Page 135 of The Twisted Beats

I close my eyes and bear down on my teeth. I’m sick and empty inside. My uncle is gonna pay for this.

Ma gasps. “Livianna, we need to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine.” She puts her clothes back in place. “I need to go home.”

“No, you don’t.” Bren stands in my doorway. “What’s going on?”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

LIVIANNA/LILY

Then

The Cliff You Pretend Isn’t There

The edge doesn’t announce itself…it waits for your weight to find it.

Callum stares at Bren. “Guns. What are you doing here?”

“My parents called the hotel to check on you two. They said you had already checked out.” Bren advances into the room. “It’s been a few hours, so they sent me to track Livianna down. I knew I’d find her here.”

He hands me my phone. I take it and get to my feet, trying to breathe steadily to calm myself down. “Thanks. We should get going.”

“No, we can stay. They decided to go to Santa Barbara for a few days.” He sits on Callum’s bed. “Hi, Ms. Mayze. Sorry to barge in unannounced, but the door was open and I could hear you talking.”

“Hi, Brendan.” She gets up off the floor while her eyes slide from Callum to me. “That’s not a problem.”

Callum stands. “Guns, we’re kinda in the middle of something. Do youmind?—”

“I’m not leaving.” He points to something on the floor.

I follow and notice the box for the pregnancy test. My cheeks burn and my stomach twists.

Ms. Mayze bends over and picks it up. She slides the plastic stick she’s been holding back into the box.

Callum rakes his teeth over his bottom lip. “Guns, this is a family issue?—”

“And I’m family.” He gets up and motions to Ms. Mayze’s hands with the flick of his fingers in a give it to me gesture. “Wanna share, or do I need to take it from you and see for myself?”

She gazes between all of us and sighs. “Livianna’s pregnant.”

“Shit, bro.” Bren’s head falls forward as it shakes. “You can’t keep from fucking up, can you?”

“Brendan Hemings!” Ms. Mayze marches over to my brother and stands before him. “Do not speak to my son like that.”

Bren raises his head. “Sorry. It’s just… I’ve read the stories and he left her on New Year’s Eve. Some douchebag almost raped her because he left her alone.”

She covers her mouth with her palm and spins toward Callum and me. I go numb and wish I could fade away.

Callum glares across the room at Bren. “You don’t need to tell my ma everything.”

“She’s part of this now, so she should know.” Bren places his hands on his hips and glares at me. “Liv, Mom and Dad are gonna kill you.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of them.” Ms. Mayze motions for us to follow her as she strides out of the room. “I’ll make us all something to eat and we can discuss how to tell them.”

We leave Callum’s bedroom and get seated around the dining room table. Ms. Mayze cooks in the galley kitchen and listens to us speak.

I have a permanent stack of bricks on my heart. The lastfew days have me spinning in emotions. I don’t know how I feel.