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“Practically bleeding out. Should be getting stitches in my head right now, but instead, I’m here begging to talk to you.”
There’s a long beat of silence and I press my ear closer to the door, listening. A couple girls come out of the communal bathroom, wearing robes with towels on their heads, and when they see me, they run to their room giggling.
“Angel.” I knock again. “Open up.”
When she still doesn’t, I reach into my pocket and pull out my key. “I’m coming in,” I warn her. Then I stick the key in and turn it, allowing myself entry.
The door opens and Riley springs from her bed, a sheet pulled up over her chest. “Get out of my room!” She points a stern finger at the open door.
“I can’t do that.” I step inside, closing the door behind me. I rest my head against the door, looking at her beautiful form. Damp hair piled in a bun. Bare shoulders that leave me wondering if she’s wearing anything beneath the sheet.
“Ridge! You better leave my room right now or I will call campus security.”
Stepping away from the door, I trek toward her slowly. “No, you won’t.”
She scoots up on the bed until her back is flush with the headboard. Her bottom lip quivers and I wanna suck it between my teeth to stop it from shaking. “Don’t come any closer to me.”
“Tell me what he did to you. In detail. I need to know everything.” It pains me to know someone else touched her delicate skin. “Did you try and fight him off or did you lie there and take it?”
Her face is pallid, shoulders tight. “Please just leave me alone.” There’s a crack in her voice and tears pool in the corners of her eyes.
With my hands pressed firmly to the mattress, I lean forward and kiss her damp cheek. “Everything I do is for you, Angel.”Quivering in fear, she turns away, not willing to look at me. “You think I’m a monster, don’t you?”
Her head turns slowly, eyes squinted in anger. “Youarea monster.”
Those words are like a knife straight to my chest. I grab her hands quickly, lifting them over her head and pinning them to the headboard.
“Help!” she shouts. “Someone help me.”
“If I’m a monster, it’s because you made me one. Everything I do is for you. Every damn breath I take is for you. Don’t you see it, Angel? I love you, and I will no longer love you from afar. It’s too painful being apart. We’re destined to be together, you and me.”
She wriggles and fights to try and free her wrists, but I can’t let her go. Not until she understands. I can finally tell her how I truly feel and there’s no fucking way I am giving up this fast. Not when she’s right in front of me. Not when I’m so damn close to getting everything I want.
Tears drop one by one from her eyes, landing on her mouth. With my tongue, I lick each one off, tasting the saltiness of her pain.
“You’re scaring me, Ridge.”
“You never have to be afraid of me, Angel. I’ll leave once you tell me everything that guy did to you last night. I can’t go on another minute not knowing which parts of your body he touched.”
Her shallow breaths and sniffling nose are the only sounds heard.
“Tell me. Tell me everything.”
I quickly take both her wrists in one hand then trail my fingers down the soft cotton sheet, cupping her crotch. “Did he touch you here?”
She swallows hard, then nods.
I move slowly to her breast, cupping it in my palm while grazing my thumb against her pebbled nipple. “Did he touch you here?”
Trembling, she nods.
My soul crushes again. I pinch my eyes closed, steadying my breaths before they all rush out. I drop her hand and straighten my back.
“Son of a bitch,” I roar, sweeping my hand across her nightstand and knocking down everything that sat on it.
Riley uses this opportunity to flee from the bed. Her feet move quickly, but as she approaches the door, I throw my arm out, taking her by the waist. With her back flush against my chest, I bury my nose in her damp hair. “He can’t hurt you anymore. He’s dead, Angel. Zeke Martin is dead.”
Her chest rises and falls rapidly as she croaks, “You killed him, didn’t you?”
