The front door is unlocked, but there are no cars in the driveway. Lai must have left with the others, just like he said he would.
The faint sound of sobbing I heard over the phone earlier is still there, and I follow it like a hound on the prey’s trail. The house is pristine, beautifully decorated, but fucking reeks of something I can’t quite define. Like something really fucking dreadful happened in here.
I race up the stairs, following the sound of the sobs until I’m in the master bedroom of the lake house. A small figure is trembling beneath the sheets, nothing but her head looking out from the plush, large master bed.
“Pandora?” I manage to get out, approaching her in three quick, long steps. “What the fuck happened?”
She looks nothing like the snarky, defiant girl I know. She’s a mess – her face streaked with makeup from the party last night, her hair a tangled mess. And she’s naked. They left her here fucking naked.
“Tell me what happened,” I beg, my own voice breaking over the words.
The only thing I need now is an excuse to kill the people who did this to her. I don’t give a shit if they’re supposed to be my friends. My friends would never do this to the girl I…
I shake my head to get the thought out. She doesn’t even seem to notice I’m there, her eyes focusing on the door as she whimpers and sobs, as if she’s afraid someone else is going to walk through those doors.
“Pandora,” I try again, making sure I sound more patient than I feel. “Look at me, toy. Just look at me, fucking please, right here, look at me.”
I guide her chin upward so her eyes can meet mine, and she does as she’s told. Her gaze is glazed over, as if she’s lost in a different world, not quite here with me.
“Toy,” I speak up patiently. “Tell me what happened.”
“E-Easton,” she manages to get out, the mere mention of my nemesis’ name making my fingers tighten into fists. “He lured me here… After the party…”
“And then what happened?” I demand, making her flinch at the sound of my impatient, angry voice.
I take a moment to collect myself, taking a deep breath before I reach for her hand, gently intertwining my fingers against hers. It strikes me that this is probably the first time I’ve been kind and gentle with Pandora. I’m really no better than the rest of them, the guys who did this to her, turned her into a mess I barely recognize.
“Tell me, toy,” I ask her, my voice softer, kinder this time. “Just start at the beginning and tell me what they did to you, okay? And then I’ll get you the fuck out of here.”
“Okay,” she whispers. “Easton brought me here… after the engagement… he, he… he wanted to have sex with me.”
The thought makes me fucking furious and I mutter, “But you didn’t, right, Pandora? You didn’t let him fuck you?”
This time, when her eyes meet mine, she looks more broken than ever before, and the truth hits me like a punch to the face. She did it. She went through with it. She fucked Easton, and he didn’t even have to force her.
The betrayal fucking hurts like a knife being twisted in my back. But I do my best not to let her see it, not just because I want to protect her from my own rage, but because I can’t show her how much this information has hurt me. As far as Pandora’s concerned, I don’t give a shit about her – she’s just a pawn in my games, a way for me to get what I want. I can’t show her she’s anything but that to me, not when I’m not certain what she means to me myself.
“Did you sleep with him?” I ask her, forcing my fingers to remain slack against hers even though I want to choke the answer out of her. “It’s okay, Pandora. Just tell me the truth so I can help you.”
She swallows thickly, looking anywhere but at my eyes. Then, she closes her eyes and nods, a barely perceptible move of her head indicating that she betrayed me, just like Lily Anna fucking did. And with the same guy, no less.
If I were less confident, I’d be questioning what Easton fucking Brantley has on me. But I know there’s nothing comparable between the two of us. I’m everything he’s not, even though he’s just proved to be more calculating and cruel than I’ll ever be.
“Okay,” I choke out. “What happened after?”
“We-we went to sleep,” Pandora whispers. “When I woke up, it was like he was a different person. H-He told me the rest of the guys were h-here… He started g-getting dressed, and Caspian came in.”
“Caspian?” I ask, furrowing my brows. “Why?”
“To fuck me.” She looks right into my eyes this time, her gaze burning with pain as it meets mine. “Easton told them all they could fuck me.”
“Who?” I demand, forcing my fingers not to crush hers out of the pure rage I’m currently feeling. “Who did he tell they could fuck you?”
“Caspian,” she whispers. “Julian. And… Lai.”
“Lai?” I repeat. “But they didn’t do it, right?”
She laughs bitterly and I squeeze her fingers, hoping she can see how important this is to me.
“Pandora,” I bite out. “Lai called me. He told me to come and get you, he told me where you were. Everybody was going crazy after the party; your father is fucking furious. He told me I could use Kelley to come and find you, toy. He’s desperate to bring you back. He never approved this, Pandora. We can just go back and everything will go back to normal, okay?”
“Normal?” she repeats, her voice shaky as she pulls her hand away. “Things will n-never be normal again, Dexter. And it’s all because of you!”
“What?” I furrow my brows at her. “What did I do?”
“You started this sick… fucking game! This is all about Easton’s revenge against you, can’t you fucking see?” She starts to cry again, burying her face in her hands as she cries harder and harder.
“Pandora,” I say, keeping my voice softer than I want to. “What happened after Caspian came in?”
“What the fuck do you think happened?” she snarls. “He fucked me, Dexter! He fucked me like I was nothing but a plaything for him, because that’s what I am, isn’t it? That’s what you made me into!”
I’m lost for words. How can I make it up to her? How can I give her back the innocence she lost when I’m the one responsible for ripping it away from her? Shame burns me up from the inside, the flames threatening to swallow me whole. I deserve this, but Pandora doesn’t.
“Come on,” I utter, reaching out for her, but she flinches when my fingers touch her skin. “I’ll get you home. I have Kelley waiting downstairs, he’ll take you straight to the Estate.”
“And then what?” She laughs bitterly, with no happiness in the sound. “They won’t keep it a secret like you did, Dexter. They’re going to tell everyone – and then my life will be over.”
I struggle to find the words to calm her down, knowing she’s right. There’s no way Easton will keep his mouth shut about this. Pandora will be a pariah at school. She’ll be exposed, her Firstborn status taken away. Her life will be over. Unless…