Not even a second must pass before he’s searching out my eyes through the passenger window, trying to see who’s sitting inside. He makes out my features and I get that same look of hatred before a grin starts lifting the side of his lips, making me want to slide down in the seat and hide.
“Fuck,” Nate growls as he shoots off the side of the street and into the traffic, desperate to keep me away. Once he’s got the Camaro far enough away from Josh’s lingering eyes, he turns on me. “What the fuck was that? You knew he went here.”
I cringe, absolutely hating this. “I…” I let out a sigh. There’s no point lying, he can see straight through me. “Yes, I knew.”
“What the fuck, Tora? Did you forget what that fucker did to you because I sure as hell didn’t.”
“Of course, not,” I defend.
“How long have you known?”
Cringe. “I don’t know… a few weeks maybe. He’s in my English class.”
His eyes widen as the rage from earlier bubbles right to the top, morphing into complete fury. “A few fucking weeks?” he roars. “You better have a good fucking excuse for not telling me about this.”
Shit. This is not good. So not good.
“He didn’t see me,” I tell him as he speeds through the streets, ignoring nearly every single traffic law. “He didn’t know that I went to BHU, so I didn’t want to worry you.”
“How the hell am I supposed to protect you from that dickhead if I have no fucking idea that I needed to?” I shrug my shoulders and glance away. I can’t bear the look in his eyes. “Fuck,” he roars, slamming his hands against the steering wheel. “This is fucking Lukas all over again. No. It’s fucking worse than Lukas.”
“Nate, calm down.”
“Calm down?” he snaps. “Why the fuck should I calm down? Josh fucking Henderson goes to this school and you didn’t tell me. He tried to rape you in a broom closet and film it for the world to see. How long did you think you’d get before he realized you were here? Did you think he was just going to forget what happened? That we beat the fucking shit out of him every time he looked your way? Because I can guarantee you, he didn’t. That fucker is going to come after you with everything he’s got.”
Tears spring to my eyes as I turn back to him. “I just…”
“What? What fucked up excuse did you tell yourself to make it easier for you to sleep at night?”
I shake my head. “Don’t talk to me like that.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, should I be happy about all this?”
He pulls up out the front of my place, having gotten here quicker than I ever could. I turn and glare at him. “I did this for you,” I yell back at him. “This isn’t high school where you can beat the shit out of someone and have mommy and daddy pay your way out of it. This is college. You hit someone and you’re not just out, you’ll be fucking sued. You’re going to end up losing everything before you even get started. It’s the same as Lukas,” I tell him, pushing my way out of the car. I turn back to face him. “Whatever you’re thinking, don’t do it. You have your fucked up way of protecting me, and this is my way of protecting you.”
With that, I slam the door and turn away as the sound of Nate’s Camaro screeching up the road echoes loudly through my quiet little street.
Tears stream down my face by the time I get to the front door. My vision goes blurry and I have to wipe them away to be able to get the key in the lock.
I walk in and collapse down onto the couch and cry. Nate was right, I should have told him the second I saw him. It was stupid for me not to, but Nate’s future is just as important as mine and now I can’t guarantee the safety of that. Hell, now I can’t guarantee my own damn safety.
Josh knows I’m here and nothing is going to stop him looking for me, and now that Nate knows, there’s nothing stopping him going after Josh.
What the hell do I do? How do I make this go away?
How did I get myself in this situation?
The door opens and when I look up, I find Brooke pushing her way through. It’s clear she hadn’t expected me to be here, but when she sees the tears in my eyes, she pauses. There’s a need within her to come to me but the anger is still rising high. Her eyes cut away from me and she heads down the hallway, making another round of tears fall from my already sore eyes.