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I haven’t even made it to the welcome mat when the front door flies open, and James appears. “What the hell is going on? Why are you shaking and soaking wet?” He looks past me to his approaching sons. “And what happened to your face?”
“Leni fell into the pool. She freaked out a little, and when I pulled her out, she accidentally scratched me,” Nix explains. The lie falls from his lips so easily that if I didn’t know better, I would believe him too.
“Is that true, Leni?”
“What’s true?” My mom comes up behind James, looking between us in confusion. “God, Leni, why are you not wearing a bra?”
I look down at my dress, realizing the thin material has basically become see-through, the outline of my nipples clearly visible. Even though I’m still cold, my face suddenly turns hot, and I’m sure my cheeks are bright red.
As quickly as I can, I wrap my arms around my boobs. “Can I please just go to my room?”
“Not until you tell us what’s going on? Did you really fall into the pool?”
“I…” Shit, what am I going to tell them? My hesitation is enough to spark James’s suspicion.
“You two, go to your rooms,” he orders his sons. To my utter shock, Nix and Colt obey without a word. They push past James and disappear into the house.
James motions for me to come in while my mom goes to the living room to grab a blanket. I step into the foyer, and James closes the door behind us. My mom wraps a blanket around me, and I pull it tight, trying to get warm.
“Amanda, baby, why don’t you go lie down. You need to rest. I’ll make sure Leni is okay.”
“Yeah?” My mom looks so confused, unsure what to do.
“It’s okay, Mom. You can go back to sleep. I’ll be fine,” I assure her.
“Okay, honey, I’ll see you in the morning.” She lets out a yawn, rubbing her eye with her fingers before slowly making her way back up the stairs.
“Now, tell me what happened tonight. What did my idiot kids do to you, and why are you soaking wet?”
This is it, the moment I’ve been waiting for. I have a chance to tell him everything, all the things his sons have done to me, and what they forced me to do tonight.
Yet when I open my mouth, all the words I want to say are stuck in my throat. I can’t make my voice work, and I don’t know why. I want to tell him. I want to confide in him so badly, but when I try to force the words out, I hit a roadblock.
Maybe it’s shame, guilt, or simply fear that won’t let me speak. Whatever it is, it makes my whole body clam up, and my tongue feels heavy in my mouth.
I can’t tell him, at least not today.
“Nix was telling the truth, I fell into the pool, and he pulled me out. I didn’t mean to scratch him.”
“Are you sure?”
I nod. The lie leaves a bitter taste on my tongue, but for some reason, that still feels better than the truth.
James doesn’t seem convinced, but he is also not pushing the subject. “All right then, why don’t you go get some rest? I’ll see you at breakfast.”
“Okay. Thank you.” I force a smile, wondering if I just made the biggest mistake of my life.
CHAPTER9
Last night feels like a bad dream. I wish it was. I wish there was nothing more to it than something my subconscious cooked up while I was asleep.
No such luck. And even a hot, soapy shower isn’t enough to wash away the shame. I know I did nothing wrong and that I had no choice. That doesn’t mean I don’t feel dirty, used. And conflicted since there’s no forgetting the way my body reacted despite my disgust and rage.
It’s something I’m still struggling with after I’m dressed, as I go to the door while steeling myself for whatever is about to happen downstairs at breakfast.
“You have got to be kidding me!” The knob won’t turn. One of them locked me in again. I can’t believe this. When will it ever end?
“Hey!” I don’t care about avoiding trouble since it’s obvious there’s no difference either way. I can keep my head down, keep to myself, and not say a word to either of them. They will always find a way to ruin things, like they’re determined to hurt me. So why bother trying to play nice?
