man. There’s a ringing in my ears that drowns out the sound of everything else around me. When I feel his hand trying to reach up my dress, I snap out of it and dig my nails into his forearms, ripping open his skin.
“You fucking bitch!”
This time his hit is a fist, and the second his knuckles make contact with my face, I feel the skin split. Black dots dance around my vision, dazing me. The throbbing reverberating from my skull is endless. A cry of pain rips from my chest, and I fall onto my side, skidding along the pavement. My elbows scrape against the gravel there. Glass from the shattered bottle embeds itself into my skin. I struggle to push myself upright, hot tears rolling down my cheeks.
“This works out perfectly,” Thomas murmurs, as he shoves me back down onto the ground when he sees me struggling to get up. I fight beneath him when I feel him settle on top of me as he works my dress up my body. I’m bucking so forcefully he can’t get ahold of me. With a punishing grip in my hair, he shoves my head down onto the sidewalk, applying pressure to keep me pinned down. I still fight. I fight against the throb radiating from my face. I fight against the feel of his heavy body on top of mine. I fight against the visceral fear percolating through my veins. The flesh of my cheek scrapes against the concrete as I try to get away, but it’s no use.
When he attempts to dig his hand up my dress, I scream. The sound echoes around us, painfully bouncing down the quiet street. Tears pool beneath me, every part of my body burning as I feel him work to lift the dress to get better access.
“Hey!”
He freezes at the sharp voice, and so do I.
“Hey, what the fuck?!”
Thomas scrambles to his feet. When his heavy weight is no longer crushing me into the pavement, I try to inhale a deep breath, but it gets trapped in my throat. I slam my eyes shut, and a sob rips past my lips when I hear his footsteps pound away as he flees. Shame washes over me. Pain grips my body, and an ache blooms in my chest at what could’ve happened. What almost happened.
I hear the sound of pounding footsteps in time with my racing heart. A sharp pain shoots through my arm when I try to move, and when I glance up, the side of my face burns. Someone skids to their knees before me, and when my eyes clear on the figure, tears of relief spring to them.
“Jesus Christ,” Landon breathes, his face crumpling when he sees me. “You all right, Selene? Tell me where it hurts.”
I press my palms into the concrete, trying to push myself upright. In doing so, he gets a good look at my face, and it tells me what I already know. It’s more than just a scratch. He lets out a string of curse words. “That son of a bitch.”
Landon helps me into a sitting position, taking stock of my injuries as he pulls his phone out of his pocket. I know who he’s calling, without even having to ask, and my stomach drops.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to beg him not to say anything, but there’s no way I can hide this or stay silent about this. I’ll be the talk of the town. News will travel back to my parents, and it will worry my dad.
“End, we have a problem.” There’s a pause as he glances at me. He proceeds to recount what happened in a low tone.
I wince when I hear the roaring sound of Endymion’s voice on the other end of the line. Great.
My eyes slam shut. The side of my face is burning, and there’s a dull, incessant throb at the base of my skull. I can’t escape it. A cold chill shoots down my spine, and I flinch when I feel Landon’s hand on my shoulder. His hand is gone immediately as if sensing I don’t want to be touched after what happened.
“I’m sorry, Landon. I didn’t mean—”
His brows pull in, and he looks frustrated. “What are you apologizing for, Selene? You did nothing wrong here tonight. Nothing.”
I nod, swallowing thickly because I don’t know what else to say. He takes a few steps away, giving me a little privacy as he calls his dad, who works for