Chapter 28
“Areyou sure you want to stay up here?” Dekker looks at me and tilts his head.
“Yeah. I’m sure. I would rather not be down there amongst Greek Row and all the drunkards. I’ve kinda had my fill of excitement to last me a while.” I lean back in Dekker’s bed as I take out my Kindle and pull out the latest book I’m reading by KG Reuss, Ashes.
Have I mentioned how much I love her books? Because I fucking do. Like, she’s my one-click for life.
“Okay, well, we’re going to check on you every once in a while, and if you need anything?—”
“Yeah, yeah.” I wave him off. “Text you. Got it. Now leave me be. This book is getting crazy as fuck, and I need answers.”
Dekker lets out a chuckle and leans down to kiss my forehead. The three of them have been oddly mushy with me the last couple days since we had that big blowout in the game room.
It’s kinda cute to see Dekker be all sweet with his tough exterior. He’s actually like a big teddy bear hiding under all those tattoos and piercings. As he leaves, he smiles at me one more time before shutting the door and letting me sink into the book.
At about three hours into the evening shenanigans downstairs, the music and noise officially stopped me from reading further in my attempt to get lost in another world. I have been scrolling Instagram and TikTok for the last hour and a half trying to keep myself busy.
Seven had come up here about twenty minutes ago to bring me some water and to see if I needed anything. When he finally left, I got back to my mindless scrolling. Which is starting to get old, too.
I look around the room and decide I need to get out of these walls and find another room to sit in. Seven’s room is much more fun. He has computers and TVs galore. He even downloaded Sim City for me on one of his computers.
Yeah, I know, I’m a giant nerd. But I love that fucking game.
I grab my phone and head out of Dekker’s room toward Seven’s. But along the way, I notice a door that has the fraternity symbols on it. I don’t know why this has never stood out to me before, but also, I wasn’t exactly looking for anything.
I look around me and feel silly for doing so. They are all downstairs.
No one is allowed up here but the brothers of the frat, and most of them are probably dick deep in pussy. While my guys are more than likely trying to keep things from getting out of control.
My guys.
I shake my head. That’s a little presumptuous. And it honestly sounds weird. Note to self: come up with a better way to classify them.
I reach out to the handle and expect it to be locked, but it turns with a click, and I pull open the door. Imagine the shock on my face when I see a set of stairs in front of me that leads up to a whole part of the house I had no idea existed.
Slowly, I make my way up to the stairs, as the door behind me closes. Lights dimly illuminate the steps, but it’s enough for me to ascend to the next floor.
For a moment, my heart starts to race, and I really start to regret snooping around. I mean, I’m sure there is a reason this is closed off, but also no one locked it. So maybe they don’t care if I head up here. Yet, something in me tells me to turn around.
I shake the feeling of dread in my stomach and convince myself to keep going. When I reach the top, I stop, and my mouth drops open.
It’s like a whole different world up here compared to everything below me. Downstairs is chaotic, party central; it’s a college dorm compared to this room.
In here, there is order and sophistication. There is an ornate giant wooden table in the center of the room with the frat’s letters engraved in it. The chairs that surround the table are that of what royalty would sit on. Each chair is a shellback throne chair, elegantly decorated with Rococo-style motifs and finished in gold. Each sumptuously padded and covered in a black leather.
Around the room are high-back couches, or loveseats if you will, that have a wingback design and leather upholstery. The walls are decked out in a Victorian-style wallpaper with built-in wooden bookcases and portraits galore hanging off the walls.
Slowly, I start making myself around the room, my eyes searching the pictures. Some look like they have been around for decades. These must be photos of the members of the brotherhood or whatever each year.
I wander over to the table and reach over to feel the carving in the middle of it. The frat’s letters are beautifully carved to represent Sigma Xi Delta. The detail on this table, the pristine condition, it’s gorgeous.
As I look up, my eye catches on a picture in front of me. I smile as I recognize the three at the center of it. Xayden, Dekker, and Seven look as stoic as ever. The last few days have shown me a much more relaxed side of them. Playful, really.
I start to move down the wall, peering at members before them. I quietly laugh at the clothing choices and hairstyles from back in the day. But then my eyes hit a photo and I recognize two faces in it.
Aaron, Xayden’s father, and my dad.
My father is in this picture.
What the actual fuck?
My dad never mentioned he was in a fraternity, nor did my mom. And of all places, here? He went to school here? He had always told me he graduated from UNLV.
Is this why Aaron wanted me to go here? My eyes narrow.
None of this makes sense. I snap a photo of the picture so that I can bring it to the attention of the guys. But then I notice something else. Under the names listed I see Aaron’s name but then the one next to his isn’t my dad’s name. This says David Grey. No, that has to be a mistake.
I look at the picture again, trying to see if there is any way that’s wrong, but the names are in order of where they are standing. My father is next to Aaron. But the name is listed as David Grey.
What the hell?
For a moment, I am frozen in place. How is my father, Thomas Dawson… David Grey? There has to be a mistake. The guys. I turn and run out of the room and down the stairs. I need to talk to the guys about this.
When I reach the bottom of the stairs, I shut the door behind me and run into Seven’s room. Placing my hand over my heart, I try to steady my breaths. I need to come at this calmly. Well, as calm as I can.
Reaching into my back pocket, I pull out my phone and see that I have a message. I unlock my phone and click on my message app.
Unknown:
Enjoy this video of your “boyfriends”. Real nice guys. Imagine what they are saying about you right now.
*Video attached*
For a moment I just stare at the text. I have no idea who this is from, but they seem to know me and the guys. The video attachment stares at me in the face, begging me to click it and play it. So, I do.
The video shows Mel’s Diner, the place Addy took me to after the shitty night with Dekker. The person in the video zooms into the diner and I see me. Xayden is sitting next to me.
This is the day that Addy took me there. The day Xayden was a complete asshole to me.
When was he not an asshole?
Good point, me.
I watch the camera zoom out as I see Xayden, Seven, and Dekker come barreling out of the diner. Xayden looks pissed, and I know that’s from the interaction we had at the diner. Truth be told, I wanted to claw his eyes out that day.
He was so cruel to me. So hurtful with his words.
God, I should still hate him.
Focusing back on the video, I watch as Seven runs up to Xayden.
“So we are done with breakfast?” Seven asks as the camera zooms in on the three of them.
Xayden runs a hand down his face, and I can see the anger in his face. His jaw is clenched so tight, it’s a fucking miracle he didn’t break his teeth. And then he parts his lips and speaks.
“She’s a free-for-all. Fuck her and throw her away. Maybe her fat ass and her greedy cunt of a mother will leave, and my father and I can get back to our lives. Do what you need to, just make sure she’s as useless of a cunt as her mother is,” Xayden seethes.
And then the video cuts out.
My body starts shaking, my blood running cold. “Fuck her and throw her away.” Oh my god. They aren’t here to help me, or care for me. No, they are here to break me. “Do what you need to.” Those words echo out in my head. Holy fuck.
Looking down at my phone, I can feel my chest tighten and my body start to shake. My vision starts to tunnel a bit as the air thickens around me. This is all a game. Everything is a trick; this is all fucking designed to destroy me.
I need to get the fuck out of here.
Running into the closet in Seven’s room, I grab the first duffle bag I see and go to my area where I have clothes stashed in a corner of it. I quickly throw what I can into the bag and zip it up. Everything else I can get when I get to where I’m going.
Three things are certain. Something is going on with my father and this fraternity, these three absolutely know about it, and I need to find my mother.
And I need to find her fast.
I don’t know if they had something to do with her disappearance, but Xayden was hell-bent on getting rid of us. So I wouldn’t put it past them if they did something to get rid of her. Send her off somewhere…
I just need to get out of Groveton so I can think.
Picking up my phone, I forward a screenshot of the message and the actual video to my email. I then dump the phone in the trash and grab my purse. There is a fear creeping up my back that they are waiting for this.
They were waiting for me to find this and make their move.
Hell, they could have sent this video.
Fuck. What if they were the ones who sent this video?
You know what? Doesn’t matter. I need to get the fuck out of dodge.
I carefully cross the threshold only to see that the hall is empty. With my keys in hand, I haul ass down the hall, stopping at the top of the stairs.
Below me, people are gathered and packed in like sardines. Music bumps loudly and makes the floor vibrate below me. I look around the best I can to see if I can catch a glimpse of any of the guys, but I come up empty. Thank fucking God.
With as much speed as I can muster, I run down the stairs. I keep my head down and when I get to the bottom, I maneuver around the barriers. The door is literally ten feet from me.
Pushing through the sea of bodies, I grunt as shoulders check me and the smell of pot and alcohol hits my nose. Lights from the flashing shit they have around the rooms hit my eyes, and I have to squint and turn my head away from whichever one is blinding me.
The front door is wide open as people move in and out of it. As soon as I push past a huddle of girls, I finally reach the front and cross over the threshold. The fresh air instantly hits me, and I don’t stop to savor the feeling of it. Running over to my car on the street, I jump in, throw my bag into the passenger seat of the Mustang, and start her up.
Without wasting a breath, I peel out, not even caring about traffic around me. I drive down Main Street before stopping for a moment to figure out which way I want to go. It’s midnight. Houston or Dallas? Dallas is a longer drive and that can give me more time to think. Decided, I get to US-287 and head north.
Not having a phone puts me at a disadvantage, but I’m hoping there are enough signs along the highway to get me to Dallas. Or anywhere out of this fucking state. I think I remember Addy once saying we were about three or four hours outside of Dallas. So I know I have a trip ahead of me.
When I finally do make it to my destination, it’s a little after three in the morning. I’m sure by now the guys have discovered that I’m gone. God only knows if they actually care that I am.
I still can’t wrap my head around what happened. Why they did that to me?
Because it was all a game. Because Xayden was pissed about my mom and Aaron marrying.
My mom.
There’s a pain that twists in my heart, a hollowness in my stomach. I need to find her. I need to get to her. A thought crosses my mind that has me ready to vomit all over this car.
What if Xayden has something to do with her disappearance? What if Aaron is in on it? What if she’s d?—
No. I can’t even start to think about that. I need to get to where I’m going.
Driving the car into the airport parking lot, I park the car and sit there for a moment. And in that second, the tears start to fall. The pain that I have no fucking clue what to do, no one to turn to, and that I am utterly alone, sinks in.
My mind goes back to that picture of my father but with the name of David Grey. I try to think of anything that would make all of that make sense. But nothing does. How does David Grey become Thomas Dawson?
I look at the clock and see that I have been sitting for almost an hour in the car. Slipping out the driver’s side, I grab my bag and wallet. Sighing, I shut the car door and take one long last look at the beauty before me.
You would have loved this car, Dad.
Making my way into the airport, I find the nearest airline with someone behind the counter this early. An older lady with her grey hair pulled up into a perfect bun greets me.
“Hello, how may I help you today?” she asks. I look at her tag and notice her name, Beth.
Beth probably has no worries like this. Beth probably goes home to her husband or her cats, eats dinner, and watches Wheel of Fortune. Beth wasn’t tricked by three guys, wasn’t kidnapped twice, and doesn’t have her mother missing.
Beth goes to work, earns a living, and isn’t worried about anything but what to eat for lunch. Beth is living the life.
“I, um, need a ticket please. One-way. No luggage to check.” I pull out my wallet and get it ready.
“Okay, and where are we going to today at this early hour?” She smiles at me. A slight reddish lipstick stain is on her teeth, and bits of smudge from her mascara are under her eye. She waits for me to answer.
Where I want to go is to wherever my mother is. I want to go back to when my father was alive. Maybe go back to when I had a life and a family.
But none of that is possible. Which brings me to the here and now.
I pull out the card to my bank account set up for me with the money left by my father’s death. I hand that and my license over to her, and I know exactly where I am going.
“Las Vegas, please.”