Page 41 of Gabriel's Salvation

“Oh, hey Gabe,” the girl smirks, not seeming even slightly surprised to see him in the women’s toilets.

“Kelly,” he snaps in a low voice.

“Oh, looks like you've found yourself a new, little bathroom bunny. She's pretty,” she says sweetly, while eying me up and down like shit on her shoe.

“Bathroom bunny?” Shit did I say that out loud? I know I did when a sadistic smile forms on her lips. “Yep, bathroom bunny. That's what you call us isn't it Gabe? The girls you fuck in the bathroom and then discard like garbage.

“Fuck off, Kelly, you’re just some dirty whore,” he says as he reaches out and grabs my arm, attempting to pull me out of the room behind him.

“That’s not what you were saying when you were fucking me right here last night,” she snaps back sounding oddly proud of herself.

Her words feel like a literal punch to the gut. Gabe clearly has a type. Like me, she’s blonde although her hair is clearly not naturally that color. She's skinnier than me, way skinnier. Is this what he’s into, a walking Barbie doll? Does he think I'm too big? I feel like one of my thighs is probably bigger than both of hers combined.

“You fucked her here last night?” I gasp, pulling out of his grip.

“Sure did Sugar, and not just me, but my friend, too,” she grins. “He fucked me right there in that same bathroom, then we went back to my place where he fucked my friend, too.”

The tears pool in my eyes as I run straight out the door.

“Wait, Riley,” I hear from behind me but I keep running. I make it outside and realize I have nowhere to go. “Riley!” Gabe shouts again, so I duck down between two parked cars. I watch him run past and then around the corner and out of site. Taking my phone from my purse, I call the only person I can think to -Harper.

“Hey, Rilez,” Harper sing-songs.

“Harper, I'm outside Saint's Bar. It's near the old restaurant. Come and get me now,” I plead to her on a sob.

“I'm on my way now,” she says without hesitation.

She arrives a few minutes later with Izzy and Nate.

“You were quick,” I say as I climb into the back of the car. As my ass hits the seat a new wave of discomfort rushes through me. Seriously, how hard did he hit my ass? It feels like the whole thing is on fire. I naturally squirm to try and get away from the pressure I'm feeling, having to sit at a slight angle just so I’m not resting all my weight against the side that throbs.

“Yeah, we were just around the corner. Nate wanted to take us to one of the restaurants there,” Izzy says as she turns around to look at me.

“Woah, what happened Riley?” Izzy asks, taking in my tear drenched, make-up-smeared, and bruised face.

“Oh nothing, just a crap date,” I say, unconvincingly.

“What, with that Justin guy?” she asks. Thankfully, she doesn’t know Justin since she and Nate are pretty new to the group. Had she been with Ava like usual though, Ava would have dragged me back inside until I told her exactly which guy made me cry.

I see Nate's eyes staring at me sympathetically in the rearview mirror.

“Err yeah, Justin," I lie and avoid the eyes I feel on me.

Nate drives me and Harper home in silence. “Thanks for the ride, Nate,'' I say as I climb out.

“Anytime, and I mean that - anytime,” he says, emphasizing the last word.

“So, do you want to tell me what really happened?” Harper asks as she throws her arm around me.

“Let's just get inside first,” I say quietly in return.

“I'll grab the ice cream,” she says as she lets go of me as I unlock the door. “I'll be down in a sec.”

I run downstairs to our basement conversion joint bedroom, strip my clothes off, and jump in the shower, letting the water wash away the now dirty feeling I have on my skin. I can't help but wince as the water beats down on my already painful and bruised ass. The tears continue to stream down my face as I scrub and scrub at my skin, hoping to scrub away the feel of his hands. I can’t believe I let him have my virginity. I’m just another notch in his belt. I can’t believe he used me. I can’t believe I was starting to have feelings for him - I thought he was different, but he’s not.

A knock at the door jolts me from my thoughts and I peer around the shower curtain to see Harper's head peeking through the doorway.

“I'm not looking, my eyes are closed. But I'm just letting you know the ice cream is melting,” she shouts, despite the fact there are less than ten steps between the doorway and the shower.

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