Page 47 of Hush

“No,” Elise replied. “After this, I’ll drive to Seattle if I have to, so you never get near him again.”

Ben tried to be calm. Elise was only overreacting because she didn’t know the truth. She didn’t really mean what she was saying. “I would never hurt someone like that,” he said, his emotions flooding into his core, sloshing around his insides. “C’mon, does that really sound like something I’d do?”

“Then why were you with her that night?” Elise said. He could see her angry façade begin to fracture as the tears filled her lids. “Not two hours after you took me to bed, I see you with someone else.”

“It’s not what it looked like,” Ben said.

“If that’s so, why didn’t you try to explain it?” Elise gazed at the ceiling, wiping her eyes with the heels of her hands.

Ben inhaled a slow, steady breath to brace himself for what he was about to reveal. “Because she’s crazy.”

Elise

Ben relayws how his relationship with Ashley evolved from rival students to lovers. He described how he fell for her and thought their future was perfectly entwined, until the day she surprised him with the assault charge.

“Why didn’t you call her bluff?” Elise asked.

Ben shook his head. “I was scared,” he replied. “That’s my DNA under her fingernails. She checked herself in, and I’m sure they did all the tests.”

“But you didn’t assault her.”

An uneasy look passed over his face.

“What?” Elise asked, feeling a shiver grip her spine.

“That one time, Ashley…wanted it…thatway.”

Elise stood, clenching her aching gut. “You mean…like you were forcing her?”

“No,” Ben said, shaking his head. He grimaced, and she could see anguish cross his face. “Just…rough.”

“Ugh.” Elise squinted at him. “Did you like it?”

Ben shook his head. “I knew something was wrong then. I just…never expected something like that.” His voice had softened to a painful rasp. “She threatened to say I had been harassing her, making school hard for her.”

“I wish you would have just told me,” Elise said, her mind filing with conflicting emotions. It was all so much to process.

“I wanted to,” Ben said, sitting back against the window. “I just got scared. I thought, I don’t know, that Ashley wanted a quick visit and she’d be on her way, then I could go back to being with you.” He gazed at her, his eyes so full of sadness she had to look away.

“All I ever wanted was to help people,” Ben said. “I love my job. I love everything about it. The fancy tools, the problem solving. Taking away people’s pain is what I live for.”

“What are you going to do?”

Ben sucked in a hard breath. “I don’t know.”

After Ben left, Elise lay down in the recliner chair with a handful of blankets, but sleep would not come. She thought about the desperate look in Ben’s eyes and the terrible reasons why he had become trapped. His dedication to his work also bobbed to the surface of her mind. A part of her wanted to forgive and jump back into his arms, but the other half told her to be cautious. She had been lied to so many times. What if Ashley really was the victim? What if her wanting to see Ben was a part of her healing process?

One thing Elise knew Ben couldn’t manufacture was the tenderness he showed for Jaden. Her heart softened when she thought of the way he played with him, and the way he listened. Most people tried to tell Jaden what to do, not knowing he didn’t need their help. Jaden just did things differently, in ways most people would never think of. Ben understood that, encouraged it. It was clear Jaden felt a close bond with Ben because of this. If her little boy, who was normally so shy, who often tested his friendships, trusted Ben so easily, could she?

Elise remembered the way Ben had kissed her, his hungry lips tender but urgent, his body making her feel desired, cherished. A warm flush crept up her neck at the thought of the way he’d pleasured her, and his delight in focusing on her. Her body craved to feel that way again.

But he had hurt her by not telling her the truth. She understood his reasons, but it didn’t make forgiveness easier.

With her mind bouncing between these thoughts, Elise watched Jaden’s monitor and waited for the dawn.

Chapter 19

Ben

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