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My gaze shifted toward her, and her pained expression made my stomach churn.
Bella’s hands shook, and one tear escaped, running down her cheek.
What the fuck happened?
“Bella?”
“He cornered me in the stockroom one night right before closing.” Her breath came out shaky, and she refused to meet my eyes.
“Who? Drew? What did he do, Bella?” My heart wasn’t even beating. Everything inside of me was waiting for her to finish, terrified to even breathe.
Her brown curls fell in front of her face as she shook her head slightly. “It doesn’t matter…”
“Like hell it doesn’t. Tell me. All of it. Did he…?” I swallowed thickly. I would literally kill the bastard if he forced himself on her.
Oh God.
“He pinned me against the wall.” A sob racked her body. “And kissed me. I tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let go. Then he ran his hand up my skirt… he promised he’d make it good.” The tears were coming down her face more consistently now.
I reached over and grabbed her hand, entangling our fingers. “He…” I swallowed again and gripped the wheel even tighter, unable to ask the question. I wasn’t even sure I could handle the answer.
“No. He didn’t.” Her curls bounced as she shook her head again. “Sarah interrupted and threw a jealous fit. Either she didn’t care, or she didn’t realize that I wasn’t a willing participant.”
“Why didn’t someone come get me?”
She had been incessantly fiddling with her mom’s locket since she got in the truck, and when she looked down at her lap, she let it fall back in place.
“You weren’t closing that night.”
“Did you tell Tyler? Or whoever was closing?” As I asked the question, I already knew the answer. Tyler and all of my managers would have called me immediately.
“No. Sarah was more than willing to take my place. Told me to get out, that she knew what Drew needed. I didn’t want to start trouble, or worse, piss off Drew.”
I tried to pay attention to the rest of what she was saying about Drew leaving the restaurant and her conversation with Sarah afterward, but I was seething. On one hand, I wanted to throttle Drew for touching Bella, and on the other, I was questioning if everyone was right and Sarah had been cheating on me this whole time.
I ground my teeth as Bella finished talking, unsure of if or what I should have said.
Unclenching my jaw, I finally took a deep breath before responding. “Why didn’t you tell me after it happened?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t want anyone to know, it was just one more thing for people to whisper about. I told Ashley, but honestly, it’s not like you and I were close then. You bought the cabin and moved out basically without a word. At that point in January, we barely spoke.”
“I never seem to be there for you when you need me.” My attention stayed locked on the road, but out of my peripheral, I could see her eyes widen.
She barked out a laugh and rolled her eyes. “Should I list all the times youhavebeen there for me?”
But not when it truly mattered. And this was the last place I should have brought Bella after what she just told me.
My hand stilled on the door handle after I parked in front of Sarah’s apartment, wondering if I should take Bella somewhere else before I went in there. But she shifted as if to get out, so I raced around to the other side of the truck before Bella tried to go in ahead of me.
I glanced at the entrance of Sarah’s building as Drew pushed through it. Smears of red splattered across his shirt. Was that blood?
I grabbed Bella by the shoulders, turning her to face me. “Look at me. Drew isn’t in there anymore—he’s heading to the parking lot. Sarah might not be your favorite person. But I need you to go check on her.”
“Okay… What should I do?”
“Run and lock yourself in the building. Call the police and tell them Drew is here. Go find Sarah; she could be in rough shape. Do what you can until the ambulance gets here.”
She swallowed thickly and nodded. “Wait, what are you going to do?”
