“No, he’s right. I shouldn’t have come,” Demi whispers.
“This is my house, and you are welcome here anytime you want. This is a safe place.”
What the fuck is Austin talking about? Safe place? Is she trying to say I hurt her last time she was here? Because Demi never told me no or to stop. She was very willing. “Get the fuck out.”
“Deke!” Austin shouts my name, jumping to her feet. “Don’t fucking talk to her that way!” She steps into me, but Cole pulls her back. She spins around on him. “Cole …”
“Austin.” He growls her name in warning, but what Cole doesn’t understand is that he no longer holds any kind of power over Austin Lowes. “This doesn’t concern us.”
“It does,” she argues.
“It doesn’t …”
“He tried to rape her!” she shouts, yanking free of him.
Silence fills the large living room at her words. I look down at Demi, and she still sits with her head down, but I now see the trembling in her small body.
Austin lets out a long breath and sits down next to her again. When she reaches out to touch Demi’s back, she jumps slightly. “It’s okay,” she whispers to her.
I run a hand through my hair. “What happened?” I ask through gritted teeth. This better not be another damn trick! Her sister pretended to be pregnant so who knows what Demi is capable of?
That silence continues, and it makes my jaw tighten. If it’s true, it doesn’t make any sense. First, he hurt her at the Halloween party, and now he tried to rape her? What the fuck is his deal? And why the hell is she with him?
“Demi?” I snap her name.
She stands, keeping her head down. “I’m leaving,” she says in a soft voice, and she turns to exit the living room.
I reach out, grab her arm, and spin her around to face us, about to scream at her, demanding to know what the fuck happened, but the words die on my tongue when I see her beautiful face streaked with tears. And my heart begins to beat faster as I look her over. Her T-shirt has been stretched out; it hangs off her right shoulder, showing the strap of her nude-colored bra. She has a rug burn on her elbow, and her hair is tangled. Her cheek has a small cut on it. But it’s her eyes that make my chest tighten. They look like the saddest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.
I step into her, placing my hands on her face. “What happened?”
She licks her trembling lips. “He was gonna rape me.”
DEMI
I expect him to push me away. To throw me out. I didn’t come here for him. I came here for Austin. I read her journal, so I know what she went through with her mom’s boyfriend. Not only would he slap her, but he also touched her inappropriately, and I wanted to talk to her. Not explain to Deke how my fake boyfriend decided he wanted to fuck me and wasn’t going to take no for an answer. At least that’s what he told me his plan was.
“What makes you think that?” Cole is the one who breaks the silence.
I reach up and push Deke’s hands from my face. Thankfully, he doesn’t fight me. “He …” I swallow. “I went to go see him, and he was acting weird.” I drop my head to the floor. “When I tried to leave, he grabbed me. I told him to stop, and he said he wished he could. Then he threw me face down onto the floor. I started screaming, and he kept saying sorry, over and over. I felt him undo his jeans, and he flipped me over. That’s when I lost it.” A tear runs down my cheek. “I clawed at his face, bit his arm, and managed to kick him off. Then I just ran.” My body shakes. “I left … and … I didn’t know where else to go.” I choke out the words. I can’t tell my mother this. She thinks I was with Lauren. And I can’t tell Lauren because she thinks we are already sexually active. I had nowhere else to go.
Strong arms wrap around me, and I bury my face into Deke’s shirt. “You’re safe now, princess,” he says, kissing my hair.
And I sniff. “I shouldn’t have come here …”
He pulls back and places his hands on my face, forcing me to look up at him. “You’re exactly where you need to be, Demi.” His clouded blue eyes search mine before they look at Cole’s. He nods at Deke once.
“Where was he?” Cole asks me.
I’m not sure what they plan on doing, but Seth deserves it. After everything I’ve done for him … “At his parents’ cabin on Lake Travis.”
Deke’s body stiffens against mine, and Cole’s eyes narrow on me.