Page 24 of Hidden Truths

“I know you don’t know anythin’ about The Faction at this point in time, Song Bird. But, one of the major rules is that we all have to marry someone worthy of the group. The guys and I all want to be with you. That’s never been a question. Yeah, I know you don’t understand why I’d say that when we left you all those years ago. Like I said before, everythin’ will be talked about eventually. Now, if you don’t want to marry one of us, then our fathers will choose someone for you to marry. You won’t have a choice in the matter either. They’ll chose someone they can easily manipulate and bend to their will. If you choose one of us, that won’t be the case. For the first time ever, a woman will sit at the table of The Faction,” Kash states as if he isn’t irreparably changing my life with his words.

I don’t honestly know what to say to Kash as he continues to look at me. My legs almost give out on me as we stand close together. Kash wants to reach out to help me and make sure I remain on my feet, but he doesn’t let himself touch me like he wants to. Instead, he pulls his hand back and clenches his hand into a fist. With a nod of my head, I accept the papers he’s just pulled out of his bag and turn to leave him. Kash doesn’t call me back or try to follow me as I take off on him and make my way toward my next class. My mind is a jumbled mess and I can’t even begin to start making things less messy in my mind. Today just went to hell and I don’t know what I can do to make things start to make sense.

***

The name and phone number for the lawyer are at the top of the papers Kash gave me a few hours ago. After my last class, I called the number and talked to a lady by the name of Miranda Donovan. She seems like a good lady and is ready to sit down and talk to me about the will and everything else going on with my grandparents' will. When I told her it had been lost and someone just found it, Mrs. Donovan was shocked by my admission. She understands that I don’t have a lot of time to meet with her with everything I have going on at school and that there’s no way I can get to her office without walking. So, we’ve agreed to meet at a local coffee shop that’s two doors down from Slice of Heaven. I know how long it will take for me to walk there since I walk to my job on a regular basis.

Brock walked me to the gate of campus before letting me walk away from him. He watches me as usual until he can no longer see me. I know he wants to give me a ride into town, but he doesn’t say anything since he knows I won’t accept the offer from him. It’s not that I don’t trust Brock to get me to town safely. I simply can’t give into anything I want because at the end of the day I’m protecting myself from being hurt by him or anyone else I let into my life. Brock can only be let in so far because eventually he’ll leave me just like I’ve thought before.

My walk into town was quick. Today it’s not completely freezing cold out and I let the sun wash down over me. It warms me up from the inside out and that’s something I truly need in this moment. Ever since Kash told me about the will and the stipulation I would need to fulfill my role in The Faction. I don’t even know what the fuck that is. Knowing I have to marry one of the guys makes me feel so many fucking things I haven’t allowed myself to feel in so long.

Walking in the coffee shop, I easily spot the lawyer. She’s sitting at a table in the back corner of the shop. I put a small smile on my face and make my way over to her as nerves fill me.

“Arabella Moore?” she asks me, her voice rich and soft as she stands from her seat at the table.

“Yes. Mrs. Donovan?” I return, my voice shaking with how nervous I am.

“Yes. It’s nice to meet you, Miss Moore. Please, take a seat,” she says, gesturing to a chair across from her as I pull it out. “Your grandparents talked about you every time I saw them in my office. They loved so you so much, Miss Moore. At the end of the day, they said something bad had happened to you and there was so much they wanted to do for you and their hands were tied. I don’t know what any of that means and they didn’t elaborate. What I do know is they wanted to leave you the world and they chose to leave everything they own and valued to you.”

I’m completely floored by her words. This is stuff I knew nothing about because no one ever talked to me after my tenth birthday. Tears fill my eyes and I know there’s no way in hell I can stop them from spilling over. I lower my eyes to the table in front of me as a waitress comes over to take our order. Mrs. Donovan orders some elaborate drink while I simply order a bottle of water. I don’t need anything more than that and I don’t have money to spend on anything.

“Please, call me Arabella. So, you’re saying that the document Kash Richardson handed over to me is real and there’s nothing that can change what it says?” I ask her for clarification based on everything Kash told me a few hours ago.

“Arabella, everything Kash told you is true. These documents are legitimate and there’s no way anyone can dispute them. I don’t know what you’ve been through or anything, but everything is yours. It’s only a matter of a few signatures from you and everything will be in your name. The money, the mansion, everything in the mansion, the cars, and all other assets that I have listed on this document here. You own it all after you sign the documents I have. I will inform you that your uncle and cousin have been trying to get their hands on the money and everything else. We’ve stopped every single attempt they’ve made. Even gone after their lawyers and made them stop attempting to get what doesn’t belong to them. They’re not happy about it at all.

“Once you sign the papers, we’ll ensure you have protection and that everyone involved knows the assets are yours and only yours. You will be able to kick your family out of the mansion they’ve taken over and everything. It’s your legal right to live there and you can do that at any time you choose. So, if you’re ready to move forward, then we can make sure you sign all the papers I have and I’ll get them filed. You’ll need to go to the bank and show them your identification to get the accounts in your name. I suggest putting a second name on the account as a protective measure,” Mrs. Donovan tells me, her voice fading to nothing as my mind swirls with everything she’s just dumped on me.

Mrs. Donovan sets a stack of papers in front of me and shows me in each document where I need to sign. After I sign my name a hundred times, she informs me we need to get back to her office so I can get copies of the documents that I’ll need to put up in a safe place where no one can get them. So, I decide to get a safe deposit box at the bank and lock everything up in there once I’m done making sure I have everything taken care of there. Exhaustion fills me as I finally leave Mrs. Donovan behind at her office and make my way toward the bank where I get the rest of my business handled.

Part of me is in shock because I now have more money than I know what the fuck to do with. I’ll never be able to spend it in several lifetimes. Even if I blew a majority of it on stupid bullshit, I’d still never go through all the money my grandparents have left me. That’s without adding in any of their assets. I honestly don’t know what the fuck to make of this new change in my life. This is nothing I’ve ever expected to happen and I don’t honestly know where to start pulling the information apart so I can go through it piece by piece and sort it out to make any kind of sense to me. This shit fucking sucks and I know I have to keep this new development to myself so no one finds out. The guys are hiding it for a reason and until I know what the fuck that is, no one including Brock will learn what’s taken place today.

Posters and Professors

Arabella

I’VE STILL BEEN unable to process everything that took place a few days ago. I honestly don’t remember what I’ve done over the last few days. It seems as if I’m in a fog of some kind and the information is in there but I can’t seem to process any of it. I’ve got all this money and I honestly don’t know what the fuck to do with it. If I want to do anything at all with it. I can finally get Vinnie away from our mother by moving into the mansion in the gated community. She won’t ever be able to touch us there ever again. I can make sure she’s never allowed on the property through the guards at the gate. For the first time in my life we’d both be safe and there’s nothing I want more than that. However, it’s a matter of putting everything into place and handling the situation correctly.

None of the guys have approached me since I talked to Kash about things. I still see them more often than not around campus and I can’t get away from them. However, Kash hasn’t told them about my secret hiding places around campus because he knows that’s the last thing I want. So, I still have my safe places to hide out and everyone is leaving me alone. Well, everyone other than Brock. He can’t seem to help himself with doing anything but being right next to me at all times he can be. I honestly don’t know how I feel about the guys, the bombs that have been dropped in my lap, and everything else that I’ve discovered a few days ago about everything going on.

I want to tell Brock about everything, but I’m honestly not sure he’d understand anything I’m feeling or going through right now. If I can’t understand the situation I currently find myself in, there’s no way I’ll ever be able to let anyone else know or understand what’s going on. He’ll be able to give me advice about shit and help me make sense of things as he looks at things from the outside in. However, that would mean letting him in and understanding what the fuck is truly going on with everything. Shaking my head, I clear the thoughts of telling Brock anything. It’s the last thing I can do right now. Not until I’ve been able to process things for a few minutes on my own and know I can take care of the situation in a way that I can handle doing so.

Walking across the campus of school, every single person I come across is looking at me as if I’m their next meal. At least when it comes to the guys. They’re all looking at my body from the top of my head to my feet and back up again. Even though I’m fully clothed in baggy clothing, I still feel their gazes lingering on me and it makes my skin crawl. For some reason, Brock didn’t meet me at the front gate and I know that he doesn’t always meet me, but I really wish he would’ve done it today. These guys I go to school with on a daily basis are now looking at me the way I’ve caught multiple men that my mother has brought into my house look at me. There’s nothing I can do to take the horrible feeling away from me until I get home and can get in the shower to cleanse myself.

I put my head down and continue on across the campus quicker than ever before as I make my way to the building where my math class is. I hate today because it means having to deal with Professor Rollins. No, he hasn’t been able to grade my tests, homework, or anything else but he can still fuck with me in class and make my life miserable by telling me my answers are wrong and that I’m a fucking fool for even thinking I’d ever pass his class. He might not say the words, but both professors and Karmen are pissed as fuck that they didn’t get me expelled for supposedly cheating. It’s honestly just a matter of time before they all get their revenge on me.

After taking a few steps into the building, I come to a dead stop. Usually the walls in the buildings on campus are free of papers, posters, or anything else. The school doesn’t like anything being put up without their permission. Today, someone didn’t give a shit about that though. I step closer to the wall next to me and look at the paper that’s filled every inch of the walls surrounding me.

There’s a makeshift poster with a picture of me the day Karmen cut my hair off. It shows me on the ground just after she got done and the mess she made with my hair. There’s also a picture of me playing with Vinnie at the park. As my vision begins to blur from the tears filling my eyes at the blatant invasion of my privacy. Of my baby brother being posted as if he’s done something wrong and is now included in this attack against me. The words make me fucking sick as I read them multiple times.

To all students of High Point University:

If you’re looking for a good time, you only have to look as far as the library. Arabella Moore is willing to sell her body to the lowest bidder. She doesn’t need much and you can see that she already has a child of her own. I’m sure any penny would help her take care of the bastard. So, for the low amount you offer her, Arabella will serve you anything you desire. Want a blowjob between classes? Find her around campus. Need to get laid and take out your aggression on a body instead of the gym or anywhere else? Get in touch with Arabella. She’ll let you use her any way you please and never once complain about what you do to her. Maybe she likes to be degraded and will let you bring out the kinks you feel you have to hide from everyone else. She’s willing to do anything to make money.

I almost collapse to the floor in the hall of this building. It doesn’t matter that tears are filling my eyes and I can’t see past the words now filling my mind from this poster someone heinously made about me. Everything here is nothing more than a fucking lie. I want to scream and lash out, but I can’t find the strength in myself to do it. Just as I get ready to collapse, strong arms hold me from behind. I don’t even care who has me in their arms as I remain on my feet.

“It’s okay, Arabella. I’ve got you,” Brock’s deep voice washes over me and comforts me when I need it the most. “I’m gonna lower you to the floor for just a few minutes.”

Without hesitation, Brock sets me on the floor so I’m against the wall and out of the way of people still entering the building. Before I can blink or think about anything else, Brock is practically running down the hallway ripping every single piece of paper from the wall and bunching them in his hands. Every time his hands are full, he drops them in one of the trash cans before continuing on with making sure he rips every single last one of them down. It’s too late since so many people have already seen and read them. However, Brock trying to prevent anyone else from seeing what’s been written about me means the world to me. He doesn’t have to do this, but he still is.

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