Exposed: An Anthology

by Brooke Cumberland

  I sit up, preparing myself for the heartache all over again. I tell her about going to see my parents, about Aiden, and about my suspicion that he has something over on my parents. She looks at me with her mouth wide open, unable to believe what I just told her.

  “That fucking asshole!” she finally blurts out.

  “There’s nothing I can do, Riss. There’s nothing any of us can do. Aiden will kill Eric if he sees us together. How can I risk that?”

  “You kill that son-of-a-bitch first,” she says matter-of-factly.

  “Oh, right. And what…risk going to prison!”

  “There has to be a better solution. I mean, you can’t let him control who you date.”

  “He is everywhere, Riss! He’s always a step ahead of me. He practically threw Eric off a cliff. He probably has a whole team of creepers watching me, making sure I obey him. It’s like…he holds some kind of power.”

  The fact is…he does hold power of me. And my family. Would it ever end? Could it ever end? Even if I went to the police, I had no proof. It would be my word against his. Aiden would use his charm to get the police on his side anyway. I stood no chance.

  “I have a plan.” Carissa stands up, grabbing my hand and leading me out of the living room. “Get dressed.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “What are we doing here?” I ask as Carissa pulls into a hardware store.

  “Getting supplies,” she smirks, jerking the car into park. I have no idea what she’s implying, but I’m intrigued to find out.

  We walk in and Carissa grabs a cart as I scan the store. I’ve never been in one before. It smells like sweaty musk and aftershave. Bad aftershave.

  “So what are we getting?” I ask, walking beside her. She smiles at me as she grabs chains from a shelf in one of the aisles. “Chains?” I ask in surprise.

  “You’ll see. I have a plan,” she says confidentially. Carissa was many things, sometimes a royal pain in the arse, sometimes a real loud mouth, but sometimes…just sometimes, she was very resourceful.

  She grabs rope, nails, a hammer, duct tape, zip ties, towels, and a large pipe wrench. My mind is wondering what the hell she has in store.

  “Is this where you tell me to convert into a lesbian so we can do some kinky BDSM?” I tease, making light of the situation.

  “Sorry, sweetheart. I don’t do virgins.”

  “Not a virgin anymore!” I defend, shocked that I can even admit that.

  “One man, pssh. Practically a virgin in my book.”

  “You’re such a sleaze. It counts,” I mumble.

  She smiles back at me and sticks her tongue out in defeat.

  “Now what?” I ask as we finish paying and walk out to the car.

  “Now we do what girls do best…kick some ass.”

  * * *

  I still have no clue what she has planned, but I’m for it. I don’t know where this side of me is coming from…perhaps it was seeing Eric for the first time in two weeks, or seeing how hurt and distraught he was, but I didn’t mind. I like this Velaney.

  It’s go time.

  Carissa and I take the four-hour drive to my hometown. When we get close to my parents house, she slows down and parks about a block away.

  “It’s time,” is all she says as she kills the engine and gets out. All our supplies are in the trunk and before grabbing them I ask, “Okay, now you have to tell me what we’re doing.”

  “We are going to take control back, Lane. Show Aiden two…rather, three…can play this game, as well. Except, we play dirty. Aiden’s a big man baby, which means your mother will probably have to cook him dinner, right?” I nod, agreeing with her. “We’re going to sneak in your house and wait until he’s sleeping. We’ll set up before he gets here and then…we’ll show him who is boss.” Her voice is strong and determined. It rather freaks me out, seeing her this way, but I absolutely love her for it.

  We grab our stuff and sneak to the back of my childhood home. We hide in some bushes by a back window that I know is never locked. I broke the lock when I was thirteen years old on accident and never told my parents about it.

  We both crawl through the window as quietly as possible. It’s a large house so odds were no one would hear us as long as everyone was in the living room or kitchen. We tiptoe down to my old room and drop the bags on my old bed. It feels surreal being in here after four years, eerie even. However, I don’t dwell on it too long as I know we don’t have much time.

  “Okay, here’s what we do,” Carissa begins. She explains to me her whole plan, giving me details of exactly what to do. It takes me a moment, but I begin to freak out. If this goes wrong, I can’t even imagine what Aiden would do to me then. But Carissa was right—it’s time to take back control.

  We hear my brother and parents in the dining room where they are eating dinner. We grab the specific supplies we need and hide in the bathroom shower that I know Aiden will use. I’m shaking as we sit and wait, feeling completely inadequate.

  “I don’t know if I can do this,” I whisper to Carissa as we sit in the tub. The curtain is dark black and we are completely unnoticeable once the curtain is drawn out. It’s creepy, but turns out it’s actually coming in handy.

  “Yes. You. Can.” she enunciates each word slowly, staring directly into my eyes.

  We went over and over the plan earlier in my old room. I know exactly what to do, but I’m still scared out of my frigging mind. This could literally be…life and death. If this goes wrong and Aiden could tear me apart.

  The lights are shut off but I can sense Carissa’s eyes staring into me. “What?” I whisper.

  “I’m so proud of you, Lane. The fact that you’re even here doing this…makes me feel like a proud mama! It’s like I’ve taught you so much, and now I get to see it in action.”

  “Calm down, mama bear. I haven’t done anything, yet.” I can’t even believe I’m here. What the hell am I doing?

  The light flicks on.

  Oh god. Show time.

  I know it’s Aiden because my parents only use their master bathroom. Some weird thing about them…I never pushed for asking why. It was just how they were.

  I hear him humming…humming? As he lifts up the toilet seat, Carissa braces against me, ready to flock any minute. He unzips his zipper and as soon as we hear it—

  We emerge.

  “What the fuck?” Aiden shouts, unable to defend himself as he’s covering himself up. Carissa might not look tough, but give her a Red Bull, motive, and a pipe wrench…the girl works on pure adrenaline.

  She crashes her body into his, forcing him against the wall. We each grab a hand and wrap the zip tie around his wrist, holding him in place. I rip off a piece of duct tape and slap it against his mouth. His eyes bulge out of his head as he takes in what is happening.

  The adrenaline overcomes me. I’ve never felt anything like it before. It actually feels…incredible…like I’m unstoppable.

  I make sure the tape is on nice and sturdy before grabbing the hammer and pipe wrench. He falls to the floor, trying to wiggle himself to the door.

  “Not so fast, my dearest brother,” I say as if I actually mean to sound sincere. I toss the wrench to Carissa, leaving the hammer in my hand. “I have a few words for you first.”

  Carissa does the next part because frankly, I just refuse to go there. She grabs his pants and pulls them down to his feet. She climbs over him, getting really close to his face while setting the wrench close to his boxers.

  “Listen, asshole,” she begins, speaking louder than a whisper, but softer than a shout. “As you can see, you are very accessible. I can get to you anytime…anywhere. If you do not leave Velaney or her boyfriend alone, I promise to use this pipe wrench to personally castrate you.” The way Carissa speaks is even making me cringe just thinking about it. Aiden’s eyes grow wider, squirming as he feels Carissa urging the wrench closer to his most sensitive area. “And I never break a promise, Aiden. If you lay one finger on her or Eric, I will hunt you
down…and make sure you never use your dick again!”

  He tries to scream but the tape keeps his mouth from moving. I feel so hyped from the adrenaline rush and from watching Carissa that I decide to add my own few words.

  “And if you come after me, Eric, or Carissa, I will personally come find you and knock every single tooth out.” I hold the hammer to his face, letting it rub against his cheek. “And these nails might find a way to join the party, as well,” I quickly add in, feeling brave. It’s like I’m having an out of body experience—a feeling overcomes me, and makes me finally stand up to him. Something I’ve wanted to do since I was eight years old.

  “Are we clear?” Carissa chimes in, wrapping the wrench harder around him. I didn’t even notice she did it in the first place, but seeing Aiden beg for mercy was pure pleasure.

  He rapidly nods his head as he sees Carissa get closer to his favorite male part. Part of me wants to giggle at how risky she’s being, but for the sake of looking dominant, I hold it in.

  “Good. This is the last time we will ever see you. Don’t contact her, don’t come into her apartment, and don’t tell her who or what she’s allowed to do. Don’t even breathe the same damn air as her.” He nods again. His eyes are begging her to stop. She releases the wrench around him and nails him right in the junk with it. “That’s for being a sick mother fucker!” He cries out, but it’s muffled and can’t be heard outside of the bathroom. My heart is racing so hard, I can barely remember to breathe.

  “Let’s go,” I say, grabbing the supplies off the floor. “I think he gets the message.” I look back at him wanting to smash my shoe into his face, but I don’t. “At least he better.” I decide to kick him in the ribs instead. It feels good to finally get revenge. I’m not usually one for violence considering my past, but he was one person who deserves it.

  “Wow, I can’t believe we just did that,” I say as Carissa and I get into the car. My heart is still racing, and I can’t breathe straight.

  “You did good, girl. I’m proud of you.” She smiles, glancing at me before turning her head back to the road.

  “You did all the good stuff. I’m proud of you,” I say back, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. “Thank you.”

  “No need to thank me. It felt good.” I simply nod in return. “He’s gone, Velaney. You can move on now. He’s out of the picture.”

  “But what if he’s not? What if this just fed him more reasons to come after me?”

  “I highly doubt he will. And if he’s stupid enough to, we’ll be ready,” she says, holding up the duct tape. I smile back at her amusing face, knowing she’d kill for me if she had to.

  We decide to stop at a hotel for the night and order dinner. It’s been a long, exhausting, and emotionally draining day. I feel for the first time in my life…free. He can’t control me anymore. I won’t let him.

  I think about Eric all night long. I want to tell him I made a mistake and beg him to take me back, but I feel like he deserves more. He deserves a proper explanation, but if I tell him the truth, he’ll go after Aiden.

  I plot my next move as I slowly drift into sleep. I miss Eric…I miss him so fucking much.

  * * *

  “I’m so damn hungry!” Carissa groans, rolling toward me on the hotel bed. I’m not sure I even slept. I kept reliving every second of last night. I thought I would feel safer—but I don’t. I feel worse…

  “Riss?” She raises her head up towards me. “I’m terrified,” I admit, lowering my head. Sensing my vulnerability, Carissa rises and comes to sit next to me. She wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me in close to her chest.

  “He can’t hurt you, Laney. Don’t give him that. Don’t let him have your fear.” Too bad that sounds easier said than done.

  “I thought I would feel better after getting revenge—but I don’t.”

  “C’mon, let’s get some caffeine and food in you. We’ll talk some more.” I nod and watch as Carissa gets off the bed. We both get dressed and pack our bags. We check out and head back to her car.

  We mostly walk in silence, unsure of what to say to the other. I love Carissa…I do…but right now, I was no longer scared for just me, now I was scared for her. Aiden holds no boundaries when it comes to getting what he wants…and there’s no doubt in my mind that what he wants right now is revenge.

  “What can I get you girls this morning?” a nice older lady with a pack of waitress checks and a pencil in her hand asks. She stands at the end of the table looking bored as all hell.

  “Coffee and scrambled eggs, please,” I reply, handing my menu back to her.

  “I’ll have coffee, orange juice, pancakes, and bacon, please,” Carissa replies, grinning as she hands her menu to the waitress. Without another word, the waitress writes down our order, grabs our menus, and walks away.

  “Well, she was a friendly sack of bitch pills.” Carissa complains as I take a drink of my water, and spewing it out of my mouth as she laughs at her own comment.

  “Oh my word, Riss. You sure have a way with people.”

  “Hey, I was nice! Not everyone gets the nice-version of Carissa.”

  “True,” I agree, wiping the water from my chin.

  “So what’s the plan?” she asks, breaking the awkward silence. I know we both want to talk about this plan.

  “I was hoping you had one,” I retort, holding my hands together on top of the table. Although I feel that her previous plan has put us in more danger, I was ready to follow her next lead on how to get out of it.

  “Well, we could cross the border—run away. We have nothing keeping us here anyway.”

  “Oh, sure. We’ll just pack up and move to Canada,” I say sarcastically. I know she isn’t serious either, and we need a serious plan.

  “Okay, Lane. Honestly, I don’t know why you are freaking out…I mean, did you see how scared he was? There’s no way he’s going to come back and mess with you. He knows what you’re capable of.” She pauses, taking a drink of water. “No man risks getting their nuts squeezed off.” A smile forms on my face as she lightens the mood. Perhaps she’s right—that pipe wrench could do damage.

  We eat in silence and once the caffeine has absorbed in my body, I finally feel much better. I adore Carissa for sticking by me through all of this. Now I just need to make a plan to get Eric back…but what would I say? Would he take me back? Would he think I’m a basket case of emotions?

  “So, are you going to help me get Eric back?” I ask, teasing her as we drive back to our apartment.

  “I might have a few tricks up my sleeve.” She grins, turning to look at me. Carissa knew the way around a man’s brain, body, and heart better than anyone I knew. She might not be a prude…or classy for that matter, but she has qualities that are becoming very useful to me.

  “Mind giving me the low down?” I cross my arms, looking at her. I can use all the help she is offering. I had hurt Eric…I had to…but now I need to prove to him I didn’t mean it.

  “Okay, listen and listen good, my dear,” Carissa begins in a fake French accent. I laugh, trying to take her seriously. “Men cannot resist lace. Lingerie lace, to be exact.” Memories flooded my mind of the first night I met Eric—in a lacy nighty. “Next, men have a soft spot for when a girl places blame on them. Even though you had good reason to do what you did, he cannot know that. You use whatever tool you have to, Lane. Tell him Aunt Flow was in town—you were emotional, unable to make rational choices, bruised from your past…whatever you have to do! Tell him your feelings for him were getting too strong too fast and you just freaked out because you were scared. Blame it entirely on yourself! Trust me—he’ll want to soothe and comfort you right away. He’ll convince himself that it wasn’t your fault at all. He’ll comment on how maybe he rushed things and it was in fact his fault…trust me, Lane—it always works!”

  “That sounds like a trap, Riss.”

  “Of course it’s a trap! What do you think relationships are based on?”

  I laugh be
cause I simply can’t resist. She provides a good plan—a good way to get Eric back. Perhaps it wasn’t the best way to rebuild our relationship, but desperate times meant for desperate measures.

  “I think I need a few days to process this, Riss.”

  The truth was I needed time to make sure Aiden didn’t make a surprise visit. I couldn’t risk him seeing Eric with me again. That was the whole purpose in the first place—protecting Eric.

  * * *

  “It’s been six days, Lane. It’s time.” She crosses her arms, giving me the death stare. I’m such a coward. I’m so scared of him rejecting me…that would feel worse—worse than anything Aiden has ever done to me.

  “Yes, I know, Riss. I’ve been pacing my bedroom for days, thinking—desperately trying to figure out how to do this. You know I’m no good at this relationship/boy stuff.”

  “I’m telling you…because, well I know this stuff, but seriously…Eric will melt into those pretty skinny arms of yours.”

  “Hey, they aren’t skinny!” I mock, wrapping my arms around her. She laughs and swallows me in for a hug. She’s right. I can do this…I can do this.

  His car hasn’t been in the parking lot so I decide to stop by the station—assuming he’s working. I try to breathe as slow as I can on the drive over. I mentally rehearse my speech over and over…beg, my fault, emotional. God, Carissa better be right about this.

  I park on the road, take one last deep breath, and kill the engine. I miss Eric so frigging badly…I’m willing to do anything at this point to beg his forgiveness.

  I spot a handful of equally good-looking men outside of the station—incredibly built, fit, and strong. I suddenly feel shy just standing in front of them, but I force the air out as I begin to talk.

  “Hey, um, is Eric Reilley here?” I ask softly, fidgeting with my fingers. The guys give me a look over and smile. I feel self-conscious at the way they’re staring at me, so I ask again, “Is Eric here? I really need to see him.”

  “And who are you?” one of them asks, making me cringe.