Page 127 of Leave

“Actually,” I said. “Nolan didn’t tell me you assaulted him. I figured it out.”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Sophia fidgeted on the couch. “What do you mean, you figured it out?”

“I knew he had trauma,” I said. “Some of it, I’m trained to see. Some of it, I just picked up on. After a while, seeing how he interacted with people, and then watching the two of them”—I gestured at Nolan, then Leann—“interact, I put the pieces together.”

Nolan’s cheeks were red, and he kept his eyes down, refusing to look at anyone. I squeezed his hand. He squeezed back.

“So what?” Leann snapped. “He’s awkward with girls. He always has been.”

“There’s awkward with girls,” I growled. “And there’s going white as a sheet when a specific woman unexpectedly walks into the tux fitting.”

Matt and Sophia both sucked in air.

“Are you—” Matt’s eyes were huge. “You didn’t say anything, though.”

“No, I didn’t.” Nolan tipped his head toward me. “But did you notice when he suddenly left with Leann and Carly to get coffees?”

Matt’s jaw was slack. Sophia put a hand to her lips.

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Leann said. “His delusional boyfriend grabs us to go get coffee, and that makes me a rapist?” She snorted derisively. “Give me a break.”

“No, but he’s right.” Matt sounded dazed. “I remember Nolan was totally chill that day, and then he just suddenly seemed…” He looked at Nolan. “I seriously thought you were about to have a combat flashback or something. The way you went from calm and cool to…that.”

Nolan nodded slowly. “Yeah. It was…” He gestured at Leann.

Her response was an ugly laugh and another eyeroll.

“You can laugh all you want,” Nolan said coldly, “but we both know it’s true. And we both know you were after me from the moment I came out as gay. You were the first to tell me I just needed to fuck the right girl so I’d realize I wasn’t gay after all.”

Andrew turned a disgusted face on his wife. “I, um… I do remember you saying that. While he was in high school.”

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “That doesn’t mean I’d rape him. Good God. Don’t tell me you believe him!”

“I don’t,” he said quickly. “But I mean, you did say—”

“Because I didn’t think a kid that young knew what he was talking about,” she snapped. “He didn’t even know who he was, so how the hell did he know he was gay?”

“Except Iamgay,” Nolan growled.

She rolled her eyes again.

His fingers tightened in mine as his jaw worked. “Here’s a thought—speaking of high school, why don’t you tell them why you still call me ‘Gumby’ after all this time?”

Leann barked a caustic laugh. “Please. Everyone called you that in high school.”

“Yeah. They did.” He narrowed his eyes. “But you didn’t. Not until the third time you assaulted me, when—”

Andrew scoffed. “For God’s sake—I still don’t buy that you would let someone do that to youthreegoddamned—”

“I didn’tlether do a fucking thing.” Nolan snarled. “Or do you want to hear about thefourthtime? When it happened at that cabin we all stayed in one year for the holidays?”

Everyone in the room froze.

“Bullshit,” Leanna growled. “You attacked me. You told me if I didn’t stay quiet, you’d—”

“Youtold me ifIdidn’t stay quiet, you’d tell everyone that I assaulted you,” Nolan said through his teeth. “Just like you’re doing now. You threatened to scream, and then tell everyone I raped you. And that you’d have evidence because we’dalsodone it a few hours earlier while everyone else was asleep.”

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