Page 39 of Stay (Stay #1)

“A few weeks before winter break, my dad called me.” A thin shiver works its way down my spine as I recall that horrible phone call.

“My coach had spoken to my parents and filled them in on everything. Everything. That I’d been kicked off the team, was failing my classes, along with all the rumors surrounding the partying.

She put it all out there without ever saying a word to me.

” A bitter laugh escapes from me as I recall the conversation.

He’s screamed for fifteen minutes as I silently sobbed on the phone.

“My dad told me that they were picking me up the following weekend since there wasn’t any point to finishing out the semester.

In a way, it was a relief that everything was finally out in the open.

I didn’t have to pretend anymore. Mentally and emotionally, I shut down.

I stopped going to classes altogether and partied instead.

It was so much easier to numb the pain. I stayed with a few friends who lived off campus.

Just some random guys I’d met through Amy.

On the night before my parents picked me up, they threw a huge party.

I was drunk out of my mind and went upstairs with some guy.

We were fooling around,” unable to hold his gaze, I glance away before forcing out the rest, “and the next thing I remember is that my clothes were off.”

I shake my head as images from that night flash through my head like a slow-motion picture show.

“He was stretched out on top of me when the bedroom door opened, and two guys walked in.” I blink as the memories crash over me.

“I think they were all friends, but I don’t know.

I remember them staring down at me with smiles on their faces.

” I suck in a shuddering breath, wishing I could skip the rest. “I didn’t mind screwing around with the guy I was with, but I couldn’t understand what the other two were doing there. ”

It's the feel of Cole’s fingers biting into my shoulder that has me snapping out of the daze.

“At that point, I just wanted to get dressed and go. The way they were watching us was weird. I remember telling them to leave, but they wouldn’t.

And the guy on top of me didn’t seem to care.

I tried to push him off me so I could get out of there, but he wouldn’t budge.

And then the other two guys grabbed my arms to hold me down.

I remember yelling, trying to break loose, but I wasn’t strong enough.

One of them covered my mouth with his hand.

I bit him and kept screaming for help, but I knew no one would hear me.

The party was so loud. Music was blasting, people were laughing and dancing downstairs. ”

I’d give anything to wipe that night from my memory .

“I knew they were going to rape me, and that there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it,” I whisper.

It took over three months of therapy to stop waking in the middle of the night drenched in a cold sweat, and more than half a year for me to stop flinching when someone laid a hand on me. One touch was all it took for me to be transported back to that bedroom.

My belly roils as I tell him the rest of the story.

“The door must have been left open and someone saw what was going on inside. He came in and…” I shake my head because what happened after that is still fuzzy around the edges.

“I remember him punching the two guys who were holding me down, and then the guy on top of me was ripped away. Before I could understand what was happening, I was being bundled up in a shirt and carried down the steps. He got me out of the house and took me back to the dorms.” It takes effort to summon the courage to meet his gaze. “The guy who rescued me was Luke.”

Cole’s eyes widen as he releases an unsteady breath.

“He stayed with me until I fell asleep. When I woke up the next morning, he was gone. Thankfully, my parents picked me up a couple hours later. I don’t think I could have stayed on campus for another day.

Not with what happened. My dad was so angry, he refused to speak with me.

” I hunch my shoulders as memories of the uncomfortable drive home flood through me.

“I’d never been close with my mom, but I thought, maybe, if I told her what had happened, she’d understand all the pressure I’d been under and could help mend everything with my father.

The first thing she did was take me to the doctor so I could get tested for pregnancy and STD’s.

” My face heats as another wave of mortification crashes over me.

When I continue, my voice is smaller, thinner, and I just want it over with.

I can’t talk about this anymore. “All the tests turned out to be negative. Honestly, I don’t have much to be thankful for, but I am about that.

After the dust settled, my parents shipped me off to my grandparents’ house.

They were worried about what kind of influence I’d be on my younger sisters.

” It’s a bitter memory that still has the power to inflict damage .

When Cole drags another breath into his lungs, something inside me grows colder. His gaze searches mine for a long moment before he pulls me to him and wraps his arms around me. He presses me so close that I have to fight for breath. That’s all it takes for me to burst into tears.

“Don’t cry, baby.” His voice is nothing more than a rough scrape of emotion before he presses a kiss against my hair. “Please don’t cry.”

I’m too far gone to rein it back in. All the anxiety and sadness pours out of me in noisy sobs.

His fingers settle under my chin before lifting it until our gazes lock.

“I told you that whatever you had to say wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference, and it doesn’t.

I don’t care about the mistakes you made last year.

They don’t define you.” He presses a kiss against my lips.

“I’m just sorry you felt so alone and had no one to turn to.

” Concern flashes in his eyes. “I hate that you were placed in such a dangerous situation.” He tugs me back into the warm circle of his arms. “Thank God Luke found you when he did.”

“I know.” My lips tug down at the corners as I stare beyond the window and into the darkness that surrounds us. Instead of mentioning that Luke showed up at practice tonight or tracked me down on the way to class this afternoon and brushed his lips across my cheek, I remain silent.

Am I being paranoid where Luke is concerned?

I’m not sure.

At some point, I’ll have to sit down with Luke. Even though he swooped in and saved me, the night that binds us together is difficult to rehash. His presence is a constant reminder of what happened.

Of what almost happened.

I can’t imagine what Luke sees when he looks at me. All I know is that every time I catch sight of him, hot waves of humiliation crash over me, threatening to drag me under. He’s tied to the worst night of my life. And seeing him, being around him, reminds me of it.