Bully stepbrother

78. Message

MADISON

I couldn't swallow the lump in my throat; I froze, blinking at her.

The first person that came to my mind was Caleb. He was the only one who knew.

Why would he go through this cruel process to get to us?

"Maddie?" Asher called my attention as he drew in a sharp breath, dropping his gaze to the mobile phone in his hand. "There's a video from an unidentified number," he stammered, shifting his gaze between me and the phone screen.

Hastily, I snatched the object from him, my eyes drilling into the clip playing on the screen.

Impossible!

A video of barefooted Caden running after me by the side of the street... Our street.

I gaped nervously, breathing noisily as my eyes watered at what I knew was exactly going to happen in the video. The conversation was muffled, taken from high above us.

The angle of the view suggested it was shot from our building, somewhere from the fourth or fifth floor. Someone must've recorded us.

There it was, Caden, grabbing my arm and stopping me from running away. Then indistinct arguments. I hit his chest with the free hand that wasn't restrained. I slapped him... more assault continued.

I was struggling to escape his hold while he kept speaking.

Then his other hand stopped the assault, clenching both of my arms. He said something, and I shook my head in disbelief.

Caden seemed desperate in the video, freeing my single arm so he could bring out something from his pocket.

I mumbled something, and he looked away from me, causing him to release my other arm.

He exasperatedly pulled on his hair.

Then there was a lot of talking before his palms cupped my face. My eyes closed, succumbing to his touch (and I swear there's nothing innocent about it) as his thumb traced every part of my lips.

Playfully, his head cocked, and I smiled.

My fingers came to his chin, lifting his head to level our gaze. I stared at him while he talked.

Then my fingers motioned between him and me, and he leaned in until our lips were melded as one.

That was it, that was death ripping my soul from my body.

Breathe... Breathe... Breathe.

I kept trying, but easier said than done, right?

It wasn't Caleb who recorded us.

I knew exactly who did this.

Avery!

She had done it again, slapped me in the face as she did with Caleb last year.

I remembered vividly; she was the reason for our misunderstanding, the reason I wanted to leave that day. She was in Caden's room after the Thanksgiving episode and had tidied the house to prove a point. Wife material maybe?

She was the one who recorded us! She was the one who released the video.

What did I ever do to her? Why did she keep penalizing me?

It was now I acknowledged the harsh scrutinies from numerous students in the cafe.

It was now that breathing stopped, and I saw my life getting brutally judged by society.

I sensed the nonstop buzzing from my backpack; it was my phone vibrating.

But I was existing in an abyss full of trauma, battling with my sight and the blurriness around me, causing heated tears to well up in my eyes.

I was placed in a position where I could barely contain the diverse emotions in my system. The strength to walk out of the cafe without passing out became absent.

Caden wasn't my blood! He wasn't my borderline. Yet, I was punished for having him.

"I will drive you home! Let's go!" I heard a female voice announce before I felt hands around my midsection, pulling me on my feet. I failed to perceive the direction we were heading for, but I heard cruel murmurs as fresh wind blew against my skin.

"That's her. She's the girl banging her brother," someone said.

"I wouldn't resist screwing that flawless God, brother or not! You should see his package. I think that's why she craved."

I would've puked at those phrases if I hadn't reached the edge of my vulnerability.

Madison shoved me into the passenger's seat, and I felt my backpack drop beside me.

I couldn't grasp Asher's words, and the car drove away.

All I thought about was the fear of how people were going to see all this. I was confident Caden and I weren't sinners, but I was sure people were visualizing us that way.

It was why I didn't tell anyone, even Asher.

This was exactly what I was afraid of. My life coming to an end.

All through the ride, my phone wouldn't shut up, making me even crazier.

Whoever thought this was the right time was mistaken.

Furious, I dug out the phone to learn the caller was Dad.

He can't be calling me right now!

I angrily declined! He called again, and I rejected him again.

But he dared ring me again, this time I tapped on accept, not caring I was sitting next to a complete stranger.

"What do you want?" I quaked the moment I heard his soft breathing from the receiver. "You want me out of your life, remember?

What do you want now?" I yelled, breathier.

"I am coming over."

What is he insane?

Then I remembered there's a video on the internet; he will consider blackmailing to his reputation.

Maybe that's why he wanted a grand welcome! A notice to get us prepared for what he has coming for us.

"Oh! Welcome, Jude. What would you like me to set up for you? A villa? No! A fucking fireworks exploding in the sky," I mocked, tears falling down my face.

I was exhausted, worn, and hopeless. I just needed to go home.

"Maddie..." He began, but I interrupted, not at all worried about his wrath and fits.

Everything had happened in a blink of an eye; there wasn't any news he has that was critical than the one I was living in.

"Don't call me aga.." I started, but he didn't let me finish. He dropped another missile.

"Caden was shot; he is in the hospital."

I stilled, paralyzed, as the apocalypse initiated, bringing the perfect world Caden and I built the past weeks to judgment day.

Dad's utterance had enough force over me, dominating each side of me, above and beyond. And the pressure made victory over my frail body.

I felt the phone slip from my hand and fall somewhere around Madison's car.

What came with it was full extinction. My heart stopped beating this time in an instant!

I believe I died or I was very close to it because my eyes shut, and everything went blank.