Page 5 of Finish Line

Hannah sits on the ground, biting her lip and crying.

I run my hand through my dirty and greasy hair, sadness and wariness coursing through me. “I knew you hated me, Hannah, but I?—”

She interrupts me. “Yes, I did it. Well, Carrie did, but I gave her the words.”

“How could you do that to them?” I ask. “You have no idea what it’s like to have no control over your actions.”

“I think he hypnotized me too.” She covers her face with her hands while tears leave streaks on her filthy cheeks.

“Right. You’re just saying that, so you aren’t blamed.” Like I would believe anything she says anymore.

“No, I’m serious, Shelby. You have to believe me. I’ll admit I did some things on my own, like getting Luke’s iPod and yours, but that psycho promised me Luke would come back to me, and everything would return to normal.” She shakes her head. “I was so stupid.”

“And you believed him, of course.” I throw my hands up in the air. “Cin did find weird music on mine, and I took Luke’s off him.”

Things are starting to make sense now. “Do you remember the night of the party you threw?”

She shakes her head.

“And what about what happened with Luke?”

Avoiding my gaze, she shakes her head.

She didn’t know what she was doing that night. “You were acting so off that night. Even Cam mentioned how calm you were and how out of character it was for you.”

“Was I hypnotized?” Hannah’s voice quivers.

“Maybe. It’s possible.” I put my head back against the wall.

“I swear I didn’t know what I was doing. I kept hearing Luke’s voice telling me he wanted me and loved me.” She gasps. “Oh my god, I almost raped him. He’s never going to forgive me.”

“You’ll be fine, Hannah. If you talk to Luke once he’s back to normal, he’ll forgive you.” I sigh.

She sniffles. “You have to hate me. I understand why Roger says you should want to kill me.”

I let out a snort. “I don’t want to kill you, Hannah.”

“You don’t?” She chokes and moves closer to me. “Why? I would if the situation were reversed.”

“I understand what Roger is capable of. How good he is at making you believe shit. He made me do things I never would have done.” I pick imagery lint off my jeans. “From what Nick told me, my mom came into your life, then your dad is married. Suddenly, I come out of the woodwork.” I shrug. “I can see how it would piss you off.”

Hannah turns to face me. “The only thing I ever wanted in my life was to be loved. I thought Luke would be the one for me. Now, I ruined all of that.”

“Oh my god, Hannah. You are loved. Your brother and dad would do anything for you. Like I said before Hannah, be honest with Luke. Tell him you’re sorry, and I can almost guarantee he will forgive you.”

“Would you mind explaining how you met Roger and what he made you do?”

“I was about fourteen and in one of the worst group homes you could think of. The girls ganged up on me, and he came to my rescue. I thought he was my white knight. He was great at first, but then things changed. I knew if I didn’t run away from him, I wouldn’t survive. So, I left and have been running from him ever since.”

“You lived on your own for all those years? Weren’t you scared?” she questions, pulling her cape tighter together.

I roll my head back and forth on the wall “Nope, I had Cin with me. Plus, my life before wasn’t anything like yours, Hannah. My mom wasn’t around, and if she was, she was high. I had to learn to do things on my own at a very young age.”

Hannah’s eyes widen in realization. “You didn’t want to come live with us, did you?”

“No, I didn’t want my life to change.” I shake my head, thinking back on it. “I figured it would only be a matter of time before she returned to drugs. I’m glad things turned out the way they did for her, though. Your father made a big difference for her. This change brought the guys into my life, so I can’t hate where I am.”

Hannah opens her mouth to comment but stops when a car door slams shut.

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