Page 98

Story: Shattered

I watch the camera zoom out as I see Xayden, Seven, and Dekker come barreling out of the diner. Xayden looks pissed, and I know that’s from the interaction we had at the diner. Truth be told, I wanted to claw his eyes out that day.
He was so cruel to me. So hurtful with his words.
God, I should still hate him.
Focusing back on the video, I watch as Seven runs up to Xayden.
“So we are done with breakfast?” Seven asks as the camera zooms in on the three of them.
Xayden runs a hand down his face, and I can see the anger in his face. His jaw is clenched so tight, it’s a fucking miracle he didn’t break his teeth. And then he parts his lips and speaks.
“She’s a free-for-all. Fuck her and throw her away. Maybe her fat ass and her greedy cunt of a mother will leave, and my father and I can get back to our lives. Do what you need to, just make sure she’s as useless of a cunt as her mother is,” Xayden seethes.
And then the video cuts out.
My body starts shaking, my blood running cold.“Fuck her and throw her away.”Oh my god. They aren’t here to help me, or care for me. No, they are here to break me.“Do what you need to.”Those words echo out in my head. Holy fuck.
Looking down at my phone, I can feel my chest tighten and my body start to shake. My vision starts to tunnel a bit as the air thickens around me. This is all a game. Everything is a trick; this is all fucking designed to destroy me.
I need to get the fuck out of here.
Running into the closet in Seven’s room, I grab the first duffle bag I see and go to my area where I have clothes stashed in a corner of it. I quickly throw what I can into the bag and zip it up. Everything else I can get when I get to where I’m going.
Three things are certain. Something is going on with my father and this fraternity, these three absolutely know about it, and I need to find my mother.
And I need to find herfast.
I don’t know if they had something to do with her disappearance, but Xayden was hell-bent on getting rid of us. So I wouldn’t put it past them if they did something to get rid of her. Send her off somewhere…
I just need to get out of Groveton so I can think.
Picking up my phone, I forward a screenshot of the message and the actual video to my email. I then dump the phone in thetrash and grab my purse. There is a fear creeping up my back that they are waiting for this.
They were waiting for me to find this and make their move.
Hell, they could have sent this video.
Fuck. What if they were the ones who sent this video?
You know what? Doesn’t matter. I need to get the fuck out of dodge.
I carefully cross the threshold only to see that the hall is empty. With my keys in hand, I haul ass down the hall, stopping at the top of the stairs.
Below me, people are gathered and packed in like sardines. Music bumps loudly and makes the floor vibrate below me. I look around the best I can to see if I can catch a glimpse of any of the guys, but I come up empty. Thank fucking God.
With as much speed as I can muster, I run down the stairs. I keep my head down and when I get to the bottom, I maneuver around the barriers. The door is literally ten feet from me.
Pushing through the sea of bodies, I grunt as shoulders check me and the smell of pot and alcohol hits my nose. Lights from the flashing shit they have around the rooms hit my eyes, and I have to squint and turn my head away from whichever one is blinding me.
The front door is wide open as people move in and out of it. As soon as I push past a huddle of girls, I finally reach the front and cross over the threshold. The fresh air instantly hits me, and I don’t stop to savor the feeling of it. Running over to my car on the street, I jump in, throw my bag into the passenger seat of the Mustang, and start her up.
Without wasting a breath, I peel out, not even caring about traffic around me. I drive down Main Street before stopping for a moment to figure out which way I want to go. It’s midnight. Houston or Dallas? Dallas is a longer drive and that can give me more time to think. Decided, I get to US-287 and head north.
Not having a phone puts me at a disadvantage, but I’m hoping there are enough signs along the highway to get me to Dallas. Or anywhere out of this fucking state. I think I remember Addy once saying we were about three or four hours outside of Dallas. So I know I have a trip ahead of me.
When I finally do make it to my destination, it’s a little after three in the morning. I’m sure by now the guys have discovered that I’m gone. God only knows if they actually care that I am.
I still can’t wrap my head around what happened. Why they did that to me?