Page 79 of Break Away
Charm moved beside her, her shoulder brushing Bliss’s. “Aura, maybe you should just tell him enough to—”
“No.”
The word snapped through the kitchen as rage fueled me because how fucking dare she.
Charm’s mouth closed, but it was too late.
Easton went still.
Ryan lifted his head from where he stood by the island, his expression tightening for the first time all night. Rider shifted near the archway like he knew the room had changed direction, and Briggs stopped pretending this was something humor could survive.
Easton looked from Charm to Bliss before slowly returning his gaze to me.
“What does that mean?”
“It means nothing.”
His eyes narrowed. “Bullshit.”
“Easton,” Cade warned.
“No.” Easton shook him off, not hard enough to hurt him but enough to lock Cade’s jaw. “Apparently everybody gets to know why I’m the villain except me.”
“You’re making yourself the villain just fine,” I said.
His laugh came out jagged. “Then tell me who fucked you up and why I got stuck being the sacrifice.”
Bliss’s eyes filled. “Ay, he doesn’t know where he’s hitting.”
I looked at her, and the pain came so hard I almost stepped back because she had said it right there in front of him.
In front of Cade, Briggs, Rider, Ryan, and whoever remained close enough in the living room to hear the ugliness moving through the kitchen.
She had confirmed I was hiding something integral.
Charm swallowed. “She’s right.”
I stared at her too.
They were my best friends, my sisters, and the women who knew every detail of my rape, standing in the middle of Hockey House and telling me to unlock a door while everyone watched.
I laughed once, and it sounded nothing like laughter. “Wow.”
Bliss shook her head quickly. “No. That’s not what I meant.”
“It’s exactly what you meant.”
“No, I meant—”
“You meant I should make this easier for him.” My voice stayed calm, which was how I knew it was bad. “Right here. Right now. In front of everyone.”
Charm’s face crumpled. “No, Aura. I meant you should stop letting him tear into a wound he can’t see.”
Easton’s breath changed, and I hated her for that.
Not forever. Maybe not in a way that would survive morning.
But in that kitchen, with my skin too tight and my name still living in places I never wanted touched, I hated that Charm had given him enough to keep digging.
