Tortured Souls (Rebels of Sandland 2)

LadyStoneheart23- I liked what you said about Jensen tonight. He is a piece of shit.

Legion- His time will come. I’m gonna make him regret the day he put his hands on you, believe me. But I’m sorry for what I said about it being that guy’s funeral. I didn’t mean to break open old wounds. I wouldn’t have said that if I knew you were there.

LadyStoneheart23- It was a show. I get it. A circus. It’s fine.

Legion- It’s not. It was thoughtless and I’m sorry.

He’d said sorry. It wasn’t lost on me that Brandon rarely said something like that. He obviously meant it.

LadyStoneheart23- I’m glad I spoke to you tonight.

I knew I’d sleep slightly better knowing I had made the effort. The nightmares would probably still come but lately, they were getting less. Little steps.

Legion- Me too, little warrior.

LadyStoneheart23- Night, Brandon. X

Legion – Night, Harper. X

I logged off and then shook my head.

What was happening to me?

Maybe I did need to see someone, like Mum with Doctor Meredith. I didn’t recognise myself lately and I felt like I was stumbling through each day. Was this some weird Stockholm syndrome without the captivity? Because it was bloody confusing, that was for sure. The man who used to stoke the fire of my revenge was now able to calm the flames, all through a simple online chat. Maybe his method of therapy was helping me more than I realised.

For the next few days, Emily was pretty relentless in her texts and phone calls. She even offered to come round a couple of times, but I’d gotten good at making excuses. It was nice that she cared so much, and I did feel guilty for not reciprocating her enthusiasm. So, after a lot of persuasion on her part, I eventually agreed to go on a girls’ night out with her. In reality, I wasn’t that fussed about doing the whole socialising thing. I liked my own company, but Emily had it all planned out and I didn’t like to keep letting her down. There was only so much a person could take before they turned their back on you forever, and I needed all the friends I could get.

But once that night rolled around, the nerves well and truly set in. What had I agreed to?

Emily told me she’d pick me up at seven. I didn’t have a choice. I also didn’t have a thing to wear, but I settled on ripped skinny jeans and a tight black tank top. I wasn’t really in a dressing-up state of mind yet. Not like I used to be. Those little black dresses would be hanging in my wardrobe for a while longer yet.

When the doorbell rang and Mum opened the door to let Emily in, she hugged me. I pulled away feeling awkward and then reached for my Converse, but she flew forward and yanked them out of my hands.

“No way. Not tonight. Wear these heels.” She grabbed my black stilettos that I hadn’t worn in months and threw my Converse to the back of the shoe cupboard. “Converse are great, but tonight is a heels night. Let your hair down, Harper.”

Mum just chuckled at my distress and sauntered off to the living room, leaving me to argue this one on my own.

“I don’t even know if I can still walk in those,” I moaned. Having blisters for the next week really wasn’t worth the hassle.

“After a few drinks you won’t care.” She laughed back and threw them to the floor in front of me to put on. I didn’t feel like hashing this out anymore, so I did as she’d asked.

Standing up, I remembered how tall and powerful heels made you feel. It actually felt good. Maybe Emily had been right on this one.

I picked up my clutch bag and we headed out to her car. Emily told me that Liv and Effy were going to meet us at the bar. I smiled, but I felt so nervous at the thought of walking in there. Would everyone be looking at me? Feeling sorry for me? I knew I’d need a few drinks just to calm myself down. I was over-thinking everything. What would I even say to these girls? I barely knew them. This was so far out of my comfort zone.

I stayed quiet on the drive over. Emily filled the silence with stories about the Hardy’s and how excited she was to find a new place for her and Ryan so they could have more privacy. I smiled and gave the appropriate responses, and in a way I felt jealous. Emily seemed to have it all figured out. She had Ryan, they were planning a new life together, and she was doing well in her college course. Where was my life heading? My job didn’t even want me there, I had no boyfriend, and I still lived with my parents at twenty-three. But then she started to open up a little about her dad’s trial and I realised she hadn’t always had it easy. The happiness she was living now had been one she’d fought for. Maybe t

hat’s what we all had to do. Fight for what we wanted. Life wouldn’t just come to you. You had to make it happen.

When we got to the bar, Liv and Effy were already inside and had secured a table for us. There was music playing through the speakers, but it wasn’t too loud or busy and I let my shoulders relax slightly as I scanned the room and realised that there was no one here I recognised.

“Has Ryan gone on a boys’ night?” I asked her as we ordered our drinks.

“That’s what he said. I bet they don’t even make it out of Zak’s living room. It’ll probably be a few games of FIFA and a couple of beers.” Emily rolled her eyes but smiled. The way she lit up whenever she spoke about him was infectious.

We carried our drinks over to the table to join the other two, and I found myself joining in more than I thought I would. None of them tiptoed around me, and it was refreshing. At home, my parents spoke to me like a child sometimes, and it grated on me, but I couldn’t get angry at them. They didn’t deserve that. I also understood why they did it. I hadn’t been the most stable person to live with over the last few months.

We were just chatting over our third round of drinks when Liv let out a huge groan.