Page 85 of Keep Me Safe

I’m halfway to the deck when the silence shatters. A sound behind me, barely audible, makes my heart lurch—then a figure steps out of the shadows.

Bile rises in my throat, bitter and sour, as my eyes lock onto him. His features come into focus, and the world tilts on its axis. His eyes—nearly black, lifeless—are fixed on me with a cold, calculating stare. No. This isn’t happening. How the hell did heget here? He must’ve come in the same car as Jared’s friends.

All of the fury, fear, and disgust come rushing back, flooding my chest.

I force my breath to steady, but it comes out in shallow, uneven gasps. I can’t show him how terrified I am, not now. But as I glance between him and the steps leading to freedom, it hits me: I can’t run.

He prowls closer, each step measured, slow, deliberate. A predator stalking its prey. My muscles tense, my body screaming at me to flee, to do anything to escape. But I stand frozen. Every instinct in my body tells me to run, but I can’t move.

“Don’t come any closer,” I command, putting as much confidence in my words as possible. His head tilts in response, a menacing grin consuming his features.

“Oh, that’s cute,” he sneers. “You think you can tell me what to do?” He reaches for my face, his fingers just inches away from my skin. My whole body recoils as I turn away, barely escaping his touch. He laughs—a low, mocking sound.

My blood runs cold, a chill so deep it sinks into my bones.

“Go ahead,” he taunts, voice thick with dark promise. “Fight me. Makes it more fun.”

Anger surges through me, hot and blinding. But beneath it, the all-too-familiar feeling of helplessness is creeping in, gnawing at my resolve. I feel like that scared little girl again. My throat tightens, the sting of unshed tears burning at my eyes, but I won’t give him the satisfaction. I won’t cry. Not this time.

“I’m not fifteen anymore. I won’t let you take advantage of me again.”

“Take advantage of you? You were practically begging for it.”

Those words.

Those fucking words.

All of the feelings of guilt and shame and helplessness crash into me. My mom’s words at the police station. The detective’s questions. Maybe he’s right. I was letting him flirt with me, wasn’t I? I was excited to have a boy’s attention for once, not only a boy but an older boy.

That’s not how it works, though. I was drunk. He made sure of that. Thoughts of Amelia from the other night fill my head. Her situation was so similar to mine. Would I tell her that it was her fault? That she shouldn’t have put herself in that situation?

No.

I sat there with her to make sure she was safe. I was seconds away from finding that man and ensuring he couldn’t do that to any girl ever again. It isn’t her fault that some guy thought he could prey on a young girl.

I may have been stupid for drinking at a party like that, but I was a kid. He was the adult. I think back to my fifteen-year-old self, just wanting to fit in, wanting to escape the shit going on at home. He saw that weakness and exploited it.

But I’m not fifteen anymore.

This man is a monster. I see that now. That’s what he is to his core. An inexplicably powerful amount of anger—no, it’s beyond that—pure, unadulterated rage surges through me. If this man thinks he can so much as touch me again—

His hand wraps around my upper arm, his grip bound to cut off circulation. The urge to run transforms into a visceral need to fight back. I will not let him hurt me again. My fingers curl into a tight fist, my knuckles turning white. All the hatred I once focused on myself flips.

It wasn’t my fault.

It was his.

With all of the pent-up emotions swirling in my veins, I send my fist into his nose. The contact is immediate. But I’m too high on adrenaline to let the pain register. The tangy metallic taste fills my mouth. I’m no stranger to it, but this time is different. It feels good.

Zach stumbles backward, not expecting me to hit him. His face quickly morphs from shock to fury, and I suddenly don’t feel confident anymore. He’s bigger and stronger than me.

“You fucking bitch,” he grunts, closing the space between us.

He’s mere inches away when his body jerks backward.

“You,” a voice growls.

Noah. I almost cry out in relief.

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