Coursework that needed to be turned in to get the extra points for another class.Gaviria wasn’t in the PCC.What did I need to pack for the Australian tour?No way was he in a gang.Should I ask Evan to grab some takeout on our way back to my house to cheer Abi up?Eight deaths at that warehouse.Why was my sister so distraught?Five of them from fighting.Maybe I could convince Abi to come on this tour with us.A summer hanging out with my sister would be good for us both.
Eight people died.But Gaviria had nothing to do with that…
I wished Sixx didn’t have jiu-jitsu practice on Wednesdays.I really needed a hug from him.Wrapping the towel around me, I took two steps and froze.
Standing at the entrance to the private showers was Gaviria.His beady eyes raked over me, his gaze tracing the droplets of water on my body.And I felt dirty all over again.
Licking his lips, he took a single step forward, and I began to tremble.
Move, Ali.Run.Scream.Do anything but stand there.
“Finally,” he said with a chuckle.“Playing hard to get is boring.It’s about time you gave in to what you’ve been begging for with those sweet blue eyes.”
“I…” My throat closed up, fear blocking any denial.Scream.Run.I was frustrated with myself, and tears stung my eyes.I felt trapped, helpless.And so fucking stupid.
If I’d spoken up, told someone, this never would have happened.I should have confided in Hayat or Mom.Dad.Either of my godparents.Bentley.Poppy and Gammy.Infinite possibilities played through my mind, countless people to whom I could have shown the texts.Maybe even Evan.They would have protected me, and Sixx might not have done something stupid when it got back to him.
He might have actually kept a clear head.
Doubtful, but right then, I was seeing the maybes clear enough to understand my monumental fuckup.
None of those solutions mattered now, though.I was stuck in a locker room that appeared to be empty with only a towel to cover my body.Frozen in place, my voice absent.All the disgustingly detailed texts this man had sent to me replayed in my head, spiking my fear higher.
Wishing everything away had not been the correct choice.Hoping he would give up and leave me alone was never going to work.I’d known it, yet I’d convinced myself it was nothing.
And now, that nothing was stepping toward me with triumph glowing in his eyes.Staying silent had given Gaviria power.It had encouraged him.Let him think I wanted his attention.
My fault.Mine.I’m to blame for getting myself into this situation.
Another step forward from him.I could make out the faint scent of his cologne over the other bathroom smells, my body wash, and the lingering fragrances of my classmates who had already left.
Too close.
He was too close.
Scream.I need to scream.
Instead, my fingers tightened on the towel, clutching it to my chest.“No,” I whispered, the sound weak as it pushed out of my tight throat.
His grin grew.
“Stay away from me,” I hissed, stumbling back a step, my body not fully cooperating as I willed it to move.“Leave me alone.”
“But you don’t want me to leave you alone, do you, Ali?”He took another step closer, his grin taunting me, the spicy scent of his cologne burning my nose.It wasn’t a bad smell.I wished it were, but it was a high-quality brand, one I couldn’t name.And something that would always stay with me.
Scream.Help.Scream.Fucking scream.Someone please help me.
“All these weeks and you never once asked me to stop.”
I flinched.He was right.I hadn’t confronted him, not even via the many, many texts he’d sent every day.I’d stayed mute, hiding from the monster on the other end of the phone.This entire time, I’d thought that my silence was bravery, that I was protecting Sixx.But the reality was that my silence was holding me hostage, while simultaneously encouraging this bastard.
“I’m telling you no now,” I gritted out, hating how my voice trembled.Tears began to fall.“I’m saying stop.”
Gaviria’s smile dimmed.“You don’t get to say no.”
“No,” I said a little louder, mentally pleading with myself to scream.
Help.
