Bound By Love Story Collection

The Games People Play

The puckered scar that ran along my lower jawline and down the side of my neck reminded me of that night. It wasn't the only scar I  had. God knew I had many more. The products of a father with a heavy hand. This scar, however, held a special meaning. It represented the night I lost everything. The worst night of my life.

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The cruel smile that curved Sean Wesley's lips mirrored that of his older brother Kyle. Dimly I registered that people were looked at us. some laughing, others pitying. My ears heated and I felt my start face burn. Humiliation thumped through my veins. Slowly his voice came back and I heard the words over the ringing of my ears.

"Its was just a stupid bet Ava". The laughing grew louder. Sean's smile grew more cruel. This wasn't the guy I fell in love with. In his place stood a monster. "Wha... What? " I asked, my voice quivering, sounding weak. I  couldn't believe my eyes or ears for that matter. A part of me knew this would happen. I had almost seen it coming. But the other part, the one that believed in Sean, the hopeless girlish party that had finally allowed in the the popular jock with the sinful good looks who had been pursuing me non-stop was crushed beyond belief. I felt like I was watching one of those sad movies where the girl gets humiliated in public. Only this time it wasn't a movie.

"Let me enlighten you little one", grumbled Kyle as he pushed Sean out of the way and stood in front of me. I could feel the hatred that rolled off of him. I never knew why, but Kyle had always hated me. Whenever I  asked Sean about it he either avoided the topic or stated that it wasn't true. But I knew it was, Kyle Wesley hated me for some unknown reason. He hated me with a passion that bordered on something else, something cruel and mysterious.  As if he was angry about something I had unknowingly done to him.  If anything it should be me who hated him. And I did. He managed to make my life a living hell in the past two years of high school. Britney Witmore was his soldier who he sent out to do his biding. Needless to say, I suffered at the hands of these two. But I would suffer through countless more acts if only I didn't have to see Sean looking at me the way he was right now. Like I was even more worthless than the dirt on his shoes.

"My friends and I made a bet to see who you would give it up to. Who would the freak of the school give her virginity to? We all drew straws but it was Sean here who came up short. So he had to do it. He had to get you to let him in and take your precious virginity". He laughed at the end of his speech, as did the whole room. Whispers and murmurs broke out, gasps followed.

I glanced at Sean behind Kyle's shoulder, why would he do this? And wasn't it he, who pursued and attempted to convince me to give him a chance? And that the idea of a jock dating a nobody like me was my hang-up, not his. 

"I love you Sean" Came the whisper of my voice, washing over me. 

Kyle's booming laughter brought me back to the present and I glanced at what he was holding in his hand. The light reflected off of something silver and I saw what it was. "I love you" repeated my voice, with a scratchy and electronic tone to it. Kyle was holding a recording device.

 I watched horrified as my voice drifted over the speakers. With cold realization, I registered that  Sean had recorded my confession of love to him.  As if in a dream I watched, feeling oddly removed like I was having an out of body experience as people laughed and pointing at me.  Shame washed over me. Bathing me in heart palpations and nausea. The bastard set me up. It was a bet. I remembered Kyle's cold voice.

"I got to hand it to my brother, He did great, I admit I thought he was going to chicken out and confess" Came Kyle's voice over the roaring in my ears. "Not only does he have audio but he even got visuals". His voice was laced with pride, his smile wide as he glanced at his brother and high fived him.

Visuals? He had visuals? I clenched my teeth. Bracing myself against the onslaught of pain. I wrapped my arms around myself and turned to leave. I didn't want to be here anything. I should never have come. I trusted my gut above all else. Doing so had saved me more than once. I should have listened to tonight. It was screaming with the subtly of hurricane warning to not go to this party. But in the end, it was overshadowed by my infatuation with Sean Wesley. 

"I heard you're a screamer". Oh God, had Sean recorded us while we had sex? While I gave myself to him?

Without looking back, I stumbled down the stairs and out of the backyard, shoving through throngs of people as I went. I had no idea where I was going, just that I need to get out of there.  Running home and crying myself to sleep sounded like a good idea. 

Little did she know that would be the last night she ever cried.

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Money, Power, Cruelty, They all went hand in hand, The ones that had it lived a life of privilege and those who don't suffer at the hands of them. I grew up around those three things, the wealth of the Wesley family, and the power that they wielded with intense cruelty.

But they weren't my first experience with cruelty. I knew what cruelty was from an early age. With a mother who abandoned me at the hands of a monster and the father who taught me the true meaning of the word. One lesson at a time. Sean and Kyle Wesley tormented me in high school, as they did countless others. But they were merely a chapter in the storybook that was my life. A brief one that felt endless at the time. But brief nonetheless. 

People didn't pay attention to the expensive car that pulled up to the entrance of the ritzy country club. Expensive cars were the norm in this town after all. They also didn't recognize me. I looked nothing like I used to. I was taller, more slender and less ragged. The expensive jeans I wore molded to my legs and my heels clicked as I walked in.  Heads turned as I walked by and a hid my smile. They probably assumed she was a stranger passing by in their little town. Cool ait greeted me as I stepped inside. I passed by the slacked-jaw hostess, not bothering to announce myself. I wanted the element of surprise. I wielded it like a weapon specifically for this exact moment. 

Like a laser searching for its target, my eyes landed on the three men sitting together at the corner table. 

Kyle Wesley's laughing face came into view, I watched as he smiled then burst into laughter, glancing back and forth between his father and brother.  So carefree and happy, just like in high school. Ignoring the hostess confused look as she trailed behind me, I stepped forward, walking with purposeful steps toward their table. I felt giddy, like a kid on Chrismas. It was such an odd feeling considering there were very few Chrismas' in my childhood that were truly happy. 

When I was within his line of vision, I stopped, he looked up smiling, until I removed my sunglasses.  Then as if in slow motion, his face changed, she almost laughed, the look on his face was priceless. Surprise, shock, horror all flickered through his features at lightning speed. 

"Hello Kyle, remember me," The two men sitting with him turned around. Sean Wesley and his father. Sean looked almost as horrified as Kyle. Almost.