Page 205 of Only With You

“What? No!” His ragged breaths pierce the tense air. “That wasn’t me. That was all Sienna. She’s the one who put something in her drink. I swear it wasn’t me.”

“Don’t fucking lie.”

“I swear to God it was Sienna. I have proof.” He digs a trembling hand in his pocket and holds out his phone. “It wasn’t me. I swear!”

A chill runs down my spine as I take his phone. I wish I could say he’s lying, but something tells me he’s not.

“It wasn’t me. The code is two, three, three, three,” he begs desperately. “It was Sienna. She’s jealous of Julianna. Shewanted her kicked out of the sorority. I swear I had nothing to do with it.”

A humourless chuckle rips from the back of my throat. “And instead of helping her, you took advantage.” I remove my foot from his neck and stomp my foot on his crotch. He cries in agony, rolling in a foetal position as he grabs himself. I kick him again despite his hands shielding him. Still, another shrill cry leaves him. And for good measure, I do it one more time.

I fist his hair, lifting his head because I won’t crouch to his level. He sniffles, snot and blood running down his face, and he winces in pain.

“If someone says no, it fucking means no. Come near Julianna again and I swear to God, I’ll fucking kill you.”

Shoving his head back, I leave him on the ground. He struggles to catch his breath, still clutching to his crotch. I don’t look back, not when he begs me not to leave him, not when he asks for his phone back.

“Do you not know who my father is? He’ll have your ass. I swear he will!” he threatens, voice dripping with spite, but still, I hear the fear underneath it. “You’ll regret ever touching me.”

I grimace at the spots of blood on the dash and shut the passenger door. I round the hood, and before I get in, I look at him and my lips twist wryly. “You know where to find me.”

58

JULIANNA

A senseof relief and sadness floods my chest, but the emotions battle between which I should feel the most or not at all.

I should be happy knowing I don’t have to deal with feeling inadequate when I talk to my parents. In my head, it feels like I took the right step, like I did what needed to be done to protect my own peace, but now I just feel sad.

All the years I spent trying to prove my worth to them, only for it to mean nothing. The worst part of all of this is that I finally told them about the sexual assault and they said nothing. It’s been hours now since I last spoke to them. Not one message, not one I’m sorry, not one do you need anything, not one anything.

Their silence speaks volumes, but it’s still not enough to stop myself from feeling so heavy-hearted. It feels like I’m grieving two people who are still alive.

Exhaling a heavy breath, I shut the water off and finish getting ready for bed. Then I lie down while Haptic plays in the background.

I glance at my open door, wishing I wasn’t alone. El couldn’t come because she’s working tonight. My roommates are at the party, and Landon, well, he said he was going to talk to Cole. Hedidn’t go into the specifics, but it makes me nervous because I can’t imagine Cole openly confessing.

Closing my eyes, I focus on the music. Everything about Haptic feels familiar and comforting. I know with him, I won’t ever have to worry about change because he’s consistent. At least in the way he plays an instrument or sings. Music-wise, that’s a little different.

He usually plays or sings pensive, wistful, melancholic music, but recently, something changed. When he sings or plays, it sounds richer, effervescent, and livelier. If the comments weren’t pointing it out, I would’ve felt like I was reading into it because it feels like he’s in love. It’s very obvious in his choice of music. He even sang one in Spanish, “Eres” by Café Tacvba. I had Gabby translate it for me because I wasn’t sure Google was going to translate it correctly.

He could be in a romantic mood, but I’m certain he’s found a special someone. I hope that’s the case, but if not, I just hope he’s doing well and is happy.

My eyes flutter as I feel a dip in the bed. Still, I feel too groggy for them to fully open. That’s until an arm slips under my neck, taking the place of my pillow, and the other snakes over my stomach. It tugs me back until my back is flushed against a firm, warm chest.

“Good night, Love,” Landon whispers in my ear.

I sleepily smile and turn to face him. I throw my arm over his chest, nuzzle my face against the crook of his arm, and toss my leg over his. My lips stretch wider because me from five months ago would’ve felt repulsed at the thought of doing this withLandon. Now, I love it and I get to call him my boyfriend. Yeah, past me would have lost her shit.

“What time is it?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. Go back to sleep,” he murmurs, kissing my forehead.

“It’s okay. I’m happy you’re finally home.”

Landon inhales deeply and exhales sharply. His arms wound tighter around me, almost protectively. He kisses my forehead again and his lips linger there, his stubble grazing me.

I’m almost afraid to ask, but I force myself to swallow past the lump in my throat. “He didn’t confess, did he?”

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