“He was my piano teacher,” I finally said to Trina and Adam, lifting my chin. “I was fourteen. I wasn’t the first girl he did it to, but I was the first one to come forward.”
My chest grew hot as I spoke. The white-hot terror of knowing I was powerless to stop it… I felt it every time I thought of the incident. Every time I thought of pianos, and his slim fingers over mine, guiding my hands over the keys. Every time I thought of his touch, the little black serpent tattoo coiled around his right ring finger, and the spicy scent of his cologne.
All the torturous ‘if onlys’ were never too far from my mind, either. If only Mom’s car didn’t break down that day. If only Charles didn’t drive her home. If only he didn’t chat to Dad and unwittingly recommend a piano teacher who turned out to be a sex offender. If only I said no to the lessons and asked to learn a different instrument from a different teacher instead.
If only everything went differently.
“Oh my god.” Trina looked stricken. “You were so young.”
“Did he go to prison?” Adam asked, features arranged into an expression of cold fury.
I nodded. “Yes. He was dumb enough to film the whole thing. He… he had a collection of videos like that, apparently. They found them when they raided his house.” I swallowed hard. “He’ll never get out.”
“Jesus,” he muttered shaking his head. “What a piece of shit. I hope someone stabs him while he’s in there. Right in the dick.”
“Me too,” Trina said softly. “And Laney... just so you know, you are still a virgin. What happened to you… it wasn’t sex. It wasn’t a choice you made.”
Adam nodded. “I honestly think virginity is a bullshit concept, but if it means anything to you, Trina’s right. You didn’t choose for that to happen, and when it comes to having sex, it should always be a choice. Some slimy, disgusting asshole shouldn’t get to take that away from you.”
I nodded slowly. I understood what they were saying, and they were right—I guess I was a virgin, if I went by their definition of the word. But I still lost my innocence that day. I was forced into an unfamiliar world, and my sense of safety, peace, and everything else I cherished as a child was gone.
I lost my friends, too. No one knew how to talk to me about what happened, so they eventually faded out of my life.
“Thanks for telling us,” Trina said, squeezing me again. “It must’ve been really hard for you to say, but I’m glad you feel like you can trust us.” She sighed and shook her head. “I know if I were you, I’d find it hard to trust anyone ever again. Especially with everything that’s going on at school now.”
I took another long sip of my drink. “I think I might quit,” I mumbled.
“What?”
“RFA,” I said. “I can’t go back there. I tried to be strong, I really did, but I can’t do it anymore.”
“Please don’t leave,” Adam said. “Don’t let them win. They don’t deserve the satisfaction of knowing they forced you out.”
“Exactly,” Trina said, nodding emphatically. “You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for, Laney. I mean, look at what you just told us. You’re a survivor. You’re amazing.”
“Thank you,” I said softly. “But I can’t face going back there and walking through those halls on Monday, knowing everyone hates me apart from you. The worst part is that I don’t even know why.”
Adam’s brows furrowed as I spoke. Then one hand flew to his mouth.
“What?” Trina said, brows wrinkling.
“I just remembered something,” he replied. “Laney, when we first met, I thought you looked familiar because you waitressed at that party Dad threw at our house. But that’s not it.”
“Where do you know me from, then?” I asked, puzzled.
“About two months ago, I went to borrow Hunter’s keys because my car was playing up, and I walked into his room and saw a photo of you.”
My skin tingled, and a heavy feeling settled in my stomach. “A photo?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I asked him what it was, and he said….” He paused and frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. “Fuck, I can barely remember it now. Something about meeting you at the party and thinking you were hot. So he got someone to track you down. An investigator from one of my dad’s companies, I think.”
Trina and I both gaped at him. “So he’s bullying me because I didn’t date him?” I asked, shaking my head. “I don’t get it. He never asked me out. He never even spoke to me again after that party at your house.”
“This is so weird,” Trina said, dark eyes widening.
Adam nodded. “I know. I have no idea what the fuck his problem is.”
“There must be something deeper to the whole thing,” Trina said, brows knitting. “There’s no way he’d blacklist Laney just because she didn’t date him or sleep with him. Especially seeing as he never even tried, like she just said.”