Page 87 of The Revenge Game

“One day, I came home from school, and Bobby Ray was waiting. He’d found the box where I kept them under my bed.” My voice catches. “He said collecting pretty things was for girls.”

The crack of that first snow globe hitting the wall echoes across the years. “He made me watch while he smashed each one. Said he was doing me a favor.”

“You were just a kid,” Drew says, his voice tight with anger.

“Yeah.” I let out a shaky breath. “Mom tried to stand up to him, but by then… He had this way of wearing people down. Making them doubt themselves. Everything she did was wrong. She was too permissive, too emotional, too…everything.”

The familiar mixture of love and resentment rises in my throat. “Part of me is still so angry at her. I’m angry that she failed me when I needed protection.” The words feel like a betrayal, but they keep coming. “And I know she was also a victim in the whole thing, but she was the adult. She’s the one who chose to let him into our lives, not me.”

Drew shifts beneath me, his arms tightening around my waist. The gesture gives me the courage to continue.

“When I realized I was attracted to guys…” My voice drops to barely a whisper. “I’d lie awake at night terrified he’d somehow know just by looking at me. That he’d see something in the way I walked or talked or…” I have to swallow hard.

Drew’s fingers thread through mine, squeezing gently.

“I threw myself into dating cheerleaders. Being the perfect straight football player. I got so good at pretending that sometimes I forgot who I really was underneath.” My voice cracks. “Bobby Ray’s voice is still in my head sometimes, telling me what real men do and don’t do.”

Drew brings our joined hands to his lips, kissing my knuckles.

“He never got too physical. I mean, he belted and shoved me a few times, but it didn’t seem worse than what my friends got from their dads. It was more the emotional crap. Even now, part of me is waiting for him to appear and start listing all the ways I’m failing at being a man.” I let out a hollow laugh. “How pathetic is that?”

“It’s not pathetic,” Drew says fiercely.

I meet his deep-brown eyes. “It’s pathetic that I spent so long hiding who I really am,” I say.

“It’s survival. You did what you had to do to protect yourself.”

His words unlock something in my chest. I bury my face in his neck, breathing in his scent as years of carefully maintained control start to crack. Drew just holds me, one hand steady on my back while the other cradles my head, letting me shake apart in his arms.

For the first time since I was twelve years old, watching my tiny perfect worlds shatter, I feel like I’m safe to break.

Because someone’s finally here to help put me back together.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Andrew

“I think you and I need a little chat, Drew,” Adam says as I walk into the office.

My stomach rolls, but one glance at the superior look stamped on his face, and I know Adam hasn’t worked out my real identity yet.

“What about?” I ask politely.

“I just had a quick look at the quarterly system optimization report, and while it’s innovative, I think you’ve violated the fundamental principle of NovaCore’s design to prioritize reducing redundancies over speed.” His tone is one I imagine you’d use if you were trying to teach advanced calculus to a houseplant.

I fight to keep my expression neutral.

“Actually, I think the NovaCore system is designed so that speed and redundancy work in harmony, not opposition,” I say.

“Maybe you should just trust Drew on this one,” Xander chortles from his workstation.

Adam puffs up in indignation. “I fancy I’m slightly more qualified about NovaCore’s system than Drew is.”

Yep. He definitely hasn’t worked out my real identity.

Xander looks like he might explode into a confetti of suppressed comments. I give him a warning glance.

“You’re right. You’re more qualified. I’ll make sure I keep that in mind in the future,” I say quickly to Adam.