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

snapped to mine, her face crumpling

“Tell them. Tell them I’m not crazy. That we love

my chest. “Vivien, what the

for us. Don’t you see that?” Her voice grew frantic. “You just have to tell them, Josh! Tell them it’s not

silence stretched between us.

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

again,

shifted uncomfortably, just

as I was.

Then Vivien stopped.

her dark

you recognize me?” she whispered.

down

“What?”

there.” A breathy laugh escaped her lips. “I was

for a

No.

wasn’t possible.

there,” she continued, her voice eerily calm now. “Of course, you didn’t see me, but I was always in the background. Listening to you talk to her while I knew she wasn’t really there. She wasn’t coming back to you.”

what the fuck are you

closer to the bars, a twisted

make sure she didn’t wake up. But that was only once to twice…I think.” She nodded frantically. “Only that one dose almost stopped her breathing, so I didn’t do it again,” Her voice

turned ice

fists at my sides, rage

THE TRUTH

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I swallowed hard, my voice like gravel. “You

parted, her face slack

your sister you were thinking about moving to Texas. Sol did the research, found

Perfect.

into my life.

kept Laura

a live wire. I forced myself to stay still, to not grab the bars and shake them until they