Page 19 of Love Me

I pat my chest in mock hurt. “Thank you for your trust.”

“Shut up. We all know only Celine has that power.”

And always will.

Standing up, I leave and go upstairs. Down the hall, I enter my bedroom. I discard my clothes and take a shower. Thoughts of Celine invade my brain, keeping me hostage. Goddamn it. How much longer until I can feel something other than pain?

With a towel wrapped around my hips, I find Bailey on the edge of my bed, her eyes on her phone. Even our births have somewhat been coordinated. I was the first one. Four months later Abigail was born, then Blake, Celine. Bailey was the exception, as she came six months after Celine. She’s the youngest. She just turned nineteen, and we all protect her the best we can. Yet, she’s the one no one would see coming. She looks dainty and innocent while she can rip your life apart with the touch of a button.

“This damn family keeps most things analog. Of course, I didn’t find out Celine was coming back. Sorry.”

“Hey, that’s not your fault.”

She tilts her head, tapping her mouth. “She’s different.”

“Yes, she is, and I need you to keep her away from everything that may reveal what we’re doing here.”

“She’s my friend. I don’t want to deceive her.”

“You’re not deceiving her. You’re keeping her safe.”

Bailey offers a small nod and leaves. I get into bed. The image of Celine pinned under me comes alive before me, and my dick begs for a release, but no. This is another form of torture.

It’s not as if she didn’t just shit on everything.

But again, I broke her heart then. What she doesn’t know, though, is I broke mine just as much.

***

After a restless night with dreams filled with her, or better said, my recurring nightmare, I wake up, drenched. Her crying and begging for me and me being strapped to a chair while they showed my greatest fear on the screen, of Celine being tortured and killed. Not being able to prevent it, always ends with me disheveled.

When I calm down, I change and go downstairs.

In the kitchen, Bailey peels a banana while Abigail prepares herself a cup of coffee looking straight at me.

“Kaden, I know how you feel about her, okay, but Celine is like the Trojan horse.”

Blake walks inside, straight for the fridge, and takes out a protein shake. “We don’t know that for sure.”

I take a sip of the black liquid when Abigail shrieks. “Are you both out of your minds? We’re risking our lives here.”

I let Abigail get away with most of it because, like me, she suffered the most.

“Abigail, enough.”

That shuts her up.

Bailey eyes me with accusation, saying, “Celine has to be hurt.”

“Don’t look at me like that. I did what I had to do to protect her.”

Blake gulps down the rest of his protein drink. Discarding it in the trash, he crosses his arms over his chest. “You see, bro, you should have done that for me. I would have built you a fucking thank you statue.”

“We’re so over your suicidal tendencies. Grow the fuck up,” Abigail says, raising her arms in the air, and he storms out.

My tone lowers to a warning. “Abi.”

“What? We all had to sacrifice. This will end badly,” she says before heading back upstairs.

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