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Then my bedroom door opened and light spilled into the room from the hall. Harry stood in the doorway long enough to flick the switch. He assessed the situation in a matter of seconds. From my vantage point under Drew, I could easily read the fury on his face. He’d gone completely red, his jaw was set, his eyes narrowed as he raced acrosstheroom.
Apparently, Drew hadn’t processed the lights or Harry. Maybe he was just hyper-focused on hurting me. Whatever the case, he pulled his hand back to hit me again, and since he’d managed to pin my arms and rendered me utterly defenseless, all I could do was squeeze my eyes shut and try to bury myself in the pillows. Only before he could connect, Harry had yanked him outofbed.
“What the fuck is the matter with you, Drew?” Harry growled as he pushed him up againstthewall.
“What?” Drew glared at me. “Bros before hos, man. For life.Remember?”
Harry shook his head before glancing over at me. “Areyouokay?”
I reached up to touch my cheek and Harry gasped. “What?” I rushed into my bathroom to assess the situation. I quickly understood his reaction. There was blood all over me starting with smears on my shoulders and upper arms, moving on to my chest where I found partial handprints, and even on my thighs. Turning on the water, I began to wash it away, looking for injuries. Almost instantly, I discovered the blood wasn’t mine. I rushed out to the bedroom. “I’m not bleeding. Must be Drew.” I strode over and began to examine him for injuries while Harry kept him pinned to the wall. Both of his hands were cut up, and he was covered in blood. “It’s him. He’s going to need medical attention. I’ll call for anambulance.”
Grabbing my bathrobe from the end of the bed, I wrapped it around me, cinched it, and reached for my phone on the nightstand. As I started to make a call, Harrystoppedme.
“Wait. Maybe he’s okay. Maybe he doesn’t need stitches. Let’s clean him up and find out.” He bit his lower lip and couldn’t quite meetmyeyes.
My heart sank. My disappointment grew. I watched as he muscled Drew into my bathroom and sat him on the toilet seat lid. Then he turned on the faucet and pulled a towel from my linen closet. “Let’s get you washed up. We’ll see wherewe’reat.”
In the distance, I heard a phone ringing. I knew it was Harry’s, still in his bedroom. Without waiting for him to ask me, I sprinted to his bedroom. After pulling it from the charger, I answered Ty’s call. “He’s here,” I murmured. I could feel the sorrow building, constricting mychest.
“Wait. Who’s there?” Ty sounded genuinelyconfused.
“Drew. He’s here.” I hiccupped as I struggled to hold backthesob.
Ty growled. “I was afraid of that. Iseverythingokay?”
“No,” I whimpered. I began to pace in an effort to pull myself together. This wasn’t my norm. This was because of Harry. “Drew managed to get in the house, judging by his hands…broke a window orsomething.”
“Oh my God. Destruction of private property. Harry doesn’t officially own the house yet. He’s still waiting on the closing documents to get pulled together.” Ty sighedangrily.
“There’s more.” I stood taller and forced myself to leave the room. I tiptoed down the hall as I tried to figure out what he’d broken. All I had to do was follow the trail of blood. I rubbed myforehead.
“What else, Laney?” Kate whispered. “Sorry. Speaker phone. Ty and I have nosecrets.”
“That’s nice.” I glanced behind me to see if I was still alone. Confident Harry was still working on Drew’s injuries, I continued. “He attacked me. Drew climbed into bed with me while I was sleeping, he tried to rape me, he evenhitme.”
Kategasped.
“Babe,” Ty murmured. Kate said something, but it was so muffled I couldn’t make it out. I guessed she was buried in his chest. I shook my head. Mustbenice.
“He’s going to cover for him.” I stopped short of the front door. It was wide open. The sidelights had been broken out. Both of them. I’d found a pool of blood in the foyer and broken glass scattered for several feet. I slowly backed away and began to take pictures with myphone.
“How can he cover for him? Not after what Drew has done. Listen, I have the address. We’re on our way. Call the police. Call for an ambulance,” Tyhuffed.
“I can’t. Harry has to do it or he’ll blame me forever.” I buried my face in the collar ofmyrobe.
“Then wait if you want, and I’ll do it. He can try to fucking hate me all he wants. This is bullshit.” Then Ty ended the call without even sayinggoodbye.
22
Laney
Why didgoodbyes always have to hurt so much?This was the thought I pondered as I drove back to my house. I made it as far as walking inside, taking a quick shower, and throwing on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I felt too restless to sleep. Then I looked around, considered the implications of not just sleeping there, but staying there, and left. I drove to a little hole in the wall diner that looked like it could’ve been in an episode of Criminal Minds. There, I sat in a booth at the back and considered my future. At first, I feared it would prove to be too much for three in the morning, but thanks to a napkin, a pen, three cups of coffee, and two empty sugar containers, I hadaplan.
“Can I getcha anything else, sweet?” The waitress grinned and jerked her head to the emptycontainers.
“Sorry. It’s the only way I can drink the stuff.” Isighed.
“If you need that much sugar to tolerate anything, you probably shouldn’t be consuming it.” She tapped her temple a few times and Igrinned.
