I haven’t spoken to her or my brother.”
“Why did he do this? He loves her.” Her mom was wiping at her cheeks, almost like she was bewildered that her tears continued to flow. “Why Jeremy? Why?”
Should I tell them it was because he loved her too much? Should I tell them it was because of me, because I fell for her? Or should I tell them this happened because they never thought to ask their daughter how she felt or what she wanted? None of those answers would help them right now. I knew that. So instead I left them standing in the hallway with their questions and then locked Savy’s hospital room door after I slipped inside.
She was sitting up in bed, a gown on her small frame and a bruise on her cheek. Her hair was a tangle of blonde silk and her lips were puffy and red. “Baby.” I crossed the room and wrapped her in my arms, holding her as she sobbed against my chest. “Are you okay? Did he…? Tell me what happened.”
“He followed me up to my room.” Her voice was soft, her grip on my arms tight. “He told me that he could give me the same things you could, that he could make me feel good too.”
I clenched my jaw, trying to control my rapid heartrate. She didn’t need another man in her life to lose it. She needed me to hold her and listen, so I would. Even though every fiber in my being wanted to go find my brother and kick his ass.
“He t-t-touched me, but I stabbed him with a fork and he chased me when I ran. He had me up against the door, but then I hit him with a vase.” She stopped, taking a deep breath. “He tackled me in the yard and told me he loved me. That’s when I got him to calm down a bit, he let me go inside to shower and I called the police.”
“Baby, my god, I’m so—”
“I hid in the shower, but I could hear everything. I heard the cops come in. I heard how shocked he was, then how angry. Then he was scared and he was calling my name, begging me to come tell them that we were in love.” She broke down, sobs wracking her body.
I stroked her back, and held her. I told her over and over again how much I loved her, how I would never leave her again.
I told her how strong she was, how smart.
I rocked her long after she fell asleep in my arms.
Chapter Thirty-One
Savy
I woke up in yet another hospital room, but this time I was in the bed and Jeremy was sitting in an uncomfortable chair beside me. He was asleep, his arms folded across his chest and the bruising still around his neck from where Nate had choked him. The past few days felt like a nightmare, like a bad dream rolling on repeat. I’d hurt my best friend. Then he’d retaliated by almost killing his brother. He snapped when he realized I wasn’t his the way he wanted me to be, and he violated me, and nearly raped me.
All because I wanted to be free, and in the process I fell in love.
“Savannah, darling, you’re awake.” My mom rushed over to my side, brushing the hair off my forehead. “Do you need me to call the nurse?”
“No.” I shook my head while reaching for the cup of water she held out. My mouth was dry, and my throat was scratchy. I took inventory of my body, noticing that my joints were sore and everything felt stiff like I’d been asleep for days instead of hours. “Where is Dad?” I knew both my parents were in the hallway when Jeremy came in, I saw them when he opened the door.
“He went home to get you a change of clothes.” She fussed with my blankets. “They said the clothes you came in wearing were torn and wet.” Her gaze slowly met mine, a frown on her lips. “Did Nathan, um, what happened?” She glanced at Jeremy who was still asleep or was pretending to be to give my mother a moment. “Jeremy wouldn’t tell us anything, he said it was a long story and all that mattered was letting you rest.”
“Jeremy and I, we started hanging out this summer, and we fell in love.” I couldn’t help but smile as I said those words, even though the chain of