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“Eddie is about a year older than I am and he dazzled me from the first moment Ie I fell hard and fast At first, it was exciting We went to wild parties every night Four out of the five school days per week I was either hungover or absent I didn’t even h my senior year before I dropped out By then, I’d raduateto repeat a year”

Well, that explained why she wasn’t fazed by the party at the clubhouse

“Eddie wasn’t the first guy I’d slept with by that point, but he was the hed “You sure you want to hear all this?”

Fuck no “Yes” Zach sounded like he’d sed shards of glass Hearing about any Toni had been ould be torture, but listening while she talked about sex with Shark was like having his toenails ripped out with a pair of rusty pliers

“All right At first, it was exciting and hot and if I’ honest, I loved it I found out that—this is so e” She looked up for a second then took a deep breath “I discovered that I like sex Really like it Wild, rough, a little taboo, I was into it all”

This conversation orse than having his skin peeled off, but he knew there was a reason she was revealing all of it And it was probably going to get worse before it was over

“So, at first, that’s what it was Partying and sex I was drinking like a fish, doing drugs, the works I hardly spent any time at home and I think my parents were relieved by that point I’d caused so much trouble it was easier to pretend I didn’t exist”

“I don’t re about this I don’t think my parents ever mentioned it”

She shrugged “Well you were away by then In the arht?”

He scratched the uess I wasn’t home So, what happened?”

“Eddie started to rise up the ranks in the gang He wasruthless with anyone who crossed hiher on the food chain He wanted to run the gang one day”

“He’s in charge now”

She nodded “I’ot ot even crazier and wanted to shareat the tiht knit and elite inner circle, you had to have a woman and had to share her It’s so fucked up Back then, I was so stupid and thought I was in love I went along with it for a while” Her eyes closed and tears leaked out “I thought it wouldn’t be so bad That it would make him proud ofbetter than a drugged-out gang slut”

Zach wrapped his arms around her, asthis around, beating herself up for years “Shit, babe, that’s not true You were young Underage for fuck’s sake And I saw that video You were fuckin’ zonked There’s no way you could have consented It was rape, babe”

“You think that video was bad?” She hopped off his lap and paced the length of the porch “I’d done it all before, Zach And stone cold sober I took the drugs willingly I agreed to everything they wanted I never said no or put up a fight I was so screwed up and looking for any kind of attention Even if I ended up co myself in the process”

He stood Astheir hands on her, it was even worse to see her self-hatred over it “It doesn’ther with his hands on her shoulders “Baby, you were too young and fucked up fro those kinds of decisions It’s nothing to be ashamed of You were in a shit circuot out”

Wait She did get out, didn’t she?

The Dragons didn’t just let people out “How did you get away fro”

“By the end, uys got rougher each tia who could be the biggestdrugs ave me an escape My Uncle Mark came to visit He’sat home and my parents had no idea where I was Somehow, he found ht that video was ot his hands on it I didn’t even know I’d been recorded”