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.

and forth, her arms folded tightly over her stomach. Her usually perfect raven hair was a mess,

she froze. Her red–rimmed eyes snapped to mine, her face crumpling into desperate relief.

short of the bars. “Tell them. Tell them I’m not crazy. That we love each other! That

fighting the heat rising in my

that?” Her voice grew frantic. “You just have to tell them, Josh! Tell them it’s not made up! That I didn’t make this

thick silence stretched between

worked hard?” My voice was low, sharp.

again, her

me shifted uncomfortably, just as

as I was.

Then Vivien stopped.

lifted her head, her dark eyes glistening with something unhinged.

me?” she whispered.

slid down my

“What?”

escaped her lips.

for a second.

No.

wasn’t

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.”

stomach lurched. “Vivien… what the fuck are you saying?”

took a step closer to the bars, a twisted smile

in a memory. “Sure, sure… I gave her a little sedation at the beginning. Just to 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 softened, almost dreamy. “But after that…

turned

curled into fists at my sides, rage boiling under my

THE TRUTH

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hard, my voice like

face

“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

Perfect.

had stalked me. Manipulated her way into my life. Into my daughter’s life.

kept Laura

wire. I forced myself to stay still, to not