Page 86 of Holy Sinner

I smile at Aurora, happy that Dottie did the right thing for once.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

KIT

A DECADE EARLIER…

The evening didn’t go the way it should have. I was supposed to be laughing and dancing, my dress and makeup were supposed to be absolutely perfect. Tonight I was supposed to get the beautiful prince that swept me off my feet and showed me off to everyone we knew. That’s not what happened.

Mark Dixon was the most handsome boy I’d ever seen in real life. He was the kind of guy that made us all stop to watch when he walked down the hallway. He’d had that extra bit of magic that you knew would make him a star if he was given the chance to get on screen. I’d watched him like all the others and blushed when it seemed our eyes would meet randomly but that was it.

Mark was with Lisa. They were the couple of our high school. Almost like royalty, most definitely going to be prom King and Queen. But everything changed when Mark and Lisa broke up, with prom right around the corner.

“You’re beautiful, Kit. It’s easy to see why I’d want a special girl like you to go to prom with me.”

Mark made me feel beautiful. He’d said those words to me and I believed him. I wipe my tears and stare down at my hands. The hands that just fucking pushed Mark off his balcony two stories up. He almost made it into the pool but in the end he came up half a foot short.

“Oh god,” I whisper and it’s hard to stand upright, but I do it.

“Hurry the fuck up, Kit.”

My mom is here. I called her because I didn’t know what else to do. This night is a nightmare. I didn’t get to go to prom. Not a single soul saw me with Mark or even knew I was here with him. He’d made it that way. When he asked to take me to his house for drinks before prom as a way for us to relax together, I’d done it.

This was my first date and the idea of having drinks with Mark while I wore my fanciest dress seemed like a fairytale.

“Listen, I thought we would stop by my place and have a few drinks. Something for us to get the night started. It’s super nice. You’ll see.”

We’d met in the parking lot of the hotel the prom was being held at. I could see it in the background and could already hear the thumping music going on inside but it was early. Barely 6pm so I’d say yes and gotten in his car.

I wish I could take it back. I wish I could rewind everything and go back to that moment in the parking lot. If I could, I’d go into the hotel and I’d enjoy myself, even if I was alone. I would realize that I didn’t need a date to have a good time and I’d dance and laugh. Maybe I’d even meet a boy that really liked me. The kind that would actually take me out and dance with me in front of everyone and not an asshole like Mark Dixon.

We’d had a drink that had turned into two and then into three. It was after seven when I’d edged towards the door and asked him about us heading to the prom but he’d begged me to wait just a little bit longer. To have one more with him on the balcony.

“It has a great view. You’ll love seeing the stars.”

The view wasn’t of anything but Mark’s backyard and pool and hot tub combo. His family lived in a subdivision. It was nicer than where I lived but the houses were close together, every house built to the edge of the lots so the yards were too small for the builds. I could see into his neighbor’s yards. There wasn’t anyone outside right now with us and that was nice, because there were stars like Mark had promised and I was making the best of the situation and taking them in with the lukewarm beer I’d been nursing. I wasn’t a drinker, I never had been. After one beer that I drank too fast and felt tipsy on, I slowed down. Mark didn’t slow down, though. He kept drinking. He was on his fourth when he came up to me from behind and wrapped his arms around my waist while I stared up at the stars.

For a second I thought it was all coming together. Still a perfect dream that was just for me. That was before Mark tried to pull my skirt up.

“Stop.”

“Don’t be a tease, Kit.”

“Let’s go to the prom. Please.”

“In a minute.”

“Mark, stop.”

That had been when he’d pulled at my strap and it had torn. The dainty material hung down my arm and I fought back tears while Mark swore.

“Stop fucking crying. This is as good as a girl like you is going to get. You make me feel nice and maybe I’ll take you to that fucking prom for the last hour. You might even get lucky and I’ll let you suck me off at the afterparty.”

Maybe.

My heart broke. I knew he wasn’t going to. He’d never intended to. I was a maybe to him and I’d risked everything to be here.

“Get off of me!” I slammed my hands against his chest and he stumbled back a step. The beers he’d had were obvious as I surprised him. He wobbled and hit the railing but the surprise vanished in the next instant.

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