Page 26 of Distorted Obsession (The Distorted Trilogy #1)

eva

I stand outside Coop and Colt’s condo, wringing my wrists, too nervous to go in.

The high I was riding after my confrontation with Candace ended dramatically once I set foot outside their house.

I’ve been pacing back and forth for what feels like an eternity, desperately trying to summon the courage to ring the bell.

“How long do you plan on walking a hole into our sidewalk?” someone asks.

Shrieking, I turn, my heart nearly jumping out of my body. “You scared the shit out of me,” I breathe, resting my palm against the thumping chest.

“My bad. I didn’t mean to spook you,” he says, and I finally take him in.

The man before me is a few inches taller than I am. His soft hazel eyes, with flecks of green and blue, light with amusement, and his full lips curve into a smirk before he runs his hands through his wavy blond hair.

“No worries. I’m good now,” I mumble. “I’m Eva,” I say, waving awkwardly.

Way to be a dork, Evie.

A bright smile forms on his face , making his tanned complexion more vibrant .

“Stefano,” he greets with a hint of an Italian accent.

Arching a brow, I ask, “Rilevu n'accentu talianu?”

“Yes. My family moved here from Sicily generations ago, but we all spent our formative years there for school,” he confirms.

Smiling, I reply, “My brother and I did something similar, except we would spend summers in Morocco when we weren’t traveling elsewhere.”

“You two coming inside?” Colter shouts, reminding me where I am.

Holding out his arm, Stefano declares, “After you.”

I nod, passing by him before we both climb the stairs.

“Stef, I wasn’t expecting you today,” Colter states through gritted teeth.

“Don’t worry,” Stefano quips. “I’m not staying just needed to see my room so I can instruct the movers where to put my shit, man.”

My gaze volleys between their standoff. I wonder what that’s about.

“You go to school here?” The question bursts from between my lips without a second thought.

Shifting his attention to me, Stefano responds, “Si, signorina.”

“Fucking Pepé Le Pew-Fabio motherfucker,” Colter mumbles, but it’s loud enough that we all can hear.

Chuckling, Stefano rebuts, “You only got it half correct. Pepé is French, and I’m one hundred percent Sicilian.”

I snort, then blush when his eyes land on me.

“I’m a junior, just like Coop and this dickhead, Colt,” Stefano confirms, crossing his arms across his chest, accentuating his broad shoulders and athletic build.

“Keep it up, Stef,” Colter threatens as Cooper comes into view.

Throwing his hands up in mock surrender, Stefano jokes, “I come in peace.”

“What’s taking you all so long to come inside? You’re letting out all the damn air,” Cooper expresses, and Colter moves out of the way to let us both in.

“Stef, you finally made it, asshole,” Cooper exclaims, then they both do some version of a handshake before dapping fists.

Colter rolls his eyes. “You two are still doing this shit. What are we five?”

I giggle, remembering how Farrah and I would greet each other. It always ended with us bumping hips, and we joked that it was how she would grow hips of her own.

When I look up, all their attention is on me, causing my skin to heat.

“They’re idiots,” Colter mumbles.

“And you’re just jealous,” Cooper retorts.

Huffing, Colter turns to me. “Let’s grab something from the kitchen until the pizza arrives and leave them to their bromance.”

Laughing, I follow Colt deeper into their house, down a hall, and into the kitchen.

“Grab a seat,” he instructs, motioning to the island in the center of the kitchen as he strides toward the fridge. “What do you want to drink?”

I wipe my sweaty palms on the back of my shorts, then pull out the oak barstool chair and sit. “What are my options?”

Pulling open the refrigerator door, he says, “White cran-strawberry juice.”

I freeze, forgetting to speak. Colter grabs the juice and a glass before he approaches the island. “Cat got your tongue?” he teases.

Shaking off my initial surprise, I exclaim, “You remembered?” It’s more of a question than a statement because I can’t understand why they would retain such mundane information.

“Our house is still stocked with this, in case you drop by.” Colter shrugs, placing the glass on the table in front of me.

His response reminds me there’s a family that welcomed me and still does, even with the damage I’ve caused.

“Why do you seem gobsmacked?”

Clearing my throat, I turn away, lowering my gaze before murmuring, “I didn’t think… I mean with—” I have to pause.

Warm fingers caress my jaw, gently lifting my chin until I’m peering into sympathetic eyes. Seeing them hurts. I don’t deserve this emotion from him.

“You didn’t think what?”

Mumbling, I reply, “—that you’d want anything to do with me.” Something passes in his gaze, but it’s gone too quickly to register what it is. “I mean, how… why?” I move back from his hold. “You shouldn’t be this welcoming. You should all be angry with me… like I’m angry with myself.”

This time, I catch it—sadness. It pours off of Colter in waves.

It smacks me with such force I nearly topple over.

But it’s still not what I expected. The Jacobi twins are not forgiving, especially when it comes to Farrah.

They protected her with the force of the Jacobi name, and if that wasn’t enough, their reach knows no bounds.

Before he can say anything, Cooper and Stefano step into the kitchen, breaking whatever moment Colter and I were having.

“You’re still here?” Colter all but growls.

Stefano chuckles. “Still the friendly host, I remember. See you next week fucker. I’m out of here until then.” Then, his focus lands on me. “Finu a quannu ci ritroviamu, bedda.”

“Out before I break your arm, ending your lacrosse career, fuckface,” Colter hisses with no semblance of the earlier jesting.

Cooper sighs, massaging the bridge of his nose like this is a classic occurrence between these two. Maybe my initial assessment that Colter is angry is wrong. “Will you two chill out before I put you both in timeout? Fucking children.” Cooper grumbles as he passes by his brother.

“He started it,” Colter whines, and I have to cough to cover up my amusement.

“What are you five?” Cooper snaps. “ He started it ,” he mimics, and this time I can’t hold back my cackle.

I missed this—the easy banter between two brothers.

“Find me amusing, do you?” Colter inquires, moving next to me, and I don’t react fast enough when he reaches out to tickle my side.

Shrieking, I jump from my seat, but it’s too late. Colter’s arms wrap around me as Cooper attacks my neck.

I’m laughing so hard, I’m afraid I might pee myself. “Still ticklish,” Cooper taunts. “Let’s see if it’s in all the same spots.”

The mischievous glint in his icy-blue gaze is enough warning for me to know I won’t be escaping them. I seek Stefano’s help, but when I look, he’s nowhere to be found.

Fuck. It’s me and the torture twins.

Squirming, I try to twist my body out of the clutches. “Guys, come on,” I squeal, but it’s to no avail. Neither brother lets up.

“Come on, keep going?” Cooper jokes.

“Yup. That’s what I heard as well, brother,” Colter adds. Then, I’m lifted into the air and thrown over someone’s shoulder before being carted upstairs.

I kick, trying to break free, but I’m just greeted with someone’s muscular back. “Be still, or else.” I think it’s Coop who rattles off the warning, but I can’t be too sure hanging upside down.

Never one to follow their instruction so readily, I double my efforts, banging my fists against his tone ass. Shit. When did he develop this yams?

“Ouch,” I shout when one of their palms cracks against my ass.

Momentarily in shock, I hang limply, thinking of other times we’ve goofed off. But I come up empty. We’ve played rough like this before, but neither of them has ever touched me anywhere that could be misconstrued as inappropriate.

I’m dropped on a bed before I can process what it could mean. My body bounces and then settles just as someone captures my foot.

“Now, let’s see how long you can keep this up.” I stare into Colter’s smug eyes as he holds my legs up, wrapping an arm around them, and begins to tickle the soles of my feet.

“Ahhh,” I squeak, catapulting off the mattress.

I’m set to take aim at my attacker when Cooper grabs my arms. “We can’t have that, Evie,” he tsks.

My shirt rides up, and reality punches me silent.

I can’t let them see .

Shame at the still somewhat fresh cuts that will be exposed if this continues roils in my gut. All my joy ceases in this moment.

Choking on fear, my lips part, but no sound comes out—not even a whimper.

You should’ve known better than to try to be happy, Eva. You don’t get to be jovial—suffering is all you deserve until you draw your last breath.

My demons paralyze me. I’m stuck in purgatory with no angel to break me free.

This is to be your fate in this life and the next.

“Eva.” I hear someone call, off in the distance.

Images swirl on the periphery of my vision. Farrah’s in a pool of her blood —h er neck unnaturally turned until the bones in her throat protrude from her pale skin.

Climbing from the tub, she crawls until she stops at my feet and stands. “This is your fault. You could’ve saved me, Evie Rose. Instead, you chose to leave me to die alone,” she snarls.

I flinch, shaking my vision clear. No, this can’t be my best friend. Her soul is a source of light.

“But it is me. You blackened my soul, and now my spirit can never find rest.”

“No, Farrah, I’m sorry,” I blubber as tears stream in rivulets down my face.

The tangy smell of blood is lost to the stench of decaying flesh.

“Eva!” They shout this time, but the barrier to me is too strong to penetrate.

“Now they get to see your dirty little secret,” Farrah snickers, her lifeless eyes freezing me in place.

Warm hands travel the expanse of my stomach.

Please don’t find it.

I beg any and every deity, knowing they won’t answer my prayers. I’ve been lost to them since the day Farrah died.

“Evie,” the angry shout crashes like a wrecking ball, breaking me from my internal prison.

Gasping, I suck in lungfuls of air.

Fuck . I must have been holding my breath again. Only this time, there was no euphoria–only pain. It takes me a moment before my heaving breaths settle, allowing my breathing to even out. Then my vision blurs before two faces come into focus. Two sets of concerned blue eyes register.

“What happened?” Cooper coaxes. “You were here and then?—”

I inhale, taking in my surroundings. I’m in their room.

My head is resting on a soft pillow as I grip the slate gray comforter.

“I-I-I—” The words refuse to pass my lips.

I know what they saw. There’s no going back.

Not many people know how I purge the pain from my soul—the destructive way in which I feel I can finally breathe again.

What do I say? How do I confess this? I will be destroyed by the disapproving, judgmental stares I know are coming—the endless questions about why I would ever think hurting myself is the solution. How the fuck am I supposed to face them after this?

“Talk to us, Evie,” Colter pleads. “You’re safe here.

Am I, though?

Colter holds my hand, squeezing it. “Evie Rose, you have nothing to fear here,” he adds, wiping my swollen eyes with a warm rag.

Peeking through my lashes, I see the sincerity in their word. Here goes nothing.

“I’m drowning,” I confess. “And I feel so fucking selfish for even confessing that, especially to the both of you.”

“Eva—”

I cut Colter off before he can make any excuses for me. “Here I am crying, feeling sorry for myself, and you’re the ones who lost a sister.”

“But you lost a best friend,” Cooper exclaims. “Our grief doesn’t outweigh yours. Your sadness is as real and as warranted as ours.”

I want to argue, but Colter doesn’t give me a chance to rebuff his brother. “Rah was our sister, but she was also your Fah—the center of your world as you were the center of hers.”

Pain passes in their eyes, and I want nothing more than to comfort them.

“But it’s my fault,” I argue.

Colter’s jaw clenches and releases before he demands, “Did you hold the blade to her arm?”

I cringe, his bluntness lands like a kick in the chest

“No, but?—”

Lifting my chin until I look up, Cooper declares, “There’s no but here, Eva. Farrah had her demons—some we knew of, others we didn’t, and they swallowed her before she could get the help she needed.”

“How can you not blame me?” I probe, confused by their forgiveness.

“That’s easy,” Colter murmurs. “It’s exactly what Rah would want us to do. Anything less, and she’d have our heads.”

I laugh between sobs because they’re right. Farrah would have throat-punched them if they tried to hold a grudge.

Glancing between them, I wipe the tears from my cheeks. “How do I save myself from drowning? I’ve been treading water every day since she’s been gone, and I’m running out of strength to hold myself up while I wait for a life raft.”

“Let us help you escape,” Cooper suggests, making me angry.

Don’t they know I’ve been trying everything to run from my intrusive thoughts?

“How?” I shout, jumping from the bed. “How can you silence the monster in my head?”

I desperately want to believe them, but my skepticism is running too high. Nobody has been able to quiet my inner critic entirely.

“You need to forgive yourself,” Cooper implores. “You can’t carry around this burden. It’s a parasite—feeding off your turmoil and insecurities.”

Licking my lips, I profess, “It’s not fair that I’ll be whole when Farrah is dead, especially when my brother could’ve played a role in her ultimate demise.”

Cooper’s nostrils flare while he clenches and unclenches his hands into fists as he watches me from where he stands.

“See. You can’t even quell your anger at what Callum might’ve done.”

Cooper shoots off the wall and storms over, stopping in front of me.

“There’s no—” I wait for Cooper to finish, but he swallows his rebuke and blinks away the storm brewing in arctic-blue eyes.

Then he leans down and captures my mouth with his, catching me by surprise.

Using my gasp, his tongue slides between my parted lips while fisting my hair.

The kiss is a full-on assault. There is no option but surrender, and that’s exactly what I do.

Moaning, I allow him to take control, relishing in the ferocity of his hunger for me. I don’t ponder why he’s doing it… I don’t even question if I should be kissing my best friend’s brother. No, instead, I press my body into his, enjoying the feeling of his erection when our bodies collide.

Colter stands behind me, running his long fingers up my shoulder. Then he brushes my hair to the side and leans in. “Close your eyes, and let us help you find forgiveness.”