Page 75 of Devour

My stomach growls, and I realize I haven’t eaten since yesterday afternoon. I was tied to a bed for most of the evening and wasn’t thinking about food. But now I need to actually eat something. He won’t like it if I leave the room without having Kynlee with me, but I’m also not going to sit here hungry when I have no idea when he’s going to return.

I pick up my phone and scroll to Justin’s name. Axl might not like my brother, but I’m certain he’d rather me have Justin as an escort than to go alone.

Me: Are you around? I need food and Kynlee’s gone.

The dots appear right away, and then my phone vibrates.

Justin: Give me five.

I drag myself out of bed and pull on a tank top and a pair of cotton shorts. I’m brushing my teeth when there’s a knock on the suite door.

I open it, and Justin is leaning against the doorframe with his hands in his pockets. He looks like he just woke up too, wearing sweats and a tight black t-shirt. His light hair is messy. He looks over my body, and his jaw tightens.

“Fuck, is there a place on your body he hasn’t marked, Sayl?”

I glance down at myself. The bite marks along my neck and shoulders are visible, as are the rope burns on my wrists that have started to bruise. The piercings are pushing against the fabric of my shirt since I couldn’t handle wearing a bra, and I have Axl’s name tattooed on my chest.

“I don’t need you to protect me, Justin.” I grab one of Axl’s hoodies from the closet and pull it over myself. The bites and bruises on my thighs are still visible, but at least the rest will be covered. Not because I’m ashamed of them, but because going down without a bra isn’t the best idea in this house.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t care.” Justin watches me slide my feet into my flip-flops and doesn’t say anything else about the marks. He pushes off the doorframe and nods toward the hall. “Ready to get something to eat?”

“Please. I haven’t eaten since yesterday.”

“Jesus, Sayl. Does he not feed you either? He’s not giving you some shit about needing to lose weight is he? I will fucking kick his ass.”

I roll my eyes. Even as tall and built as my brother is, I would put my money on Axl. “Oh my God, no. We were just . . . we got busy and I forgot to eat.” My cheeks burn. It’s not the conversation I want to have with my brother, especially since we both know the situation.

He gives me a look that says he knows what I mean and he’s not happy about it. I flip him off as I step past him into the corridor. He falls into step beside me and nudges me with his shoulder.

“You know, for someone who’s supposedly being taken care of, you look like you went ten rounds with a brick wall.”

“You should see the other guy.”

He laughs. Justin and I have always been like this. He’s an asshole, and I’m a bitch, and we give each other shit. “I’ve seen the asshole, and there’s not a mark on him. Speaking of which, where is he?”

We continue to make our way to the kitchen.

“He’s at a meeting. I don’t know anything about it other than he might be a while.” I don’t say anything else, because I don’t know if Justin is supposed to know it’s a meeting with the Sinclairs. I don’t want to get Axl in trouble.

We sit at the island in the huge kitchen and start grabbing some of the food that’s been set out.

Justin pats his pockets. “I left my phone upstairs. Can I text Kynlee really quick from yours? I need to let her know I might have to work later so she doesn’t rush back.”

I slide mine across the counter and start looking over the food that’s been set out. He picks it up and starts typing away on it. A couple of minutes later, he sets my phone back between us and grabs a piece of bacon.

My phone buzzes.

Kynlee: I’ll just come back tomorrow. I don’t want to leave Sayl on her own too long.

I pick up the phone to reply for myself.

Me: It’s boring as fuck without you here.

Dots appear and then my phone buzzes.

Kynlee: I’m getting us more pills too. We’ll binge Jason movies next.

I notice Justin watching me, and I pocket my phone, not wanting to be rude. I’m the one that dragged him down here with me.