Then I turned away from him but he spun me around. “I know it never stops hurting. I still miss my mom.”
“The only difference is that she was sick and you knew that she was dying.”
He shook his head, “I never knew. She’d booked herself in
to a hospice and didn’t even bother to say goodbye.”
“Shit, I never knew.”
“You never asked and that’s your problem. You think that you’re the only one with pain. That has had shit happen to them. You’re not the only one.”
He took a deep breath and I expected him to take my hand and tell me that he would make me feel better, but he didn’t. Instead he blurted out, “I’m not in the mood anymore. Maybe tomorrow.”
Before I could say another word, he was back down the stairs and out of the house. I didn’t even bother going to my room. I felt stupid. Pride stopped me from chasing after him and telling him that I didn’t mean what I’d said. I should have told him that I’d acted like a fool. Yet, again pride stopped me from doing that. And as I slumped on the stairs, I began to realize that pride had stopped me from doing a lot of things. I needed to change, not only for my sanity, but for his too. There was only one problem. I didn’t know how to do it. All those brains and those good grades didn’t help when it came to certain things. Especially when it came to showing a little common sense.
I sat there for what felt like ages, although it could have been only a few minutes. And then I did what he’d been doing over the last few days: I hopped on a bicycle. Unlike him I didn’t have a motor bike of my own, so to say that I felt like the bravest girl in the world was an understatement as I arrived at his house on my mom’s rickety bicycle.
Thank God!
Unlike my house, which was a two-story house, his was only a single-story one, but there was a bush in front of it and a fence surrounded it. I acted as if I was some kind of ninja as I ran round the neighbor’s side and tried to jump the fence, and, after that failed, climb over it. This plan had sounded like a good one in my head.
What actually happened was Tom, a jerk who just happened to be in the same classes as me, came out and said, “Hey what you doing on our property?”
“Trying to see Liam.”
He spat out, “That waste of space. If you’re trying to get into any bedroom, it should be mine.”
Keep telling yourself that.
“I could help you,” he said as he grabbed my hand. I thought about just moving to the front door and knocking on it, like I should have done.
But by then it was too late. Tom had been drinking and like the true ass that he was, he pulled me closer to him.
“Can you feel that Adele? It’s ready for you.”
Then out of nowhere, Liam appeared by my side, “Get your fucking hands off her now!”
“Shit, you can have her.”
He pushed me away as if I were a piece of trash. I was too busy trying to catch my breath. I knew what Tom had on his mind. He had a reputation and although no girl had ever reported him. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that he would do something to me against my will.
“You touch her again and I’ll…”
“What?”
Tom must have regretted asking the question, because before Tom could even ask another question, he was greeted with Liam’s fist.
As he tried to stand up, Liam grabbed my hand and said, “Don’t you ever do that. Don’t you know who I live next to?”
I nodded, but I was unable to speak. He dragged me to his house, and as soon as he shut the door, I expected him to lecture me. Tell me that I was out of line. Instead he simply said, “Take your bra off!”
“What?”
“Don’t make me repeat it again. I was horny. Ready for you earlier and you had to make me remember. Now I want you to take it away.”
I felt exactly the same way that he did. Whenever anyone brought up Dad, I would do exactly the same thing. Study. Eat. Even go for a jog, anything to take away the pain.
I lifted up my top and then unhooked my bra. He was standing in the hall and I was still by the door. I knew that I had to obey and as he let out a deep breath he said, “You’re so fucking beautiful.”