Page 65 of The Boy I Loved
My foot tapped against the floor nervously, guilt coiling within the depths of my stomach. I wished I could just talk to her, explain myself, tell her how I had no other option. Maybe she’d understand. Then again, maybe she wouldn’t.
Tristan stared at the girls for a long while before addressing them, letting the anticipation build and build. “We’re going to do something different today,” he announced proudly, like having them screw one another was a genius thought. It wasn’t. “You’ll be paired up into twos today, and you’ll be fucking one another.”
The room fell deathly silent, some of the girls even paling. Others seemed relieved that they’d have to deal with one another rather than one of us. I didn’t blame them.
“When I call your name, head to the bed. We will be rotating,” he explained. He glanced down at the clipboard, rolling his lip between his teeth in contemplation. “Harley and Callie B, you’ll be on the left bed. Veronica and Lauren, you’ll be on the center bed. Dianne and Cori, you’ll be on the right.”
The girls rose slowly, making their way toward the beds and climbing into the ones assigned to them. I didn’t watch after that. Tristan was into some weird shit and would probably make them do weird, inhumane things. Instead, my gaze found Hazel’s from across the room. She didn’t bother looking away, as if she wanted me to see it all—the pain, the betrayal, the anger, the disappointment.
I swallowed thickly, fighting against the urge to run to her. Once she was moved to the first floor, she’d have more freedom and we could communicate, but until then, it wasn’t an option.
A girl strolled up at random, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Tristan had his favorites and he gave them extra privileges as a result. Some of them genuinely thought he loved them. It was sad.
Emerson lowered herself onto his lap with a wide smile. He didn’t freak out on her for it like the majority of us would have. Instead, he circled an arm around her waist and tugged her against him. Her shiny, black hair fell down her back in soft waves. She was one of our more experienced girls. No one was excluded from training, not until they knew the ins and outs of everything. Emerson was almost there, but not quite.
Tristan’s gaze flicked to the girls on the beds momentarily, making Emerson scowl, but to her credit, she kept her mouth closed.
“Come on Lauren,” Tristan admonished. “Eat her out like you’re starving for it.”
Light moans filtered through the air, some of them mixing together so prominently, I couldn’t tell how many girls they were coming from.
“That’s it—” He cut off, his head jerking to one of the other beds. “Callie,” he snapped. “Does her nose look like a cock to you? Drag your cunt across her mouth. I know you’ve done this shit before.” He shook his head in exasperation. “Fucking dimwits,” he mumbled under his breath.
If Hazel wasn’t here, I might have laughed. Tristan was an idiot, but in an amusing kind of way. He said the most off-handed shit, made the girls do the oddest things, and still somehow managed to be labeled as one of the hottest guys here. It must have been the persona he gave off. He was laid back and chill with an evil streak he had hidden just below the surface. He gave the girls more freedom than most, unless he wanted to target a particular one for whatever reason, then he made that girl’s life an even bigger Hell than it already was.
Vincent stood abruptly, walking across the room to where the cabinets and supplies were. He fished around for a few seconds before retrieving something. It took me a few seconds to realize what it was, but when I realized, repulsion bubbled up inside me.
“What the fuck is that?” Azrael demanded, paling already despite not knowing what it was.
Tristan threw his head back and laughed, the deep sound tittering throughout the room. “That’s fucking sick, man.”
Vince shot him a small smirk, lifting the amputated arm in the air by the nub and waving it around.Drea’sarm.
“You just kept that shit here for safekeeping?” I demanded.
He shrugged in response. “You never know when you’ll need a random body part. Or, in this case, a sex toy.” He made his way over to the bed in the center, causing the two naked girls to pause and look over at him.
Lauren’s wide eyes fell on the arm, her skin paling instantly. I couldn’t hear what was being said, but I saw both girls shake their heads. Vincent shot forward, tangling his fingers through Lauren’s hair. He forced her on her back with ease and then handed the arm to Veronica, who stared down at it like she might be sick.
“How did he keep that shit from smelling?” I asked, glancing over at Tristan.
Tristan snorted a laugh. “It’s Vincent. Are you really that surprised?”
Unfortunately, I wasn’t.
“Fuck her with this,” Vincent demanded, pushing the severed limb toward Veronica who reluctantly took it, knowing better than to question him.
Both of the girls looked like they were seconds away from losing the small bit of sustenance they’d been granted.
Lauren shook with silent sobs as Veronica toyed with the fingers, positioning them just right. She shoved one against Lauren’s opening and pushed inside, visibly shuddering with disgust.
Vincent was as twisted as it got. He was a damn psychopath—maybe even a sociopath. We’d been friends for years, and still, I barely knew a thing about him. He didn’t talk about his family, other than his older brother, Myles—who he’d always looked up to, and his younger sister. He never said much about her, though. Just that he had one. I couldn’t imagine what kind of a guy his brother was for Vincent Patterson of all people to look up to him. The guy was one of the most deranged I knew.
Unable to help myself, my attention slid back to Hazel. She didn’t spare the women on the beds a glance, opting to stare at thesurface of the table instead. Her shoulders were rolled inward, attempting to make herself as small and unnoticeable as possible, but I still noticed her. There had always been this undeniable, magnetic pull between us, even when we were kids. I didn’t realize there were stronger feelings between us until we were about fourteen, maybe a little earlier than that.
A loud gut-wrenching sob echoed through the room, drawing my attention back to Lauren and Veronica. Lauren was hyperventilating now, her body shaking as tears streamed down her face.
Vincent strode forward, snatching the arm from Veronica before swinging it and slapping Lauren across the side of the face, her head whipping to the side. Caramel blonde hair tumbled around her with the movement, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
