As darkness begins invading my vision, I think that if he does kill me, at least I’m not gonna have to marry him. Because I don’t care if I lose everything, but there’s no way I’m going to be married to this monster.
Bex
Present day
Luke is horrified. And furious. I can tell from the way the muscle in his jaw is jumping as he looks at me in stunned silence for a long moment.
I think I prefer that reaction to pity.
“Fuck.” He finally says, wiping a hand over his face. “I can’t even—Did you tell Dad what happened?”
I shake my head. “I couldn’t risk it. The stuff Kurt said to me wasn’t totally out of the blue. Dad didn’t use that language, but when a couple of other dancers last year were caught having sex, he blamed it on her. She got kicked out, he didn’t. Then he gave us all a speech about female power and how it’s mostly on us to keep the men in the house from breaking the no touch rule.”
“Jesus.” Luke murmurs. “I think you’re right. I’m glad you came here, Bex. And I’m so fucking glad you’re ok. I don’t even know where to start unpacking all this horror. I wonder if it’s too late to go to the hospital and get a rape kit done on you.”
I consider his words. “I don’t know, but I agreed to have sex with him.”
His fists clench on the table. “That’s debatable. He pressured you, he basically didn’t leave you any other choice. He intimidated you into sleeping with him and then he judged you for it. And don’t even get me started on how he didn’t even try to make it good for you.”
My brother is right, but that doesn’t change the situation. “Yeah, but it’s going to be my word against his. And it’s true, I felt cornered, and that’s mostly why I agreed. But that doesn’t change the fact that I never told him no.”
“Yeah, but at some point you asked him to stop, and he didn’t. Consent isn’t a blanket type of thing. It can be withdrawn. The second you asked him to stop, he should have.”
That’s true. “Yeah, but all I want is to lie low and never speak to Kurt again. If we go to the cops, there’s going to be an investigation, and you know whose side Dad is going to take.”
His laugh is sardonic. “You’re right about that. But I still don’t think that piece of shit should get away with it. Even if we couldn’t get him for rape, he still assaulted you.”
My fingers trace the rim of the glass pitcher where Lady M is swimming to the surface, probably looking for more food. “I don’t know, Luke. I just don’t want to have any more contact with him or Dad. I want to focus on my future and forget the last four years of my life. When I got out of that cab at the pier yesterday, it felt like I was waking up from a nightmare. I don’t want to invite Dad, Kurt, and their toxic energy back into my life. Even if it’s to get justice, which isn’t a sure thing.”
Luke sighs. “I can’t force you to press charges, Bex. But I want to take some photos of your injuries in case you change your mind later on. I’m sure there’s a statute of limitations to charge someone for assault, but it’s usually longer than a few weeks.”
I don’t argue with him, but I don’t think I’m gonna change my mind about this.
Once Luke is satisfied with the photos he snaps with his phone, he sets a worried gaze on me. “There’s another thing we should worry about. You said that pathetic excuse for a man refused to use protection. What if—do we need to go get something to make sure he didn’t get you pregnant?”
I take his hand, grateful for the way he’s always looked out for me since I can remember. “Yesterday morning, when some of the girls in the house came to my room to help me get ready for the wedding, I noticed I got my period. I put a few tampons in the clutch that matched my dress, but I’ll probably need to get some more. A couple of tampons and my phone were all I could fit in there. Isn’t that pathetic? That’s all I have to my name, if you don’t count the fifty bucks in my bank account, if we don't count the money I won with the bet with the guys.”
Luke pulls me into a hug, and I soak the warmth and the comfort radiating from him.
“I’m glad that’s one thing we don’t have to worry about.” He says when he releases me. “There’s one more thing I need to ask you, Bexie-Boo. I don’t mean to sound unwelcoming, but do you have a plan? Anywhere you want to go or do with your life?”
The million dollar question.
I squirm in my chair, lowering my gaze when I tell him that he’s all I have. “I have nowhere to go, and no money. I was hoping I could crash with you until I can get a job and save enough to rent in town. I haven’t thought about it beyond that.”
There’s a beat of silence as Luke muses over what I just said.
I brace myself for being turned down. I don’t know what I’m going to do if he kicks me to the curb. Of course I can’t hold it against him if he does. When I texted him after almost two years of no contact, he immediately came to the rescue. It’s more than anyone in his shoes would have done. Heck, I don’t know what I would have done if the roles had been reversed.
“It’s complicated.” He finally says. “I want to help you, Bex, but it isn’t just up to me. I can stay with Shane at the Gamma house and give you my room here, but to do that, I need to ask my roommates if they’re ok with it. It isn’t just having you stay here, sis. These condos are technically dorms, so I could get expelled if someone reported us. I’m willing to take the risk of helping you out, and I would take full responsibility if there was any problem. But there might be consequences for the guys too, so I don’t know if they’re going to agree.”
I hang my head. “They probably won’t, and I wouldn’t even blame them. Besides the risk of getting in trouble, I doubt Keene would say yes, anyway. He and his cat hate me.”
To my surprise, Luke laughs. “Keene and Poonani hate everyone. Don’t take it personally. Look, I can’t promise anything, but give me a minute to figure it out and talk to them. There’s a party at the Gamma house tonight. I’ll ply them with shots and see if I can get them to agree to at least a couple of weeks.”
“That’s so devious, babe.” I can’t help but laugh.
Luke shrugs. “I’m not gonna get them wasted, but they’re more likely to help us if they’re in a relaxed environment, and they’re having fun. I’m their team captain, and they respect me. I’ve never used that to my advantage, but this is for a good cause. You should probably stay behind for tonight, so if they say no, things won’t escalate too quickly.”
