Torment Her (Rebels At Sterling Prep #5) - Caitlyn Dare Page 0,3
the harshness of my tone, but not Hadley. She knows me, or more so Cole, better than to be threatened by us. She’s the bravest fucking girl I know.
“You just need to give her some time, some space.”
I lift my hands to my hair and pull until it hurts. I don’t want to give Kenny those things. I want to pull her into my arms and tell her that it’s going to be okay, that all she needs to do is tell me the truth and I’ll make sure that motherfucker isn’t able to touch her, or another woman, ever again.
I trusted that fucker with her. Kenny was the single most important person in my life aside from my brothers, and I trusted him with her.
What a fucking idiot I was.
"I don't fucking want..." My words trail off as Hadley's eyes soften.
"I know, Con." She reaches out and gently pulls my arms down before taking my hands. "I know you want to fix things... her. But you can't. Not as easily as you think you can. Just do as she says, let her heal, then maybe she'll be more willing to let you in."
I stare into Hadley's eyes, I want to believe what she's saying, that Kenny will open up once she's feeling better, but something tells me that this isn't going to be as easy as that.
The Kenny lying in my bed right now is different from the girl I remember. The light and sparkle that was once in her eyes has gone. I fucking hate it, and I know he's the reason.
Thoughts of him have my grip on Hadley tightening.
"You should go back in there." I nod to the door she appeared from.
"Things might be okay with Cole and me now, Conner. But that doesn't mean I'm no longer your friend."
"I-I know," I manage to get out through the emotion clogging my throat.
"Why don't you go and get some air. You've been standing out here all day. Get something to eat, maybe. I know you haven’t had anything yet. Ellen made cookies," she sings. And while I can't deny that they sound tempting, the last thing I want to do right now is eat cookies and pretend like everything is okay, because it's fucking not. Nothing is okay while my girl is laying battered and broken in my bed and I'm not beside her.
"Hads?"
"Yeah?"
"Will you try to talk to her? See if you can get through to her? I need to know if what I fear happened actually did happen."
"I can try. But if she doesn't want you to know, then you need to respect that."
Releasing her hands, I spin away from her. I might know that she's right but that doesn't mean I need to accept it.
Looking at my bedroom door once more, I do something that I haven’t done since I first brought her up here however many hours ago. I walk away.
The second my feet hit the ground floor my arm flies out, knocking the vase and full bouquet of flowers from the top of the dresser. The vase smashes as water splashes everything.
Watching the pieces clatter to the ground doesn't make me feel any better.
"What the hell was..." Ace comes to a stop when he sees me standing there with my chest heaving. "You need to calm down."
"Don't fucking tell me what to do," I bark, taking a step toward him, not stopping until my chest is brushing his.
He doesn't so much as flinch as he waits for me to take out my frustration on him.
"Conner. My office. Now!" A booming voice fills the silence around us as Ace continues to hold my eyes, daring me to do my worst. "Conner?" James says again, finally breaking through my haze.
I take a step around Ace, whose concerned eyes follow me, but I don't look back. Instead, I start up the main staircase, storming toward James and letting myself into his office.
By the time he follows me in, I've fallen down on his couch with my legs stretched out before me and my head resting back on the cushion as I stare at the ceiling.
Dad closes the door before coming to join me. He doesn't say anything, but I know he's looking at me. His attention burns my skin.
"Talk to me, Son."
"Nothing to say."
He lets out a frustrated sigh. "Okay, let's do this a different way. Who is she?"
I think for a few seconds, the silence stretching out between us. "She's... she's everything."