“We can’t kill them yet! We need a plan. Running up in there guns blazing is not it. Get him back here and we can figure this shit out! YOU hear me?” I yell as Caspian’s eyes lock with mine, and he nods as we lift our brother from the floor and place him onto the couch. I grab a blanket and cover his battered body, then hand Caspian his knife. He takes it and begins to walk away, but I grab his arm and look him in his eyes.
“You bring your brother back here in one piece! Understood?” I spit, and he nods again, leaving out the front door like a bat out of hell. I plop down on the couch, taking myshirt and wiping the blood still dripping from my throat. Fucking hell, this is not how I wanted to end my night.
Reaching over for the other bottle of beer, I unscrew the cap and chug it down until there is nothing left. I let out a deep burp and look around at the destruction that is us. Radley Senior raped my girl? He gave her no choice? I roar with anger and send the bottle flying across the room, smashing against the front door. We need a plan, and we need it now! Presley needs to be home with us. Same with Axel. If we don’t make moves soon, none of us is going to survive the wreckage.
Chapter 12
Presley
Before starting this chapter, I need you to understand that this is not for shock value. The subject matter we are about to cover is very real and very true to Presley's character since the very beginning. This chapter contains on-page, very graphic attempted suicide and self-harm, as well as themes of mental health struggles and trauma. These themes may be triggering for some readers. The author has approached these topics with care and sensitivity. Reader discretion is advised.
I groan as I roll over on the tile floor of my bathroom. Beaten, bloodied, and bruised over every inch of my body. I try to standor at least get to my knees, but I slip in my own blood, causing me to smash my chin against the tile. Blood drips from my mouth and my lips feel split in numerous places. I open my eyes but immediately close them from how bright the light is shining down onto me. I just want to get in the shower and wash away the filth. After they beat Brax in front of me and hauled him out of here, Jake gave me a beating of his own. Calling me by my mother’s name repeatedly. Screaming how disappointed he was that I snuck a Cyprus boy into my room and let him put his hands on me, that I’m lucky he couldn’t kill him for touching what wasn’t Braxton’s. With every cruel word came a fist to a part of my body and it didn’t matter where. He doesn’t hide the bruises like Jacob Lee does. Jake doesn’t care about that. He will just fix me once he calms down.
I once again try to get to my knees, gripping onto the toilet for support. My body burns from the slices he left me with. I’m terrified to look in the mirror to see how much of my hair he chopped off. While he beat me, I remained quiet. I didn’t make a sound, which I found out the hard way that it wasn’t the right thing to do. I became Jake’s punching bag, and the more I showed no emotion, the more he hit me, and now—now I'm nothing. I have nothing and no one to save me. I didn’t ask for this. I was born into it. I just never thought this would be my future. My mother never trained me or gave me a heads up of what was ahead. Why me though? There’s plenty of other girls. What do I have that is so special?
Finally, I get to my feet and stumble into the glass, leaving a streak mark of blood as I move around and enter the shower. Turning the dial, I wince as the cold water pelts against my body. My teeth chatter and I shiver waiting for the shower to warm but it never comes. The water just gets colder and colder the longer I stand inside of it. When I misbehave, he will shut the hot water off along with the heat. I won’t be given food or watereither. This is the life I lead. This is what I hide from everyone—everyone, that's a joke. I have no one. I’ve been trying to survive the best I can but I don’t know how much longer I can endure this torture for. After what just happened, I just can’t. I have no reason to live. Nothing. No one. I have nothing left to give. Nothing to offer anyone. Just a broken girl that no one cares about. A girl who screams silently every night, begging to die. Begging for death to creep into my bed and suffocate me. Every single morning, I wake up and I cry, because why. Why won’t death just take me. Why? What did I do to deserve this?
I slam my fist against the tile wall and cry out from the pain shooting up my wrists. There’s only one way out. Only one way to do this. No one else will. No matter the amount of times I’ve been raped. No matter the amount of times I’ve been called names. No matter the amount of times I’ve been beaten and left helpless on the ground while everyone laughs, while others watch and point, while I scream and no one hears me. No one saves me from the monsters that claim to love me. So what’s the point? What is the point in breathing when death is a beautiful reprieve than life itself.
Shutting off the icy cold water, I step out and grab a towel and cover my shivering body. I look around at the carnage as more tears fall from my eyes, stinging against my bruised face. How do I still have tears? How do I still have anything when my soul has nothing left. My body is emaciated and my mind is gone.
Like a robot, I walk into my room, drop the towel, and turn my vanity chair to the upright position. I sit down and take in the destruction–blood splatter all over my comforter, drips staining my floor along with shards of glass. My heart pounds inside my chest as I turn and look into the shattered mirror seeing the reflection of a stranger. The girl who sat here every day covering the bruises with makeup, the same girl who would curl her hairand make herself beautiful again is not who stares back at me. I don’t know who I am anymore. I don’t know how to fix myself. Is there any fixing this? There’s only one way out of this hell. One way to make it all stop. I know what I need to do.
I open the top drawer to my vanity and pull out my secret box, setting it on top. Opening it, I shiver as my hair leaks droplets down my naked back, and I pick up a new blade, looking at it as it calls to me. I take a deep breath as more tears fall from my eyes, but I don’t dare look at the person in the mirror. I just keep staring at the blade, feeling the light weight of it in my hand. Taking another deep breath, I lift it with my finger tips, then I open my legs and drag it up my thigh, hissing at the sting as I watch blood bubbles crawl down the cut. I switch to the other one and apply more pressure, dragging it up my skin, biting my lip as I revel in the burn it leaves in its wake. Rivulets of blood line my porcelain flesh, and I smile knowing what I need to do next. I look up at the reflection in the mirror.
“Do it, scaredy cat.”
“It will take all the pain away,”
“I double dog dare you,”
The voices scream so loud, egging me on, but they really don’t need to. I'm done being told what to do. I'm done being everyone's doll. I'm just done. I don't need courage at this moment. I don't even need strength. What I need is to end it all. End the abuse. The pain. The hurt. There's no fight left. I am nothing but a broken girl. A ruined girl screaming for help but there's no one to save me, not this time.
Dragging the blade once again against my thigh, only deeper, as I think about the boys I love.
“My Beast, my best friend. Forgive me,” I whisper as I drag the blade again.
“Harley, my old man with a heart of gold, take care of your brothers. They will need you now more than ever.” Another slice,applying more pressure. Tears pour down my cheeks as blood drips down both of my thighs and onto the floor.
“Caspian, slay the demons. I’m just sorry you couldn’t slay mine,” I continue to whisper, switching thighs as I deepen the tip of the blade. I cry out from the sting and listen as the blood drips a little faster onto the floor. “Brax, I’m so fucking sorry. I never meant to hurt you.” I hiccup as I lift the blade, looking at it covered in my blood.
“My Fallen Angel,” I say as I bring the blade to my wrist. “Thank you for seeing me–seeing the girl beyond the mask,” I whisper, digging the blade deeper into my wrist and dragging it down a bit. Blood pours from my vein and I smile. Finally–death is calling me, and it's the sweetest symphony to my ears. My heart pounds in my chest as the room slowly begins to spin, causing my vision to become foggy.
Placing the blade in the other hand, I sway as it becomes harder to breath, but with the rest of the strength I have, I drag the blade down the opposite wrist with a shaky hand. “I love you all, and now I can be free,” I mumble as my entire body feels light for the first time in a long time, and I smile as the tears pour down my face.
The room begins to spin faster, and I know, I know this is it, and now I don’t have to suffer anymore. It’s all gone. I’m gone, and then, my body crashes to the ground hard and everything goes black.
Chapter 13
Maverick
Hearing my brother say those fucking words sent me over the edge, but not only that. They fucking beat him to a pulp, and I’ve about had it with the Radleys. I want them all dead.Fuck this shit!I don’t care if they are one of the founding families. I don’t care that we aren’t supposed to touch them. I don’t care about any of it. They hurt my Beauty. Been hurting my Beauty, and that shit ends tonight. My phone goes off, but I ignore it.They are not going to talk me out of this! This needs to fucking happen!
Shifting gears, I gun it towards her house because I know Braxton wouldn’t be stupid enough to break into the Radleys' house, especially in a gated community. If this were Caspian or Axel—that would be a different story. They would blow the whole place up just to get to her. “Fuckkk!” I scream, pounding my fists against the steering wheel as my phone goes off again. I shouldn’t have left the house. I should’ve stayed and helped Harley, but the more Brax spoke, the madder I got. This movemight very well get me killed, but I need to get to her! I need to save her, and I’ll figure out the rest later. As long as she’s safe and with me, everything else can fuck off! My phone rings again, and this time I pick it up.
“What?” I growl down the line.
“Mav, where are you?” Caspian yells as I come to a red light.
