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.

was pacing. Back and forth, her arms folded tightly over her stomach. Her usually perfect raven hair was a mess, her makeup smudged like she had

Her red–rimmed eyes snapped

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

sharply, fighting the heat rising in my chest. “Vivien, what

that?” Her voice grew frantic. “You

thick silence stretched between

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

pacing again, her breaths

beside me shifted

as I was.

Then Vivien stopped.

head, her dark eyes glistening with something unhinged.

me?” she

chill slid down my

“What?”

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

tilted for a

No.

wasn’t possible.

was 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

what the

to the bars, a twisted smile on her

make sure she didn’t wake up. But that was

blood turned ice

at my sides, rage

THE TRUTH

11 288 Vouchers

swallowed hard, my voice like gravel. “You

lips parted, her face slack with

Sol did the research, found the right school, got

Perfect.

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

kept Laura in a

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