Vicious Desire by Leslie V. Walker

Chapter Twenty-One

Ayanna

Present

It’s been a few days.

More like four since Brendan last contacted me. After Halloween, I woke up to find myself alone in bed with no trace of him. I didn’t call or text him over the weekend not wanting to sound desperate, but after arriving to school Monday and seeing none of the guys there I caved.

I texted him, asking if he wanted to meet up, but never received an answer or a phone call. I didn’t think anything about it, I just thought he was handling business, until the fear of him using me again returned full force.

The only one who even bothered to text me was Rocco, where he’d mostly just talk about what’s on Netflix or what was my bank account, so he can start sending me money. Strangely he has kept me company over the past four days. I tried bringing up Brendan a few times, but he’d just ignore the question, so I eventually stopped.

None of them were here and Jason was busy with school and family stuff, I feel alone with Brendan and all four of them bugging me.

So, as I lay here in bed watching reruns of The Office instead of homework, I think about him and how he’s gone but Neo still roams the halls. Stopping me out of the blue just to say strange things like, what kind of shampoo and conditioner I use or what size clothes I was.

It came to the point where I was so scared, I started not showing up at all to class, which is the top reason my parents are fighting. The school called saying how I haven’t showed up in a week and then Columbia emailed my father saying how I declined their offer causing him to full on rage.

I’ve been locked up in my room since, wanting to escape reality, but not even my books did the trick. My mind keeps rendering to him and what he’s doing. I have been hanging out with Lillie since he left, growing closer with her, but nothing compares to how it feels to be with Brendan. I sleep the full days but am up at night my mind racing which is the same for today.

The tv is in full blast to block out the fight happening downstairs that I barely hear my phone ding with a text.

Jason:Look who’s here. He seems to be doing just great.

In the text a photo of Brendan is attached as he sits in a chair with a girl in his lap, he’s at Trailstar.

He’s laughing in the photo, yet I could tell something is wrong. Why did they let Neo just walk free?

So many questions run through my mind until I decide to head their myself and demand answers. There’s no way in hell I’m going to be the girl who lets people walk all over her.

I walk past people entering the building to my right, it’s the one where people just listen to music and sit around to hang. I called Jason after sneaking out my house to let him know I was on my way, and he told me exactly where he was.

So, now I’m here spotting how a girl sits on his lips and he laughs at something Rocco says, but the latter just gives him a dirty look.

He’s been gone for three weeks doing God knows what. I hesitate for a moment before I decide to just get it over with.

I walk toward him, stopping just a few feet in front of him. I stare at him as his smile drops and he pushes the girl sitting on his lap off of him.

The crowd around him that was once goofing off has gone silent taking in the scene in front of them.

I rake my eyes up and down his body, trying to figure out his excuse as he sits there unflinching. Zane sits next to him sighing before he signals something with his fingers, and everyone begins to exit just leaving us two alone.

I stay quiet even when there gone taking a step back when he decides to stand up all of a sudden. He stands about a foot taller than me, intimidating and downright handsome.

“What are you doing here?” He’s the first to speak.

“You’ve been gone for a few days. I thought it waws a lead but turns out you’re just partying with girls.”

Face to face he looks down at me as if I were a little girl. “And? Did you come here to state facts, or did you want something else?”

“I came here to find out why, Neo is walking around town as if nothing happened. You left that morning without telling me anything. What happened with him? What did he say?” His jaw ticks as he glares at the wall over my head.

“Nothing that concerns you.”

“So, how come you haven’t contacted me since?”

“Because I didn’t feel like it.” He shrugs turning around to walk toward the bar, I follow him.

“Bullshit. He must have something on you if it gets you like this. Is it something revolving me?” He tenses a growl escaping his lips as he continues with his back toward me as he grabs a beer.

I watch him closely, seeing as his muscles never once relax and I think to myself, what could Neo possibly have over him.

I run it through my mind countless of times trying to figure out why he’d recoil back away from me. But the only reason why I could possibly think of is the video.

My body runs cold as I think about it, about a week after that night Brendan came to my house telling me he had nothing to do with the sex tape. I didn’t believe him but know I do.

“It’s the video isn’t?”

“What?”

“What Neo has over you is the video. He threatened to post it again didn’t he and the only way to stop him was if you left me.” Brendan turns to me, his face hard, but he doesn’t say anything. Not that he has to, since I already know I’m right.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about it?”

“What do you mean?” he asks his voice coming out hoarse.

“You left me so he wouldn’t post the video, well I say fuck it. Let him post the video.”

He looks at me as if I lost my mind, “What the fuck are you talking about? I’m not letting him post the video.”

“Yes, you are.”

“No.”

“I don’t give a shit, Brendan. I’m done have people control my life every way possible. I want to be able to do the things I want without giving a fuck.” I walk up to him until we’re chest to chest.

“This’ll affect you more than me.”

“Just the way of society. Not your fault. It never was, and even though I believed you deep down all this time, I still thought it was you who posted it.”

“I didn’t. I took it down immediately when I found out.” He says sharply, grabbing a hold of my waist to lift me up the countertop, placing me down slowly.

“And I know that now. But because of this I never let what I truly felt be free. I wanted you since that night.” I lean my forehead against his. “You once told me it’s okay to be different even if it was just for my unhealthy obsession with Horror. But you accepted me through so much more and when people all my life told me I had something wrong with me. I’m tired of letting people decide what is right and wrong. I just want you.”

His hands find his way under my shirt as he closes his eyes taking in this moment.

“I’ll still do everything to try and stop him,” he promises, coming down to kiss me. He takes my lips, consuming my body just the way I like it.

But before it gets anywhere, I pull away asking the question that has been running through my mind since the beginning. “What did I do to you?”

I look up at him asking, but he stays silent shaking his head.

“It doesn’t matter, I found out it wasn’t you a while ago so we can just forget about it.”

“No. I want to know what you think I did to you.” He stands between my legs, his thoughts racing a mile a minute to find a way to stop me from wanting to know. But he eventually gives in, realizing I won’t back down until I know what it is.

“About a few months after, I was arrested.” What?

Fear takes my body; I already know where this is going, and I don’t like it one bit. “I was accused of raping you that day. I didn’t know what the fuck was going on, but once I saw your name as the one who filed the report, I thought it was you.”

My vision blurs as he continues to explain how he thought it was me who accused him of rape, but it wasn’t.

“You didn’t. I didn’t…”

“I know. I found out the day after you helped me through the sheriff’s department who actually did it.”

“Who?”

He’s hesitant for a second taking a step back to let me stand on my own two feet. The smell of alcohol and sweat runs free in this place, usually a smell that’ll make me want to gag but not in this very moment.

“Somehow over just a few hours of the video being posted, your father caught a hold of it,” he doesn’t have to say the actual words for me to know.

My father, the man who was supposed to raise me accused an innocent guy of raping me all because of his hatred toward him.

“How did they let you go?” I ask wanting to know every detail.

All this time he thought I did this to him… “He dropped the charges all of a sudden. I’m not sure why; I just thought you finally came to your senses. But now I think about it, I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the one who’s in control of everything.”

My dad did this, how could he be so cruel?

“I’m sorry for what he did.” I grab a hold of his hand to tug him closer, hating how far he is away from me.

“It’s not your fault. I’m not sure why…” The door banges open so hard against the wall a loud crack is heard.

Gunner barges in his face full of so much emotion were both already on high alert. “What happened?” Brendan asks.

Rocco and Zane come running in just then both with faces so pale.

“It’s Lillie. She’s in the hospital.”