MIA
The patrol car disappeared down the road with Michael inside of it. When the officer had put him in the car, he’d refused to look out and look at me. I hurt because this was my fault. Michael was off to jail because of me. If I hadn’t …
I bit back my next few thoughts.
This wasn’t my fault. It was Mason’s.
I couldn’t blame myself for Mason touching me, for Mason trying to force himself on me. I’d told him to stay away. I told him no. He was the one who hadn’t listened, but hopefully, next time around, he would.
I tucked my face into Serena’s side, tears streaming down my cheeks. Everything kept going to shit. Every time I turned around, something else happened, and I fucking hated it. I just wanted us to be happy together.
Serena rubbed my shoulders and guided me toward her car. Damien and Victor followed after us, Victor’s entire body tense with anger. I knew he wanted another go at Mason, too, another chance to kick his ass after Michael did, but the restaurant had quickly kicked all of us out once the police got here.
“Come on, Mia,” Serena said, pushing me into the car.
But I still couldn’t think straight. I was a complete mess. I felt so violated and disgusted with myself. I didn’t even know why. It was Mason’s fault. I shouldn’t have felt like this. I shouldn’t have been touched. My lips parted, and I let out a whimper I hadn’t even known I was holding inside of me.
Weak. That was all I was.
I couldn’t even push him away from me.
Serena reached over me in the backseat and put on my seat belt, pulling my head against her chest. She stroked my hair and shushed me, telling me that everything was going to be okay and that Mason had finally gotten what he deserved.
Damien stepped on the gas and sped toward the police station as Victor balled and unballed his fists in the front seat. Jaw tense, he stared out the windshield and cursed under his breath.
I squinted through teary eyes, trying to get myself together. “I’m sorry for ruining the night,” I said, grasping on to Serena. “I—”
“Stop it,” she said. “You didn’t ruin anything. Mason did.”
“Why was that fucker even there?” Victor said. “I thought he wanted Melissa all to himself. He fucking has her, and now, he wants Mia back? What the fuck is his problem?” Victor looked back at me. “He’s the fucking psychopath, Mia. Not you.”
Damien stayed quiet in the driver’s seat, focusing on getting us all there in one piece. But I could tell that he had something to say. Damien rarely got angry. He was always calm, cool, and collected … but by the way his knuckles were paling on the steering wheel, I could tell that he was beyond furious.
After a fifteen-minute ride that seemed to last hours, Damien pulled up to the curb near the station to let us out. I hopped out of the car as soon as it came to a stop and hurried toward the door with Victor and Serena in tow.
“Michael Bryne,” I said to the clerk at the front desk.
She typed his name into the system and looked back up at me. “He should be out shortly. They’re just asking him a few questions.”
I slammed my palms on the desk. “A few questions?! He did nothing wrong. He was protecting me from someone who wanted to rape me in the restroom,” I said, voice shaky. Saying the words aloud made it seem so much more real. And a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach weighed me down.
It wouldn’t have been the first time Mason had done something like that.
Last time he had … he had gaslighted me so much that I started to think that I wanted it, too, that I deserved to have him come home drunk in the middle of the night and start fondling my pussy while I was asleep.
“You’re the woman he assaulted?” a police officer asked behind the clerk.
I wrapped my arms around myself and nodded.
“Would you like to press charges?”
Serena’s eyes widened. “What kind of damn question is that?!”
Damien walked into the building and hurried over to us, resting his hand on Serena’s shoulder. “Calm down, babe.”
The officer looked at me, waiting patiently for my response. Serena was right. It was a stupid question. Of course I wanted Mason to pay for touching me so damn inappropriately. But I also knew the consequences of going up against someone with so much money. His family would try to deny it had happened, would bribe whoever they could to keep it on the down-low so Mason would still have chances to be successful, just like them.
But … I wasn’t going to back down anymore. This wasn’t only my life he was fucking with. It was my friends’. It was Melissa’s. It was Michael’s.
