Page 13 of Corrupt Idol

“Mom and Dad are on their way,” he said as he headed to the door.

She stared after him for a minute as her eyes tracked around the room. The dresser had been put back in its place and the chair she used under the doorknob in the bathroom was at her desk.You forgot the window.Her head whipped toward her window. Is that how he came in? But weren’t the windows always locked? She shook her head as she tried to clear the cobwebs from her mind. She hobbled to the bathroom and washed herself thoroughly before she dressed, rushing so she had time to strip the bed and throw her sheets in the wash, desperate to erase any sign of what happened last night.

When she walked into the living room, she found Jesse in the kitchen flipping pancakes. He looked up from the stove.

“You hungry?” he asked.

Her hands balled into fists as she stalked toward him.“Hungry?”

“You didn’t eat last night.”

She pounded her fist on the counter. “How do youdothat?”

“Do what?”

“Act like nothing happened! How—You—” She jabbed her finger at him, at a loss for words. Her eyes burned with tears, but she refused to let them fall. Her tears and pleas had no effect on him. “Youfuckedme!”

His eyes moved over her. “Yes.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Yes? That’s all you have to say?”

“What do you want me to say?”

“I—” Her hands opened and closed in the air between them as she tried to articulate exactly what she wanted from him. She had never confronted him, never talked about his assaults in the light of day. She had taken her cue from him and never said a word, always acted like nothing was going on, but things were different now.Shewas different. She wanted to fight. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“You swear a lot,” he said mildly.

She smacked the counter so hard, her hand tingled. “Stop treating me like a kid and answer me!”

“What’s the question?”

She was so pissed, she was shaking. She went toe to toe with him. “What’s wrong with you? What kind of person does what you do?”

His eyes moved over her face. “I told you yesterday.”

“Told me what?”

His finger brushed down her throat. “I can’t stop.”

She stepped back and clutched her throat to banish the effect his touch had on her. “You have to.”

He said nothing, he just watched her.

“Is… is this your thing?”

“Thing?” he echoed as he slid the hot pancake onto a growing stack. She was miffed to see they were all perfectly round and golden.

“You… you force women? That’s your thing?”

He visibly stiffened. “I don’t force women.”

“You forceme, jackass.”

He turned from her. “You’re different.”

Butter sizzled as he whipped pancake batter and poured it in the pan. Her stomach rumbled, but she wasn’t going to be distracted by food.

“How am I different?” she challenged.

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