The minutes tick by as Cayde picks up some of the photos again, flipping through them with disgust on his face. Finally, he throws them back down onto the coffee table, standing up so abruptly that he nearly knocks the whole thing over.
“I’ve had enough. I’m going to go see what the fuck is taking so long.”
I almost protest, but he’s right. Weshouldknow what’s going on, so I follow him, all the way out to the front porch, where the wet icy air lashes at our faces. The rain is coming down so hard that it’s difficult to see, but what’s clear is that Jaxon is nowhere out here. And neither of us see where Athena is either.
“Athena!” Cayde shouts her name, and then both of us turn when we hear a small sound next to the porch steps.
“Fuck!” Cayde runs down the steps with me close behind, the moment he sees her. She’s crumpled on the ground next to the pillar, her black funeral dress up around her thighs, shivering as if the wet cold has gone bone deep. It might have—it’s nearly freezing out, and the rain is only making it worse.
“Let’s get her inside.” I hover behind Cayde, but he doesn’t need any help lifting her. Instead, I grab the door, looking over my shoulder once more to see if there’s any sign of Jaxon before shoving it open so that Cayde can bring Athena into the warmth of the house. “Take her upstairs,” I tell him, shutting the door securely behind us. “We’ll get her in the bath—the big one in my suite—and warm her up.”
Cayde doesn’t argue, just nods and heads for the stairs. Athena is half-out of it, her head lolling against his shoulder, and I feel a tight, hot anger rising up in me at the thought of how long she might have been out there, soaking in the freezing rain.
“Did Jaxon do this?” I ask Cayde, who gives me a look that clearly sayshow the fuck would I know?
He keeps striding up the stairs, pushing open the door to my room with his shoulder and walking straight through to the bathroom. Cayde gently sets Athena down on the edge of it as I start to heat up the water, and as he undresses her, I can’t help but think that one or both of us has done this too many times.
She’s been hurt too many times. And deep down, I know it’s at least partially our fault. She’s here because of us. And slowly, as I start to come to terms more and more with our part in this, I can feel the guilt settling in.
“Fuck.” Cayde swears loudly, and I see Athena’s eyes flutter slightly in shock before sliding closed again.
“What?” I turn abruptly, looking at him as I let the tub fill. “What the fuck is it?”
“I’m going to fucking kill him.” Cayde swears under his breath again, Athena’s black dress crumpled in his fist before he throws it aside.
“Who? Why?” I sound like a fucking owl, but I don’t care. “Jaxon?”
“Yeah.” Cayde parts Athena’s legs slightly, letting me see the thick residue on her skin, the way her panties are twisted up and shoved to one side. “From what I can tell, he fucked her and then just left her there to freeze.”
“That’s not like him.” I frown. “I don’t—”
“Well, it fucking was this time.” Cayde’s face is reddening with anger. “He was fucking pissed when he left, Dean. And it looks like he took it out on Athena.”
“Is that true?” Athena’s eyes are fluttering open again, and I look at her, feeling my own muscles tense with rising anger. “Did Jaxon do this to you?”
“Mm.” Athena moans softly, and then makes a small whimpering noise as Cayde finishes stripping her bare and starts to lower her into the warm water.
“Careful. We don’t want to shock her.” I start stripping off my own shirt, and Cayde looks at me confusedly.
“What are you doing?”
“The tub is big enough for multiple people. I’m getting in there with her. You can come too, if you like, but I’m for sure not leaving her to lay in there alone like this.”
“You want me to take a bath with you, bro?” Cayde’s mouth twists in a smirk as he settles Athena into the water.
I glare at him, unamused. “We’ve fucked her together, I think we can take care of her together. But you don’t have to.”
Cayde shrugs. “Keep an eye on her for a minute, then.”
I slip into the bath as soon as I’m naked, cradling Athena against me. She moans softly, leaning into my chest, and I grit my teeth against the wave of emotion. This might have started out with us hurting her, us being the ones to do terrible, painful, humiliating things—but it’s not like that anymore. And the fact that Jaxon did this, when he’s always been the one who’s looked down on us for behaving the way we have with Athena, grips me with an almost irresistible urge to rearrange his face for him when he comes home.
Cayde steps into the bath too, sliding down on the opposite side. He reaches for Athena’s feet, gently massaging them to try to return some of the circulation as I run my hands up and down her arms. She makes small noises as we touch her, and I can feel my pulse speed up at the sound. I’m trying my best not to get an erection—it’s hardly an appropriate time—but I can feel my cock swelling with each small moan and whimper she lets out at Cayde’s and my touch.
“Did Jaxon do this?” I ask again, now that she’s a little more alert. There’s a beat, and I’m not entirely sure if she heard me, but then she just nods, her head sinking against my chest again.
“I’m going to beat the shit out of him,” Cayde growls, his hands tightening slightly on Athena’s calves. “I swear to God—”
“We’ll deal with it together,” I tell him firmly. “But right now, we need to focus on Athena.”