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What can I say? He has a betrothed, and so does Reid. One he never mentioned either. Needles prick my throat like razors scraping down the words I can't say. I hate you. I hate both of you.
The men I thought of as my saviors are deceitful liars. Pulling me away from everyone so I can be their own personal toy is no different than Veronica and Garret. So what was the point of putting on a show and punching Garret or walking into a bar, intimidating a guy that shows me an ounce of interest, so I don't sleep with them? Selfish bastards.
"I'm sorry, Jess. I should have told you. I haven't touched her since I've been with you."
"Who is it?" I asked, clenching my teeth.
"Melissa."
I hear Gia gasp through the ringing in my ears.
Valen moves toward me, but I step back defensively. "I'm sorry. I asked them not to tell you because I knew you wouldn't talk to me. The guys know I would never do that. I knew you would think I was part of what they did to you, but I wasn't. I didn't choose her. It was done a long time ago. I-I'm sorry, Jess."
I can't think past the pain of a lie laced with a betrayal. She must have loved to watch them make a fool out of me. Veronica showed up when he was with me. Reid was probably there to take me out of there and cover for Valen. Veronica would probably tell me the same way she told me about Reid.
I walk up to him and swing. Smack! The palm of his hand lies flat against the sting on his cheek. "Fuck you. And stay away from me," I seethe.
Reid comes up behind me, and I whirl around to face him. "I'm not staying here with you. The last thing I need is for you to touch me," I warn, walking back to the house. He pauses, but his eyes harden into two black slits. My gaze meets Gia's sad expression. Her eyes are glassy. "Gia, I want to go back to campus, please. I don't want to be here."
"Of course."
"I'll go with you," Draven tells her.
Gia shakes her head, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Please, let me take her back."
CHAPTER20
Jess
We make it outside to the driver waiting in the driveway in the black Rolls.
"I'm so sorry, Jess."
Gia places her hand in between mine. I wring my hands, feeling the sting of the slap I gave Valen. I have never slapped anyone before. My breaths are heavy from trying to breathe, but I know it is all in my head, and I can breathe just fine.
It’s the false hope I was fed by them. I got used to running to them while trying to forget and got caught up in their game. I promised myself after Garret I wouldn't. It wasn't like they were my boyfriends, but out of all people, Valen knew what Melissa and Veronica did to me and how they used me. He lied to my face. Smiled even.
God forbid they are seen with the Prey from the trailer park. I'm so vulnerable and fucked up I take what scraps are given. I settle for anything because I'm trying to forget. I'm trying to survive. I feel like a living ghost.
No one loves me. No one wants me. No one wants to be seen with me.
As a little girl, I used to think we were brought to this earth and that someone was destined for us, and we just had to find them. When I was raped, I knew that wasn’t true. That he didn't exist. I still hoped I would be proven wrong, but all I found were lies in the eyes of deceit.
"It's not your fault. It is my own for being so stupid. For wanting something that didn't exist. I should have taken my own advice, huh?"
"Don't say that. They weren't thinking because they don’t know you. I’ll stay with you if you want. You don't have to go to the ball."
"I'm going. I said I would, and this doesn't change anything. It is better this way, you know." I look at her before I step out of the luxury SUV. "The need to be wanted gets us all."
I close the door, and the car moves forward. I stare at the imposing building that is Drury Hall. My home for the last four years at Kenyan. I hear the snap of a twig in the dead of night.
Evil can be felt. It is instilled in all of us like a mechanism. The sixth sense is in all of us. I feel him before he appears. I don't turn around because I don't want to see his face.
"You weren't kidding. Were you? You are their little toy. A broken little toy."
"What do you want?" My breath blows like a white cloud in the cold air under the yellow lamppost.
"You know exactly what I want."
