Page 65 of Ruined

“They know,” I said, trying to stay even-tempered.

“I don’t think they do, actually. But I can help them understand. And with your loved ones at the school,” he dusted a speck of lint off of his pants, “I’d hate for something to happen to them too.”

My stomach dropped. I crossed my arms. What the hell was he saying? Loved ones? It was so vague.

“You don’t know anything,” I snapped.

“Oh, Hales, I think I do.” The sneer on his face made me cringe. “I know more than you think. But I can protect you,andyour loved ones. All you have to do is give me your virginity.”

He presented it like a simple decision. As if it were as easy as ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ But I wouldn’t sleep with Aldrich, not unless Nora’s life depended on it. And I still believed that she was safe. He never used the word ‘sister.’

“You are full of shit,” I said.

“I’m not,” he laughed. He removed his jacket and began unbuttoning his shirt. “Now, get undressed, and I’ll stretch out that nice little pussy of yours. I’ll go easy on you,” he winked, “at first.”

He was out of his damn mind.

“I’m not going to sleep with you, Aldrich,” I said.

“Get on the fucking table, Haley.”

“I’m not a virgin anymore.”

He stilled. His shirt was halfway undone, his stomach pressing against the last buttons.

“What did you say?”

“I am not a virgin anymore,” I said, enunciating my words. I narrowed my eyes. “What part of that is confusing for you?”

“Who took it?” he hissed. He came towards me and I stepped back. “Who?”

“No one.”

“A ghost didn’t fuck you, Haley. A man did. Was it Lucas?”

He was too close to me. The room was suffocating. I needed to get out of there.Now.

“That fucking—” he slammed his fists into the wall and I ran to the door. “Damn it, Haley! You damn—”

I waved down the security guard and pointed to the massage room. “He needs some help relaxing,” I said quickly. I rushed down the hallway and out to the main floor, breathing a sigh of relief as soon as I saw Lucas sitting at one of the tables in front of the stage. He straightened when he saw me.

I whispered to him, “Take me to the Terrariums.”

“You just came out of there,” he said.

“I know. But I don’t want to be out here when Aldrich gets out.”

He took my hand and led me back to the aerial dance room. My hands were still shaking. A waitress brought us waters and I gulped mine back in its entirety.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Nothing,” I said. Itwasn’tnothing, but I didn’t want to get into that right now. How Aldrich was driven to rage by the simple fact that he hadn’t taken my virginity. I’m sure he thought he deserved it, patiently waiting all of these years, all of that money he spent on me. And I’ll admit that I almost thought he owned that experience too. But now, I knew better. I controlled my body.

But it was frightening, seeing that look in his eyes. Worse than I had ever seen before. He would’ve hurt me.

“I’ll tell you about it later,” I said. “When I’m ready.”

Lucas nodded. I rubbed my hands together, then exhaled in a long breath, trying to steady myself. When I focused my vision, I realized I was standing by the pole, not by the swing frame.