The Lies That Define Us (Us 2)

A tear leaked from my eye and landed in the crook of his arm where my head was cradled.

“Ari?” His voice was laced with worry. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you? Why are you crying?”

More tears came, and maybe it was because of what just happened, or maybe it was time, but before I could come to my senses, I blurted, “I was kidnapped.”

Liam

Silence filled the room.

I couldn’t possibly have heard her right.

She rolled out of my arms, curling into a ball. Her whole body shook with the force of her tears.

“Ari?” I prompted, touching her arm.

She flinched away from my touch, and I fucking hated that. I didn’t want her to shy away from me.

“Ari, what did you say?”

“Please don’t make me say it again,” she mumbled, her face pressed into the sheets.

I climbed off the bed and pulled on a pair of boxers before pacing the length of the room. I tugged at the messy strands of my hair, trying to process what she said.

“You…you were kidnapped?” I questioned, stopping in front of her. “Ari, please fucking look at me. I’m going crazy.”

She turned her head away from the mattress and nodded once. Her eyes looked so lost but so fucking desperate for me to understand.

I sat back down on the bed beside her and smoothed my fingers over her cheek. “You have to tell me more than that. I need to know.”

She sniffled and rubbed at her cheeks. She grasped the sheets tightly in her clenched fists and wrapped the fabric around her body like it could protect her.

“I don’t know where to start,” she whispered.

“How about the beginning?” She took a deep, shaky breath and nodded. “Take your time,” I told her, smoothing her wild hair away from her forehead.

I was still in shock, trying to process what she had said. Kidnapped? Ari was kidnapped? The words looped in my mind. I’d known she was hiding something, but I’d never imagined it was anything like that. I’d had so many questions for her too: When, where, why, how?

How was probably my biggest question. How was she taken, and how did she get away? Or did she even get away? Was she rescued by police? Or—

“I was fourteen,” her voice cracked on the words, “and I was walking home from school. Th-they came out of nowhere,” she stuttered, “and pulled me into an SUV. There were several of them—big, burly guys, and I couldn’t get away. They called me Scarlett, and I told them that it wasn’t my name, but all they did was laugh and tell me it was now.” She swallowed thickly, and I rubbed my thumbs over her cheeks, getting rid of the tears. “The one guy punched me, and I passed out. When I woke up, I was on a plane and no one would tell me anything. They slipped me something so I’d stop screaming and when I woke up again I was locked in a bedroom.” She bit her lip and more tears pooled in her eyes. “That’s when he came in.” Hostility filled her tone. “He’s known mostly as Blaise, but that’s not his real name. I don’t think anyone knows his real name. It’s safer for him that way.”

“Safer for him?” I questioned.

She nodded. “He deals in all things illegal—drugs, organs, human-trade. You name it, he does it.”

“Human trade?” I latched onto that. “Did he sell you?”

Her chin quivered and she looked away from me. “No, that’s not why he wanted me.”

“Then why?” I was baffled. “He obviously never touched you, so why would he need you?”

“He didn’t need me,” she spat, anger turning her face red. “I was an object to him. Something to sit in a corner and look pretty.” She wet her lips, and whispered, “He wanted me to marry his son…I left the week before our wedding was scheduled. I couldn’t do it, Liam,” she sobbed. “Oh God I couldn’t. I’d rather die than be his wife—be tied to that family in any way.” Sobs racked her body as I wrapped mine around her, holding her close.

“Shh,” I whispered in her ear, rubbing my hand up and down her exposed arm. “It’s okay. You’re gone now.”

She sniffled and rubbed her face. Speaking through her tears she said, “Don’t you see, Liam? I’ll never be gone. A part of me is always going to be trapped in that fucking house, still in his clutches.”

“Hey, hey.” I held her close, and kissed the top of her head. “That’s not true.”