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“Fuck! Keep her there, don’t let her leave until I get there.” I end the call, my chest heaving up and down but I don’t feel like I’m getting enough air into my lungs. Closing my eyes, I do what I always do and slip my mask back into place before turning to face Evan.
“Luke?”
“Let me know how Lexi is,” I growl before spinning around and jogging over to my SUV. I speed out of the lot, my body working on automatic, and before I know it, I’m pulling up in front of my mom’s house, just about managing to turn the engine off before jumping out and slamming the door behind me.
What am I doing? I asked her to tell me if she needed help. Hell, I practically begged her to let me help, to get her out of the house I’m sure she’s trapped in. But instead she walked away from me, probably telling herself she could handle it.
My feet are stuck in front of the door, my arm not working to reach out and open it, afraid of what I’ll see behind it.
But as soon as I hear her soft sobs, I’m flinging the door open, just like she said, ready to be her superhero.
I stand in the open doorway, my hand clutched on the handle as she slowly lifts her head, her perfect blond hair matted with dried blood as she tries to look at me but fails.
My stomach bottoms out, the blood rushing from my head and making me stumble a little as I take her all in. The swollen eye stops her from being able to open it, the split lip, the bruise forming on her cheek. My gaze roves lower, seeing the fingermark bruises on her neck and the small rip in her tank top before moving further down and seeing the much larger rip in her skirt, showing her legs and the trail of blood flowing from the inside of her thighs.
“Luke,” she whispers, her voice hoarse, but all it takes is my name coming from her lips in that way and I’ll do whatever I can to save her whether she asks for my help or not.
LILY
He’s the reason… it’s him. Why I have the guts to run away right now, to veer off my plan and seek help from people who I know will believe me. To take the plunge and hope like hell things can get better from here on out.
His ice-blue eyes don’t stray from mine as he closes the door and walks toward me, his movements slow. I swallow as he crouches in front of me where I’m perching on the edge of the sofa.
“Angel?” The guttural tone of his voice has the lump in my throat getting bigger. “What happened?”
I see Kim standing to the side out of the corner of my eye, her hands over her mouth as tears slide down her face.
“He…” Oh God, I’ve got to tell him. I have to reveal what will forever be the darkest part of me. I don’t know if I can… I don’t know if—
“It’s okay, angel. Nothing will happen to you now. I promise.” His eyes tell me the truth, and when I clear my throat, he takes hold of my hand on my lap.
“He…” I hiccup a sob, my other hand over my chest as if to hold my broken heart in place. I’ll never be the same. Nothing will ever be as bright or as loud as it used to be. It’s muted… in black and gray. “He r…” I can’t say the word, it’s lodged in my throat for all eternity, but I can see from the anger shining in his eyes that he knows what I’m saying without me having to speak the words.
I hate I can’t tell him, and when he nods in acceptance, my anger bubbles beneath the surface. I don’t want my dad to have any kind of control over me again. Today is the first day of the rest of my life, and I won’t let him have any say in it.
“He raped me,” I rush out. “My dad… he… did this.”
My breaths quicken, my head starting to spin, my vision becoming blurry until Luke reaches up, cupping the side of my face and swiping the tears away.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispers, and when I focus on him, I see the sheen of tears covering his eyes, the heartbreak I’m feeling being reflected back at me. “I’m so so sorry, angel.”
I nod, causing me to wince with the action. “He took a part of me I can never get back,” I croak out. “He just… took it.”
Closing my eyes, I relish the feel of Luke’s gentle hand as he grips me a little tighter, the air shifting as he moves closer to me and presses his forehead against mine. “I’ll never let anything like this happen to you again.”
“Promise?” I ask, my voice so raw I’m not even sure it’s mine.
“With my life.”
I breathe him in, letting the feel of his breath on my face relax me and relishing in his soft touch as it replaces the rough one I had to endure. I allow him to witness a part of me I never thought I’d let anyone have access to, not only that but I trust him. I trust this broody man who’s over a foot taller than me and has muscles on top of muscles.
When I open my eyes back up, I watch the tattoos on his arm dance as he flexes his hand and rubs his thumb back and forth on my cheek before he pulls away a little.
“We need to report—”
My eyes widen and I shake my head before he gets the full sentence out. “No… I have to run away, to escape and never look back. I can’t get everything out in the open.” My breaths become panicked when I think about what could happen. “They won’t believe me,” I tell Luke before looking over at Kim. “I tried to tell them years ago. I really did, but they wouldn’t—”
“Breathe, Lily,” Luke whispers. “Just take a breath, okay?” I turn back to him, focusing on his calming presence. “Just... breathe.”
