The man nicks the knife under my jaw and I jump in response. “Look what you made me do, Elizabeth.” I can already feel blood trickling down my neck, the small slice of skin stinging. “I said look!” he bellows. I don’t know what he wants me to look at. What is happening? Why is he doing this to me? Oh, God, where are my parents? Where’s Hailey? I try to capture images of his face, what he’s wearing, anything that I can give to the police if I’m able to make it out of here alive. He’s tall, about Ryder’s height. He’s wearing all black, a black face mask covering his hair and face. Even with the dim light, I’m able to see the color of his irises. His pupils are blown but the rims around each are visible. One light blue, one brown.
I whimper and try to tell him I don’t know what he’s talking about when he jerks my chin up and steps to the side. I try to look away from the utter horror I see, but he won’t allow me to turn my face. Across from where I sit tied to the chair, lying motionless on the living room floor, are my parents. There’s enough light coming in the room from the streetlamps outside for me to see the carpet is painted in a halo of dark crimson. My mother’s vacant, cloudy eyes are staring at me, my father next to her, his face I can’t see. I scream behind the duct tape, thrashing around wildly, desperate to get to them, to save them, even though I already know they’re both dead.
“Good. Now you see, my sweet Elizabeth. But that’s not all I have to show you.” He releases my face and walks over to the pantry and opens it. I hear a loud thump and then a noise like something’s being dragged across the floor. The man appears in front of me again, his hand fisted around Hailey’s hair as he tugs her limp, naked body in front of me and tosses her down on the floor. Her body is covered in cuts, bruises, and burn marks, and if she didn’t make a tiny moaning sound when she hit the floor, I would have thought she was dead too. I vomit inside my mouth but there’s nowhere for it to go, so I’m forced to swallow it back down — the burning, acrid taste making me gag and wanting to vomit all over again.
The man starts talking frantically, his words a jumble my mind is having trouble processing. I ignore him and focus on Hailey. Get up! Get up, Hailey! My muffled words plead to her. Get up!
The man bends down and flips Hailey over on her stomach. Her muscles twitch, but she remains motionless, her skin sticky with dried blood. I’m watching my sister die right before my eyes and am helpless to do anything about it. Hot, overpowering rage rises up, aimed at the man in front of me as he hovers over Hailey. If I can just get free, I will rip every bone from his body. A pinkish-orange hue passes over Hailey’s pallid, blood-streaked skin. The early morning sun filters through the windows. Ryder said he would come by this morning. Ryder will save me. I just have to hold on until he gets here.
“Do you see now, Elizabeth? Your pathetic sister thinking she could take your place.” He’s not making any sense. If I thought seeing my parents dead on the floor and my sister’s life draining out of her right in front me was enough to break me, what he does next obliterates me leaving nothing but a husk of myself remaining.
The man lowers his zipper and climbs on top of Hailey’s back as she lies prone on her stomach, not moving. This is not happening, this is not happening. This can’t be happening. I watch helplessly as he plunges the knife into Hailey’s side over and over as he rapes her right in front of me and my mind fractures. I scream so loud and so long and so hard that my vocal cords shatter. Tears pour down my face, clouding my vision and mixing with the blood covering my neck.
The man grunts and then a minute or two pass by. I hear movement before the sound of water splashing and the smell of urine assail my senses. I realize in horror that he’s urinating on my sister. Next, I feel the knife slide across my leg bindings. A second of clarity hits me. This may be my only chance to escape.
“Don’t you see, Elizabeth? She wanted to be you. Stupid bitch.” Once my legs are unbound, I rear my head back and smash it into the top of his head as hard as I can. Jesus, fuck! That hurt. I hear him yowl in pain as dizziness swamps me. Using my legs, I push down with all my might in order to stand up and run, but my arms are still tied to the chair. The man grabs my ankle and I careen into the dining room table, striking the side of my face against the wooden edge, the chair shattering.
“Why, Elizabeth! Why did you do that!” The man is spitting and screaming at me.
He tries to straddle me like he did Hailey and I lose it. I fight with everything in me, kicking, biting, thrashing. Voices from outside can be heard and I try to scream but no sound comes out. Just a gurgling noise like coffee percolating. My head lulls to the side in time to see the man pull the knife out from the side of my chest.
He croons to me in a soft voice. “Shh, Elizabeth. It will all be better soon.” He slides the knife into me again and kisses me softly. “My sweet Elizabeth.” He gets up off of me and I hear his footsteps running toward the back of the house.
My body is floating and I feel no pain. I try to take in a labored breath, but it’s too hard to pull in air, like my lungs aren’t working properly. My eyes track to the dining room window searching for Jayson’s window, but the old oak tree is in the way.
There’s a tug on my body and I hear Ryder’s voice, faint and far away, calling my name. My eyes are too heavy to open and my limbs won’t work. I hear Jayson’s voice. I need to tell them before the darkness takes me away. I need more time. I can’t leave them. I’m not ready.
Ryder’s frantic golden eyes swim in front of my vision. With the last breath I can muster, I rasp out, “I love you.”
Chapter 31
Jayson
Jules just called to let me know he and his team arrived safely in Orlando where the Halloween Cup is being held. I’m thinking of driving down tomorrow to surprise him. Mom and Dad arrived there yesterday and are staying at a different hotel. I know Jules will appreciate having me there with them, cheering him on from the stands. I check my phone. Still no text from Liz. I hate the stillness and quiet of the condo. I’m used to noise. I’m used to living with Julien and Ryder. Ryder, my best friend who is now living with my girl. Living the life I was supposed to have. Fuck. It hurts. It hurts so goddamn much. Is this how Ryder felt all those years? Did it hurt him this much to watch every time I kissed Liz, every time I touched her, every laugh and smile she gave me and not him?
I hear raindrops hit the window and walk out on the balcony. Back home, Liz and I used to sit out on her patio and watch the rain fall. Liz loved thunderstorms the best. She said they reminded her of the fireworks from that Fourth of July when I took her behind the dunes. The first time my fingers gave her an orgasm. My mind keeps playing back all those first times. All those next times. Ryder is me now, and I am him.
I walk back inside but keep the balcony door open. The cool late autumn breeze blows in; the smell of wet earth clings to the air. The rain is quiet. The breeze is quiet. Everything is so damn quiet. Fuck it. Deciding to head to Liz’s place, I close the balcony door and go to grab my keys. If she wants me to leave after I get there, I will. I shove my shoes on and grab my wallet. The rain isn’t so hard that I’ll need an umbrella. I open the front door and stop.
Liz is standing there. She’s trembling and soaked to the bone. Her long hair is plastered to her face, her neck, her body. Her chest moves in and out as if she ran all the way here from her apartment in the rain. But it’s her eyes that stop me cold. I have never seen Liz’s eyes glow so vibrantly green before. It’s unnerving. She looks like a fairy goddess come to slay the dragon. And those green eyes are locked on me.
“Liz? What’s wrong?” Even though concern for her consumes me, I’m afraid to touch her. I’ve seen her memory blackouts before. This is different.
“Baby, you’re scaring me. Please tell me what’s wrong. Why are you standing out here in the rain?”
Those bright verdant green eyes flash.
“Everything,” she says, her voice sounding as fierce as the look in her eyes.
“What?”
&nb
sp; “Everything!” she yells at me, fists clenched tight at her sides. I’m officially freaked out now. I reach out to grab her arms so I can pull her inside and out of the rain.
“I remember everything!”
My body jerks. The hands that were reaching for her freeze, mere inches from her skin. My eyes snap to hers. I don’t see it coming. Her hand connects with my cheek in a loud slap.
“I remember everything, Jayson!” She hits me again and again, her face filled with fury and pain. “You threw me out! You hurt me! You broke my heart!” She slaps me and pounds on my chest. I stand there and let her.
“Everything!” she screams in my face, then grabs it, fingers gripping fiercely.
It’s as if time slows down then speeds back up, like one of those movies where the character Neo watches as bullets fly past him in slow motion then everything returns to normal time. I don’t know who moves first. I think we both do. She smashes her mouth to mine and I eat her up, so starved for her I may never have the strength to stop. We come together in the most brutal, desperate, and ugly way. She shoves me back into the apartment, but I grab her forcefully, spinning us around and slamming her against the entryway wall. She cries out then bites my lip, sucking it into her mouth. Her fingernails have become claws as she rakes them down my body and rips my shirt up and off before coming back to attack my mouth. Our tongues slash and tangle, our teeth collide. And it’s not enough.
With swift desperation, we shed the rest of our clothes and fuck each other against the entryway wall like snarling, rabid animals. She screams my name when her orgasm crashes through her. I shout out hers as mine erupts from me. And it’s still not enough. It will never be enough. For the rest of the night, we go at each other until our bodies are sore yet replete, our lips bruised and swollen. We finally exhaust ourselves by the time the morning sun rises. As we fall asleep, Liz and I mold our naked bodies together, her head on my chest and her hand over my heart. I tangle fingers in her long blond hair and cup one breast possessively with my other hand. Our two bodies merge as one. We are two souls finding their way back together.
“I love you, Jayson.”
“I love you, princess.”
I don’t know how long we’ve been asleep, but I’m suddenly wakened by pounding on my front door. I turn over to grab Liz, but she’s not in the bed. The pounding on the door gets louder and I hear Ryder’s voice. Where’s Liz? I hear the front door open. Ryder still has a key and lets himself in.
“Jay, you here?”
My bedroom door is cracked open, and I panic. Liz is probably in the kitchen making coffee or sitting out on the balcony. I rush to pull on some sweatpants.
“Jay?” Ryder shouts again, the sound of his voice closer as he walks down the hallway.
I open my door. “What?”
“Jesus, you scared the crap out of me,” he says.
“Being woken by someone pounding your door down isn’t much better,” I reply.
“Sorry about that. Have you heard from Elizabeth?”
I peek down the hallway, half expecting to see her. I step out and close the door to my bedroom. It smells like sex.
“Why?”
“Fuck!”
“Ryder, what the hell is going on?”
“She wasn’t at home last night when I got back from the track. She never came home. I’ve been driving all over town. She’s not answering her phone. I’ve tried calling Fallon. I don’t know how to get in touch with Meredith or Trevor. I went to campus this morning and searched every place I knew she might be. I even called the police, but they said she had to be gone for twenty-four hours before I could file a report. Jay, where the hell is she?”
I walk around the condo, looking for Liz. Ryder follows me, wondering what I’m doing. Where is she? Did she sneak out?
“Jay, I’m worried.”
“Ry, she’s fine,” I assure him. Liz was with me until a few hours ago.
“How can you be so sure? Weren’t you the one who pointed out what could happen to her if she had another memory blackout? She could be hurt for fuck’s sake!” he yells at me. “Her location tracking is turned off. Why the hell would she do that? She promised to keep it on so we could find her in emergencies.”
That’s a good question. Where the hell are you, Liz? It’s then I see the piece of paper with my name on it sitting on top of the coffee pot. The paper is folded like a tent, my name is written in large block letters. Ryder sees the note the same time I do but gets to it first.
His face morphs into furious anger. I rip the paper from his hand.
“Jayson, I’m sorry. Last night should never have happened. – Elizabeth”
“What happened last night, Jay?” Ry’s voice is hard and threatening. I think he already knows.
“Liz’s memory returned,” is all I get to say before Ryder punches me in the face.
Epilogue
Elizabeth
I don’t know why I’m here. What the hell am I thinking? It’s because you’re not thinking, I tell myself. You fucked up, Elizabeth. You just destroyed everything good in your life. You deserve every ounce of pain you’re feeling right now.
I raise my hand and knock on the dark oak door. It smells like wood cleaner. Who the hell polishes their front door with wood cleaner?
A guy I’ve never seen before opens the door and looks at me. My hair is a tangled mess and I’m wearing Jayson’s clothes which hang on my smaller body. I must look like a crazy person.
“Can I help you?”
The door swings wider and the man I came to see steps out. Relief pours through me.
“Kitten?”
“I need you, Fallon.”
Their story concludes in Broken Butterfly: Fallen Brook Series, Book 3.
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Broken Butterfly
Broken Butterfly: Fallen Brook Series, Book 3
Coming June 2021!
This is the story of a girl and three boys.
Elizabeth. Jayson. Julien. Ryder.
A princess and her three princes.
Four forever loves.
But this is not your typical love story.
Elizabeth’s choice changed everything.
One night destroyed it all.
But that was before.
Before she remembered. Before she ran. Before she came to me.
I’m the villain of the story.
Fallon.
Jayson, Ryder, and Julien have loved Elizabeth since they were kids. They grew up together. Shared their lives together. They were a family.
But I loved Elizabeth, too. I loved her from afar. She was my fascination. Her light to my dark.
But I have a secret. One that will destroy her.
Elizabeth thinks she’s broken. She thinks I can help fix her.
She doesn’t realize that I am as broken as she is.
She doesn’t realize that I am the villain in her love story.
Broken Butterfly is Book 3 in the Fallen Brook Series, a mature High School & Young Adult, New Adult & College, Contemporary Romance with mature themes. Broken Butterfly, Fallen Brook Series Book 3 is the anticipated conclusion to the Fallen brook Series and ends with an HEA. You may think you know how Elizabeth's love story ends, but like life, things can change in the blink of an eye.
Enjoy!
All Our Next Times
Every great love story has a beginning.
Find out how it all began in All Our Next Times: Fallen Brook Series, Book 1.
This is the story of a girl and three boys.
Elizabeth. Jayson. Julien. Ryder.
A princess and her three princes.
Four forever loves.
But this is not your typical love story.
One boy will claim her.
One boy will hold her heart.
&nbs
p; One boy will stand by her.
All three will love her.
But what happens when love is not enough to stop four lives from shattering into a million broken pieces?
Choose a side. Are you Team Jayson, Team Julien, or Team Ryder?
Elizabeth.
I have known and loved Jayson, Julien, and Ryder since I was a little girl. We grew up together. Shared our lives together. They were my family. My best friends. My forevers.
It took one choice to change everything. It took one night to destroy it all.
My choice changed everything. But what if I made a mistake?
I thought I knew how my love story would end. I couldn't have been more wrong.
That Girl
Coming November 2021
Aurora
I was that girl.
The one that was smart and excelled at academics.
The one who lived on the bad side of town.
The one from a broken home.
The one whose father ran off when she was two.
The one with an alcoholic mother who could care less if she existed.
The one with the abusive older sister who would give her bruises instead of hugs.
The one that lived among the shadows, keeping out of sight, trying not to be noticed.
Paper Stars Rewritten: Fallen Brook Series: Book 2 Page 27