Page 2 of Vicious Titan

2

Victoria

Relief fills me as I pull into my usual parking spot in the garage. It’s short lived as I look over to see my brother’s car sitting in its usual spot, Elliot’s words echoing in my mind. Convenient. Easily replaced.

Stupid. Every decision had been utterly stupid. Lying to Elliot about visiting Olivia. Lying to Asher about Elliot. Letting Elliot pry his way into my heart. All of it. I’m pissed at Elliot but even more so, I’m pissed at myself. I knew better. Even if I hadn’t lied about visiting his mom, Elliot Bass would’ve found some other reason to flip his switch back to jackass mode sooner or later. I just wish it’d been sooner. As hard as I’d tried to keep it in my mind that it was only temporary, I’d failed.

Prying my eyes away from Asher’s car, I shove the door open, hoping to slip through the house unnoticed. My hope is obliterated when, as I’m making my way up the staircase, I find Asher on the landing, arms folded over his chest. Great.

“What were you thinking, Victoria?”

He knows. Exactly what he knows, I’m unsure, but I’m too emotionally drained to give a damn. “I wasn’t, obviously.”

True story. No matter what he’s pissy about, it was a foolish choice on my part.

Asher falls into step behind me as I move past him. “It’s his mom. You had no business being there, much less lying to him about it.”

I freeze in front of my bedroom door, my shoulders slump forward, an unamused laugh leaves my lips as my head falls forward. Honesty? Elliot is the last person who should call me out on my lack of honesty. He doesn’t deserve the truth because he’s nothing but a lying fucking hypocrite himself. Slowly turning, I face my brother, the very person Elliot has been deceiving is preaching to me about lying to Elliot. The irony. “Oh, yes. He’s such a virtuous, noble soul who deserves nothing but the truth since he’s so forthcoming with it, right?”

“What the hell does that mean?” Asher asks, eyeing me with curiosity.

“Ask your best friend.” The words are bitter leaving my mouth. Why, out of all people, did I have to fall for Elliot?

“Victoria, he’s already dealing with a lot where his mom is concerned.”

“Yes, I know.” Better than anyone since I’m the one who’s been waking him, night after night, from the nightmare he relives.

“Then why add to it?”

“Whether you or idiot Elliot want to believe it or not, not everything is about the two of you.”

Just as my hand grips the doorknob, Asher says, “You can’t fix everyone, so stop trying to intervene where you don’t belong.”

He’s not only talking about Elliot’s mom. Asher has made a point to lecture me several times, calling me Little Miss Fix-It, because I’m constantly intervening when Dad flies off the handle. Unlike Asher, I prefer to diffuse a situation instead of escalating it as he chooses to do. If that makes me Little Miss Fix-It, then so be it, but this had nothing to do with fixing Olivia Bass. Yes, she’s Elliot’s mom, but she has been more of a mother to me than my own. He’s not the only one who feels a void not having her around. I had to see her for me … not for Elliot, not to try and fix what’s going on. Besides, I’m not naïve enough to think I could. A shiver shoots down my spine when I think of what Olivia revealed. How could Richard be that evil? How am I going to carry this secret around, pretend everything is fine? I’m already struggling to not spew every detail to Asher, but Olivia trusted me with her secret, and even if I want to throat punch Elliot, I’m not going to put his life in jeopardy.

Letting out a defeated breath, I look to Asher. “Don’t worry. I won’t be going back to see Olivia.” Only because she told me not to.

“Victoria …”

“I said I would stay away from her”—the words squeak out, my heart breaking because it’s the last thing I want to do—“and I sure as hell will stay as far away from Elliot as I can manage.”

“That’s probably for the best because he was pretty pissed.”

I shouldn’t, but I ask anyways. “What did he say?”

“He wanted to know if I knew about your visits with Olivia.”

“No one knew,” I mumble, looking away from my brother.

“That should tell you something.”

“Agreed.” It does tell me a lot about the crap going on with Elliot.

Thankfully, Asher walks away as I finally step into what should be the serenity of my room. Only, there’s nothing serene about it because Elliot’s words are still on repeat in my head. Bastard. I couldn’t push him out of my mind before he kissed me. How the hell am I supposed to do it now? And more importantly, how can I sit by and do nothing, knowing what really happened to Olivia? Either way, I need to prepare myself because Elliot Bass won’t make it easy. At all.