by V. T. Do
“Please,” I whispered. And it was such a cowardly thing to say. I should fight. Why wasn’t I fighting back?
He brought me forward and took my lips in a bruising kiss, and when I refused to open my mouth, he pulled my hair until I cried out in pain. Lorenzo didn’t waste any time. He shoved his tongue in my mouth and I resisted the urge to throw up right then and there.
I moved my head to the side, but he had me locked in, and no matter where I went, he was right there, forcing his kisses on me, all the while his hands were roaming my body. I shuddered in shock.
When he pulled away, his green eyes were dark from arousal. “Are you a virgin?” His leer already told me he knew the answer to this question. I was going to be sick. “Am I going to be the first one in? Were you saving yourself for Mason fucking Kade?”
My eyes widened in surprised, and he let out a laugh. I flinched. He already knew. That was why he was doing this. I struggled against him then. I didn’t want to become another number in a teen sexual-violence statistic.
“No.” I said, finding my voice. The word came out surprisingly strong. “No, we’re not doing this. And you’re going to leave the house and leave me the fuck alone.”
He laughed in my face. Lorenzo was seriously deranged. Knowing I wasn’t doing myself any favors by being so close to him, I head-butted him hard, until I heard a distinctive crush from where my forehead connected with his nose.
Lorenzo let out a blood-curdling scream, and I took that as my chance to get the hell out of there. I clumsily climbed off his lap and ran to the front door. I was going to run out barefoot and screaming bloody murder until one of the neighbors hears me. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins should be home.
I knew I shouldn’t have locked the door in the first place, and I wished I had followed my instincts, because even though unlocking the door didn’t take any time, it was enough time for Lorenzo to catch up to me. He pulled on the back of my shirt and I fell down backward, my head hitting the hardwood floor. Pain burst out, and I let out a small groan.
When I opened my eyes again, Lorenzo was looming over me, blood gushing out of his nose, and he was mad. I whimpered and tried to back away. He grabbed my legs and pinned me to the floor.
I tried to kick him away, but my limbs were so fucking useless under the force of his body weight, they didn’t do any damage. I was helpless against him.
“Stop! Get off of me!”
“Oh, no, little bitch. We got this far; we might as well see this thing through. After all, I already bled for you. It’s time for you to do the same when I break your hymen.” He leaned in close, his beer breath hitting my nose. “Make no mistake. I will break you.”
“Max will kill you,” I threatened. “And I’ll call the cops after…” After all was said and done. After he broke me. A sob made it way up my throat and I closed my eyes.
Lorenzo laughed in my face. “I’ll say you seduced me. Which you did. Do you have any idea how hard I get just looking at you, and yet I couldn’t do anything about it? Don’t worry, Olive. I’ll prepare you enough to take me in. I’m not that much of a monster.”
He grabbed my wrists with one hand and pinned them above my head. I flexed my hands, trying to escape, but he only tightened his hold.
“Stop. Please, just stop,” I begged, when he used his other hand to push my shirt up until my bra was exposed.
I struggled in his hold when he unclasped the front buckle of my bra, bearing me for the first time to his gaze. He pinched my nipple, and I had to look away from what he was doing, tears streaming down the side of my face.
“Hmm, you’re just as pretty as I imagined you’d to be. Go ahead and scream, baby. No one is around to hear you.”
He straddled my thighs and let go of my wrists. I covered my chest with my hands, as if that could save my modesty, especially when he was focused on unbuttoning my jeans. I moved, and he put more of his weigh on me, hurting me. When he moved the jeans down as far as they would go, I screamed.
It didn’t matter what he said. Our neighbors weren’t that far from us. Surely someone would hear me. My scream grew louder and more uncontrollable when he cupped me between my legs.
“No, no,” I begged, when he moved my panties to the side and pushed a finger inside of me. Then another. I let out a small whimper of pain as he stretched me out. Moving to try and get him off hurt me, so I stayed still while he violated me.
“God, look at this. Look at how wet you are. You’re getting turned on, huh?” he asked with a wicked grin, and I closed my eyes. No, this wasn’t right. I wasn’t turned on. I didn’t want this. I let out a cry when he increased the movements of his fingers.
“I said, get off!” I yelled, buckling my hip, hoping to throw him off, and suddenly he was gone.
His weight was there one minute and was gone the next. It took a while before I could process what was happening, but when I did, my tears came down even harder—but with relief this time.
Mason was here!
Thank God.
Mason pulled Lorenzo off of me and slammed him against the wall. The back of Lorenzo’s head bounced against it with a loud thud. “You son of bitch! I’m going to fucking destroy you.” Mason pulled his fist back punched him, making more blood spurt out from his nose. Lorenzo fell to the ground and Mason straddled him.
Max was by my side then. He must have been there all along, but I didn’t realize it until he was pulling down my shirt, trying to cover me.
I whimpered.
“Shh, it’s okay, sweetheart. You’re going to be okay. I’ll make sure of it.”
Lies. It was lies. How could I be okay? I didn’t look at him, and I didn’t look at Mason, and I especially didn’t look at Lorenzo. I stood up on shaky legs, pulled my jeans up and ran to my room.
I sat on the floor. I couldn’t bring myself to lay down on my bed.
I wanted to scrub away his touch. I felt so dirty. All I could think about was how his hands had felt on me, how much stronger he was than me, and how I hadn’t been able to fight him off.
I pulled my legs into my chest and buried my face in my arms. Then I broke down. I vaguely heard the door to my room opening. I didn’t need to look up to know who was comforting me. I would recognize his scent anywhere.
“You’re going to be okay,” he said gruffly. “Maybe not today. Or tomorrow. But someday, you’ll be okay, and this will be nothing more than a distant memory.”
I nodded, even if he couldn’t see me.
“W-will you h-hold me for a while?”
“Of course, Livie. I’ll hold you for as long as you need me to.”
There was such conviction in his voice, I believed him. He pulled me carefully to his body, so unlike what Lorenzo had done to me before, and I buried my face in his neck, breathing in his scent.
I focused on nothing more than the spot there, as I gazed at the little stubbles of hair peeking out of his tan skin. I watched as his throat moved up and down every time he swallowed, until I couldn’t keep my eyes opened anymore.
I fell asleep in Mason’s strong arms, on my bedroom floor, trusting he would keep me safe. Trusting him when he said I would be okay.
I would be okay.
I had to be.
17
Mason
Seeing her pinned to the floor while the bastard held her down and violated her in the worst way possible was my undoing.
I didn’t think when I pulled him off her. I didn’t think when I slammed him against the wall, or when I beat the shit out of him.
I wanted to kill him.
I would have, too, had Max not held me back.
“Mason, snap out of it. I don’t need you killing the bastard here.”
I growled at him. I wanted to destroy the fucker.
Memories of the past threatened to resurface as I fought for control to stay in the present. I couldn’t have protected myself before, but I sure as hell could protect her.
Unless…
Were we too late?
/> I didn’t know.
“Where is she?” I asked.
“Upstairs in her room.” Max eyes glazed over, his voice catching a little.
“Did he…” I couldn’t even finish that sentence.
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything.”
The heartbreak in his eyes was clearly evident. I felt the same way, though I was sure for a completely different reason.
I never wanted anyone to go through what I went through, least of all someone as small and innocent as Olivia.
We should have protected her better.
I blinked away the burning sensation in my eyes, my angers pulling away my sorrow, one stich at a time. Everything became nothing more than one big red haze.
We looked down at the son of a bitch.
Lorenzo was unconscious on the floor. He was breathing, but his breaths were coming out shallow, so there was that. I kicked his stomach, and he flinched a little, letting a small groan. Max grabbed my shoulders and pulled me away.
“Watch him. Call the cops,” I said, moving upstairs as I said it. If Max responded, I didn’t hear. I walked up to her closed bedroom door and raised my fist as if to knock but changed my mind at the last second. I grabbed the doorknob and turned it, grateful she didn’t lock it.
When I caught sight of her small form on the floor, my heart shattered into a thousand little pieces. I sat down on the floor next to her, afraid to touch her. With what she went through, I didn’t know how she would respond to my touch.
“You’re going to be okay.” I said, my voice catching. “Maybe not today. Or tomorrow. But someday, you’ll be okay, and this will be nothing more than a distant memory.”
I would make sure of it.
She didn’t say anything to that, and I wasn’t even sure if she was aware that I was there.
We sat there in silence, save for a few sniffles coming out of her every once in a while. Each one was like a punch to the gut.
Then, “W-will you h-hold me for a while?”
“Of course, Livie. I’ll hold you for as long as you need me to.”
I carefully wrapped my arms around her shoulders, hating how fragile she felt in my arms. I pulled her tighter against me when she buried her face into my chest, her tears dampening my shirt.
My heart broke with every stuttered breath she took, and I didn’t know if I wanted to destroy everything in my path or break down with her.
We sat there for a long time. I didn’t have the courage to ask her if Lorenzo had raped her. If we had been too late.
God, I hope we weren’t too late.
I wasn’t sure how long we sat there, but she fell asleep at one point, and shortly after, I heard police sirens outside her window.
Carefully, I lifted her up into my arms. She didn’t even stir when I laid her down on the bed, pulling the covers over her.
I brushed away a long strand of brown hair, hating how pale her skin looked, and wiped away the remnants of tears on her cheeks.
This image would haunt me for the rest of my life.
“Sleep, Livie. I’ll keep you safe. I promise.”
I quietly shut the door behind me, and putting on a mask of calm, I walked downstairs to greet the police officers.
I knew the kind of man Lorenzo’s father was. I knew he would fight for his son, for no other reason than to save his pride.
But he met his match in me.
I was going to destroy the son of a bitch with everything I had.
18
Olivia
I woke with a start and sat up in bed. Sweat coated my forehead, despite the coolness in the room from the running AC.
I looked up at the stars hanging on my ceiling, trying to get them to calm me down. Max put those stars up for me before I moved in because I used to be afraid of the dark. He told me they would help keep me safe from any nightmares I might have. I wonder whether it ever worked, because it was a nightmare that woke me up this time. A nightmare I couldn’t even remember. But who needed to remember a nightmare when my reality was just as scary?
My whole body ached, and a look in the mirror told me it was riddled with more bruises that I had ever received in my life. My thighs, my waist, my arms, my buttocks… and there was even a small hickey on my neck.
Lorenzo left his mark on me in every way possible.
And for the first time in a long time, I needed Max to fight away the monsters. I hadn’t asked him to slay those invisible monsters for me since I was ten, and now there was an even bigger one—and he was real and visible—and I could still see the way he had looked at me every time I closed my eyes.
Climbing out of bed, I moved out my room and headed straight for Max’s.
But the light in the guest bedroom stopped me in my tracks. The door was open just a crack, but not enough for me to see in.
Mason was still here?
I had thought he had left hours ago, but it had been pretty late by the time the police had escorted Lorenzo away, and Mason stayed behind to deal with any of the legal repercussion he might have after beating Lorenzo into a nearly unrecognizable pulp.
I wasn’t downstairs when it all went down, but I watched them wheel Lorenzo away in a waiting ambulance from my bedroom window.
I didn’t feel any hint of remorse for the obvious physical pain he was in. I didn’t feel anything toward him at that moment, though I had been sure at the time that the numbness would leave me soon enough and I would feel everything.
And I had been right. I woke up in pain—not just in my body, but everywhere.
And Mason was here, and all I could remember was how he had held me on my bedroom floor earlier.
I had felt… safe.
I pushed the door open without knocking, and Mason was in bed, reading a book. He looked up, and there was just something about the way he looked at me that I couldn’t get enough of.
“Can’t sleep?” I shook my head. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Again, I shook my head. “Can I stay here with you tonight?”
I knew what I was asking was reckless and inappropriate in every way possible, and I braced myself for his rejection, knowing it would hurt when he turned me away.
He didn’t say anything for a long while. Then he surprised me when he pulled the blanket back and indicated with his head that I should get in. I didn’t wait for him to change his mind. I practically ran into the bed, crawling over him to get to the side furthest away from the door.
Mason pulled the blanket up to my shoulders and I buried my face in the pillow, facing away from him.
Everything in this bed smelled like him.
I didn’t even realize I was shaking until he pulled me into his arms. “Shh, it’s okay. I’ve got you.”
I buried myself further in the blanket. “Will it always feel like this?”
Mason was quiet for a small heartbeat, and then he said, “No. It won’t always feel like this. But this feeling won’t go away so quickly either. That helplessness that you’re feeling right now? It’s important that you understand it’s nothing more than that. A feeling. You have more control than you think you do; I promise you that. And someday, it will be better. This experience doesn’t have to break you if you don’t let it. You can come out stronger than ever.”
I didn’t feel very strong.
I moved into a fetal position, hating how vulnerable I felt then, even with his arms around me. How could this not break me?
“You talk about this like you know. Like you… like you’ve experienced this before.
He paused. “I have.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Mason.”
I felt him shake his head behind me. “Don’t be. It was a long time ago.”
Mason was quite easily one of the strongest men I knew. It was hard to see how anyone could hurt him, unless… unless it happened before he was strong. Before he was big. I tensed, hating the thought of someone hurting him when he was a child.
“Who… who hurt you?” When he hes
itated, I patted the hand he had laid on my stomach. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I didn’t mean to pry.”
I felt his arms tighten around me just a fraction before he said, “It’s okay. My hockey camp coach. I was twelve.”
I took in a stuttering breath. “Does Max know?”
“Yeah. He knows. I think he still blames himself for what happened, even if it was in no way his fault.”
I turned until I faced him. His eyes were shut, making his expression nearly impossible for me to read, but there was just something gentle about him. I moved my hand up and ran the soft pads of my fingers against the rough stubble on his jaw.
He didn’t stop me. “So you see, I know what you’re feeling right now. It will get better. You just have to be willing to work on getting better. Can you promise me you’ll try? To heal from this, and not let it change you?”
I nodded and he mirrored my actions with his own, running his calloused fingers across my jawline.
“Good. Because I love the person you are. I think she’s pretty amazing. And I would hate to see that change because of what that bastard did to you.”
I closed my eyes, relishing his touch. When I opened them, his blue eyes were shadowed with some unnamed emotions. “What happens now?”
“You don’t have to worry about anything. I will make sure the weight of the law comes bearing down on him with everything I’ve got. And Max knows the right people to get his family to comply. You have two very powerful men in your corner, Olivia. We’ll make sure he pays for what he did to you.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to drag this out.”
“It won’t, I promise. I’ll make sure this goes away as quickly as possible, and that you’ll never have to see his face ever again.”
I hoped that was true. I yawned and Mason smiled. “I think it’s time we sleep.”
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to stay here with you tonight?”
