#Poser

by Cambria Hebert

  He jerked up from the table, the chair clattering to the floor behind him. Ivy jumped, and I reacted, sliding her effortlessly behind me.

  “It’s like you want me to come at you again,” Drew growled.

  I held out my arms in invite.

  “Shut it right now!” Ivy yelled. “Or I’ll punch you both!”

  “Damn, sis. Why you gotta be so violent?” Drew asked.

  It was kinda funny and my lips twitched. Ivy sighed like all her patience was gone, and for one brief second, Drew and I shared a look. A second of truce.

  But then it was over.

  “Why don’t I give you guys some time?” I said, pulling the ice away from my face and dropping it onto the table in front of him. “Then you can bad mouth me some more in the privacy of my house.”

  I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room.

  Ivy rushed after me. It kinda pissed me off. Now she wanted to talk? Now she wanted to make sure I was okay?

  “Braeden, you don’t have to leave.”

  “It’s cool,” I said, like it was no big deal. “I could use a break anyway.”

  She didn’t say anything else. She just stood rooted in place.

  I left without looking back.

  I might have acted like it was no big deal, but inside…

  Inside was a different story.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Ivy

  He left and didn’t even look back.

  I yelled at him.

  I blamed him.

  My brother punched him, made him bleed.

  He insulted him.

  Braeden took it all. He didn’t say a word.

  He was doing all this for me while I hid in my room.

  I was being selfish.

  No more.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Braeden

  I sent out a text. I need you.

  Hours after I stomped out of the house, I walked back in. The kitchen stools were cleaned up; everything was in place. No evidence of a punching match between Drew and me remained.

  I went upstairs and took a shower, my muscles sore from the way I’d broken them down at the gym. Even still, it felt good to work out that hard. I needed it. I felt a lot less volatile than I had just hours before.

  Since all my clothes were in the bedroom and the ones I had on were way too ripe to put back on, I wrapped a towel around my waist and quietly opened the bedroom door.

  Prada was curled up on her side against Ivy, who made a slight bump in the center of the bed. She was sleeping, so I moved around in the closet as quiet as I could until I found a pair of basketball shorts and a T-shirt.

  Back out in the bedroom, I glanced back at Ivy, creeping a little closer to the bed. Prada rolled onto her back and showed me her belly. I smiled and scratched her stomach for a few minutes.

  The mess I made the night Ivy found out was cleaned up. All the things I’d shoved onto the floor were back on the dresser, minus a couple picture frames and a clock that had all shattered on impact.

  There was a candle lit on my side of the bed, making the room smell like vanilla and cinnamon. I couldn’t help but notice she’d showered and blown out her hair. She was wearing something other than the same thing she’d been living in the past four days.

  I guess Drew’s insults hit home.

  I wondered what they talked about after I left. He probably tried to convince her to go home with him. Maybe he would be good for her, especially if she decided she couldn’t forgive me.

  I was glad she had someone; at least she wouldn’t be alone.

  I closed the door quietly behind me and went downstairs. I stared at the beer for a long time but then grabbed a bottle of water and drained it instead.

  I flipped through the TV channels without much interest and then glanced at the clock. It was late and I was tired. Instead of lying down on the couch and passing out, I went upstairs.

  I sat down outside Ivy’s bedroom door and leaned against the wall. It had become a routine. For the past four nights, this was where I spent my time. It would have been a lot more comfortable on the couch, or hell, before Drew got here, the guest room.

  But those places were too far away.

  Ivy was having nightmares. I needed to be close by.

  I exhaled slowly, rested my head against the doorjamb, and shut my eyes. The workout drained me, and I fell asleep easily for the first time in a long while.

  I don’t know what caused me to wake. Maybe I heard the alarm code being keyed in. Or maybe it was the fact he was staring at me in my sleep.

  I jerked up off the wall like someone blew an air horn in my ear. Romeo was standing above me, staring down with a concerned look on his face. He looked tired. Like a guy who’d been driving several hours without stopping.

  “What the fuck are you sleeping in the hallway for?”

  “You came,” I said, my voice still thick with sleep.

  “You texted.” So simple but it meant so much.

  “Was Rim pissed?”

  “Of course not!” she said, appearing at the top of the stairs almost out of nowhere.

  Romeo grinned. “Didn’t think she’d let me come home without her, did ya?”

  “My BBFL needed me.” Her eyes found me on the floor and concern darkened them.

  “He texted me, Smalls.” Romeo reminded her.

  “He probably got the phone numbers confused,” Rimmel muttered.

  “Or maybe he just wanted some manly advice instead of feeling like he was being interviewed for Doctor Phil,” he teased.

  “Roman Anderson, if everyone wasn’t asleep in this house, I’d kick you so hard you’d scream!”

  “Now, baby, that’s just mean.”

  Man, I’d missed them. And they also made me realize just how much I missed Ivy. I missed tossing insults at her and getting them right back.

  Rimmel snorted and pinned me with a stare. “Why are you sleeping in the hallway?”

  “Ivy kicked me out of the room.”

  “See? It’s man business, babe. Take your cute ass to bed. I’ll be in later,” Romeo told her.

  I stood and pulled her in for a hug. She really hugged me back. I liked it. “Thanks for being here, sis,” I whispered in her ear.

  “Love you,” she whispered back.

  After she disappeared into their bedroom, Romeo motioned for me to follow him downstairs.

  “We got a couch, you know,” he said, dropping on it and propping his feet on the coffee table. Rimmel and Ivy spent an entire weekend painting it and two side tables white.

  I was pretty sure if either one of them saw his feet and shoes on it, they’d give him a lecture.

  Naturally, I sat down and put my feet on it too.

  “She has nightmares, dude. I need to be close.”

  “Can’t say I was surprised when I got your text. Shit’s been going on with you for a while.”

  “It’s not really my shit to tell.”

  “Coulda fooled me.”

  He was right. I might not have been the one to get raped, but I was still dealing with the fallout. I needed someone to talk to. I couldn’t just keep being quiet. And I texted him. He came. It took him hours to get here, which meant he left right after I texted. I had no idea what kind of inconvenience this was on him, but he didn’t even mention it.

  I wasn’t going to refuse to tell him now. He showed up. I had to put up.

  Romeo waited me out while I struggled internally, folding his arms across his chest, leaning his head back, and closing his eyes.

  “Zach raped Ivy.”

  Romeo’s entire body went dead still. One eye opened. Then the other. He turned his head and stared at me. “The fuck you just say?”

  I nodded, grim. “The night he broke into Rim’s laptop. Ivy didn’t sleep with him because she was drunk. He drugged her and then he raped her.”

  He jackknifed up and his feet hit the floor. The hard set to his jaw and the pissed-off glint in his eye wasn’t unfami
liar. I knew that’s exactly how I looked when I found out about it too.

  “She’s been carrying this around all this time,” he muttered. “She didn’t say—”

  “She didn’t know.” I cut him off. Before he could ask for an explanation, I told him about the pictures, how I found out and never told anyone.

  He rubbed a hand over the back of his head and then down his face. “You’ve known for six months?” he echoed, totally shocked by it all.

  “I hoped I’d never have to tell anyone.”

  He let out a string of curses. “I had no idea. I’m sorry, man. I should have been here. You’ve been dealing alone.”

  “Ivy just found out.” I quickly explained about how she had a flashback and I admitted it all. I left out the part about the panties because that opened up too many other questions.

  “If he wasn’t locked up,” Romeo swore.

  “I’d have already killed him.” I finished, dead calm and serious.

  He stared at me. I stared back. He nodded.

  “So what can I do?” His voice still held a note of shock.

  “I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do. I was just going stir crazy, you know? It’s been four days of silence, silence and listening to her cry. She’s pissed at me. I’m not sure she’s gonna be able to forgive me.”

  He waved away my words. “You did the right thing.”

  I don’t know why, but his words stunned me almost as much as learning what really happened. “You think so?”

  “Hells yeah. If I had been in your shoes, I’d have done the same thing. We gotta protect them.”

  I let out an uneven breath. All this time, I thought he would tell me what a dumbass I was. I honestly thought Romeo wouldn’t have done the same.

  I felt somehow validated.

  A partial weight lifted off me, and I settled back into the couch, feeling slightly lighter than before.

  My newfound peace was very short-lived.

  Ivy’s scream cut through the house. I jumped up off the couch and rushed up the stairs.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Ivy

  I thought I heard voices, the familiar kind, of the people I’d grown to love. But when I turned over and listened, I didn’t hear them at all.

  It must have been a dream.

  Maybe it was a dream about better days, when we all didn’t feel so separated. When we were all here in this house like a happy family.

  I closed my eyes and snuggled back into the blankets, determined to go back to sleep. Tomorrow, I was going to talk with Braeden. I was going to start living my life again. I needed rest to do it; the task wasn’t going to be so easy.

  I dozed off at last, slipping into quiet bliss¸ away from my racing thoughts.

  #

  The sound of loud, pounding music had me stirring again. It was so loud it vibrated my chest and made it so everyone had to yell over the bass.

  There were a lot of people here. The party was raging, the house packed so tight if the fire department drove by, we’d get slammed for violation of code—too many bodies in too small of a space.

  But no one ever thought about that. The beer was flowing and the night was young.

  I took a sip of the drink in my hand, fresh from the keg in the kitchen. I liked the way it slid down my throat and hit my tummy, spreading out like a warm blanket.

  “This is the best party all semester!” Missy yelled in my ear.

  “I know, right!” My voice sounded funny to my own ears. It was a little too loud, a little too bright.

  We started dancing right there where we were. People around us started dancing too, and soon we had our own little dance party happening right there in the center of the frat.

  As I shook my hips, I glanced to the corner of the room. There was a couple sitting in a chair that looked like a throne. The girl was on the guy’s lap; she was straddling him, practically dry humping him right there for everyone to see.

  All I could see of him were his large hands gripping her back and helping her move against him. Her long dark hair flipped around and they made out, and for some reason, it made me feel sick.

  Why were they just making out right there where everyone could see?

  “Someone needs to get a room,” said a dry voice beside me.

  I spun so fast some of the beer sloshed out of the cup and over my hand, soaking my skin in the thick liquid.

  “Careful now,” he said. “Don’t want to waste any of that. It’s got a little something extra in there just for you.”

  Terror was like a sharp talon that swiftly ripped open my skin. What was Zach doing here? I thought he was locked away, put somewhere he couldn’t hurt anyone anymore.

  He smiled like a shark that just ate a forty-pound seal. I watched him reach out with a single finger and push the cup up toward my mouth. I didn’t fight him. It was like I was hypnotized. Like I was helpless to fight. Warm, yeasty beer spilled over my tongue. This time it didn’t taste fresh.

  It tasted odd.

  There was something in there…

  I looked down.

  Dozens of white pills floated in the pale liquid.

  I spit out what was in my mouth. It flew everywhere but somehow avoided Zach. He watched me, amused, a maniacal look glinting in his eyes. “It’s too late for that, Ivy,” he intoned, and my vision started to blur.

  My eyes grew heavy and I was suddenly so tired.

  “You’re mine now,” he whispered. “To do with as I please.”

  “No,” I slurred.

  He laughed and palmed my shoulder. His fingers bit into my skin. “There’s no one here to save you,” he taunted and then spun me around.

  All the people who packed this room just moments before were gone. The only ones who remained were the couple in the chair.

  The girl was no longer wearing a shirt, and she was making disgusting noises as she rode the guy’s lap.

  “See?” Zach purred. “He’s already moved on.”

  As if on cue, the girl turned and looked at me. Her eyes were full of spite.

  It was Missy.

  And the man whose lap she was sitting in… was Braeden.

  The next thing I knew, I was queasy and pinned to a bed. I had no idea where I was or how I got there. But I wasn’t alone.

  Zach was here. He was ripping at my clothes and saying the vilest things to me. I tried to push him away. I tried to scream and yell.

  “I like it when you fight,” he ground out and rubbed his erect penis against my body. It protruded through his pants, and I gagged. “Makes me good and hard.”

  He shoved his face just inches from mine and yelled, “Now shut up and take it!”

  #

  “NO!” I screamed and jolted up in bed. My clothes were damp and sticking to me, and my body shook so badly I could hear my teeth chatter.

  It was only a dream. Just a dream, I told myself over and over. But I couldn’t stop shaking. I couldn’t stop hearing him scream at me.

  I shoved out of the bed. My foot got tangled and I fell. My knee hit the floor first, and I yelped. Pushing up, I stared at the closed door.

  I wanted Braeden.

  I wanted to feel safe again.

  I didn’t even know if he was here and, if so, if he would talk to me.

  If he is home, his truck will be in the driveway. I went to the window and lifted back the curtain. The blinds were closed, so I slipped a couple fingers between them and opened up just one of the slats.

  I pressed up close and peered out into the night, hoping to see the big red truck.

  My eyes landed on something else.

  Someone else.

  I jolted, the blinds clattering against the glass. Doing a double take, I told myself I was still just freaked from the dream.

  But he was still there. Zach was standing there in the center of the driveway, looking up at the house.

  Looking up at me.

  Dressed completely in black, his body practically disappeared
with the night. Just like before in the stairwell.

  I’d imagined that.

  Hadn’t I?

  His hair was perfectly arranged, just like it always had been. I hated it. I hated everything about him. His face was pale and stuck out like a crow in a cornfield. The way he just stood there, unmoving, unblinking, staring right at me…

  I shuddered. My mouth opened, ready to scream.

  He saw. He knew.

  With careful, deliberate movement, a single finger lifted to his lips, pressed in the center, and he slowly shook his head.

  Shhhhh.

  I started screaming, and once I began, I couldn’t stop. I fell away from the window, practically ripping the curtain right off the wall, and fell back into the bed. A blanket tangled around me and the sensation of being pinned down came over me.

  I fought against the blanket, screaming even more.

  He’s here. He’s coming for me. He’s going to rape me again.

  I won’t be able to stop him.

  The sound of the door flying open and banging against the wall barely registered. The lamp on the bedside table rattled with the force of pounding footsteps.

  Braeden called my name, but even though I knew it was him, I couldn’t stop. He appeared over me, his face terrified. He reached for me, but then his arms fell short.

  He turned away.

  “Her eyes are open. I think she might be awake. I don’t think she wants me.” The torture in his voice couldn’t be denied, and even as I wanted to tell him it wasn’t true and I wanted him, I couldn’t stop screaming.

  Not even another second passed and someone else was there. The bed dipped beneath his weight, and I was hauled up off the mattress, out of the blanket trying to choke me and against a rock-hard chest.

  It felt similar to Braeden’s, but it wasn’t the same.

  “It’s okay now,” Romeo said, pushing my face into his chest and holding it there. “Just another dream.”

  Another dream? The thought was so fleeting it was there and then gone.

  My fingers clutched at his shirt, holding on so tight. My screams turned to sobs against him, and his arms tightened.

  He cursed softly. “I’m so fucking sorry, Ivy.” I felt him rocking me gently, and honestly, if I had been in any other state of mind, I’d be embarrassed as hell. But I couldn’t find those feelings in me because I was too busy trying to forget what I’d just seen.