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I pull out my phone and google Thea Dennis. Nothing comes up. That in itself is a victory. Aggie Levitz isn’t as lucky.
The first picture I spot is of the three of us—Matt, Coop, and me—inside Coop’s Malibu home, naked.
Tons of pictures of us are invading the internet, but also old pictures of me. Articles of my old life.
My skin prickles with the thoughts of all those naked pictures of myself lurking on the web.
My attention goes back to the top of the page and my finger trembles as I tap on the video tab. Aggie’s sex tapes. Chills run through my body.
A sex video?
That’s worse than flashing my boobs at a bar when I was seventeen. I tap on one but only a black screen with a sad face that says, “This video has been removed” appears. But how many watched it before they removed it? Who removed it?
“This is bad.” My shaky voice imitates my body. “Matt. His family isn’t going to accept me after this.”
“You’d be surprised.” He stops the car and points forward. I lift my gaze, finding myself in front of Ainsley’s porch.
Matt, Jacob, and Mason stand there, arms crossed with unreadable expressions on their faces.
Arthur places a hand on top of mine. “Thea, we’re all with you, you have a family. By the end of this ordeal your life will take another turn, but I hope the changes are for the better.”
His soft gray eyes watch me with tenderness. I take off my seatbelt and hug him. “Thank you for finding me, for being so nice to me.”
“If I’d known, I’d have found you before, Thea. I swear, I would’ve found you and protected you.”
Before I can ask what that means, the passenger door opens, redirecting my attention toward it. Matt’s open arms are the first thing I notice, and I jump into them.
“I… Do you hate me?” He squeezes me hard and doesn’t answer. “Talk to me, Mattie.”
“I never liked him—Martin. Now I hate him,” he says, putting me down. “How are you?”
Hurt, confused, upset, sad… scared. I only shrug.
“Really, Thea? Martin Levitz is your father?” Ainsley’s voice comes from behind Matt. “I just want to know why you wouldn’t trust me with that?”
“She’s crazy and likes to know everything,” Matt whispers, smirking at me. My heart resumes its beating, knowing he’s not upset and thatmaybeshe’s not going to punch me in the face.
“So how was it, being the daughter of the Metal Icon?” Jacob steps closer. I point at his father. “Him, nah. He never partied.”
Chris comes closer to me and gives me a tight fatherly hug. “Where was Jessica when all that shit was happening to you?”
“Drunk, high… lost.” I bite my lip because I’ve asked myself that question several times. Where was my mother? “I’ve tried to help her but… she’s back at it again.”
“You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped,” Arthur says, stepping closer. “Jessica has been beyond help since I met her. Martin is a scumbag and no matter what he did to her, she—”
“She only has eyes for him,” I finish his sentence and he nods. “We… I wasn’t ready to tell you. Almost, I swear.”
Each one of them has a different face, but none look upset. Angry, but not directing the rage toward me. But I don’t have much time to analyze the scene as nausea hits the back of my throat. I rush to the bathroom, barely making it on time. This time I’m only dry heaving, but it takes several minutes for me to calm down. I splash cold water on my face and my neck and clean my mouth.
“Do you need this?” Matt steps inside the bathroom holding the plastic bag. A huge explosion occurs inside my chest, my hands going to my belly. I wasn’t ready to tell him, or for him to find out.
“Coop?” I take the bag from him. “How bad is this, Mattie? I mean the magazine stands have a lot of trash about it but… there were videos. Not sure what kind, but videos. Pictures of us…” I close my eyes and he scoops me into his arms.
“The sex videos have been wiped.”
I turn around for another round of puking.
Matt’s hand glides up and down my back. “One of them is of Coop and me, the other of Coop and you in the pool. He’s not taking any of my calls.”
