"You told me to believe you, so I did"
- unknown
One More Mistake
Chapter forty-one
â± I should've guessed that it was Bruce who was the one who did this to Sterling. What I don't understand is why would Bruce hurt him? There had to be a reason why, and I couldn't help but feel helpless. I hated not being in control and not knowing what was going around me, especially if it was about Sterling who I knew was keeping things from me.
I had to find out the reasons before something worse happened.
"You can't just walk away, you can't just shut down like this. Thea, just stop and talk to me and tell me how we are going to deal with this. Tell me what's going on in that brain of yours" Rory's voice was desperate when he came after me, his long strides catching up to mine. I was aware that I was shutting him off by walking away from him but I couldn't help it. I also couldn't fight the sudden anger that was forming in me, I was angry but not because of him.
Although, I convinced myself it was his fault. I don't why I did, I just did.
I stopped walking any further and turned to face him with my fuming anger.
He stopped as well, and now looking at it, I wasn't the only one who was angry. Rory's eyebrows were furrowed and lips were in a tight line, and his eyes were flaming red when they locked onto mine. I didn't miss the other emotion running through those blue eyes, I noticed it but ignored it.
"We? There is no we, alright? And what I do and don't do isn't really none of your business. When will you understand that I don't want you to be near me, talking to me, looking at me like that, you clearly don't trust me enough to be kept around so why bother following me around? Let's just stop pretending that you actually care about what I do." I said back, believing it'll hit him where I wanted, instead he became more angry.
He took a dangerous step towards me, and leveled his eyes with mine.
"Who said I was pretending?" he asked.
I was left speechless but didn't have time to dwell on what he admitted because he took another step towards me. I noticed his features changing before me, becoming soft yet confused.
"Look, Thea. If you don't want me around that's okay, but Sterling needs you with him. He needs the both of us even though he won't say it but if you leave right now and leave me alone with him, I won't know what to do. I guess I need you as well, believe it or not." He whispered the last part as if he didn't want me to hear it.
"Sterling didn't need me, he needed Alexandra" I responded back, my anger still there but lessening by every passing second. Clearly, I couldn't hold my anger towards him anymore and he was at fault.
"He needs you, you're his sister. Of course he needs you, you're the only one who he has left." He said as the ghostly grip he had on me disappeared, breaking free.
I quickly step away from him and avoid his eyes.
"He left me, made me believe he was dead- he lied to me and betrayed me, no one does that to their sister." I said as I put my arms across my chest.
"Then don't help him, help me because I need you." he took a step closer to me, giving a look I've never seen him in him before. The way he said it made me believe that he was actually serious. But that shouldn't be right.
"What if I don't want to help you either?" I asked, instead, not being able to avoid his eyes this time. He was standing so close and all I was thinking about was... him. He was all I could see, he covered everything around me and all that I saw was him.
"Trust me you do want to help me, you care about Sterling, no matter how hard you try not to. You don't want him to get hurt, I know that." I hated how he knew things about me and I knew nothing about him. I hated it so much.
"Okay, I'll help." I said quietly, after a while of silence.
He seemed surprised but nevertheless he smiled. It was a short, small one but I still felt something when I saw it. I needed to get away from him.
"Okay"
"Okay" I repeated, and when I took a step back I noticed how the night became foggy.
When my eyes returned to him he seemed in thought, his eyes solely on me, and at this moment I wanted nothing more than to know what he was thinking about. I fought the urge to just stay here, trying to figure him out.
"I'm going to go back inside" I said, softly and it looked like I snapped him out of his thoughts because he quickly nodded before moving out of the way but he didn't make a move to head towards the house.
I didn't wait for him and started to walk towards the house. Once I made it towards the living room, where Sterling was, I noticed that he was now standing up and gazing out the window.
"Are you two a thing?" He said with a serious tone which made me look at him weirdly but he didn't even turn to look at me. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, eyes still set outside.
"Of course not," I quickly said back.
"It looked like you guys had a moment out there, is everything okay?" He said as he turned to face me. His large bruises soon made me remember why I was here.
"Yes, everything is fine.." Sterling nodded but I noticed he wasn't looking at me anymore but behind me.
"We were just talking about you, how you need our help" A new voice came in. I turned around, already expecting Rory to be behind me. He was looking at Sterling but glanced at me for a second, for only a second before looking away.
"I don't need help, I just need something to take away this goddamn pain" Sterling complained as he started to walk towards the loveseat. He grabbed his stomach and sighed. I quickly made my way towards him and sat next to him.
"God, Sterling. What did you do to Bruce that made him do this to you?" I asked as I laid Sterling's head on my lap. I know what I was doing, but he was hurt and I was his sister. I had to at least do something, I hated to see him in pain.
"Nothing, you know you're uncle. He loves to abuse people, you know that better than anyone" he said as he looked down at my neck. I quickly reach towards my neck and rub it.
"I know," I said but I know that he was lying. He was good with his body language but his eyes showed me that he was lying to me.
Why are you lying to me?
"This happened before, didn't it? When you came into school the other day?" Rory was now standing in front of us with his arms across his chest, his eyes lingering on my neck.
"Yes, but it wasn't Bruce who beat me. It was one of his security guards, I don't remember his name" I take in what he said and a thought crosses through my mind.
No, it can't be.
Before I could ask him about this security guard, Rory speaks.
"Has he done anything to you?" I quickly realized that he wasn't talking to Sterling anymore, he was talking to me. I look away from Sterling and towards Rory.
His attention was on me now, waiting patiently for my response. He seemed curious to know and I hesitated to answer his question. I didn't want to lie but I also didn't want to tell him the truth.
"He has." I didn't need to say anything at all because Sterling answered for me.
"He's horrible to her, I don't know why Thea hasn't run away. He treats her like a toy, throws her to hungry men for his only selfish reasons. He also abuses her, and still she doesn't leave him." Sterling was telling him all these things like I wasn't here, staring at him.
I didn't dare to look at Rory, I was too ashamed of myself. Now that I looked at it, I did see myself as a pathetic little girl. I was afraid he was going to see me as that too.
But I still looked at him with a cold look.
When I met his eyes, that look disappeared. He wasn't looking at me with pity or like I was pathetic. And that made me bring my walls down a bit.
"Is that why you have those old bruises on your neck?" Rory pointed out as he looked at my neck, now really staring at it. I reached out towards my neck and covered it. I looked away from his intense look and slowly stood up.
"Can I see them?" I quickly looked back at him like he was crazy.
"Why?" I asked but before I knew it he was standing in front of me. He softly removed my hand and looked at the bruises.
I've seen the way his eyes searched around my neck, then I've felt his cold hands softly touch my skin. I quickly moved away from him and glared at him.
"Don't do that, don't try to act like you wouldn't do that to a person. Don't try to act like you are a good person. Haven't you done this to many girls before" by girls, I've meant Raine but I didn't want to mention her name here.
His eyebrows furrowed, a loaded question forming in those eyes of his that even Sterling wouldn't understand but I understood it perfectly fine.
Seriously, Thea?
"God dammit, Thea. I didn't have anything to do with Raine, do you really take me as an abusive guy? I would never do anything to hurt anyone, or anybody." He said back and I realized that he actually got hurt that I would think that about him.
"Never" he said and he seemed sincere and I couldn't help but believe him. He might be cold and at times a bit cruel, but to a length to hurt someone physically?