done begging him to share some of his burden with me.
“Good night, Ash.”
I walked out the living room. Then his soft plea reached me.
“Please don’t go.”
“Why shouldn’t I?”
“Because…because if-if a friend didn’t come upstairs to find me half an hour ago, I would’ve been raped. And I don’t want to be alone right now.”
My mouth fell open, and I stared at Ash, unable to move. When my limbs were able to function again, I was in front of him, pulling him back into my arms. His body trembled against me, shudders racking his frame.
“Jesus, my poor baby.” Now it made sense what the police officer had said about having Ash agree to do a kit. My stomach revolted as everything fell into place.
“Ash, baby, I should take you to the hospital.”
He shook his head. “No, it’s not necessary. Nothing happened. He couldn’t…he was too drunk and couldn’t get it up.”
“Oh my god.” I returned to the sofa and dragged him onto my lap, numb at the thought of him being violated in such a way.
“What happened?”
He swallowed hard, leaning back against my chest. “I swear I didn’t start the party. Not that I’m saying I’m innocent in all this. The past week, I did very little but mope around the house and drink.”
Disappointment in him and anger at what he’d just faced turned into a whole lot of confusion. I couldn’t decide which I should feel. I was terrified. Absolutely terrified for him.
“A friend dropped by to cheer me up, and then he invited people along. More and more people just showed up.”
“Then what happened?”
“Louis found me.” The way the shudders returned was a telltale sign that he was still feeling the aftereffects of what had happened tonight.
“Who is this guy?”
“We used to be friends. Really close friends. I used to tell him everything, including my relationship with other men. You know how affectionate I get, so I sometimes sat in his lap or cuddled with him. He never said no or that it made him uncomfortable. I had no idea that he was taking it all the wrong way. He said I was a cocktease.”
“You’re not blaming yourself for this, are you?”
“No, I told him no about a dozen times. He had no right to try and take something from me that I didn’t want to give. Something that belongs to you.”
I closed my eyes at his words. Ashton was killing me with his vulnerability.
“Then what happened?”
“I called Rue to help me put a stop to the party. Then Louis came into my room. I hit my head and passed out for a while. He’d undressed me and tried to roll on a condom, but he couldn’t get hard. My friend, Justin, came upstairs to check on me and saw him. He pulled him off me and lost his temper. I’d never seen him so angry before, but thank god.”
I inhaled deeply and took my time to release the breath. I wanted to find the guy who’d touched him and finish the job Ashton’s friend had started. Ash already had so much shit to work out. He didn’t need this on his plate too.
“It was frightening.”
“I bet it was. You’re safe now.”
“And I couldn’t do anything because I’d been drinking so much.” He sniffed. “I don’t want to be that helpless ever again, Callum.”
In this moment in my arms, I sensed his good intentions. He wanted to do better. Just like that night he’d walked out on me. But he had demons holding him back, and I didn’t know how to help him fight them. I didn’t know if I could help him fight them.
“We should get you to bed,” I told him.
He shook his head. “I don’t know if I can sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I just keep seeing his face, hearing him rip the condom wrapper open.”
My arms tightened around him. “Would it make you feel better if I promised to stay the night and watch over you?”
I’d have to be up early to get to the coffee shop, but I could do it if it meant he’d fall asleep.
“Would you do that for me?”
He looked astonished as if I hadn’t already proved to him over and over again just how much I’d do for him. After all, here I was consoling him when he’d done nothing but ruin what we had and his life.