“She’s waiting outside. She wasn’t sure if you’d want to see her or not.”
I harrumph. Of course. “I want to talk to her. Alone.”
Kev exchanges a wary look with my parents. It seems like they want to argue, but they don’t. They leave, and a couple of minutes later, Presley steps into the room. She cautiously approaches the bed, staring at me with bloodshot eyes. Tears pour silently down her cheeks as she stands there, looking at me, clearly unsure what to say or do.
“Did you know?” I ask in a low tone.
She vehemently shakes her head. “No. I swear I didn’t know. I still don’t know.”
I glare at her, and my chest heaves. “You knew he was up to all kinds of shit, but you turned a blind eye, right?”
She gulps, wrapping her arms around herself. “Yes, but I only thought it was guns and drugs and retaliating against their enemies. I didn’t know…” She trails off, and her lower lip wobbles as fresh tears spill from her eyes.
“Didn’t know what, Presley?!” I spit out, sitting up straighter, ignoring how my body aches all over. “That they abuse little boys? That your precious Clay, your fucking protector, took something from me he had no right to? Something that fucking destroyed me!”
“Oh God, Kent.” She freely sobs. “I hoped it wasn’t that. I—”
“You’re still fucking blind to that pervert!” I yell.
She comes forward, dropping to her knees on the floor before me. “No, no, Kent. That’s not it. I—”
I cut her off again. “He raped me!” I cry, swiping at the angry tears leaking from my eyes. “Him and his buddies.”
Horror spreads across her face as she stares at me.
“I had only just turned fifteen when they cornered me in an alley one night.” Pain slams into me on all sides. I continue swiping at tears, and yet they continue to fall. I don’t look at her as I relive the worst night of my life. “I tried to fight them off, but they were grown men, and there were five of them and only one of me.” I swallow over the burning lump in my throat, closing my eyes, and gripping the side of the bed as I dredge it all up. “Clay was the ringleader even though he seemed to be the youngest. They shoved me face-first into the wall, two guys always pinning me down, ensuring I couldn’t fight back, while they took turns ramming their dicks in my ass.”
Her cries echo off the walls, and I vaguely hear other sounds of sobbing, but I’m too lost in my head to care. After years of hiding the truth, burying all the pain and anger and fear, I need to get this out now. “Clay watched.” I blink my eyes open, staring at Presley. “He stood off to the side, keeping his eyes locked on mine as his buddies destroyed me. I see his cocky grin and the evil glint in his eyes in my nightmares. His face has plagued me for years.”
She reaches for my hand, but I pull back, her touch repugnant to me. My voice is devoid of emotion and my head numb as I say, “He raped me last, fucking my ass as blood ran down my legs.”
She clamps a hand over her mouth, trying to contain her cries as her body shakes.
“But it wasn’t enough. That bastard had to ensure he completely ruined me.” I squeeze my eyes shut, and a full body shudder works its way through me. Sobs heave from my chest. “Your precious Clay is an animal,” I spit, peering at her through blurry eyes. “A twisted, sick bastard.” I clench my jaw painfully, anger replacing the numbed feeling.
“He jacked me off while he raped me. Hemademe come.” Humiliation and pain thunder through me, like every time I remember it. “They all laughed. Taunting me over how much I loved it, pushing me to the ground and kicking me as they showed me the video they’d recorded on one of their cell phones, promising they’d stream it live if I breathed a word of it to anyone. Threatening to kill my family if I ever told them what happened to me.”
“I’m sorry, Kent. I’m so sorry.” She reaches for me again, and I yank my hand back.
“Don’t touch me, Presley. I don’t want you to touch me.” I sniffle, brushing at the dampness on my cheeks. “His face used to be all I saw when I closed my eyes. Drugs, booze, and sex were my go-to distractions. The only way I could face getting up each day. Until you.”
Even crying with flushed cheeks, red-rimmed sad eyes, and clear pain in her gaze, Presley is still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. “You made it better,” I whisper. “You calmed the storm in my chest. You gave me hope. I thought I could finally move forward.”
The pressure sitting on my chest is so intense it feels like I’m having a coronary. “But you’ve ruined everything,” I seethe. “You make me sick. You lived with that monster. Youlovedhim. You refused to see what was right in front of your eyes. How many more boys were raped because you turned a blind eye, huh, Pres?”
“I didn’t know, Kent!” she yells. “Clay saved me from Jeff Rinaldi. My foster dad was going to rape me, and Clay fought him off. He called social services and got us rehoused. I don’t understand,” she sobs. “Why would Clay do that and then hurt you?”
“I don’t fucking care why!” I roar just as Kev barges into the room, followed by my parents, Kyler, and Keanu. They are all crying, and it’s obvious they heard. My shouts must have brought them to the door. I’m too angry and too tired to care at this point. “You think I want to know what makes that bastard tick?” I shout at my girlfriend.
Kev lifts Presley off the floor, helping her to stand.
“The only thing I care about is murdering that fucking bastard!” I rage. Climbing off the bed, I grab one of the chairs and throw it across the room. Keanu moves toward me, but Kev shakes his head. Mom stands in the doorway, falling apart, only my dad’s arms keeping her upright. Kyler looks shaken to his core, standing frozen still.“But I want payback first. I want to strip him bare, bend him over a table, and fuck him up the ass with a baseball bat, a knife, a broken bottle, the worst fucking things I can think of. I want to ruin him and cut him and make him bleed, and then I’m going to cut off his dick and let him choke on it and—”
“Kent. Enough!” Keanu cries. “Please, brother.”
“You don’t get to fucking tell me what to do!” I pick up a second chair, throwing it at the window. “None of you do!” I hiss at my family. “Where the fuck were all of you when I needed you?”
I glare at my dad. “You were too busy fucking your wife’s psycho assistant.” Mom cries uncontrollably, but I power on. Let them feel pain. It still won’t come even close to what I’ve endured for years. “You were too busy fucking working all the damn time to care about your own kid.” Jabbing my finger in the air, I point at Kyler. “You think what happened to you was bad? That’s a fucking cakewalk compared to what happened to me!” I yell. I turn my rage on my triplet next. “And you cared more about Selena than you did about me. She was all you saw.”
