Page 20 of Falling for A Lie

“It's the only choice you have, Soren.” He leans down, placing a gentle kiss on my forehead as he gathers his pants and slips them back on and he adjusts his shirt so it's covering him like it was meant to. “Get dressed Damsel, she'll be here in less than 30 minutes.” Without another word, he throws the door open to reveal a stunned and slightly pissed-off Reed and Drake. He shoulders past them without shutting the door, leaving me vulnerable and thoroughly used.

Regret dances slightly on the tip of my tongue, but without another second to waste I get up stomping my feet to the door and slamming it in their face, not even sparing another second to realize that I'm still butt ass naked and I just gave them an angry show of exposed and flushed flesh. Leaving nothing more to the imagination than what usually hides under my clothes.

I bend down, snatching up the discarded fabric and the loosened sheet tightening it around my body as a shield before I snatch the door back open, not sparing another glance at the two men who are still standing there, a broken plate of food at their feet long since forgotten.

What a shame I could go for food right now after that brutal display of fucking. I propel my body forward and into the bathroom door slamming and locking it behind me. As I step to the giant shower that stands in the middle of the enormous black room. I flip the cold water on, opting to use any hot water as I drop the sheet and step in accepting my fate because what other choice do I truly have? I cannot leave my sisters to get hurt or to grow up without me. I'll accept whatever this is, and I'll do it with a smile on my face even though I wish Jace would've done something right in his miserable life and killed me, maybe it would've been for the better and I wouldn’t be such a burden.

The weight of the world is truly suffocating, when you're facing it alone.

Chapter fourteen

Radley

Ihad just finished plating the food when a text from Caden flashes across my phone. My eyes instantly roll wondering if it would be another complaint about a recent house guest who is just down the hall. The situation has left the entire household in a tense state, each of us wanting to hunt the bastard down and exact our revenge for laying his hands on her, for trying to kill her. The fact that he managed to get up and escape makesmy stomach churn. He doesn't deserve to walk the earth alongside the same woman who once saved me.

I lean forward and grab my phone. “Mom said to pick up the brats and bring them here for pickup. Only essential items need to be packed; nothing else is necessary. If they forget something, it will be replaced. Either pack for Soren or ask her sisters to help with that as well. You have less than an hour to get this done; you know how much she hates to wait. Also, please leave Soren’s food. I'll come and pick it up for her.”

As I read the text, two things become clear. First, Caden has genuinely moved on from his past with Soren and has reached out to his mother to ensure her safety. Second, this will be the most challenging task I have ever undertaken: gathering teenagers, convincing them to pack only the essentials, and returning here on time to meet Scarlett. Fuck my life.

I leave Soren's food wrapped on the counter for him to grab, turning around one last time to ensure everything is turned off before I leave.

Walking to the front door, I quickly decide to grab Reed’s keys to complete this job. He has spent years transforming this car into the formidable machine it is today, and I have a strong feeling that we will need that extra protection for the girls, especially with Beauty's ex still at large, determined to make her suffer. Hurting the one thing she values most—her sisters—would be his way of achieving that.

But I doubt he is that stupid, because if anything were to happen to the twins, I don't believe the world would survive their older sister. She would set the world ablaze for those girls and do it with a smile on her beautiful face. The thought makes me laugh because, although she doesn't appear to be it now, I can tell she has the potential to succeed

She wasn't built like normal rich bitches, she got where she is today by being the one to shoulder everything and never complain.

She's the same girl who put off going to college to raise two kids and to keep them from going into the foster system. Taking on a business she didn't want, making sure it stayed afloat, and using the income it brought in to give her sisters the lives they deserved, and the future that they were destined to have.

She is selfless, and that's often taken advantage of by men like Jace Compton and that little bitch Alec Flanagan.

I make my way to the garage, slowly lifting up the rolling door to gain access to the inside, the lights automatically coming in due to the motion sensors. Reed's Mercedes-Benz GLE 350 D is fully armored and the darkest shade of black he could get so it looks invisible at night.I step up to the Dark Knight and slip the key into the lock, turning it carefully as the locks click allowing me access. I climb into the seat and shut the door behind me, sighing in a small bit of relief as I slip the key into ignition and start the engine. “Like A Villain” by BadOmens blares through the surround sound making the inside vibrate like the car itself is alive and breathing through the lyrics.

Deciding to let the song continue, I maneuver the car out of the garage and around our other vehicles that surround it. Pressing the key to lower the garage door, I speed down our winding driveway to the wrought iron gate that opened on my arrival, giving me access to freedom behind this self made fortress. Thirty minutes later I'm taking a left on Old Derry Rd, letting it lead me to the last turn on the right to Flintwood Ave. My finger taps lazily on the steering wheel as “Take Me Back To Eden” by Sleep Token plays in the background as my mind tries to accept the things I knew would happen once Scarlett got here.

We would be once again separated from Soren and we would have to be to keep her demons from catching the scent of her and her sisters. Alec and Jace both knew we saw them attack her and did so unsuccessfully, and Jace was wearing the evidence that we would protect her. I was proud I was able to beat that worthless sack of shit within an inch of his miserable life for what he did to her, for what it looked like he was going to do to her with that shrimp cock of his he was trying to wrangle out of his jeans.

I wish I would've killed the fucking sick bastard, people like him don't deserve to live. Soren wouldn't have to go into hiding if it were not for him.

I finally make it to the gate that has her family crest on the front, punching in the code that Drake had gotten for me into the tiny keypad that makes the big gate swing open slowly. I ease the car forward and make my way up the hill that's surrounded by the forest. She kept the most secluded house she could from the ten personal ones her family owned.

I would say I was impressed, but she was never the flashy type, she had money but she didn't need to show it. Everyone just knew who she was and where she came from.

I finally made it to an old Victorian style home that sits on the edge of Briar Falls Cliff. The sight before me is breathtaking. I pull as close as I can to the front, and I put the car into park.

I don't necessarily have the privilege for sightseeing, time is already wasted and I don't want to be on the receiving end of Scarlet's wrath. The woman can be downright terrifying when she wants to be. My fingers latch into the door handle tugging it until the door creaks open, allowing me to exit the car.

Without giving myself another moment to second guess how to handle the situation at hand, I slip Soren's house key into the door and let myself in. The scent of lavender and mint assault my nostrils as laughter echoes throughout the house.

Making the split decision not to scare the girls more than making them rush to pack will most certainly do, I call out letting them know I'm there.

“Hello. Lena! Carla! Soren sent me.” The laughter stops abruptly as two girls round the corner, their eyes switching from my face to the door behind me.

“If that's true, why hasn't she answered our calls? She could've let us know she was okay after not returning home last night.” The thinner and slightly taller redhead replies, bringing her hand up and slowly pushing her identical twin behind her, making the blonde tilt her head at her in an unspoken challenge to her authority and right to protect her from a strange man showing up.

“Look, it's a long story that we really don't have the time or pleasure to go over.” I say as the girls look at me like I'm truly the dumbest piece of shit to grace their presence, it's scary how much of Soren I see.

Huffing an irritated breath, I hold my hands up to make them feel a little at ease as I continue on with what I was going to say. “Do you really think your sister would send someone she couldn't trust?” My words are stern and hold a slight irritation at the time ticking by.