I’m just about to doze off when a loud banging on my door has me jumping up from my bed, letting the book fall to the floor next to me. “What?” I ask breathlessly, grabbing my chest as if my heart is about to burst through.

“Get ready. We’re going to a party, and you’re coming,” Nix tells me through the door.

What? Did he just say party? He’s just messing with me again. One of his cruel jokes.

“Um, I’m okay. I’m in bed already.”

“Get dressed, or you’re going naked. We’re leaving in five minutes.”

I look at the alarm clock on my nightstand. It’s already nine thirty, which I realize is probably not that late for a normal teenager.

“I’m not going anywhere with you!” My words are barely out when the door flies open, and the two brothers waltz into my room.

My pulse doubles in speed.

“Get out!” I yell, wishing I had wedged my chair under the door.

Both guys ignore me completely. Nix goes to my closet while Colt heads straight for me.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Instead of answering me, he reaches for the hem of my nightshirt and pulls it up in one swift move. I’m so caught off guard that I don’t have time to fight him, not that I would have a chance anyway.

He pulls the shirt off my body and throws it carelessly behind him. I’m left standing in nothing but my shorts. I lift my arms and wrap them around my boobs as fast as I can but not before Colt gets a good look. The corner of his mouth lifts up into a mischievous grin.

“Don’t flatter yourself. It’s not like there’s much to cover up.”

Not wanting him to see how hurt I am by his comment, I turn away from him, looking for something to cover up with. It’s only when I hear the soft gasp behind me that I realize my mistake.

I just exposed the ugliest part of me. My boobs might be small, but at least they’re normal-looking, unlike my back. Multiple surgeries on my spine have left me with a large, ragged scar running down the center of my back. I didn’t know it then, but the moment I fell, a lumbar vertebrae fracture ended my career. No one has ever seen it besides the doctors and my mom. And I wasn’t planning on ever showing anybody. I always make sure my clothes cover my back completely, so no one catches sight of this monstrosity. Now a guy who picks on all my flaws, no matter how tiny, has seen the biggest one of all.

“Here, put this on.” Nix’s voice booms through the space moments before some balled-up fabric hits me in my shoulder.