Page 131 of Altered

This is going to be so fucking bad…

"You have to promise me that you won't do anything," she said. "Promise me, Hunter, that you will not doanything."

I knew that whatever Hope was going to tell me was going to hurt like a motherfucker, it was written all over her face, but I forced myself to say, "I won't do anything."

She clasped her hands tightly together, bottom lip quivering, as she whispered, "The night I went back to Jordan's house…" Her voice broke off and she took several short, fast breaths before continuing, "He was drinking…maybe drugs? I'm not sure." The tears in her eyes slipped out, streaming in two lines down her cheeks. "But he…he pushed me down on the bed and he held me there."

My blood ran cold.

I couldn’t fucking move a muscle.

I felt like my whole world had frozen solid and the rest of my life rested on the next words that came out of her mouth.

I prayed she wouldn’t say what I thought she was about to say.

"And he wouldn’tstop," she strangled out hoarsely. "I told him to – I promise I told him to stop…I begged him! I saidno, Hunter."

"He raped you," I whispered.

"I couldn’t move! My body juststoppedworking." A huge racking sob tore through her then. "He kept telling me that he loved me, and I keptbegginghim to juststop. But he wouldn’tlisten!" She threw herself forward then, scrambling onto my lap. "Please," she cried, clutching my body. "You have to believe me…I didn’t want it…Ididn’t!"

"Believe you?"Straining my head back so I could look at her face, I said, "Of course I believe you, Hope."

"The worst thing is, I don’t think he knew he was doing it, if that makes sense?" she sobbed. "That's what makes it so bad."

No.

What made it bad was him getting a hall pass because he was drinking.

What made it bad was a woman saying no and a man ignoring her words.

What made it so fucking bad was himrapingher!

****

Hope

He believed me.

I told him the ugliest truth in my soul, the most traumatic and mind-blowingly painful experience of my life, and Hunter believed me without an ounce of doubt.

He didn’t question my truth.

He didn’t push for more.

He took what I told him and hehandledit.

He didn’t react.

He stayed right here with me.

For the rest of the night, I clung to his body, needing the feel of him to keep me grounded, needing the security.

And later that night, when we eventually went to bed, he didn’t treat me differently now that he knew.

Instead, he gave me everything and more.

Loving me until I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

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