The Lie That Traps (Lies and Truths Book 1)

24. Gulliver

GULLIVER

Ican hear Izzy talking to the guys, but I can’t focus on anything but the bruises on her face. Her parents hit her. Both of her parents physically struck her because of the stupid, childish lies I told. She told me this would cause her problems. She asked me, begged me, not to go through with this, not to mess with her life. But I ignored her pleas, and I did it anyway because I’m a selfish motherfucker, and because of that, she’s bruised and battered.

For two days she’s been hurt and alone in a tiny, fucking basic hotel room because her family forced her to be invisible, and yet I’m the asshole that pushed everyone over the edge and the reason she got beaten up. You see these girls on TV shows whose families abuse them, and it’s fucking awful, but you never think it might happen to someone you know.

We live in a world of excess, of privilege, and wealth. Abusive parents are supposed to be a poor people thing.

I want to go and hug her, to tell her I’m sorry and that I can fix this, but she’s not interested in my bullshit, and I don’t fucking blame her.

The girl sitting in the middle of the bed just straight up told me that I’m the reason she has two black eyes. I’m the reason why her beautiful, flawless face is bruised and swollen. I’m the motherfucking reason her lip is split and probably scarred.

All of this is my fucking fault, and she’s just calmly sitting on that stupid queen-size bed and explaining how she plans to piss her family off. Why isn’t she crying? Why isn’t she a fucking puddle on the floor that I can rescue?

“What can we do?” I ask, needing to find some way to start making this up to her. Nothing I do can ever compensate for this happening, but I’ll do whatever she needs me to do to try.

“I need you guys to help reintroduce me back into society again. I know everyone at school was talking about the engagement, but as soon as some new drama happens, they’ll forget about me unless I keep myself fresh in their minds. I need to be seen everywhere so everyone knows who I am and no one looks at me and assumes I’m my sister,” she says easily, still beautiful despite the state of her face.

“Easy,” Davis announces. “There are events and parties you can go to every night. Plus, you could ham up the engagement stuff; the future Mrs. Winslow is definitely worthy of the society pages.”

“You need to make a real entrance at school,” Thorn jumps in. “More than just Gulliver shouting your name. You need to become Elite.”

A small smile tips at the corner of her lips, but she winces slightly, and it falls from her face, making me feel like an even bigger asshole. “You need to move in with me,” I say, bringing the entire conversation crashing to a halt.

“What?” she cries. “No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do. It’ll explain why you’re no longer living at your parents’ home, and it cements our engagement—we’re so in love that you’ve already moved in with me so we can plan the wedding,” I say confidently, flashing a pointed look at Kip, who quickly jumps onto the bandwagon.

“That actually makes sense. You guys can become the ‘it’ couple. You’ll arrive together, leave together, total hashtag couple goals,” he says, nodding.

“Hashtag couple goals?” Izzy says, cringing slightly.

“The fastest way to get you back on the social scene is with social media,” Thorn butts in.

“I’m not on social media,” Izzy says.

“What, not even Insta?” Davis says aghast.

“Not even Insta,” Izzy says with a small, amused laugh.

“Well, that needs to change. Where’s your cell?” Davis asks.

“I don’t actually know, but it doesn’t connect to the internet anyway,” she says, waving in the direction of her suitcase that’s open on the luggage stand.

All four of us turn to look at her. “What type of cell do you have?” Thorn asks slowly.

She shrugs. “I don’t know. The kind that makes calls; it’s vintage.”

“What, like an old iPhone?”

“No, like an old Nokia.”

Thorn darts to her case and starts rooting through it. “What the fuck?” he asks, waving a massive cell phone in the air. “How old is this thing? It has buttons, for fuck’s sake.”

“Hey, I like my cell. It does everything I need it to do, and if I’m bored, I can play Snake, arguably the best cell phone game of all time,” she says, arching her eyebrow and daring him to disagree.

“I’ve got you, girl,” Davis says, his own cell phone clutched in his hand. “The latest iPhone is on its way to Gulliver’s. It’ll probably be there before we get back.”

“I don’t need a new cell phone, and I’m not moving in with Gulliver,” Izzy protests, uncurling her legs and stretching them out on the bed as she braces her hands behind her.

“Fuck yes, you need a new cell, and yes, you’re moving in with me. This is my fault. I’m not letting you live in a hotel, especially not a room like this. Didn’t they have any suites available?” I snarl, glaring at the tiny room we’re in.

“Why do I need a suite? There’s only me, and I’m not planning on living here. I’ll find an apartment or a house as soon as I can go out in public,” she says, motioning to her face again and making the well of guilt inside of me swell even bigger.

“No,” I snap.

“No,” she snaps back, elongating the word.

“Look, we both agree that you’re in this situation because of me, so use me. Let me do something to try to make up for everything I’ve done. I can’t let you live on your own. I’ll never fucking sleep, worrying that your fucked-up parents are going to track you down and hurt you again.”

“I’ve already told you I plan to use you, but I’m still not moving in with you. I want to get my own place. I already found a few condos to go and look at.”

“Buy a place if you want, but at least for now, come and stay at my house. My dad’s away on business for the next week, so he won’t see you until most of the bruising has gone down,” I say, not telling her that I plan to tell my dad what those assholes did to her anyway.

My dad wants wealth and power as much as the next rich guy, but he will lose his mind when he finds out what her parents did to her. It means I might have to tell him about the engagement being fake, but I’ll take whatever punishment he wants to send my way if it helps protect her.

She sighs, and I can see her wavering, so I press on. “It will only piss them off more when your family finds out that we’re living together.”

“I suppose I could stay there for a week while I heal. After that, I should be able to cover the worst of the bruises with makeup, and then I’ll go view those properties,” she muses.

“Perfect,” I announce, not giving her a chance to change her mind. “Kip, grab the stuff from the bathroom, Thorn, the closet. I’ll get everything packed into your case while Davis checks out.”

The guys all jump into action, while Izzy just stares at us, like she has no idea what the hell just happened or when she lost control of the situation.

When her confused gaze finds me, I shrug and smirk. I’m happy to let her use me in whatever way she needs, but while she plots to destroy her family, I’ll be keeping her close and making sure that nothing happens to her.

The bruises on her face are my fault, and I owe her a serious fucking debt, but I’ll repay her by being her fucking sword and shield. Whether she knows it or not, she’s under my protection now. Izabella Rhodes is mine, and I take care of the things that belong to me. I need to get her to my house. I need to help her put her plan into action, and somehow, I need to make her parents pay for this.