The Forever Broken (Broken #3) (5 page)

I showered three times but still feel disgusting. I know
I’m going to have to go to the clinic and get tested for STD’s, and knowing my luck
that will be spread around. Hearing the rumors about me taught me so much about
myself. Rumors are carried around by the bitter, shared by the careless and
listened to by the weak
.

Then why did they bother you so much?

I can’t sleep and I’m too repulsed by myself to look on
social media just in case the gossip has already started. I’m sitting in the
corner of my room on the floor as small as I can make myself. I never want to
leave this room, this space. I want to die so I don’t have to face Blaydon or
myself again.

His face this morning when he saw me coming home in that
state, wearing some guy’s clothes, was like being struck physically in the
chest. The pain in his glance was tangible.
Did he love me?

A knock at my door turns my stomach. I don’t answer,
hoping whoever it is leaves me alone but the door opens and Quinn stands there
shaking his head at me.

He’s holding his phone out towards me. “Do I want to see
this?” he asks, confusing me.

“What is it?” I croak out, my throat raw from the sobs in
the shower.

“I don’t know, Sophia, that’s why I’m asking you. I’ve
been sent it about seventeen times by people. One person called you a whore and
said you’re at it again.”

My insides revolt and I rush to empty my stomach into the
toilet.

“You’re a fucking mess.” Quinn observes at the bathroom
door.

“Thanks, like I need your approval, Quinn!” I snap.

“Why are you acting like this? If our parents find out
about this, or Dad sees it, he will… Fuck, Sophia, I don’t even know what he’ll
do.” Quinn shakes his head, disgusted with me. Little did he know no one could
hate me more than I hated myself.

I know he means our dad Derek; he is the overprotective
one, but the truth is, if any of them find out I won’t be able to face any of
them. I want to cave in on myself until I’m nothing but a breeze in the air.

Instead of admitting that he is right I do what I always
do and go on the defensive. “Oh, it’s okay for men to be whoring it about but
not a girl? You’re no saint Quinn.” I flush the chain and rinse my mouth with
mouthwash.

“I don’t put myself about,” he bites, scrunching up his
face, repulsed.

“What about DJ and Blay? They are both whores,” I snap.

“Blay isn’t like that anymore,” he defends and I let out
a manic laugh.

“Are you serious? You know I always wanted to be like you
but the more I really look at you the more I realise how naïve you are.” The
venom in my voice isn’t me and I hate that my mouth keeps spewing this poison
at him.

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“It means Blaydon is fucking both of us, Quinn, and has been
for a long time.”

 He blanches and shakes his head in disbelief. I already
feel a thousand times worse than I already did. Why did I have to hurt him?

So you aren’t the only one lost and suffering.

“You’re lying!” he yells.

“What the hell did you just say?”

I look past Quinn to see DJ standing there, his face is
unreadable but his hands ball into fists.

“Nothing. Why do you all just come in my room without
asking?” I growl.

“Sophia, what the hell did you just say about Blaydon?” he
barks at me.

“It’s none of your business. Get the hell out of my
room.”

“Quinn?” he stresses but Quinn pushes past him and storms
from the room.

I walk to the bathroom door and slam it, quickly locking
it. I flinch when DJ’s hand hits the panel.

What had I done?

I want to die.

Everyone would be better off if you did.

Bile coats my throat as I watch the screen. Sophia is
passed out on a bed and three guys can be heard but not seen on the camera. “Fucking
get her naked,” one of them orders. They all laugh, distorting the sound. The
camera lowers and movement is heard. When the camera pans back to Sophia she’s
completely naked on the bed. “I’m going first, keep my face out of the shot.”

My fists clench and rage burns through my body as he
takes hers. I want to reach into the screen and pull him off her. Yet I can’t
do anything but watch them violate her.

Mya sobs behind me and even though I don’t want to see
anymore I’m frozen in front of the screen as another guy takes his turn on an
unconscious Sophia. I can’t ever un-see this, un-know they invaded her like
that, and a part of me dies inside. I feel helpless and fucking useless.

“She’s being fucking raped and people are sharing this
shit.” Mya sobs. “I need to get Mom and Dad.”

I need to find these sick fucks and remove their disgusting
dicks with a rusty penknife.

Tears build and fall from my eyes as I watch them be
rough with her unresponsive form.

The third guy jokes about not wanting their sloppy
seconds and forces her body onto her front before he rapes her backside. I’m
crying and can’t control the emotions spiralling inside me as I watch them
defile her, knowing it’s already happened and I can’t stop it, I can’t help
her.

“Quinn! Wait, what are you doing?” I hear Mya shout.

Before I turn around I feel a fist connect with the side
of my face. There’s ringing in my ears and pain throbbing on the right side of
my jaw. What the hell?

“You son of a bitch, how could you fucking do that to
us?” Quinn bellows at me. His punch knocked me off my chair and he kicks it
across the room. “Are you fucking crying?” he mocks.

“I don’t understand what’s going on.” Mya cries.

I’m about to speak when his eyes drop to the screen.
“What is that?” he asks, pointing to the screen. His legs give out and he drops
to his knees as he takes in the scene playing out on the screen. “That’s not
Sophia… that’s not Sophia,” he repeats over and over.

“What the hell is going on in here?”

“Dad, oh God, it’s Sophia,” Mya wails.

“What is? Someone better tell me what’s happening. Right
the hell now!”

“That’s not last night.” Quinn chokes out.

“What?”

He points to the screen frantically. “Her hair is
different, she had it dyed ages ago. This has to be old. Oh God, Sophia. I know
where this is.” His body jerks and then he’s spewing into the bin by my desk
before jumping to his feet and barrelling out of the room, not slowing down
despite all of us calling after him.

Dad comes closer and looks at the screen. “Who sent you
that?” he barks.

“Everyone. It’s fucking everywhere. They’re raping her,
Dad.” I gag.

“Turn it off, Blaydon. Turn it off now!” he shouts. “I
need to go over there. Give me that laptop.” He doesn’t wait for me to comply,
he is already closing and unplugging it before marching from the room.

“I need to be there for Sophia.” Mya whimpers and before
I can breathe another breath I’m alone, sat on my bedroom floor with my entire
life rocked to the core.

I hadn’t noticed her hair or looked close enough at her
figure, it felt intrusive and wrong to focus on any of that with what was
happening to her, but her hair hadn’t been that way for nearly two years and
her body was more developed than what was shown on the screen. This happened
ages ago and she’d been living with it. Did she know who they were? I needed to
know.

Quinn hitting me flashes in my mind and the room spins.
They know about each other. She will never forgive me. How can I be so careless
with her and not see how affected she must be from what she’s suffered?

I can’t wait here; I need to go to her.

***

Beeping my horn at the built-up traffic my hands itch to
get to her. What the hell was this traffic at this time of day? It would have
been quicker to walk.

I hang my head out the window but only see the queue of
cars. Pulling out of the traffic I find a road to park on, leap from the car
and sprint towards Sophia’s house.

The front door is open when I get there and inside I find
Dad telling Uncle Jasper to call Derek. “He’s just left for work. Sam, just
tell me what the fuck’s going on, you’re scaring the shit out of me,” Jasper
tells him.

Dad’s hand comes down on his shoulder and he looks right
into his eyes. “Jasp, you need Derek here for what I need to tell you. Trust me,
please.”

“River?” Aunt Kyra whispers, looking over at Mom who’s
swiping tears from her eyes.

“Call him, Ky,” Mom assures her.

Aunt Kyra’s fingers dance over the phone and after a
silent pause she speaks into the phone. “Derek, Baby, we need you to come home.
Sammy and Riv are here and they need to talk to us all … No, something’s happened…
Please come home.”

I want to bolt past them and up the stairs but the
delicate nature of the situation keeps me standing there mute. 

I can hear raised voices downstairs but I’m too terrified
to leave the bathroom. My butt has gone numb from sitting on the cold tiles.

 I know DJ will be going crazy at the shit he overheard
and he will tell our parents. I couldn’t handle this right now, I needed space
to just breath.

I look down at my cell as it alerts me to another text. I
had a ton of missed calls and texts but I didn’t want to know what Quinn was
talking about so I refused to open any texts. If I don’t know it can’t hurt me,
right?

I debate ignoring the text from Mary, an old school
friend, but instead I open her message and look down at the screen with squinting
eyes.

Mary:

Hey girl, how crazy was last night?

I have your dress. Mom took it to the dry cleaners for
you after you kept mumbling Mya was going to kill you for ruining it, LOL.

Sorry I wasn’t there to explain this morning but I had
an appointment.

You got too wasted last night and spewed all over
yourself.

I stripped you (Sorry panties too!) Don’t say I’m not
the best friend you have bitch! Ha-ha.

Anyway, I locked you in my brother’s room. He’s away
at college so I knew you’d be ok in there.

Let’s not wait so long before we party together again,
I miss you.

xoxox

Oh my God. Relief washes through me and a thankful cry
bursts out of me, quickly turning into a hysterical laugh. I’m losing it but I
don’t care, I needed this text so badly.

Throwing open the door I check the room for DJ but he’s
gone.

I meekly come down the stairs and see everyone standing
in the foyer. What’s going on?

Blaydon rushes up the remaining steps to me and embraces
me, squeezing me so tight I hear my bones protest. He says my name over and
over.

All eyes are on me. Mya and Aunt River burst into tears
and rush towards me, pulling me into them so we’re one big group-hug halfway
down the stairs.

“I got here as quick as I could. I had to come another
way, there’s been an accident…” My dad Derek’s voice fades when he sees the
scene in the foyer. “What’s happened?”

My blood turns cold. What is happening? The atmosphere is
thick with sorrow; it coats me in its icy chill. Goosebumps rise on my arms and
my heart begins to thud heavily in my chest.

“Come and sit down everyone,” Uncle Sammy tells us all.

It’s a weird, surreal moment. No one speaks, they just
all follow his lead.

“Mya, maybe you should take Sophia upstairs.” Aunt River
speaks up.

“No,” I snap.

Blaydon’s hand clasps onto mine.
Does he know everyone
can see?

“This is going to be the hardest thing you ever hear,” Uncle
Sammy tells my parents. His sad eyes cling to mine and it makes me uneasy.

Do they know I contemplate killing myself?

“Blaydon and Mya got a viral email this morning. It’s a
video of a rape,” Sammy tells them.

My legs almost buckle as the room fades in and out of
focus.

I feel her weight shift and lean into me as her hand
tightens in mine.

Aunt Kyra gasps but Uncle Jasper’s eyes shoot straight to
Sophia. He stands, shaking his head. “No. No way. Don’t fucking say it, Sam.
Please don’t say it,” he begs as tears form and fall from his eyes, causing the
same reaction in mine. He comes over to us and clings on to Sophia’s arms.
“Baby? Baby, tell me this didn’t happen to you?”

Aunt Kyra breaks down, shouting ‘No.’ Uncle Derek
snatches the laptop from Dad and opens it.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Sophia begins to chant,
trembling from head to toe.

I want to wrap myself around her as a shield but Uncle Jasper
snatches her up. He holds her head to his chest. “Don’t you say that, don’t
ever be sorry for this.”

Mom comforts Aunt Ky who is being sick onto the floor.

A crashing sound explodes into the air causing everyone
to startle. My laptop smashes to the floor in pieces.

Uncle Derek pulls Sophia from Jasper’s grasp. “Baby, I
need you to tell me what happened, okay?” She’s shaking her head. “When, baby,
where? Let me help you,” he continues.

She pulls from his hold. “It was forever ago, Dad. I’m a
whore. I let them!” she screams.

God, does she really believe that?

“My God. Baby, no…No, you’re not. You were raped.”

“I shouldn’t have got so drunk and dressed like a slut. They
said I let them do it.”

“Who are they, Sophia? Who were these boys?”

Uncle Derek’s cell starts ringing into the room but he
switches it off. Two seconds later Uncle Jasper’s goes off and then the house
phone rings and rings before switching to the answer machine.

“Why is no one picking up their phone?” DJ screams over
the voicemail. “I need you. Quinn’s been in an accident.”

Uncle Derek rushes over and picks the phone up. “DJ,
we’re here.”

Silence.

“We’re coming. We’re coming right now. Stay with him.” He
ends the call and rushes over to lift Aunt Kyra from the floor. “We need to go
to the hospital. That accident on the road was Quinn,” he chokes.

The room closes in. What? Was that why I was stuck in
traffic? I was fucking bitching about not being able to get here and Quinn was the
reason.