His voice made me sit straight up. “What are you doing here? Who let you in?” I asked, knowing that Gabe never would have let him in.
“I let myself in. Nothing else around here has changed. Do you really think the hidden key would’ve moved?”
Of course it didn’t.
“You need to go. Now.” I spun around and put my feet on the floor. Just as I was about to stand, he grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back. I tried to fight against him, but it was no use. In the blink of an eye, I went from sitting on the edge of the bed to lying flat on my back with him on top of me.
His hand was around my throat, and his face hovered just above mine. I could feel his weight pressing me into the bed. I could feel his hips between my thighs, and as badly as I hated to admit it, it felt good having him against me.
“I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you,” he said, squeezing my throat slightly. “I told you, you belong to me. Did you really think I’d just let you walk away?”
“I’m not yours anymore. You lied to me. You used me.” Tears formed in my eyes before they rolled over my cheeks.
“I may have lied to you, but it was for your own good. And drop theyou used mebullshit. You used me, too. You were just fine letting me take whatever I wanted from you as long as you got good grades out of the deal.” He lowered his mouth to my jaw, kissing his way up to my ear. “Don’t act like this isn’t what you wanted all along,” he whispered. “You knew what I was doing, and you went along with it.” He nipped my earlobe.
“That isn’t true. I didn’t know that you were using me as revenge. I fell in love with you.” More tears leaked from my eyes.
“There’s nothing wrong with that. Plenty of pets love their owners. It’s what makes them obedient.” He ran his tongue across my bottom lip as he rocked his hips into me. A spark came to life in my stomach, and my body grew warm.
“Get the fuck out of my way!”
My eyes popped open, and I looked around my empty room, confused by that dream.
“I said get the fuck out of my way,” Elliot said again, only I wasn’t dreaming.
“I said no,” Gabe replied, and that’s when I realized what woke me.
It wasn’t the dream. It was his voice.
Elliot had come for me, and he was confronting my brother, whom he hadn’t seen in years.
ELLIOT
“What’s going on out here?” Eve asked, causing me to take my eyes off of Gabe, who was standing before me, so I could look up at her as she approached the stairs.
My heart stumbled in my chest.
She came to a stop at the top, and her mouth fell open in surprise. It felt like it had been forever since the last time I saw her. Getting to lay my eyes on her was like when you finally get a drink of water after walking through the desert. I was relieved and so fucking happy I could cry.
“That’s the same thing I’ve been trying to figure out,” Gabe said, stealing my attention away from her.
I glared at him. “I didn’t come here for you, so get out of my way.” I took a step toward her, but he sidestepped, blocking my path to the stairs.
“I swear to God, Gabe… If you don’t get out of my fucking way, I’ll?—”
“You’ll what?” he asked, cutting me off. “You’ll… wait until I’m good and fucked up so you can attack me again?” He was referencing the night I sent Anna home after arguing with her for hours about fucking my best friend behind my back.
After I sent her home, I went looking for him. I found him, too, drunk off his ass at some random party rather than comforting his little sister who just lost her parents. He didn’t know it, but I didn’t just kick his ass for fucking my girlfriend. I wanted to make him pay for being such a shitty brother.
“What?” Evelyn asked from her place at the top of the stairs.
Gabe glanced up at her. “What? You didn’t know that it was Elliot who nearly killed me and left you a complete orphan?” He returned his gaze to mine.
I scoffed. “Don’t be so dramatic. It was a fight. That’s it.”
His brows lifted. “Yeah, a fight when I was clearly too drunk to defend myself. You remember when you knocked me out cold and took off? What you don’t know is that they had to call an ambulance. I spent an entire week in the hospital after you left me with a brain bleed. Eve had to stay with her friend until I was released. I could’ve died.”
I felt the punch of guilt hit me in the stomach. I knew that I’d lost control that night. I was heartbroken, angry, and full of rage. Once I found him, I didn’t let up until I was pulled away. I didn’t even remember how many times I’d hit him. All the years that had passed, I thought he owed me an apology for fucking my girlfriend. Then I realized that I owed him one for nearly killing him. But none of that mattered in that moment. What mattered was Evelyn, and making her hear me out.
