Christian (The Mitchell/Healy Family #3)(24)
Author: Jennifer Foor

“He obviously likes you.”

“Yeah, if that’s what you call it.”

“What do you mean? You can tell me.”

I sighed, hoping I was making the right decision. “He took me to an abandoned house and forced himself on me, Becca. Seth raped me,” I admitted.

“What?” She stood up and put her hands on her hips. “Seth may be a lot of things, but he’s no rapist. I don’t know what your problem is, but callin’ someone out like that is pretty fucked up.”

I couldn’t believe it. She didn’t believe me. I’d spent the better part of the day holding it all in and when I finally want to come clean the person listening tells me I’m lying. “It’s true. I wouldn’t lie.”

“I’ll tell you what I know, Chris.” She pointed to the exterior door. “That guy you had me kick out is one of the nicest guys I know. His ex would do anything to get back with him, no matter how many times he screws up. Do you honestly mean to tell me that he’d rape you when he could be with any girl he wanted? You’re pretty, but you ain’t worth that kind of trouble.”

“I wouldn’t lie about somethin’ like this. I swear.”

“We just met, so forgive me for not bein’ able to trust your word. I’ve known Seth for years, and he’s never been accused of such madness. I think you’ve had a hard time makin’ friends because you can’t keep your stories straight. People don’t want to be around someone who starts drama where it’s not needed. I was here when you took him into your room and let him stay overnight. I know you fucked him more than once because we could hear you. Obviously you liked it. He’d have no reason to rape you.”

I was a blubbering mess. I’d struggled with making friends for so long, and now I regretted it, because obviously they were never going to accept me. “I have bruises from where he held me down.”

“You could have done that to yourself. Please get out of my face before I say somethin’ I might regret later. If I were you I’d keep this story to yourself and do your best to get back into Seth’s good graces. Otherwise you’ll end up looking for another place to stay for the rest of the semester.”

With that she walked out of my room, leaving me all alone.

Chapter 15

Ethan

It wasn’t just the phone call that had me worried. Her voice was raspy and I could tell she was upset. Since I still had no idea what was going on, I left my class and rushed over to her house.

I don’t know how many times I beat on the door before Becca finally answered. She gave me a dirty look after seeing it was me. “She’s pretty popular today. I should warn you to be careful around that one. She’s liable to ruin your life too.”

I furrowed my brow while wondering what she was talking about. “Whatever,” I said as I moved by her toward Christian’s room.

I tapped on the door after realizing it was locked. “Chris, it’s me. Open up.”

I could hear her walking across the floor and stopping a few feet on the other side. “Ethan?”

“Yeah.” It was upsetting she had to ask, as if she was expecting another guy.

Finally the latch unfastened and I walked inside, finding her hiding behind the closing door. She looked so bad, worse than I’d ever seen before.

I reached my hand out to touch her face and she quickly retracted. “Don’t.”

I threw up my hands, surrendering to her order. “Okay, I won’t touch you. What gives? When you called you begged me to come save you, now I can’t even touch you.”

“It’s not you, I swear.” She headed over to her bed and plopped down on the mattress. “No one can save me.”

I headed in her direction, sitting down right beside her. “Why do you keep sayin’ that?”

“Because it’s true. Please don’t make me talk about it.”

“Should I go?”

“No!” She replied quickly. “I need you to stay.”

For the second time I moved my hand over to touch her. She shoved it away, distancing how close we were sitting to one another. “I’m not goin’ to hurt you, Chris. Why are you pushin’ me away?”

She covered her face and began to sob. I didn’t get it. She wasn’t a crier, yet for the past couple days it seemed like all she was doing. I’d obviously missed some significant happening in her life, because I couldn’t figure out what could possibly cause her to become so distraught.

I made a third attempt to touch her, this time on her shoulder. At first she jerked, but I refused to pull away. “I’ll never hurt you,” I reminded her.

Despite the fact that I still had no inkling of what was going on, I accepted her body when it fell against mine, and I held her tight when she lost control.

Christian never mentioned her bedding being gone, so I refused to talk about it. For two days I’d struggled with finding the words to say to her. With her in my arms, in such a terrible condition, I knew my revelation was going to have to wait. This wasn’t the time to confess that I’d been lying about my feelings for years. Right now she needed her best friend.

After some time had passed she’d gotten quiet. I moved my arms away to reveal that she’d fallen asleep. It was another suspicion to warn me that something was very wrong. Then I started thinking about what it could be. She’d left that note out of nowhere, and now she was running away, and avoiding my calls. It was like she was having a hormonal imbalance.

That could only mean one thing.

She was pregnant.

A part of me that wasn’t feeling terrible for my friend became overwhelmed with hope; hope that this could be a new beginning for us. Sure, a child would change things, and we’d have to figure out how to finish school and care for a child, but we had huge families, and our union would be celebrated; maybe not by her father at first, but I’d change his mind.

I’d come to the conclusion that she’d been afraid to tell me, and that’s why she was freaking out so much. After she rested we’d be able to talk about it, and I’d finally let her know that she’d always had my heart. I was prepared to nourish her, to prove that I’d do anything to take back all of the times I’d pushed her away.

Shortly after I’d dozed off myself I felt her stirring. It caused me to tighten my hold on her, and that’s when she jolted out of my arms. I sat up on the bed watching her head to the far side of the room, while hugging the front of her own body. “What is it?”