Page 88 of Unwritten Rules

“Encouragement to do what?”

“Eliminate threats.”

Theykilledafter being threatened themselves?

I had to take a moment to look away from her. The twists and turns just kept coming, and I still needed to vomit. The standard was, what, killing? Was everyone guilty of something? Was blackmail the standard? Threatening someone’s life and turning them to killing someone else felt like a made up story, but if it’s in the name of self preservation, I wouldn’t know what I would do.

If all of this was true, I needed to get far,faraway from people like Alexander who would kill me for turning him down. Sloane appeared too obsessed with what she was into and it made me wonder if she was acting in self preservation too.

Would I be capable of killing someone?

Was everyone scared for their lives?

That text was right.Let the games begin.

She waited for a few minutes before continuing. “I never wanted this life either, you know. We were born into it and it’s what our parents are handing down to us. Extreme wealth and notoriety above all others does not come without cost. It means the devil is constantly knocking at your door.”

It felt like she was trying to tell me something other than what she said out loud. My stomach was still threatening me–

Not anymore.

I threw up on the dining room floor. While it was nice that I felt major relief from my nausea, I was heavily upset I couldn’t make it to the sink or bathroom to toss my cookies.

“Jesus Christ! Are you good?” She made a mad dash for the bleach and some towels.

“Actually. I’m a lot better now.” My eyes were out of focus, but I excused myself to take a long hot shower to try to feel something.

I towel dried my hair and padded out into the living room after trying to burn myself back into reality where Kelly was watching a movie–well, texting while a movie was on. “You know what I need right now?”

“What?”

“To cash in on a promise that I think you’ll also enjoy.”

Did I want to call Brent? No. Did I want to see Brent? Also no.

But I did–I picked up the phone and dialed.

One ring.

Two rings.

“Hello?” He sounded surprised I called him so soon.

“So...I need to cash in on that delivery promise right now.”

Grunting came from the other line. “Like, right now?”

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing, Blondie. I’ll be over in...an hour. Tops. See you soon.”Click.

Kelly pursed her lips, wondering what the hell I was doing. “Delivery promise?”

I laid myself out onto the couch. “Food.” After everything that happened, throwing up in the kitchen, and my mental breakdown in the shower, I needed proper food. It was the least I could do for myself.

“I know you’ve been through a lot, babe. I’ve always been curious about you not sharing much about your mom’s business, but then I realized that you weren’t told the same things that we were as kids. Your mom was a great woman, but she did you a disservice by not telling you that you’re one of the richest girls in the country. And when she passed, I don’t know all that you went through at your aunt’s house. I just wanted to be there for you as a friend.”

There were certain demons I never wanted to talk about with other people. Aunt Sylvia was one of them. The abuse, the occasional drunken beating, the constant projection of jealousy toward my mom were her shitty coping mechanisms for not being successful like her sister. No one but myself was included in my mother’s legacy.

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