Two Months Ago
"I'll take her home!" Damien exclaimed as he slipped out from the rest Aimee had made against his chest. "It gives me the chance to learn all those embarrassing little stories about you, babe." He gave her a charming wink that if I didn't know him, may have even put the heat behind my cheeks. But knowing it was all a manipulative tactic to veil whatever he truly wanted, I glared when neither of them were looking."I can take an Uber.""And pay the ridiculous fees for the city? Don't be silly, I'm going that way anyway." My heart twisted for a detail it didn't seem Aimee caught. He didn't ask where I lived and still knew where to go.He had been watching me."I'll be back soon, Aimes." She blew a large kiss and gave me an even bigger smile and I didn't have it in my heart to tell her just who Damien was. After all, maybe he truly liked Aimee. How could you not? She was my perpetual girl crush most days, Kate Upton a close second.Brooks' POV It was only an hour's flight from the airport in D.C. to our touchdown in the Hamptons, but I refused to be enclosed with her for longer than what was absolutely necessary. That damn jasmine perfume still lingered in my car, even after two months, and having her strengthen it with her presence again only affected my reservations against her. If not for the way her phone lit up and she hid it away with shame as we both knew who was on the other end, it was a painful but necessary reminder that she was no different than Camille. Even with reminders and reservations, precautions to keep a distance, it was impossible to control everything around her. Anger coming out more often than not. "You need to shut off your phone." I explained with venom in my order. "I was just turning it-"
Virginia's POV "I have no idea what I'm supposed to wear most days, let alone to a country club..." I whined into the video call while Aimee was grinning at the sight of my effort. For years she tried to give me a 'makeover' of the tennis skirts and sweater vests as she said it fit my 'vibe', but I was more comfortable in what had the cheapest price tag. "As long as you aren't dressing up for him..." She eyed me with a friendly skepticism. "I'm dressing up so they let me in." We both shared a chuckle before I pulled a dress for her to view. It was only one of two dresses I owned, this one was cut just above my knees by a faded pea green skirt with an off-white square neckline made up of a woven fabric that made it look almost h
Virginia’s POV For how many kinds were tasked with joining the sides of their parents for dinners like these, it was a shame there wasn't more for them to do. Instead, they had to sit back and smile brightly despite the fact they were completely bored out of their minds. Even as I tried to play a version of 'I-Spy' with Landon, he lost interest quickly and refocused on Camille. Worse than that, the man and his daughter that she treated as her own. If it broke my heart to see it, I could only imagine what it had done to Landon's. "Do you want to get out of here?" Landon perked up and nodded as I leaned towards him. "Follow my lead?" He nodded, throwing his cloth napkin quickly where he was sitting, before following me as we moved to Brooks. "He has to go to the
Brooks’ POV I kissed her. After refraining from acting on anger or pure lust, I broke through all of my qualms after she'd asked a simple question. Are you okay? But in hindsight, I knew it was more than this. It was the way she'd been magnetized to Landon all night when his own mother couldn't even bother with a two minute conversation. It was how she stood her ground despite the fact I was purposely cruel to her. More than this, it was how she still put her compassion above her own emotions as she joined me at the water's edge to make sure I didn't drown myself in the liquor or the Atlantic. And for one moment of fractured strength, I pulled her into me and she abdicated all the same. For however l
Virginia’s POV They say there is no rest for the wicked so why isn't Damien exhausted? Maybe he just hid it well in the arrogant smiles he gave as he wrapped his sly fingers around Aimee's thigh and she leaned into him, feeding the belief that he was a decent enough man to land someone as amazing as her. The thought made me nauseated and drove me to drink a bit more at dinner than I usually chose. That paired with an empty stomach sent me to the bathroom with a dizzying nausea as I couldn't take the way Brooks shook his head at me in disgust. I knew what he must have thought and I couldn't confirm or deny without putting Landon at risk. Especially since he was here, and I knew that Damien didn't do anything without a few extra plans under his sleeve. I splashed water in front of my face, trying to counter the clamminess, but found it only ruined what little m
Brooks’ POV I'd lost high profile cases. Been cheated on. Embarrassed and divorced. And still nothing hurt like seeing Damien come from that hallway with a shit-eating grin with Virginia soon to follow behind. But she wasn't alone and she wasn't as fresh faced as she had been with me after I nearly made her come a few months prior. Instead, she was almost...mourning. It had to have been the guilt as she wrapped her fingers between Landon's as Aimee pulled my attention back to the beach through the living room window. I tried to think about anything but how bold Virginia could be with her best friend's boyfriend. In my house. After we shared that moment on the beach. After the interaction at the pool. After it changed, fell apart, and changed again. Maybe she was a glutton for pain. Maybe I was, because I started to see things that weren't really there. Like pain in her eyes when it was really guilt for wh
*This chapter may contain elements that are triggering for some readers. Such details include attempted assault, please read with discretion or skip this chapter altogether.* Virginia's POV How could someone who single handedly gave me the warmest moments of my life also be responsible for some of the coldest? Each of our arguments came from repressed passion, aside from the latest. That was in pure judgment. I didn't know the details about his fallout with Camille but his preconceived notions about Damien were anything but accurate. In fact, they couldn't have been more wrong. But with my inability to correct him as it could put Landon at risk, I was more angry at myself for the circumstances getting this far. For running and thinking I could get away to begin with. I was my mother's daughter after all; I was supposed to stay i
Brooks' POV It had been four hours since the final police officer finally drove off of my property and yet Virginia was not any closer to coming out of her catatonia. When the detectives asked her about her involvement with Damien prior to tonight, she just stared forward with her fingers flexing as if reaching for something. Although a risk of setting off a trigger, I laced our fingers and she clung tight. This is where I remained for the majority of the night. When she did manage to fall asleep, she would jolt awake when I attempted to pull away to get ice for my knuckles, only finding solace from her screams when I replaced my fingers from her loss. She didn't speak a word or even meet my eyes but I knew it was the only thing keeping her tethered to reality. Ten seconds later than I would have been and who knows the state she might have been in. So i