Corrupt - Douglas Penelope - Страница 36
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Damon held up the same phone Will had recorded the fire on and then tossed it to Will. “I got video,” he taunted. “You want to watch?”
I straightened my back, turning back around. Fucking lowlife.
“You really are fucking stupid,” Kai gritted out again and faced forward.
I stared at him in the front, wondering why he was so angry. Damon had pissed me off with his stupid remarks, but why was Kai annoyed with him? What could be worse than the wife of the mayor?
And then my eyes rounded, finally realizing who they were talking about. The only other person that lived in the house besides the servants.
Winter Ashby, the mayor’s daughter.
Shit. That was his prank? Screw the mayor’s daughter?
No wonder Kai was pissed.
But before I could confirm that’s who they were talking about, Damon took out his cigarettes and called up front, “Let’s go eat,” he suggested. “I’m fucking hungry.”
And Michael, who’d been silent the entire time, hesitated only a moment before shifting the SUV into gear and pulling back onto the road.
Cranking up the radio to Jekyll and Hyde by Five Finger Death Punch, Michael took us back into town and parked right in front of Sticks, a favorite hangout, bar, and pool hall frequented by nearly every kid in town up to the age of twenty-one. They served alcohol, but unless you were of age—or a star basketball player—you didn’t get served.
It didn’t matter, though. The music was great, the atmosphere dark, and it was big enough to accommodate plenty of people. It was the place to be if you wanted action on a Friday or Saturday night. Every time I’d tried to join my friends, though, Trevor showed up and hovered, so I rarely came.
We stepped out of the car, and I combed my fingers through my hair as I walked around the back of the SUV to meet everyone on the sidewalk. Damon flicked his cigarette into the street, and I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to keep warm.
“Fuckin’ Anderson,” Kai said under his breath. “I can’t stand him.”
I followed his gaze through the windows, immediately looking away again as soon as I saw who he was talking about.
Miles Anderson.
I stared at the ground, letting my hair fall over the side of my face, covering it. I couldn’t stand him, either.
Uneasiness settled in my muscles until they were so tight and tense that I thought they
would pop.
“Asshole’s been talking shit since we graduated,” Damon added.
I could tell none of them really liked the new captain of Thunder Bay’s basketball team. Miles had taken over after Michael graduated, and he enjoyed no longer living in his shadow. He resented the Horsemen’s power, charisma, and reach, and after they’d left for college, he wasted no time in trying to claim what was once theirs.
The only problem was he sucked as a captain. The team had a horrible year last year, and the more he failed, the more he pushed to prove what a man he was.
I shivered, forcing thoughts of what happened last spring out of my head. He might be the only person worse than Damon.
I eyed Michael, trying to hide my concern. “We’re not going in there, are we?”
“Why not?”
I shrugged, looking away like it wasn’t a big deal. “I just don’t want to.”
“Well, I’m hungry,” Will chimed in. “And there’s tail in there, so let’s go.”
I stared down the sidewalk, blinking long and hard, in part for his crass remark and in part because I refused to budge and didn’t want to explain why.
I had to endure Miles’ presence at school, but I wouldn’t on my free time.
I felt Michael approach. “What’s the matter with you?”
His hard tone sounded impatient. Why wouldn’t it be? He never coddled me.
I looked up at him defiantly, shaking my head. “I just don’t want to go in. I’ll wait for you guys out here.”
Damon shook his head, looking at Michael. “I told you,” he complained. “Fucking complicated.”
I heaved an aggravated breath, staying frozen in my spot. I didn’t care what Damon had to say about me. I cared more about not having to look at Miles Fucking Anderson and him knowing he’d gotten away without a scratch.
He always had that power over me now.
But then I gasped, sucking in a breath as Michael grabbed my upper arm and force-walked me behind the SUV. He threw me off, letting me go, and I backed into the car as he advanced.
“What,” he growled, “is your problem?”
A lump stretched my throat, and I chewed on my lip, not really wanting the rest of the guys to know.
Fat chance.
They followed us over, around the car, and stood next to Michael, staring at me and waiting.
Great.
I let out a sigh, squaring my shoulders and just blurting it out. “Miles Anderson slipped me a spiked drink at a party last spring.”
I stared at the ground as they all just stood there, not saying anything.
Last March, I’d gone to a St. Patrick’s Day party at a senior’s house, and of course, I hadn’t gone alone. Noah and Claudia came with me.
We hung out, we danced, I had one drink, and the next thing I knew I was being slapped awake by Noah in a bathroom as he stuck his finger down my throat.
Maybe the guys didn’t think that was a big deal. Who cared about some idiot girl that got roofied?
Michael shifted, inching closer. “What the fuck did you just say?”
I shot my eyes up, my blood heating at the sight of his cinnamon eyes looking like he wanted to tear me limb from limb.
But I stayed strong. “Astrid Colby, his girlfriend, actually did it,” I explained. “She gave me the drink, but he was in on it.”
Yeah, any confidence Michael had in me was probably gone now. I was weak, stupid, and a waste of time.
“What happened?” he demanded.
I swallowed through the lump in my throat, my voice shaky. “I went down quick,” I told him. “I barely remember anything. All I know is what Noah told me. He’d broken down the door to a bedroom in the house where the party was. They had me on the bed, and my…” I paused, my stomach rolling with the thought as my eyes burned. “And my shirt was open.”
Michael hesitated a moment and then pressed. “And?”
“And they didn’t get that far,” I assured, knowing what he wanted to know.
No, I hadn’t been raped.
“Noah had noticed me being led upstairs with them,” I explained, “barely able to walk, and thankfully he got there before anything else happened.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” he threw back, accusing me.
My chest shook, and I blinked away the tears pooling.
But it was no use. They came anyway, and I couldn’t look at any of them as they started to fall.
“What the fuck is the matter with you?” he yelled in my face, and I winced. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“I did!” I cried, glaring at him through blurry eyes. “I told everyone! My mother called the school, and…”
I trailed off, clenched my fists under my arms.
“So help me God…” he warned when I didn’t finish.
I filled my lungs and forced the rest out. “And your father is partnered in three real estate ventures with the Andersons, so—”
“Goddammit!” Michael tore himself away, turning from me as he swore.
Kai shook his head, heat turning his dark eyes fierce. “Unbelievable,” he gritted out.
I didn’t need to explain further.
Yeah, I’d tried to fight back, tell my mother, the Crists, the school, even Trevor…but in the end, even despite the protests of my mom and Michael’s, the business relationship between Michael’s father and Miles’ parents was more precious than my honor.
Miles was told to stay away from me, and I wasn’t permitted go to the hospital to take a drug test for evidence. The incident never went to the police or even left our respective homes. I had to look at him every day in school, knowing what he almost did to me and wondering, if he and his girlfriend had raped me, would I have seen any justice then?
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