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“Mmm, I wonder why,” I tease her as I chuckle at the sweet shyness she exudes. She has these moments where she’s fiery and confident, but there are instances where I look at her and I see the innocence still inside her.
I hope she never loses that. Because once you break free from that part of yourself, there’s no going back.
“Are you okay?” Brielle questions, the concern in her voice is evident as she regards me.
“We need to talk,” I finally say as I pull her closer. “I wanted to sit you down later, but since the other two are working, I figured now is the best time.”
“Something is wrong,” she murmurs as she reaches for my face. The gentleness of her hand against my cheek has me leaning into it. This girl can end wars with just a tender touch.
“Not wrong necessarily.” I close my eyes and lean my head back against the headboard, before I look at her again. “I needed to tell you about my past. You should know what brought me here, to the island.”
“Well, Kai told me about his past, and I accepted it. I mean, I know we all have our moments of weakness, we all have histories we may not want to talk about. I don’t ever, won’t ever, judge anyone on what they’ve done.”
Her sweetness is too much for me. I want so badly to see her smile with unwavering happiness. Because as she looks up at me now, I can tell she’s nervous. She’s worried about whatever it is I’m about to tell her.
“When I was younger, I grew up much the same way Judah did. My folks watched me like a hawk. I was meant to walk in my father’s shoes the moment I turned twenty-five, but something happened not long after I turned thirteen.”
Closing my eyes, I recall that night so distinctly, it’s as if I’m there right at this very moment. I hated what happened, and I buried it deep. The only people who know what went on are Judah and Kai. Of course, my parents will never speak of it again, and now that I’m no longer in their home, I wonder if they even remember just what they did.
“You can tell me anything,” Brielle whispers softly as she holds my hand.
I swear on my life, this woman is a saint. She’s an angel sent from above to look after us. I’m sure of it.
“It was the first time I took a chance and kissed someone else. It had been a long time coming, and I had been fighting with my own feelings for so long, I thought I was going mad.”
My chest tightens as I recall the moment I felt lips on mine. I didn’t know about love, or lust, or any of those emotions. All I knew was I wanted to kiss him so badly, I couldn’t stop myself from leaning into the kiss that night.
“My birthday party was in full swing, and even though Judah and Kai were there, they had wandered off with girls from our private school. At the time, we didn’t want to admit our feelings for each other.”
I look down at Brielle who’s now watching me with rapt attention. Her focus on mine as she bites down on her lip, it’s as if she knows something is about to come, and it’s not going to be good.
“What happened?” Her voice is nothing more than a murmur of fear and trepidation as she speaks.
“There was this boy at our school, he wasn’t one of the princes, and I thought, I didn’t care at the time who his family were. We had been friends for a better part of that year, and as we sat watching the fireworks, we smiled at each other, and then it happened.”
“You kissed?” There’s a glimmer of hope in her eyes, her voice takes on a newfound happiness, but I know it won’t last long. The thought twists at my gut.
“We did,” I tell her with a nod. “It was then I realised I wanted to explore. It may sound strange at thirteen, but I knew who I was. I didn’t expect to feel anything, I thought perhaps I was broken, but it was the first time I felt remotelynormal.”
“But something happened. I mean, there must be more to it than that. Did you end up dating each other?” Once again, it’s that optimism that makes me smile at the princess. She’s so perfectly innocent it makes my heart thud against my chest.
“We didn’t,” I tell her in the silence of the bedroom. “It wasn’t easy coming from the family I did. I know Judah’s father was tough on him, and Kai’s adopted father is just as strict, but mine…”
I allow the quiet to fill the space between us. Just for a moment, I don’t want to continue. The memories assault me painfully, and no matter how much I fight them, I know they’ll always be a reminder of what I witnessed.
“Did your parents find out?” Brielle speaks so softly, I barely hear her, but with the thoughts racing through my mind, her gentle tone cuts through all the bullshit and heartache.
I nod.
“Oh, Valen,” Brielle moves closer against me and rests her head on my chest. I didn’t think I would ever want to be comforted like this, but having her here makes this bearable. It sounds so strange to me to even think it.
“They saw me that night.” I swallow back the agony, the memory burning right through to my soul. It was the first time I realised how much I hated my father. My mother wasn’t any better. She stood by, but then again, even if she did try to stop him, it would have been detrimental to her. He was a bully, a man who didn’t care what he did, as long as he got his way.
“Valen,” Brielle’s voice once more cuts through the darkness that’s taking over, and I glance at her. “What happened?” This time, she shifts to her knees, instead of leaning her head on my chest, she watches me with confusion.
I’m not sure how to even voice the next part of the story without allowing rage to fill me. I fisted one of my hands, the need to hit something running rife through my veins. My gut churned with the desire to make him pay. Over and over again.
My father is still alive, even though he’s not the man he used to be. They say karma takes her time, but when she doest strike, be fucking scared.
