Page 33 of Fabricated

He screams for Tucker, who comes running out. He drops to his knees and begins CPR.Branson stands above us with his hand over his mouth. Pain and fear lighting up his dark eyes. Then he looks away, eyes locking on something. He walks toward it. I begin choking as water pours out of my mouth and Tucker rolls me onto my side.

When you see yourself unresponsive, it bends and twists your mind. Making it feel like a dream instead of reality.

Next is the paintball games. This is all extremely boring to me, but then it cuts to a fire. Black gloves hold a folder.

My folder.

The folder hits the fire, the pages turning black and floating to the sky.

“What?” I whisper.My eyes connect with Tucker’s as his widen.

“I don’t—I,” Tucker sputters.

Jumping off Branson, I run upstairs. Unlocking my door, I rush to the bathroom.Gripping the cabinet, I pull it open. My hand connects with the wall behind the drain. I frantically feel around, but it’s gone.

It’s gone…

I raise to my feet, meeting my eyes in the mirror. And then I scream. “No!” My hand launches into the mirror as it shatters around me as I shatter eternally. I stare at the broken image of myself, the distorted picture reflecting my insides as blood drips down my hand.

No one knew.

Tucker would… No, he wouldn’t.

Why would someone do that?

My legs give out.My body drops to the floor. My heart feels like it physically sinks to my stomach.My door shakes on the outside, but I ignore it.Pulling my legs to my chest, I wrap my arms around my knees. I rock myself. Back and forth. Back and forth.My mind goes blank, and sound ceases to exist.

The question that repeats through my mind is, why?

Chapter 14

@RayneMarshall: “If you have nothing that gives you peace, you’ll forever live in chaos.”

Rayne

There was a bigger picture here. I was just missing it. Or maybe, I’ve been locked up in my room too long. For three days I haven’t left. Reading books. Fantasy. Although there is barely any fantasy that isn’t a reverse harem or a young adult romance—trust me, this is a real struggle—I still found some I loved. A hopeless romantic. But where most want the brooding bad boy, I just wanted a fae or a fallen angel. See? Always setting myself up for failure. Reading gave me a key of peace to cage my demons. To escape my chaos.

I can’t get the image of my file being burned. Why would someone do that? It had crossed my mind that it was part of the show. To add spark. But the fact that it was actually gone made me think otherwise. Someone is watching me. And no, I don’t mean the hundreds of cameras constantly circling me.

My hiding spot shouldn’t have been found. No one should have been able to enter my room. But here I am. No file. No leads to my birth parents. I should have opened it as soon as my hands touched the folder, but I wasn’t ready. Now I don’t have the chance to either.

A knock comes to my door, and I groan.I am not ready to face anyone. To deal with this issue most would find small, but it is enormous to me.“Go away,” I mumble into my pillow.

“Can’t do that, Strawberry. I need to make sure you’re okay. So, open the door.”I sigh into my pillow. Tears pooling in my eyes.

I rise to unlock the door. Tucker stands with his hands on the frame.His eyes hold concern as he takes me in. My large t-shirt reaches my knees. My swollen eyes are puffy and red. My hair is thrown into a messy bun on top of my head.“Strawberry,” he whispers.

Grabbing the back of my neck, he crashes me into his body. His arm circles around my waist as silent tears wet his shirt. He moves us into the room, pushing the door closed with his foot.My hands curl into his red t-shirt as I shake.He squeezes me before pulling back.

“We’ll figure this out,” he says, wiping the tears from my cheeks. Staring up into his beautiful eyes surrounded by dark shadows, I realize he must have not been sleeping.

“Okay.” I sigh, stepping back from him.

“Hey, want to go somewhere?”

“Will I need pants?” I ask, looking down at my t-shirt.

“No, but a shower would be nice.” A grin cracks as I look up at him, his face grimacing.

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