She focused on me then and reached out to touch my face but dropped her hand. “You are such a good man. I won’t ruin your life too.”
I cupped her hand and brought it to my cheek. “You are the only one who sees that. That’s why you’re good. You see what others can’t. You see the kid I was and how I was manipulated.” I gestured to the others. “They see the man who did wrong and don’t care the reason. You care. You do.
“You are the only oneeverwho has said you’re sorry for the boy I was. I need that, Aurora. Please don’t make me lose that. I need you, okay?” I choked on a sob. “How could you just come say goodbye to me like that? I wouldn’t recover from that. None of us would and—”
“You would. I bring nothing to—”
“That’s not true,” I shouted. “I heard about the benefit. You were the one who thought to use women who have gone through the Amanda’s Hope program as caterers. To show how people who get help shine. It’syour timeto shine, Aurora. Please, ask for help. Stop shouldering it all because you have sinned.Your sins aren’t as bad as you think!”
I broke down, begging her to listen to me and not give up as tears rolled down my cheeks. To please fight a bit longer and see this wasn’t her shame but what was done to her.
I wasn’t sure if it was working, but then I fought dirty, knowing what someone good would react to.
That they were needed.
I mopped up my face and made her focus on me. “I have magic on me. My adoptive parents put magic on me.” Concerninstantlyfilled her eyes and she wasn’t lost in her head. “That super powerful witch at ASH confirmed it. They bound my lion somehow. He comes out, but—it’s done damage to me. I’ll be a mess if they take it off and I could die if they don’t.”
“How could they do that to a child?” she demanded, rage filling her eyes. “How does—what do they have to do? What is the recovery?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I got scared and walked out. I was going to tell you after we finished talking and—” I was so touched that she cared so much when I was such a useless piece of shit that I lost my head for a moment and kissed her. Just a soft brush of our lips and then another.
But she didn’t respond.
I pulled back and horror filled me when she looked as if I’d just slapped her, more tears and agony in her eyes.
“So nothing has changed,” she whispered, lowering her head. “You said men ask now, but they don’t and still just take what they want.”
“No, I said some do and it’s—we’re not property to—” Ellie started to explain.
“I’ll ask,” I blurted, completely taking my hands off of her. “I’ll ask for everything. I’m sorry, I should have asked. I’ll ask to touch—I asked to hug you before, right? I—this was—I was—I won’t mess up again. I’ll ask even to look at you, okay. Please, I’m sorry. Please don’t hate me for pushing you—the kiss or talking—I didn’t want you to get blindsided.”
And for maybe the first time in my entire life, no matter what had happened to me, I broke down ugly sobbing. It so wasn’t about me right then and I knew that, but realizing what the puzzle had been before me and what Aurora had intended to do… If Xavier hadn’t been there to stop her or figure it out… I really wouldn’t have recovered.
No matter what Aurora thought.
“What do you mean blindsided?” she asked quietly as she reached out and took my hand in hers.
I tried to mop up my face and get my shit together. “When you go to court for something like damages, it’s an all-access pass to your life, Aurora. You have to give overeverythingto prove what they did damaged you. That’s medical records—everything.” I nodded when understanding filled her eyes. “And a lot of it is…”
She gave me a sad smile. “You were on the other side of it before. You were the mean one tearing into people like me.”
“Yes,” I whispered. “I was, and I would immediately use what you told me. You said your family knew and they will use that. I’m sorry. That’s not why I told you to tell—I thought your group could help you and they would tell you that or I could figure out more, find out when your next hearing was or whatever. But you told Alexis—she’s trying to help.”
“He’s right, Aurora,” Alexis said as she moved up next to me. “Creed is completely right and protecting you. We both are. Iknow this will be hard, but trust me if you never trust me again that you have been through so much worse. I know this feels so much worse because—”
“Because for a moment you had hope,” I interrupted. “I know.I know. I came here and that hope was taken away.Yougave it back to me, beauty. Please, let me give it back to you too. Trust me this time and I will give you that hope like you did by telling Ellie. I’ll tell them and set them straight. I’ll handle this.”
She studied me quietly. “There’s no chance you kissed me on a whim but really like men, right?”
I didnotsee that coming in all the responses I could have possibly considered. “No, I’m sorry if I gave some indication that I liked men, but I don’t.” I frowned, completely confused.
“Oh, that’s a shame,” she whispered, seeming lost again. “I was really hoping you did.”
I felt like she kicked me in the nuts, and I opened my mouth to ask why she blushed if she didn’t like the way I looked, but stopped when Alexis moved her hand to my shoulder.
“OrCreed seems like a good guy and will probably be willing to speak with a trauma counselor at ASH and learn how to be in a healthy relationship and help a survivor of extensive sexual abuse, Aurora. You deserve to have the perks of being a woman, especially you who has had all the suffering of one.”
She frowned and focused on Alexis. “You think one could really fix me to want men like that? I never have even if I find them pleasing to look at.”
