Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 80197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
A doctor bustles past, carrying a takeaway cup of coffee. His shoes squeak against the floor with every step.
"He'll come out. He knows we're waiting."
My phone buzzes in my pocket. It's a message from Ellie, asking if I'm okay and if I can talk. I reply to say I'm okay and busy right now. I don't share Elias's situation because it's private. If he wants to tell people what's happened, that'll be up to him.
I call Marie, knowing I need to tell her about the video now before it finds its way to her by other means. Too many people watch porn these days. It's become mainstream. For all I know, Aiden might go to the site it's trending on. Would he tell Marie if he saw the video? Probably not.
Ugh. The idea of my brother-in-law watching me fuck only exacerbates the anxiety.
As the phone starts ringing and I wait for Marie to answer, I start to sweat.
"Celine." Her voice is bright, and happy to hear from me. It only makes the news I have to pass on feel worse.
"Hey, Marie. Sorry to disturb you this late."
"It's okay. Aiden's sleeping, and I'm watching that cheesy series I told you about."
"Cramming in your free time after hours?"
"Something like that. You'll understand when you have a Lonie of your own."
"Lonie is one hundred percent original."
Marie laughs. "I just love the relationship you guys have," she says. "You're an awesome aunt to her."
My throat tightens and burns, but I rush to speak through it. "I don't think you'll feel that way when you hear what I've got to tell you."
"What? What is it?" I hear her pause the TV in the background.
"Eddie circulated a video of us having sex. I didn't know he made the recording. It's up on a free porn site."
"He did what?"
"I know. It's the worst attempt at revenge."
"Revenge for what? He's the one who cheated on you."
"I know." I sigh, meeting Dornan's eyes. He gently touches my face and then steps away, looking at his phone. I dread to think what kind of messages he might be getting about me. The location of the video must be circulating around the university like wildfire.
"So, what the fuck is his problem?"
"He didn't like the games I played with Dornan, Elias, and Travis. I guess he felt humiliated."
"What a fragile ego, small dick man."
I'm not used to my sister speaking that way, so I snort a surprised laugh. "That's about it."
"You need to go to the police. There are laws against this kind of bullcrap."
"I will. I'm going to."
"I'll come with you," she says, then as an afterthought, she asks in a lower tone, "Are you going to tell Mom and Dad?"
"Thank you, and no."
"I know why you wouldn't want to, but maybe you should. I know they've been shit recently. I mean, they never bother to call me to find out about Lonie. When I see Mom, all she wants to do is trash Dad. And Dad has turned into the invisible man."
"I thought it was just me," I admit. Marie was always their favorite, or so I thought.
"Definitely not just you. But they're still our parents. They're self-obsessed, but something this big could yank them out of their funk."
"You're more hopeful than me."
"Should I ask where the video is?"
"I don't want you to watch it," I squeak.
She makes a disgusted noise. "You think I want to see you fuck. Jesus, Celine. I just want to do some research."
"I'll message you the site. Don't tell Aiden."
"I won't, but he might be able to help. He has friends in law firms. We might need to draw on some free advice." She always was the practical thinker of the two of us.
"Okay. Maybe. I want to go to the police tomorrow."
"I can come with you. Lonie will be at preschool in the morning."
"Okay, great. Thank you."
"You sound okay about this. If it was me, I'd be freaking out."
"I have been freaking out, but some stuff has happened to put it into perspective. I'll call you first thing, okay?"
Marie agrees, and we say our goodbyes just as Elias appears at the door of the ICU. His face is like a frozen mask; he's white as a sheet, but his jaw is clenched as though he's furious. Before he can speak, I walk over and wrap my arms around him. It takes a few seconds, but he eventually buries his face into my neck. Dornan shoves his phone into his pocket and moves closer, too. "How is she? What did they say?" he asks.
"She's really bad." Elias's voice sounds weirdly strangled. "She fell from the top of the stairs to the bottom. Her face is messed up. She broke fingers and her arm and collar bone. She has a busted-up ankle. They say her brain is swollen from the impact of the fall, so they've put her into an induced coma."