Filed to story: The LORDS Series Free PDF by Shantel Tessier
Turning on his shower, I step inside and fall over. My shoulder hits the wall, making me groan. Why did I drink so much? I know why. To drown out the memories that were screaming in my head. But they always come back. You can’t erase real life. No matter how much you try.
Falling to the shower floor, I sit under the sprayer and close my eyes as the warm water runs over me like a downpour. My mind is fucked up right now. Sin is the mystery man. I should have known, right? I should have recognized his voice. The way he walked. The hoodie. He wore one just like it at the Freak Show. But come on, I too have a solid black hoodie. So I can’t hate myself for that one. But there had to have been other signs I just chose to miss. Or maybe I wanted the mystery man to remain just that. He didn’t know the real me. Or so I thought.
How many times has he come to visit me in the past two years? More than I can count. He hardly ever spoke. And when he did, his voice was low. Barely a whisper. Hell, at times, my mind thought I heard him speak, but I was just hearing things. The mind likes to play tricks on itself.
I have listened in on enough of my mother’s sessions to know that people can convince themselves things aren’t real. I thought the masked man was someone I didn’t know. Therefore, I never even thought to look for similarities, which brings me to another thought.
Easton Bradley Sinnett killed my stepdad.
That thought hits me like David’s hand to my face. Shock and surprise make my chest tighten. Why? It wasn’t for me. So what had James done to deserve to be killed? I’m not sad about it, but I am curious. From what I’ve heard over the years, the Lords take care of their own. Which could mean something good or bad. Depending on what you’ve done for them, their society can make you disappear. Make it look like you never existed.
And James’s finger? Why did Sin have to take his finger and phone? What was on there that was so important? I’ll never know. Sin would never tell me, and I’d never ask.
Managing to get myself up off the shower floor, I start to wash my hair with his shampoo. I learned a lot last night. Not only about Sin but also myself. I wanted to make him jealous with Mack. I wanted to push him to see how far he’d go. I got my answer. A part of me wants to know how much further he’ll go before he breaks.
_______________
I’M WALKING DOWN the hall, a diary in my hand. I found my car in Sin’s parents’ driveway this morning. Once again, I had no clue how it got there. But I quickly ran by my house this morning on my way to the university. I catch sight of Sin walking toward me with Jayce, but he doesn’t see me. He’s too busy staring down at his phone, typing away. It makes me wonder who it is he’s talking to.
So I’m good enough to fuck but not text or call? Not sure why I’m surprised. Or why I’m jealous. I’m more pissed off at the fact that he’s the masked man who snuck into my room and got me off. I should be ashamed of what I’ve allowed that man to do to me. But I’m not. Instead, I want more. More from the man I thought he was and more from the man that I now know he is.
Jayce says something to him, and Sin’s eyes lift from his cell to meet mine. They look cold. Unforgiving. I like that about him. He’s not fake. He hates the world even though it’s given him everything he’s ever wanted. He pockets his phone, tucking his hands into his jeans, and starts to head for me. Ignoring whatever it is Jayce is calling out to him.
I pull my backpack farther up on my shoulder, and right before I get to him, I take a right, opening up a door into the classroom.
“Okay, now …” Mr. Hamilton stops talking when he sees me enter. “Elli.” His eyes narrow on mine.
I stand, waiting for him to kick me out, but he won’t. He can’t afford to make a scene-not this time-because it’s not just us. Class has officially started. And if he wants me to leave, then he’ll have to drag me out by my hair.
I hear the door open behind me, and by the way that David stiffens, I don’t even have to turn around to see that Sin followed me in. “I’ve got a story to share,” I state.
“Oh, I don’t mind. Go ahead.” Mack’s currently standing at the podium and runs off to find his seat at my announcement. He hates sharing. Honestly, the guy either has a boring sex life or no imagination. You can’t say pussy or cunt without his face turning red.
David crosses his arms over his chest and looks away from me. His silence tells me everything I need to know.
Making my way to the front of the classroom, I drop my backpack at my feet and place my diary on the podium. Opening it, I start reading.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
SIN
I TAKE HER seat at the front of the class and place my elbow on the desk, my chin resting in my hand. She pushes her bleach-blond hair behind her ear, and I don’t miss the fact that she took the time to cover up every bruise I gave her last night on my father’s boat. But I guarantee the ones under her clothes are still visible if I were to strip her naked in front of everyone.
“I first met him at a bar,” she starts. “He approached me and offered me a drink. One turned into more than I could remember.”
I watch David shift in his seat.
“He told me I was pretty. That I was what all men wanted. I believed him. But then like the man before him, he put his hands on me.”
I sit up straighter, my eyes going to David once again. He fixes his tie, his eyes on his desk.
“Told me that I was a worthless whore.”
David clears his throat. “Elli, this isn’t the assignment.”
“Why? Why is it that the woman is always the whore?” she goes on, ignoring him. “Shouldn’t he be accountable for making me wet? For turning me on.”
“Elli?” he snaps, jumping to his feet.
“He had no problem fucking me, but when he found out I’d fucked another man, I was worthless. Used-up trash.”
“For fuck’s sake, Elli.” He steps out from behind his desk and heads toward her, but I stand from her chair, causing him to stop.
“I was no longer his whore, but someone else’s.” Her eyes are on her paper, not caring that he’s trying to stop her from spilling their secrets. “I think it’s funny that because I have a pussy and he has a dick, I’m the one who should be ashamed. I’m not. He drugged me the first time he got between my legs.”
He what? I take a step toward him, and he takes two back, almost tripping over his chair. “Ellington!”
“He had recorded it,” she continues, still ignoring him. “Showed it to me when I woke up. How much my body enjoyed it. Got off on it. He promised me it’d be our little secret. But I shouldn’t have to keep my mouth shut about him being a piece of shit.”
“ELLINGTON!” His face turns red with anger. Silence follows and he lets out a long breath realizing she’s done.
Looking over at her, I watch her close the notebook and walk out of class.
ELLINGTON
I EXIT THE class and feel a hand on my arm, stopping me. I’m spun around and look up into a set of hard blue eyes. “He raped you?” he demands to know.
My lips thin and I look away from him.
Letting out a growl at my refusal to answer, he asks another question, “He’s hit you?”
Not sure why he cares all of a sudden.
“The night you called the masked me to come coddle you. I asked who hit you, and you said it didn’t matter.”
Again, I say nothing. I didn’t go into David’s class for Sin’s sympathy or jealousy. It was to cleanse my soul of anything left remaining of David. I wasn’t going to let him be the one who ended it. I was. My choice, my way.
And that’s exactly what I just did.
“Elli?” Sin snaps my name, causing kids in the hall to stare.
“How fucking dare you.” I shove his chest with my free hand.
He’s silent for a second before he lowers his voice to a deadly growl. “Be very careful how you speak to me, Elli…”
“Fuck you, Easton,” I snap his first name. “You got me kicked out of Mr. Hamilton’s class?” I point at the now closed door. “He was fucking pissed at me. And I didn’t do shit.”
He yanks my body flush with his, and I can feel how tense he is. “He has drugged you and hit you, and you’re mad at me?”
“It doesn’t matter.” I run a hand through my hair. “Congratulations. You won.” Then I rip my arm free and storm down the hall. “I’m officially no longer his whore.”
He lets me go and I make it out to my car, toss the notebook into my passenger seat and speed home.
I enter my bedroom back at the house and slam the door shut, letting the first tear fall, tossing the notebook on my nightstand. I’m not upset that I’m no longer spreading my legs for David. I’m mad at myself. How do I keep doing this? Put myself in situations that I know are wrong. First James, then David, and now Sin.
“Fuck,” I curse myself, needing a second to catch my breath.