Chapter 56
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
Bellamy
Fucking finally. It hadn’t been more than a few seconds, but any amount of time Vesper left her like this was too long.
Worst fucking punishment ever. She hadn’t realized how much she’d pissed Ves off until the door slammed shut, leaving her alone on her knees—on the fucking hardwood floor. The ache was already settling in.
“I cannot believe you left me like this,” she seethed, not daring to move before she was released. The tie around her wrists was a smooth silk, thank fuck, or she’d already be chafed. Vesper had tied it tighter than usual. Or Bellamy had wriggled it tighter.
A brief huff of laughter sounded behind her, and Bellamy tensed. That wasn’t Vesper.
“Interesting,” Ari’s sickly voice crawled up Bellamy’s spine, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Fuck. “You know, I’d heard about what she does. Never thought I’d get to see it for myself.”
Bellamy sat back on her heels, twisting around to look at Ari.
There was no need to try and save face at this point, it was clear Ari had a much better idea than she should have about what was happening.
Hopefully, Vesper would come back soon—preferably before Bellamy broke free and kicked her sister out herself.
Glancing over Ari’s ridiculous outfit—a near see-through lace bra is not a shirt for fuck’s sake—Bellamy then decided that Ari actually needed to leave before Vesper got back.
“What are you doing here?” she snapped. She glared at Ari, who slowly walked around the room, examining every inch.
Bellamy followed her judgmental gaze as it lingered on the clothes strewn over the black dressers and in a pile in the corner.
She noted the sketch supplies on the black leather chair, the small stack of books Ves kept on her nightstand.
Their mess wasn’t even that bad, and yet…
Ari had always been able to make her feel inadequate without even trying.
She shrugged, running a finger over the taller of the two dressers, like she was checking for dust. Bellamy gritted her teeth.
“Saw your girl leaving,” Ari said, wiping her hands on her entirely too-tight black pants and turning to face Bellamy. “We haven’t had much time to chat.”
Bellamy ground her teeth. Since when the fuck did Ari want to chat? “What do you really want?” she asked, letting the annoyance seep through her voice.
“Oh, Bels,” Ari sighed. “It’s been years since we’ve caught up, and all you’ve done so far is scream at me. Is that any way of treating your sister?”
“Don’t fucking call me that,” Bellamy snapped. Ari would have the absolute audacity to claim they were still family after all these years. Like Bellamy hadn’t purposefully cut her out of her life for a reason.
Ari smiled like she’d caught Bellamy in a trap. She plopped down on the bed in front of her. “Ro’s worried about you,” Ari announced, dropping the act of actually caring and sounding bored instead. “I promised him I’d check in.”
“He doesn’t know where I am, right? You didn’t tell anyone?”
“Please,” Ari laughed, waving away Bellamy’s immediate panic. “I’m not an idiot. I know you’re marked for death. You might be an asshole, but you’re still my sister.”
Bellamy raised an eyebrow. She was definitely not buying that shit. Ari didn’t do anything if it wasn’t for herself. “Why are you here? What do you want from me?” she asked.
“I don’t want anything from you.” Ari rolled her eyes. “Not like you would even have anything to give me if I did,” she muttered under her breath.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“I was hurt when you cut me out.”
Bellamy scoffed. “Bullshit.”
“No, it’s true,” Ari said, too casually for Bellamy to believe a fucking word.
“Ro kept me as updated as he could, but you really didn’t talk to him much, not even after he gave you his spare room.
For free, might I add. And you’ve been an ungrateful twat.
No, he didn’t say that,” Ari held up a hand to cut Bellamy off before she could even argue. “I just know you. Or, I used to.”
“So, imagine my surprise, after, what?” Ari pursed her lips and looked up, faltering and trying to stifle a laugh when she saw the ridiculous glass light fixture that contorted itself across the ceiling.
She cleared her throat and continued her irritating monologue, looking back at Bellamy.
“Um, ten, eleven years since you last spoke to me, was it? And then I start working here, as a favor to my dear friend, only to find out that ‘your girl’ is one of our favorite clients.”
“Was,” Bellamy snapped. “And you are never touching her.”
Ari rolled her eyes. “Your girl was one of their favorite clients. And then just like that, you’re thrown back into my life. Isn’t it funny how these things work?”
“What’s your point to all this?”
“My point,” Ari glared at her briefly before finding a spot on the empty wall that was much more interesting to glare at. “Was that since you won’t talk to me, I’ve had to ask around.” She chuckled. “And what I’ve found is… interesting.”
“You didn’t have to ask around.”
“Oh, but I couldn’t have my dear sister as my neighbor without knowing what she’s been up to all this time.” Ari smiled. “Wanna know what I found out?”
“No.”
“I learned,” Ari started, ignoring her entirely.
When the fuck was Vesper coming back to put her out of her misery?
“Why your girl is so loved by everyone here. I also learned that they’re all afraid of you, and that you’ve tried to kill Mazz.
Have you apologized for that, by the way?
Because you should know, she’s quite a lovely person.
Pretty fucked up to try and kill her when she was just doing her job. ”
She had actually apologized for that incident. Ves had made her, and it had been fucking humiliating. Not that she was going to admit that to her sister. She was almost positive the girls would have already relayed that story if they’d told her fucking everything else anyway.
“They’ve all warned me to stay away from you, you know?
” Ari said after giving up on waiting for Bellamy to respond.
“Guess they couldn’t see the family resemblance,” she laughed.
“They told me that you’re only safe to be around if your girl is with you.
You’ve always been so volatile. I guess some things never change. ”
“Wow, great catch up, Ari,” Bellamy said sardonically. “You were leaving now, right?”
“You don’t even want to know why they all love V so much? Did you know they sometimes argue over who gets her?”
Bellamy clenched and unclenched her fists. She did want to know, but she wasn’t going to give Ari the fucking satisfaction of admitting that. She’d been dying to know for years. Clearly her sister was also dying to tell her since she kept bringing it up.
“Fuck off,” Bellamy snapped, knowing Ari would ignore her anyway.
“Fine,” Ari sighed dramatically. “You don’t have to beg, I’ll tell you.
” An evil little smirk twitched at the corner of her mouth, and Bellamy glared at her, secretly willing her to continue.
“Do you know what it’s like to be used solely for someone else’s pleasure, with no real thought to your own? ”
Bellamy swallowed. She knew her sister didn’t know how close to home that hit.
How Ves had taken her own pleasure from Bellamy every time they’d had sex for years.
How Bellamy had let it happen because it was all she could get.
Sure, Ves was good about making sure she felt good, but it was always in the way Vesper wanted, not in the way Bellamy wanted.
It wasn’t loving, or sweet, or gentle. So, yes, she knew intimately how it felt to be used for someone else’s pleasure.
“Well, V’s not like that. Apparently, she’s the only client they’ve really had that puts their pleasure first. I heard she never even lets them touch her. She’s focused on our pleasure the whole time. Can you imagine? Being paid to do nothing but come?” Ari sighed wistfully.
“Well, you’ll never know how that feels.”
Ari shrugged. “Never say never, Bels.”
Alright, that’s it. Bellamy was done with her bullshit. She got her answer. Now Ari was being a cunt just because. “Time for you to fucking leave, Ari,” Bellamy snapped. Her magic crackled dangerously in her palm, almost sparking up the tie so she could fucking punch her bitch sister in the face.
“Oh Bels,” Ari sighed, getting up and sauntering over to the door. “You should really learn to be nicer to the people trying to help you.”
Heat rushed to Bellamy’s face. “Trying to help?” she all but yelled, incredulously. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“You might be an asshole, but you’re still family. Believe it or not, I am here to help you.” Ari turned without another word, flinging the door open and almost running directly into Vesper, who looked like she’d been reaching for the door knob. Fucking finally.