Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 101662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
“Wait. Stop, Brett,” was what I heard on the other side of the door.
That was enough to make me burst into the room. Kierra was pinned against a wall by her wrists, twisting and turning to try to get Brett off her. Without thought, I rushed over and yanked Brett away from her, tossing him across the room.
“Dude, what the fuck?” Brett blurted out as he crashed to the floor.
I ignored him as I placed my hands against Kierra’s face. “You okay?”
She nodded nervously, her eyes packed with drunkenness, panic, and tears.
I wrapped my arm around her and asked if she was all right. She didn’t respond. I hated that she didn’t respond.
We walked out of the bedroom with people staring our way as we headed for the front door. Rosie saw us, and she hurried over.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, concern dripping from every word.
“I’m taking her home,” I said. “You need a ride?”
“No, I’m walking. I’m only a few houses away. Kierra, are you okay?”
Kierra nodded slowly and forced out a smile. “I’m okay.”
She was lying, and I knew it. I pulled her outside and headed straight to my car. I placed her in the passenger seat, and the moment I slid into the driver’s seat, I slammed my door shut.
I gripped the steering wheel and slowly released a breath before turning to her and asking, “Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m fine. Should you be driving, though?”
“I don’t drink when I come to these things with Ali. She gets wasted, so I always stay sober.”
“Oh…where is Ali?”
“Don’t know. Don’t care.”
Kierra sat straighter. “Are you two okay?”
“Are you okay?” I countered.
She frowned.
My fucking heart shattered. “Penguin…”
“Can we just drive, please? I don’t want to be here, Gabriel.”
I wanted to argue, but the slight tremble in her tone made me feel sick. I turned on the ignition and drove off. “That place was filled with dicks. You shouldn’t have been in a place like that,” I scolded as I drove the drunken girl home.
“Why not? You were there.”
“Yeah, well”—I shrugged—“I’m a dick.”
“The dickest dick that ever dicked.” She gently giggled as she curled her knees in to her chest. Right as the laughter faded, a somber look invaded Kierra’s drunken eyes and she turned to look out the window. Her head rested against the headrest, and she sniffled slightly.
A knot formed in my gut. “Did he hurt you?”
“What?” she asked, not turning to face me.
“Brett. Did he hurt you?”
When she looked over her shoulder at me, her eyes were filled with tears. She raised her left shoulder and allowed it to drop. “It’s fine.”
The amount of anguish that shot through my system was alarming. I pulled the car over to the curb and put it in park. I took off my seat belt and turned to face her. “What did he do, Kierra?” I asked softly, trying to not scare her with the amount of rage I felt building up inside me.
A few tears slipped out and she quickly swiped them away with the collar of her shirt. “Nothing. It’s fine. He just… He was trying to…” Her voice cracked as she shut her eyes and more tears fell down her cheeks. “It doesn’t matter. You got there before he could get my clothes off.”
“He forced himself on you?” I asked.
“Gabriel…”
“Kierra. Tell me now. Did he force himself on you?”
Her brown eyes reappeared and they were dripping with the truth that she seemed scared to say out loud. She broke her stare from mine and nervously fiddled with her hands. She slowly nodded. “I just went into that room to get away from the crowd, and he followed me. I didn’t even know it was his room, but when I tried to leave, he blocked the door and tried to kiss…”
More tears from her.
More rage from me.
My hands gripped the steering wheel. “All right,” I stated calmly.
She placed a hand on my forearm. “It’s fine, Gabriel. I’m okay.”
“He forced himself on you,” I sniped, my anger not for her, but for Brett.
“It’s fine. I’m fine,” she lied.
“You’re not. You’re drunk and sobbing because that fucking asshole tried to take advantage of you, Kierra. That’s fucked up.”
“You showed up in time. You made sure nothing happened. So, it doesn’t matter.”
“It does!” I shouted, slamming my hands against the steering wheel. I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. “It fucking matters, Kierra.”
“I know,” she whispered, her voice shaky. “I know.”
When I opened my eyes, I saw how scared she’d been. I reached over and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around me tightly and held on as if she’d never let go.
“Thanks for saving me, Gabriel.”
“Always, Kierra. Just make me a promise, all right? If you ever need me, you’ll call me. I don’t care if we’re in some kind of fight over something big or little. No matter what, we have to be there for one another, all right? We have to look out for each other. You can call me no matter what, and I can call you no matter what.”