Page 45 of Hacking His Code

“With all the porn out there, I honestly don’t care if my pictures are splashed all over the internet. The betrayal is what got to me. I was so depressed when I found out. Humiliated. Ashamed.”

“You should be none of those things.” I insist, staring intensely into her eyes. “And I promise you, as soon as you’re done with college, whatever happened in your life before will be inconsequential. You’ll start a job, make friends, and never look back at this time again.”

She chuckles dryly. “You just don’t get it. I hate men. All of them. I’m destined to be alone.”

“Because of one little asshole that showed your picture around?”

“It’s not just that though. When my mother got sick, my father got the hell out of there as fast as he could. All I did was blink, and he was gone.”

“That’s pretty fucking terrible,” I say. “And I promise you, not every man is like that.”

She rolls her eyes with a sneer.

“You know, we’re a lot more alike than you think.”

“Yeah, our lives up until now have been so similar,” she says sardonically.

“We both don’t trust people, and it hinders our ability to form relationships.”

She quirks a brow. “You have problems forming relationships?”

“My whole life, I’ve been taught not to trust people, thanks to Aunt Lucy. You’re the first woman I’ve ever introduced myself to by my real name that wasn’t working for my family or introduced to me by my father.”

“Oh…”

“I don’t have any real friends.”

She looks down guiltily. “Sorry if I seemed insensitive.”

“I don’t want you to be sorry. I want you to know that there are men out there that you can trust. Men like my father and I, who would never hurt a woman. You can date and live your life just like everyone else out there.”

“Except that my major trust issues will never allow me to grow close to a man,” she says morosely. “I’m doomed to be a cat-less spinster.”

“You know, I can help with that.”

“What, are you going to buy me a cat?”

It’s hard to bite my tongue, but some things you can’t rush. Nothing I say is going to make her suddenly trust men, but maybe by listening to her, she can see that, at the very least, we aren’t all assholes.

I hop on the edge of the bed, close enough to listen but far enough away that I’m not invading her space.

“Tell me what’s on your mind,” I implore. “It can be anything.”

She exhales heavily, shaking her head in frustration. “The worst part is feeling so alone. I have online acquaintances, but none of them know me. The real me.”

“What about girl friends?”

“I changed schools at fifteen, and it was an awkward time for getting to know people. I was friendly with a couple other women in the dorms, but when I moved out, everything fizzled.”

“You know, it’s not always going to be like this, don’t you? You’ll eventually have a career and you’ll meet coworkers.”

She snickers. “Except that a lot of the jobs I’d be looking at are remote. In my field of study, it’s growing more and more common.”

“For what it’s worth, I think people would be lucky to know you.”

“I want to tell you something, but I don’t want you to make fun of me.”

“I won’t.”