Lies, lies, and more fucking lies
When I get back to my dorm, I can’t help the small smile on my face as I carry my bag up the steps to my room.
Going to Willow Reads was exactly what I needed.
I understand why Oliver wants to be there all the time; it was charming, and Willow was the sweetest. After leaving the bookstore, we drove around listening to music for a while, relishing in the calm waves out the window.
Balancing my bag and purse, I fumble for my key before pushing the door open.
The moment I step inside, I know something’s off.
I take a step, then another, glancing around, searching for what I’m not sure.
I drop my tote and purse to the floor at my feet, shutting the door behind me before locking it.
I’m on edge since the unknown text, and I’m just being paranoid.
Nothing looks out of place. That’s when I notice my computer on the desk.
It’s on, only a dim light illuminating the corner, and the colors on the screen shift as if something is playing. I know I didn’t leave it on.
I know it.
My mouth goes dry as I walk closer, my heartbeat starting to pound in my chest. I watch the colors change, and then I see enough to understand what it is.
My breath stalls. My skin goes cold and hot at the same time.
My stomach drops so hard it turns—that awful sinking sensation like you missed a step and your body doesn’t know where the ground is anymore.
I stare at the screen until it goes black.
For one sharp second, I think it’s over, then it starts again, looping.
A strangled sound slips out of me. A mix between a whimper and a gasp.
I slap a hand over my mouth, holding in bile.
With a shaky hand, I reach for the volume button and click it on.
“On the bed. Arms up to the headboard.”
Oliver’s voice comes over the speakers, steady and controlled, and it hits me so violently I feel it behind my ribs. I watch as he stands there, then moves out of camera range. Serena gets undressed and climbs onto the bed. My eyes blur.
“Put it on.”
He walks back to her and holds out a black silk tie. He knows exactly where it is, like he’s done this before, like this is normal for them. I can’t swallow. I can’t even feel my fingers, but I can feel my heart pounding harder with each second.
I take in Oliver—hair damp, dark-gray shirt, dark jeans.
The same outfit. The same one he wore after he left me on the shower floor like I was nothing.
He went there after he was with me. I feel my stomach twist again, that sick, wrong sensation that makes my throat tighten.
He told me she was how he got the key for my dorm.
Is this what he meant? Sex for information?
Using her the way he used me? My heart starts beating so fast it feels like it’s going to pop out of my chest.
Serena grins like it’s a gift and slips the tie on.
Oliver disappears out of frame once again and returns with ropes.
He crosses to her, bending down and tying her wrists to the headboard.
I wonder if they bought that headboard for this exact reason.
The thought hits so sharply, air puffs through my lips.
Music fills the room, but I can still hear everything beneath it.
I should stop. I should slam the laptop shut to spare myself the hurt I know will come, even worse than what I feel now.
But I can’t.
The camera is pointed toward the bed, so I don’t see beyond it.
Oliver is off-screen, and my brain fills in everything I can’t see with cruel detail.
Serena shifts, moaning as she spreads her legs, showing me exactly how turned on by this she is.
I stumble back like my body is trying to escape the truth, crashing into the chair as my legs finally give out.
“Come over and play with me,” Serena says, moaning. “Don’t make me wait.”
“One more second.” Then the screen goes black.
“Oh, yes. Finally,” Serena purrs, then there’s breath, movement, her voice breaking into gasps. My stomach flips so hard I can’t keep it down anymore.
I rush to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before crashing to my knees, heaving everything I had today, shaking so hard my arms feel weak.
The worst part is that I can still hear it through the wall.
I don’t know how long I stay there, forehead pressed to the cool porcelain, breathing through the burn in my throat, listening to the sound fade and start again as the video loops.
Eventually, the sickness dulls into something heavier, something that sits in my chest and refuses to move.
My stomach feels hollow when I finally stand.
I brush my teeth and splash water on my face.
I’ve been face-to-face with horrible people.
I’ve seen what humans are capable of. I’ve survived worse than this.
But I’ve never felt this kind of pain. This ache as though my heart is dropping out of my chest. The humiliation of knowing I let myself believe him.
I let myself want him. I let myself start falling for a charming, slightly deranged man who wears red flags like they’re part of his skin. I was so fucking stupid.
It takes longer than I care to admit to pull myself together. They say a woman scorned is someone you don’t mess with. Or something like that. Regardless, I’m not going to sit here and be hurt. Instead, I’m going to fuck him up. Literally. I’m taking power back.