Letting My Brother's Best Friend Take My V-Card

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THE TRUTH

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THE TRUTH

JOSH

The call came just as I was leaving practice.

“Mr. Saunders?”

“Yeah, this is him.” I balanced my duffel on my shoulder, pushing open the car door.

“This is Officer Ruiz with the Austin PD. We have a woman in custody, Vivien, who listed you as her emergency contact.”

I stopped mid–motion, gripping the door frame. “What?”

“She was picked up outside a coffee shop after causing a scene. Barista called it in–said she was aggressively confronting a blonde woman, screaming at her.” The officer

hesitated. “She’s requesting that you come down to the station.’

I clenched my jaw so tight I thought my teeth might crack.

“What does she want from me?”

“She’s insisting that you validate her story. That she’s not crazy.”

I scrubbed a hand down my face. “Jesus Christ.”

The drive to the station was a blur of anger and disbelief. I knew Vivien was struggling, but this? It was unhinged. I had a bad feeling in my gut, one that only grew worse when they led me down a hallway toward the holding cells.

THE TRUTH

11 ******

“She’s in here,” the officer said, stopping in front of the cell.

Her usually perfect raven hair was a mess, her makeup smudged like she had been crying for hours.

inside, she froze. Her red–rimmed eyes snapped to mine, her face

the bars. “Tell them. Tell them I’m not crazy. That we love each other! That we‘ re supposed to be a family!” Her

exhaled sharply, fighting the heat rising in my

shaking. “I worked so hard for us. Don’t you see that?” Her voice grew frantic. “You just have to tell them, Josh! Tell

thick silence stretched

do you mean, you worked hard?” My voice was low, sharp.

pacing again,

shifted uncomfortably,

as I was.

Then Vivien stopped.

her dark

recognize me?” she whispered.

slid down

“What?”

breathy laugh escaped her

tilted for

No.

that wasn’t

always in the background. Listening to you talk

what the fuck are

the bars, a

up. But that was only once to twice…I think.” She nodded frantically. “Only that one dose almost

turned ice cold.

hands curled into fists at my sides, rage boiling under my

THE TRUTH

11 288 Vouchers

hard, my voice like gravel. “You

her face

she whispered, ignoring my question. “I heard you tell your sister you were thinking about moving to Texas. Sol did the research, found the right school, got the job-” She let out a small, breathy laugh. “It was perfect.”

Perfect.

had stalked me. Manipulated her way into my life.

Laura in a

tensed, every muscle coiling like a live wire. I forced myself to stay still, to not grab