Life of Sin Book 1

Chapter Twenty *Mention of Sexual Assault*

Something cold was placed against my forehead. Groggily opening my eyes, I saw the blurry shape of a dark figure standing over me. It was nearly impossible to make out a face but the voice was deep and commanding. I sat up slowly, my eyes were wide open but I still couldn’t see a face. In fact, nothing stood out to me. Nothing except the shotgun aimed at my face, ready to blow my head off my shoulders.

“Dev, wake up. You’re sweating bullets.” I jumped as Nikki’s voice phased into my dream world. When I opened my eyes, the only thing cold being pressed against my forehead was a wet towel. I was drenched as if someone had cut the heat up in the middle of the night. Sitting up, I placed my hands on her face to test how real she was. She kissed the inside of my palm and continued wiping away my sweat.

“You had a bad dream?” I nodded, unable to put the experience into words.

“Wanna talk about it?” I shook my head and she placed the towel aside, looking at me with concern. I looked down at her clothes, seeing that she was fully dressed. Looking out the window, it was morning but still dark outside. Also raining but she wasn’t damp.

“Where you going?” I asked, putting the pieces together.

“I have something I need to do.” I eyed her, completely bothered by her sketchy response.

“Like what, Nik?” She sighed but didn’t answer, which caused me to stress more.

“I love you, Devyn.” She leaned in and kissed me, getting up to walk out before I could fix my mouth to object. I wanted to follow her but my tired legs wouldn’t let me. I laid back and closed my eyes, doing the best I could to ignore the argument my head was having with my heart. They never agree with each other and I never force them to. It’s better that way. I drifted off only to be awakened an hour later by my phone. Turning over, I tried to ignore it. I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone but I guess whoever was calling didn’t get the memo. Sitting up, I groaned and stared at the screen. It wasn’t anyone but my college advisor, probably calling to ask why I haven’t registered for classes.

“Not the move right now,” I said, tossing my phone aside and laying back down. Another 20 minutes passed and I was finally dozing off before my doorbell rang. Raging internally, I hopped up and slipped into a shirt and some leggings to check it out. I yanked the door open, ready to unforgivingly turn away whoever it was.

“What!?”

“Who taught you how to answer the door?”

“Mama, what are you… what?” What is with this family and surprise visits? She studied me, a stony gaze in her eyes as she crossed her arms. I stepped aside, allowing her to come inside. She took in her surroundings, slowly making her way downstairs as I trailed behind her.

“Is everything okay? You’ve never visited before,” I said, tossing miscellaneous objects aside.

“I would’ve cleaned up if I knew you were coming.” She picked up a thong. I had no clue who it belonged to but I’d walked past it a few times before. I snatched it from her and balled it in my hand.

“Why is your sister in the hospital?”

“Um, well…”

“Well what? The only reason I allowed her to come stay with you is because I was assured she’d be safe and stay out of trouble—”

“By who? Because I didn’t even know she was coming until she got to the airport!” She stopped snooping and rounded on me, instilling fear in me without even saying a word.

“And what’s this I hear about you working at Ducati’s?” I cleared my throat, trying not to choke on the air I quickly inhaled.

“Who told you that?"