Because you scare me, I want to tell her, but I hold my tongue and shake my head. "We need to get you the fuck out of Eden Falls."
"Don't you think I know that?" Her voice is bitter as she sighs and rubs her temples. "It's all I want, to go back home, to get away. But there's unfinished business I have to do first."
"Like what?"
"I need to go see my mother."
My eyes widen. "You aren't..."
"Supposed to know she's alive?" She smirks. "Tough luck. Brantley found her address for me. I've been saving money. I'm eighteen now. I'm free to leave. As long as I can get out of Eden Falls, I'm fucking free."
"Let me come with you." The words leave my lips on an impulse, and she knits her brows together. "Please. I'll come."
"What good will that do?" She eyes me suspiciously. "I don't need another burden."
"I'll help," I grit out. "I'll help you get away from all of it."
"I don't have time to talk about this now." The school bell rings and she snatches her hand away when I try to take it.
"Please, Pandora."
"Why do you want to get away, anyway?"
"Because this town is fucking poison," I mutter. "I need a fresh start. What's keeping me here? Fucking nothing and no one."
Especially if you leave, I add in my mind. Especially if I find a way to deal with Lily Anna.
"I'll think about it." She gives me another long look. "I have to go now, this already looks suspicious. You still got my number?"
"Yeah."
"Why haven't you called?" Her tone is accusatory, and it dawns on me what I've done - or rather, not done - has somehow upset her.
"Why do you care if I call? I thought you hated me."
Her lips purse and she stares me down. "I don't have anyone else."
It's so fucking sad. She's as alone as I am. And we can't even be there for each other.
"Look, I'll call you tonight, we'll figure something out." I search for warning signs in her face, but come up empty. "Your dad treating you okay?"
"He just ignores me most of the time," she mumbles. "Maybe he hopes if I get ignored enough, I'll just cease to exist."
"No such luck," I chuckle.
"Shut up." The smallest of smiles passes her lips and I grin in relief.
"Look, I know I've fucked up too many times to count," I tell her. "But I want to help you. Make up for everything."
"Why?"
"Why?" I ponder her question. "I'll... feel better."
"Good old selfish Dexter Booth. Do you ever think of anyone other than yourself?" I don't answer her, and she shakes her head before finally pulling away. "I have to go before you get me into more trouble. Let's talk tonight."
"I'll call you."
I watch her leave, my heart pounding in my chest like I'm some lovestruck teenager. Pandora fucking Oakes. Who would've thought she'd be the one to uncover the soft side I never knew I had.
6
Pandora
I feel fucking exhausted as I sit in front of the vanity table in my bedroom. The black choker is still around my neck, marking me forever, and Minnie's brushing my hair with long, gentle strokes. She must've gone through it a hundred times now. All the tangles are gone, but I dread the moment she stops. It's a welcome reprieve from my reality, the pleasant feeling of the brush going through my hair, the rhythmic rise and fall of my own chest as I try to catch my breath.
But I know it's going to end soon, and sure enough, Minnie puts the brush down and leans down next to me so we're staring at each other's faces in the mirror.
"You're so beautiful," she whispers.
"I'm not." I close my eyes tightly, unable to bear the weight of the pain in my eyes. "Everyone says I'm plain."
"That's a lie if I ever heard one." Minnie puts a hand on my shoulder, and I snap my eyes back to hers in the mirror. She's never affectionate like this. Nobody is. I must be really obviously fucked up if even Minnie's trying to comfort me. "Miss Pandora, I..."
"Yes?"
"I spoke to Mr. Oakes, your father," she says softly. "He offered to pay for my scholarship at Prep. He said I could start in the fall."
I manage a weak smile. I'm happy for her, but I also know my father's offer is a bribe. Minnie will get to go to Prep in exchange for keeping her mouth shut about Father's dirty advances on her. I feel for her, hurt for her. But I can barely handle my own mess.
"Do you want me to speak to Brazen again?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. "I could ask him to get Father off your back. Maybe if we work together..."
"No," she shakes her head. "You know as well as I do it's hopeless, Miss. I just need to last a few years, until I finish school. And then I'll be free. Free as a bird."
Her pretty smile blinds me, and I fight the urge to laugh bitterly. She'll never be free. Not here, in Eden Falls, and not until my father is around. He's eager to make her his victim, and I don't think he'll ever stop.
"You'll need to be careful at Prep," I tell Minnie. "The other kids might pick on you. These boys and girls are vicious."
The thought of Minnie getting hurt like I have been pains me. I need to warn her about the cruelty of the people of Eden Falls. This town's fucked up.
"I know," she nods. "I heard what they've been doing to you, Miss Pandora, and I... well, I think it's absolutely terrible. You shouldn't treat another human being the way they're treating you."
I shrug. Of course I agree, but there's nothing I can do about it. I'm well and truly powerless without my status. I've become the town's punching bag, and there's not a goddamn thing anyone can do to change that.
"Miss, if you don't mind me asking..." Minnie bites her full bottom lip, her eyes averting mine. She's nervous, and I mentally prepare myself for her next question. "What happened that night at the Brantley house?"
My hands form fists in my lap and I close my eyes tightly as the events of that night play out in my head, over and over again. I haven't told anyone the truth. I haven't been honest with anyone, not even Dexter. And now, the desire to finally come out and say it, to admit what they did to me - what I let them do - is too strong to fight. I want Minnie to know. I want her to understand.
So I open my mouth, and I start telling her the truth with my heart hammering wildly in my chest, and alarm bells going off in my head. I shouldn't trust the maid, but I do. I trust her more than anyone in this fucking city.
One by one they come into the room, and one by one, they get what they want.
As I lay in bed after the last time, Lai buttons up his shirt and smirks at me. "You happy now, Pandora?"
"Not yet," I mutter, pulling the sheets up. "Not until Dexter finds out what I did."
"Why are you so dead set on hurting him anyway?" He buttons his cufflinks and slips on a blazer. "What's this desire to hurt him really about?"