Love's Delusion || ✓

Chapter Nine

9

"What the fuck happened Veronica?" Gage swore, his swearing momentarily reminding me of Aaron as I scooted away from his brother.

"It's okay--"

"The fuck it's okay! What happened to you, who did this to you?" His voice was still as harsh as ever, I could feel him getting more and more impatient by the second. Was he like his brother?

Aaron promised he wouldn't hurt me again, but what about his older brother who was seemingly stronger and right now-- very, very angry.

"Gage, ple--"

"Veronica," He was no longer yelling and I could tell by the way he was opening and closing his eyes, as well as his sudden focus on his breathing, he was trying to calm down. "Who did this to you?" He looked back at me, he was still angry however a part of that anger died within his eyes and was replaced with something else, something I haven't seen before.

"I don't know," I muttered, my voice quiet as the emotions that were swirling within my head took over my body, something in my throat was refraining me from speaking any louder.

I was partly lying, part telling the truth. I was lying because I knew who did it, Aaron did, the first and only man I have ever loved did it. However, I was also telling the truth. 

The man that did this, I didn't know that man, I didn't know the man that Aaron had become when he got angry. I have never seen that man ever in my life and I pray to never see that man again.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Gage's voice vibrated through the room, from the corner of my eyes I could see Gage's hands forming a fist and shaking with how violently he was tightening them.

Why was he so affected? He doesn't even know me.

Gage's eyes were piercing into my soul, I knew just by looking at him that he didn't intend on letting this go anytime soon. The fact that someone I barely knew was showing such intensity when it came to my well-being made something swell inside of me.

"Why do you care so much?"

"We are family Veronica," I was almost choked up, my eyebrows raising at his words. "You're the love of my brother's life. Whether you like it or not I'm going to care." All emotions, unknown and known, within me were drained. 

He didn't care about my well-being. He cared about the woman that was filling up space in his brother's heart. He cared for the sake of his brother.

If only he knew it was his brother that did this in the first place.

"I was mugged," I spoke up, the lie feeling natural to my tongue. Gage wouldn't let me ignore the question, and I didn't want to tell him that his brother had physically assaulted the love of his life because he believed that she was having an affair with his brother.

Saying that I was mugged was one of the easier lies I could think, it was the only lie I could think of. It was the only lie that would explain the bruises on my body. 

Gage looked at me, shock evident on his face as he paused for me to continue and explain.

"On my way home yesterday, Aaron dropped me off because my car wasn't working so I decided to walk home from the studio. A bunch of guys popped up and tried stealing my bag, they--" I paused, looking from my fiddling hands on my lap to Gage, his gaze not breaking once as he listened. Something within me didn't agree with me lying to Gage, but there was nothing else to do. 

I couldn't tell the truth, could I?

"They started attacking me when I was fighting back. There were too many of them." As I spoke, my mind flashed to Aaron's angry face as his foot was sent to my stomach, just the thought caused subconscious pain to arose but I ignored it.