Aria’s moan distracts me, though, and I give her my full attention just as my twin releases her. “Got any plans?” Brushing the wispy strands of stray hair off her cheek, I get lost in her stunning green eyes.
“Well, there’s this after-party Hadley was invited to. She wants me to go with her.” The warmth in her gaze from moments ago flickers to a dim light of insecurity, and I understand. Not only was Aria not invited, but she’s also likely uncomfortable with going, period.
“Come out with Seven and I. Let us help you celebrate.” My brother perks up at the idea.
“I don’t know.” I feel her fingers playing with the hem of my leather coat before they move to my tie. “I sort of just want to go home. It’s been a long day.” Her shrug makes a growl erupt from my chest.
“Let us take you out, princess,” Seven whispers in her ear as we both move in closer to her. “You only graduate high school once, and after everything-” He cuts himself off. “You deserve this.”
“Go out with them, sweetheart. You’ll regret it if you don’t,” Lilith interrupts, catching Aria’s eye as they watch each other for a full minute.
“Fine. I’ll come,” she says reluctantly.
CHAPTER2
Aria
Walking across the stage, standing up in front of an audience of hundreds, including my peers, was the second most challenging thing I’ve ever done. Surviving was the first, and moving on hasn’t been easy either. So I smiled for a family who wanted nothing more than for me to be okay when all I wanted to do was curl up on my bed and cry.
I break a little more inside every day because I can’t be what they want me to be. I’mnotbetter, nor am I healed. All the therapy in the world hasn't made my anguish disappear or helped me accept that I’m a survivor and not a victim.
Because a victim is how I see myself.
I’ve tried for years to be better for my family, my friends, myself. I want to be normal again. Not see monsters inside every shadow. Or jump when a door slams. I can’t help it, though. Maybe what I need is more time.
Or maybe I need to go.
It’s something I’ve thought a lot about in the last few months. Packing up a bag full of essentials and leaving before anyone could try and stop me. I think I want to, but fear holds me at bay. Consuming my every last thought until I convince myself to stay.
The way my mother watches me, I think she knows that’s how I’m feeling. Encouraging me to go out with Seven and Severo only proves it. I’ve crushed on the twins for years, sometimes believing I’m in love with them. But they deserve someone put together. Someone who has her life in order. I’m neither of those things.
I’m a hot mess on the best days and a disaster on the worst. The nightmares are constant and hardly afford me any relief. I dream of fire and the smell of burning flesh and wake up screaming into my pillow, praying nobody has heard me.
“Where are we going?” I finally ask my two suitors as my fingers brush across the burn marks on my cheek and trail down my neck to my shoulder. Hadley, Mom, and Lake convinced me to wear this dress, and I only did it because the old Aria would have loved it.
“The Cardi.” Severo turns from his seat to see me pinching the puckered skin of my shoulder, and he frowns before releasing his seat belt and crawling between the seats.
Settling next to me, he pushes my hand away and replaces it with his mouth. The sensation is barely there. A gentle whisper of touch that still sucks the very air from my lungs.
“You always do that,” I sigh, leaning back into my seat as one of his hands moves behind me, and the other glides up through the slit in the side of my dress.
“Do what?” he groans.
My eyes open to see Seven watching us from the driver’s seat as he tries to keep his eyes on the road. “Make me forget.”
This might be the first time either of the brothers has hinted at their attraction to me. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been hugged by them a thousand times in my life or fallen asleep with my head on one of their thighs while we watched a movie.
“You make me forget how damaged I am. How broken I’ve become.” I feel Severo tense as his fingers tighten on my thigh while he pulls away from nibbling along my neck.
“Broken?” Severo asks.
“Damaged,” Seven repeats.
Tears crowd my vision. I can’t stand the disappointment reflected back at me. Not from them. “Chin up,” Severo commands as he lifts my head while cupping my cheeks.
“You’re neither damaged nor broken. You’re a victim who survived. I know you don’t see it the way we do, the way the entire family wishes you did. But Aria, princess, you’re a fucking warrior.” Severo’s glistening golden gaze implores me not just to believe him but listen to the words, absorb them. Feel them in the very core of my soul.
“A warrior.” I never thought about it that way.