Page 60 of Distorted Obsession (The Distorted Trilogy #1)

eva

Why the fuck does everything hurt?

I try to recollect what caused the agony I feel, but I hit a hard wall after leaving the gym.

My friends and I made plans to meet up for dinner.

I remember walking across campus and standing at Farrah’s memorial, but I draw a blank past that point.

Each time I work to force it, my head begins to throb like it’s being jackhammered.

Grumbling, I try to blink, but hiss out in pain, and any sudden movement snatches the air from my lungs. I do a mental check, notating every ache. It’s then that I realize I’m swimming in a hoodie and a pair of boxer briefs.

I snort, wondering who ripped my clothes off this time. Colt and Coop are the polar opposite of gentle and warm in and out of the bedroom.

That’s why you agreed to this arrangement—penance and restitution.

Soft and sweet were never my cup of tea. I need the pain to remind me that I’m alive. And now? Now I need it to pay for my sins. It’ll never wash off the blood on my hands, but offering my body to Colt and Coop as a way to vent their anger heals a small piece of my broken soul.

What makes this perfect is that they think I don’t know that they’re using me. But I welcome it, especially after everything that’s happened to me since arriving at Groveton College.

My bladder interrupts my train of thought, reminding me that I’m still lying on my back in bed. I attempt to negotiate with myself, counting to three before I move, because the urge to use the bathroom is imminent.

You need to get up. You can do it, Evie Rose.

This time, when I hit the number three, I grit my teeth and push off the bed until I’m upright. The movement causes my head to spin.

Inhaling, I take quick breaths until the spots in my vision disappear.

“Now you just need to get up and find a bathroom,” I state the obvious to myself.

Surprisingly, it’s not as hard to stand as it was to sit up.

Once I’m up, I take in the room. Even in the darkness, I can tell this is Colter’s room. The scent of his cologne fills my nostrils.

Grateful to recognize my surroundings, I take my usual path to the bathroom, forgoing the need to turn on the light.

My breath hitches as I wipe myself, making me once again wonder if I had rougher sex with Colt and Coop.

But my stomach roils at the sensation, throwing me off.

There have been plenty of instances in the last couple of months where I was fucked so hard I need to soak in the tub and I never had this kind of visceral reaction.

“Fuck,” I shout as sharp pain shoots through my skull. It’s enough to make me realize that my brain is warning me away from whatever mental block I’ve erected.

Standing is much harder this time, but I manage to finish in the bathroom before I enter Colt’s room in search of my stuff. I’m sure I didn’t inform my friends I was no longer coming, and I’m more than certain they’re worried about my radio silence.

I search everywhere, but come up empty. So, I look in Coop’s room before I go downstairs and spot it on the table.

Snatching up my phone, I see too many missed calls to even count. I immediately call Jade.

“Where the fuck have you been, Eva Rose Pierce. We were ten minutes away from calling the cops and sending out a search party.”

She’s pissed—rightfully so.

Pulling the phone from my ear, I see that it’s nearly midnight. “I’m sorry. I fell asleep, and I’m just waking up,” I inform her, hoping it’ll soften another mysterious disappearance.

“This is well past habitual, Eva,” Jade scolds. “You can’t keep doing this. It’s not fucking safe.”

“I kn?—”

“Don’t even give me the I know and I’m sorry bullshit line,” Jade barks and I swear I can see the steam shooting from her red ears from where I stand in the Jacobi’s kitchen. “Now, where the hell are you?”

Sighing, I reply, “I’m on campus, but I need to wait for an Uber to drive me back to the dorm.”

There’s a beat of silence, frustrated breathing the only sound that can be heard through the phone. “That didn’t answer my question.”

“Yes, it did,” I retort, knowing good and well I’m being purposely obtuse. Before she can lecture me longer, I blurt, “See you in twenty.” Then I end the call before she can get another word in.

After I gather my things and schedule a pick-up, I write out a quick note to the guys while I wait for my ride. I know that if I call or text, I won’t be leaving here tonight. It’s happened one too many times.

The notification pops up on my cell that my driver has arrived. I lock up and then slip into the back of the car. The ride over is quiet, with neither the driver nor I engaging in mindless chatter, but my thoughts are screaming so loudly.

Shaking off my worry, I thank the driver, dash inside, and up the stairs before entering my suite. I sigh in relief when I see that the lights are off and nobody’s waiting to confront me. I don’t have the energy to be confronted by anyone.

My shoulders sag in relief once I enter my bedroom. I can already hear my bed calling my name.

I flick on the light and freeze, forgetting the pain, my mouth drops open, and my eyes bulge.

“How… how could this happen?” I hear the brokenness in my voice.

Dropping to my knees, I scramble to gather all the feathers and navy fabric off the floor. Tears free-fall, cascading down my face, at the realization that Farrah’s throw pillows have been eviscerated. There’s no putting them back together.

“Who would do this?” I ask the universe, but am met with silence.

Karma.

My brain has no qualms about answering me coldly.

Feathers blanket my room, but it’s the pile on my bed covered in a red substance that forces me to my feet. I wobble, my legs unsteady like a newborn fawn as I make my way to the bed, praying my eyes are playing tricks on me. But they aren’t.

In the middle of my bed, on top of a pile of feathers, is a human heart. It appears fresh or at least well preserved. I stop breathing, my world spinning off its axis, when I notice a note neatly written on cardstock paper. I swallow past the lump in my throat, bending and picking it up.

You had her in your heart, so I took it.

Your heart can only be mine.

Gagging, I drop the note, inferring instantly whose heart this person means.

Fah.

Unable to hold back, I throw up where I stand until there’s nothing left but bile.

“I need to show Coop and Colt,” I stammer, snatching the note off the ground, running out of my room, down the stairs, and across campus with no regard for my safety. My singular focus is to get to them and let them know their sister was murdered.

My stomach twists at the fact I’m solely responsible for the death of my best friend, and it’s not because of my brother. Instead, it's because of someone’s distorted obsession with me.

Who the fuck could be so far off their rocker that they’d do this?

The question nags me the entire journey to Coop and Colt’s door.

Wiping my face with the back of the hoodie, I reach for my key and unlock the door. I’ve never used it before tonight, but now I’ve used it twice in the span of just a few hours.

I hear voices animatedly conversing upstairs.

“Coop. Colt,” I call out, but no one answers me.

Refusing to wait, I take the steps two at a time.

“Despite some of the hiccups along the way, the plan to get revenge on the Pierce family is moving along smoothly.”

I stiffen at Colter’s words.

Plan? Revenge?

“We may need to stick a pin in it.” I recognize Liam’s voice. “Tonight was a clusterfuck and I don’t think she can take much else.”

Creeping closer, I stop short of the cracked door.

“You have to admit, the plan was genius,” Colt begins. “The pig’s blood, the recordings, all the bullying, plus you two playing the good guys to force her into signing the contract. It was a master class on manipulation.”

The sickness that has dissipated on my run here returns, but I push it down and burst through the door. Four sets of shocked gazes land on me.

“E—”

I hold my hand up. “Save it,” I snarl, fighting back tears. “You’re all fucking assholes. I knew I owed you, but not to the point of insanity. I gave you parts of me no one’s ever seen, and I thought your darkness called to mine.”

A rye laugh escapes me. “Did you enjoy my pain?” I seethe. “Was it all worth it?” But they remain silent, recognizing the raging storm in my eyes.

Stopping in front of Cooper, I slap him first. “That’s for bullying me.”

Mason’s next. The crack that echoes in the air when my palm connects with his cheek is more satisfying than an orgasm. “That’s for pretending to be a safe fucking space.”

Liam’s head hangs, but he doesn’t move when I hit him either. “That’s for playing with my heart.”

Once I reach Colter, his lips part, but I don’t want to hear a goddamn excuse out of his mouth. My hand connects with his face, and I smile. “And that’s for taking advantage of my grief. I fucking hate all of you.”

Then, without a backward glance, I drop the note on the floor and race out of their house, ignoring their calls for me to stop.