Page 83 of Strings

Sebastian straightens his glasses on his face right before I jump into his arms. “Hey, are you crying? What happened? The whole building is talking.”

“Can you take me home? Please get me out of here!”

He holds me for a moment before gently pushing me away from his chest. He bends to look in my eyes. When he sees I’m crying, he grips me tighter. “Did he hurt you? Did that bastard touch you?”

I nod slowly as the tears roll down my cheeks.

I can hear his sudden intake of breath. “You stay right here. I’ll be right back.”

“No, please. Don’t go!”

“I’m going to kill him. That mother fucking piece of shit! I’m going to beat the fuck out of him!”

I’ve never seen him so angry. I grab hold of his arm as he tries to go back inside. “No. Don’t, please!”

“Talia. No. This isn’t right. He isn’t allowed to… What did he do to you? Did he...?”

“No! Not that. But he wanted to. I elbowed him in the stomach and he fell to the ground. He can’t be that hurt. What a fucking pussy!”

His lip curls slightly. “You hit him?”

I nod and sniff. Sebastian cups my face in his hand and rubs away my tear with his thumb. “Did you hit him hard? Like, really hard?”

I laugh lightly. “I think I knocked the wind out of him.”

He pulls me up against his chest and kisses the side of my head. “That’s my girl.”

I put my arms up under his and on his back. I’ve never had anyone to hold me when I was scared before, and as much as I want to stay with him, I know I have to go.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Sebastian, but I have to leave.”

“What do you mean? You need to go home?”

“I need to leave town. I’m going to get in trouble.”

He shakes his head. “No. You didn’t do anything wrong. We need to call the cops.”

“No!” I shout.

“Talia, he can’t get away with this. He’s telling everyone he passed out. People need to know what a sick pig he is. He needs to pay.”

“He said he passed out? That’s it?” I ask.

“From what I heard, he said you were extremely calm and helped him relax when the elevator stopped. He said he felt lightheaded and passed out, but never got to thank you because you were so upset after that you took off. He told everyone you were too modest to accept any credit for helping him.”

I roll my eyes and wipe away my tears. Once a liar, always a liar. I should have known. He’s not going to give me up because he’d give himself up in the process. Then everyone would know he is as sick as me.

Sebastian takes my hand. “I will stay with you every second. Don’t worry. I’ll tell the cops everything I know about him, and believe me when I say I’ve been holding back.”

“No, we can’t. I can’t. You don’t understand and I… I can’t explain. Can you please trust me on this? I know what I’m doing.”

Something catches his eye behind me and he does a double-take. “Is that your phone?”

Realizing how crazy this must seem to him, I feel I need to lie again. “I was pissed. I smashed it.”

He shakes his head. “I don’t understand any of this.”

“I know and I’m sorry.” I grip his arm with both my hands. “I tell you all the time that you brought me into your drama, but I’m afraid the truth is, I’ve pulled you into mine.”