pissed.”
“Probably. Would you blame her if she did?”
“No. It’ll suck, though. She just started opening up to us.” He runs his hand over his scruff.
“We have to tell her eventually and the longer we wait, the angrier she’s likely to get.”
The door opening draws our attention. West has his hand on Violet’s back as he guides her through the door. He’s gross from the exertion of his wood chopping, so he excuses himself to the bathroom for a shower.
“You two relax for a bit, “Cody says, walking over to the kitchenette. “I’ll make dinner and start a small fire.” I sit in one of the recliners and pull Violet down into my lap. West and Cody have both gotten time to be physical in one way or another over the past two days and now it’s my turn to feel her in my arms. She feels so small in my embrace, I want to pull her to me and hold her forever. Cody and West are both a bit taller and more muscular than me, it’s nice to feel needed.
“How’s everything feeling?” I ask as I pull the collar of her shirt over, exposing the bruising on her shoulder.
“It hurts, probably not as bad as it looks, though,” she answers in a soft voice.
