Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 51 - Chapitre 60

Renata"Peach. Peach, are you there? Wake up." That was the first thing I heard as Drent tried to shake me awake. The last thing I remembered was being at the party the night before with Payton, taking some expensive wine, when my eyes all of a sudden became groggy and I passed out.My stomach felt like I had drunk a pot of steaming lava, my head light. I was confused because I had not drunk anything at the occasion, but somehow I was light-headed and drunk."Peach, please say something." Drent's voice came through my half-conscious mind again, and my eyes opened slightly. It was a blurry vision but I saw him standing over me, still in his suit, trying to wake me. I was still light-headed, my head still spinning for some reason.He sat me up. My head tilted backwards, almost falling off. But he caught me and steadied me back on my seat."Peach. What happened?"I couldn't speak. I just muttered words that came out slow and drunk."Are we still in Las Vegas?" He realised that shaking me

DrentMy eyes moved over her body and I noticed her hands trembling. I knew she had the tape. I stood firmly in her path to make sure she did not get to my father, and I could see the slight shaking she was trying to hide."What do you want, Drent? Let me go.""The tape," I said, grinding my jaw tight as I stepped closer to her, my fist curled behind my leg."What tape?" she asked, smiling sheepishly as she slowly backed away. But I could see right through her. I knew when she was trying to outsmart me, and it would not work this time."Don't play coy, Payton. Give me the tape, you snake.""I don't know what you're talking about. Stay away from me or I'll scream and this whole party will erupt."She meant it. That was how petty she could be. I smiled as I approached her slowly, not backing off, as she continued to reverse step by step."You think I care what people think? They can stare for all I care. All I know is I'm getting that tape from you today and ending this little charade y

RenataMy mother woke up before they took me away.I heard her before I saw her, a small confused sound from the chair beside me, the sound of someone surfacing from a very long sleep and not yet understanding the room they were in. I turned as far as the ropes would allow and watched her eyes open and find me, and the relief that crossed her face when she saw me broke something in my chest."Renata." Her voice was thin and dry. "Baby, where are we?""It's okay, Mom," I said, and I kept my voice as steady as I could make it. "It's okay. Look at me."She looked at me, and I watched the confusion on her face begin to shift as she took in the ropes, the unfamiliar room, the low light. Her eyes filled."What is happening?" "I need you to listen to me," I said quickly, because I could hear movement from the other side of the door and I did not know how much time I had. "I need you to stay calm and take care of yourself while I'm gone. You just came out of surgery and your body needs rest.

RenataI was not fully asleep.I heard the voice before I understood it, soft at first, then sharpening into something I recognised. Payton. The name cut through the fog in my head and I forced myself to stay still, to keep my breathing slow and even, even as every nerve in my body pulled tight.I kept my eyes closed just enough that the light looked like nothing.Through the thin slit of my lashes I could make out the figure standing near the foot of the bed, phone in hand, the screen casting pale light across her face. Payton looked exactly the way I remembered. Polished. Certain of herself. Like a woman who had never once doubted that she would get whatever she wanted.My chest squeezed.I stayed still. I made myself stay still.The words came in broken pieces at first, Payton's voice low and deliberate, clearly enjoying herself. I caught enough of it to understand. A tape. Drent's father. One of Payton's men already inside the party. I could hear the quiet threat threaded through

RenetaDrent rushed Payton to the hospital while I sat there, the shock of everything still reeling in my head like a fresh wound. The scene still played in my head like a broken record.We fought for the gun, she struggled with it in my hands and once she held it she tried to shoot because she was angry I had wanted to tell Drent about her plans, and she was furious.I stood there at gunpoint as Payton was about to blow my head off. I wanted to protect myself, I wanted to dodge. It was all self-defence. So I grabbed the gun but she would not let go. We struggled and dragged, and at some point I felt the pistol cold against my stomach and I had to stop struggling to get it away from my flesh before she mistakenly pulled the trigger, and suddenly, in the struggle, the trigger pulled and the gun was facing at Payton's stomach. Instantly her body stiffened, and before I could so much as realise what was happening, Payton was on the floor with blood all over the floor.I fell backwards as