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She nodded.
“He told me that he had no idea how far Max and Tucker were going to take things the night they hurt you,” I started. “He said that all they told him was that they wanted to, quote, ‘have a little fun’ with you. But once he found out, it was too late to back out. He said he participated because he felt like he had to at that point, but that after it was over, Max and Tucker threatened him to keep him quiet too. He played it off like he was fine with it, and he’s played along with the bullying and stuff because he doesn’t want them to follow through on their threats.”
“What makes you buy that?” she asked.
“You were going to let me finish, remember?” I chuckled.
“Sorry.” She made a motion of locking her lips and throwing away the key.
I chuckled again and kissed her. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist asking that at some point. And Idon’tbuy it. Not even a little bit.Buthe said he wants to turn himself in and report the rest of them. He said he wanted to talk to you about it, and that you could have me, Braden, and Melissa there for protection if you wanted.”
“That sounds like they’re just trying to get everyone who knows anything into the same place,” she said. “Which terrifies me.”
“I know,” I agreed. “The only talking I want you doing about this is to the police, and to my dad if you want legal advice before you do that. But there’s more. Drew said Max sent him a video of the assault afterward. He claimed to have no idea who’d filmed it, but he said all four of you are in it, and you’re all clearly identifiable.”
“Wait. Back up. Did you actually just say there’s a video of my assault floating around out there somewhere?” she asked in a shaky voice.
I nodded. “According to Drew, there is.”
“Oh, my God,” she choked out, covering her mouth as she scrambled to get off of my lap. “I’m going to be sick.”
I’d barely even unwrapped my arms from around her before she sprang up, bolting for the trash can and puking her guts out. Then she just started sobbing. I squeezed my eyes shut to avoid starting my own waterworks as I led her back to where we’d been sitting and held her tight. I hated seeing her cry. She’d done enough crying to last her a lifetime in the past couple of years. When was it going to stop? When would these assholes finally decide that they’d taken enough from her?
“Hey. This is where you two ran off to,” I heard Braden say.
I turned toward him and pulled my wallet out of my pocket, taking a couple of dollars out. “B, can you run to the vending machine and grab Ky a bottle of water? Please? I can’t leave her right now.”
He nodded and grabbed the money from me before heading off in the direction of the nearest vending machine. He was back within a couple of minutes, and I took the water from him and opened it.
“Baby, try to drink some of this,” I murmured, kissing Kyler’s head.
She took the water from me and took some small sips.
“So, one of you want to fill me in on what’s going on?” Braden asked.
“In a nutshell, Harrison claims he was forced to participate in Ky’s assault. He said he’s willing to turn himself in and testify against Taylor and Yates, but he wants to talk to Ky first, which I don’t buy for a fucking second, because he specifically mentioned that it was okay if she brought me, you, and Melissa. Those fuckers knowexactlywho knows about this and they’re circling the wagons now, trying to shut us all up. Oh, and he claims there was a fourth person there that night who he didn’t see filming it. Said Taylor sent him the video the next day and he deleted it.”
Braden’s eyes got as big as saucers, and I couldn’t help my quiet snort. That was a hell of a bombshell to drop, and especially like that. But I didn’t want to go through the long version again and make Kyler listen to it all over again. She hadn’t said a word since hurling a few minutes ago.
“Say what now?” he finally said. “Go back to the part where Harrison claimed to be forced into it. If that was the case, how could he…you know…get it up?”
“He claimed being a horny teenager was enough,” I muttered.
“Nope. Not buying it. I’m sorry, but if I’d seen two of my friends doing that shit, my balls would have turned into raisins. Sorry, Ky.”
“It’s okay,” she said in a small voice. “I don’t buy it either. Guys have to be at least somewhat interested or they can’t perform. And he was definitely interested that night.”
“Exactly,” I agreed. “I wouldn’t have even been able to participate in something like that when I was twelve and could have gotten it up for a mannequin in the mall.”
Kyler giggled weakly, and I looked down at her, shocked.
“Thanks for that mental image, babe,” she said.
“You are welcome,” I chuckled, kissing her nose. “Look, I know this is a lot to process, but do you know what you want to do? Are you ready to report this?”
She sighed. “I hate that I’m being backed into a corner, but it doesn’t feel like I have a choice anymore. But there’s something I need to do first, and I need you there with me because I know I can’t do it by myself.”
“What’s that?” I asked, though I had a feeling I already knew the answer.
“I need to tell my mom.”
