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Chapter Twelve

EVA

I stood at Jereotten over there in the dark I wasn’t sure why I was here except I needed hiotten from some unknown nu or hallucinating Oh God, let

Jeremy’sslid open His sleepy face looked confused As if he thought he were drea theall the way open and stepping out of it to stand in front of me

I couldn’t talk I just handed him the phone

He looked down at it, confused, then looked back at irl"

I shook ed to croak out

Jereht from it lit up the small dark space outside where we stood

"Holy shit," hebastard," he swore I knew he saw it too I hadn’t been hallucinating after all Oh God I felt rass underneath s up to tuck them under my chin No, no no, not this I can’t handle this Not now, I can’t I can’t

"I got you, girl Co ainst his chest I didn’t want to know I didn’t want to believe it, but I had to ask

"Did you watch the video?" I asked in a lohisper

He moved the phone, and I heard the sound of the noise in the background of the video I knehat he was seeing It was burned into my brain Every moment of it would hauntto kill hih that fucker’s eyes" Jereainst his chest

"He washe was" I couldn’t say it I couldn’t forget it

Cage touching a girl’s bare chest, Cage so close to a naked girl’s face, he was about to kiss her His chest was touching hers CageCage getting in a car with a girl dressed like a whore, and Cage kissing a girl She was gorgeous She was older She wasn’t me She was as beautiful as he was Then he’dhe’d ainst a pool table Then the picture of her in his bed with the to be sick

I pushed away frorass I felt Jeres toup until all I had was dry heaves

"Coed

My body eak and spent I sank back against hiet what I’d seen I had to block it out

We sat there in the darkness while I whies flashinh across ht because Daddy had gotten sick It was an hour later when I’d finally been able to go back to my room I had been tempted to call him, but I’d worried that he’d be asleep But then an hour later, the unknown sender of the texts began sending thee, my heart was torn out of my chest and shattered I would never be the same Ever

Jeremy stood and picked me up with hi else He sat me inside his rooain and laid ht I’ll check on your dad and you"

I shook ave hi Stay here with me for now Don’t leave me alone"

He looked torn, but then he crawled in behind ainst his chest

"Sleep," he whispered in ht Even after his breathing evened and slowed, I stared at the wall and wondered how this had happened Those photos weren’t all in the sa in them He wasn’t at the same place in all of them How had he lied so easily to me? How had I believed him?

At some point before the sunrise, I must have dozed off, becauseinto Jereone In that brief otten why I was here, but thedown over ain in o so I couldn’t stand it I couldn’t deal with this

I stood up and noticed Jere beside me with a note in his scribble underneath it I picked both up and read the letter

Useto that bastard or looking at those daone and why I spoke with hih He is at ho on you Go curl up in your daddy’s lap and let him take care of you He needs that He’s worried about you I’ll be back tonight late

Jereo to Tennessee? Surely not I jumped up and looked for my shoes, then realized I’d walked over there barefoot I didn’t want Elaine to findthe , I slipped out and headed for my house

This wasn’t fair I couldn’t worry about Daddy worrying about me Didn’t Jeremy understand that? Dammit I knew he meant well, but this wasn’t what I wanted hiht, and he was all I had now to break down on I stepped onto our property and looked up at the porch to seetoward hi and down the steps When he opened his ared to get to hi arms wrapped around me and held me to his chest as my first sob broke free

CAGE

Constant ringing was sending sharp pains through my head I moaned and reached for a pillow to cover my ears Instead I found hair Lots of it My eyes opened, and I turned to see a nakedHayden inwith the pounding inwildly What the fuck?