ChapterFive

Tate

I walked down the hallway and pulled down the stairs leading up to the attic. The only person in the world who could possibly cheer me up right now was my brother, Beau. I climbed up the ladder swiftly and pulled the door up, making sure that it wouldn't slam back into place and disturb everyone. Quickly after I sat down on the soft, wooden floor, a small red ball was rolled my way as a hunched, disfigured boy emerged from the shadows, mumbling incomprehensible words.

"Hey Beau," I tried to say in a cheery tone, so I wouldn't upset the loneliest soul in the house, but I knew that the embarrassment of rejection lay thick in the tone of my voice. I rolled the ball back to him and sighed, knowing that the monotonous game would at least give me some time to organize my thoughts about Violet. I raked through my brain, trying to search for any clue that would explain why Violet was so damn upset with me. I had worked so hard this past decade to make sure that I did nothing to upset her. Every time a new person entered the house, I did my best to make sure I would go unnoticed, in order to prove to Violet that I was a changed person. But the way she was talking to me... it was like I was so sex-crazed maniac.

After ten minutes of rolling the ball back and forth across the floor, the door to the attic opened again and I froze. There was no way that Marcy would be taking these people into the attic, that'd just be weird. I slid into the shadows with Beau and put a finger to my lip, indicating for him to stay quiet. Finally, a recognizable face came into view from my position. Hayden.

I rushed over and helped her hurry up the ladder, so we could close the door quickly before the new family noticed her.

"What the hell are you doing up here?" I demanded.

"Looking for you, obviously," she explained in a boring voice, picking at the bed of her nails. "I heard what happened with Princess in there."

"Were you eavesdropping?! You're a goddamn creep, Hayden."

"Yeah, well at least I'm the one that Violet trusts," she smirked, mischief burning in her eyes. Hayden did something to make Violet think all that. She must have. I mean, Violet has tried just as hard to stay away from me all these years, so there's no way she could actually have seen me flirting my way around the house.

"What'd you tell her?" I asked, stepping closer to her, knowing that I could tower over her and maybe get an answer out of her.

"Maybe I mentioned you to her... maybe I didn't," Hayden leaned up closer to me, licking her lips slowly. I stood my ground. I knew what type of game she was trying to play and I was not going to play along with her.

"Did you tell Violet that I was keeping busy with you and various other girls?" I boomed, trying hard to make sure that I worded my questions correctly. Hayden was smart enough to know how to weasel her way out of anything with clever answers, but I didn't want that. I wanted the truth. Whether Hayden even knew how to tell the truth was beyond me, but it was worth a try.

"How about I show you?"

"Wha-" Hayden leaned up and pushed her cold lips against mine, lacing her pale arms around my neck and holding me against her. I tried to pull away from her, but she threw me onto an old box and climbed ontop of me, keeping her lips mashed against mine. She opened her mouth and tried to force her own tongue into my mouth, but I kept my mouth clamped shut.

After the initial shock, I found my strength again and picked up Hayden, throwing her onto the ground.

"You dumb whore," I cursed, wiping my lips with the back of my hand. I stepped over her and threw open the attic door, no longer caring about if anyone could hear me. Finally every single false accusation Violet was making made sense.

Violet

I collapsed back onto my worn out bed and closed my eyes, feeling the lingering burn of Tate's touch. I didn't want to push him away, but it was obvious what he wanted. He didn't plan on taking me seriously, he didn't want anything from me except some gross, perverse sexual favors. And I wasn't going to give into him.

I rolled onto my stomach and let a silent tear fall onto my pillow as the the mother and oldest daughters from the new family came into my bedroom, startling me.

"So this can be your room? It has a nice view," the mother, Kara explained, more to herself than to her daughter. "It's pretty dusty... and boring, but we can make it work. Did you have any ideas for it? Olivia?" Kara asked the stunning brunette as she walked around the room with her lips screwed together in a tight grimace.

"You know, this is the most disgusting mansion I've ever seen," Olivia spit at her mother. "We could live in the middle of Beverly Hills, but we are stuck in this shit hole."

"Your father likes it. He thinks it will bring the family closer together..." Kara spoke, clearly planning out each word before speaking it.

"She can tell that it's forced though. She knows it's her fault we had to move," Olivia muttered in her signature, cold voice. Her face had become softer though. There was a sadness in her eyes that intrigued me.

"This will be better, Olivia. We can't afford any more mistakes," Kara turned out of the room quickly, clearly upset by what her daughter had said.

If this family was trying to avoid "mistakes," they picked the wrong house.