Torment Her (Rebels At Sterling Prep #5) - Caitlyn Dare Page 0,41

words or actions, so someone else might as well have a shot.

It isn’t until she's closing the door that I look over my shoulder. Our eyes connect for a second and a sad smile pulls at her lips.

Grabbing a pair of boxers, I make my way to the bathroom. I hate to wash away Kenny’s lingering scent, but I can hardly spend the day with it reminding me of what we had for those few hours.

The hot water does little to soothe my muscles or to loosen me up at all, and by the time I get out, I'm still as furious as I was when I stepped inside.

"Morning, sweetie," Ellen sings when I enter the kitchen a few moments later. "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Nothing," I mutter, walking to the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of water.

"N-nothing? Are you okay? Are you sick?" Her concerned eyes burn into my skin, but I don't look up at her.

"No, I'm not sick."

With my bottle of water in hand, I walk back out and return to my bedroom. Although I regret it the second I step inside and am hit with her scent again. It's even worse when I throw myself on my bed, because it's almost like I'm surrounded by her.

I hit play on ‘Throne’ by Bring Me the Horizon and drop my cell to the bed as I stare at the ceiling.

I try to think about anything but last night. I attempt to focus on what homework I've got to do, I think about the future and those applications still taunting me from my desk. I think about anything but Kennedy Lowe, the girl who still owns my heart…

But every single thought somehow leads back to her.

My fists are curled in frustration and my need to expel some of my pent-up aggression. I'm biting down on the inside of my cheek when my bedroom door flies open sometime later.

"What the hell did you do?" Hadley shrieks, storming toward the bed. Her eyes are dark and wild, and her lips are pressed into a thin line.

Great, now she's pissed at me. I roll my eyes at myself. Can I do nothing right where women are concerned?

"I have no idea what you're—"

"Have you seen her?"

"What? Who? Kenny? You know I haven't. She'd fucked off before I woke up."

"Yeah, I'm not surprised. What exactly did you do to her last night?"

"Uh..." I hesitate. We had sex, a lot of sex. But surely that's not what Hadley is referring to?

"She's black and blue, Conner. Covered in fucking bruises. How could you?"

My chin drops in shock at her judgement.

“That’s a bit rich, isn’t it? Seeing as I know the things you and my brother get up to behind closed doors.”

Despite my joke, Hadley’s face remains stiff. I've never seen her look so furious before. She's shaking with anger.

"We just—"

"How could you do that after everything she's been through?"

"I don't know what... we just fucked, Hads."

"Yeah, and just how fucking rough were you?"

"I… uh... I only did what she asked of me," I confess, remembering her demands for more.

"You hurt her, Con. Really hurt her.”

Guilt washes through me. I didn't mean to hurt her. "I didn't... I'd never..."

Hadley turns damn near purple before me as her anger begins to boil over.

"He raped her, Conner. And then you just go and..." Her eyes go wide as she registers what she just said. "Fuck, I—"

My stomach turns over and I look away from Hadley for a beat, convinced I'm about to puke on the floor.

"No. You're lying," I whisper, unable to accept her words as pain splits my chest in two.

There's no fucking way it was that bad. She'd have told me.

"Conner," Hadley breathes, sympathy oozing off her.

"No, he beat her…” Bile rushes up my throat. “He didn’t… he wouldn't... No. Just. No."

"Conner," Hadley repeats, this time reaching out to me, but I flinch back, reality crashing down around my feet.

"He... he raped her?" My voice is barely audible, but I know she hears me because her face drops.

"I'm sorry. Fuck." She drops her head into her hands and shakes it back and forth. "I shouldn't have said that," she confesses.

"So you're lying. He didn't—"

"No, he did.” Hadley’s eyes fill with tears. “And I'm pretty sure it wasn't the first time either."

I storm past her, unable to deal with what she's trying to tell me, and plant my fists into my wall. It hurts, but it's not enough. Marching through the house, I don’t stop until