Page 42 of Resisting Temptation

Paisley comes back to sit on the edge of my bed. “I should get out of here,” she says sadly.

I pull her back into bed with me. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“Noah, this probably shouldn’t have happened. I know how my father feels about you. It won’t go down well if he finds out.”

“I don’t regret it for a second. Do you?”

“Not at all. If teenage me could see me now, she would be high-fiving herself. I’ve always had a thing for you.”

I hold her close, kissing her hair. “I’ll let you in on a secret. I’ve had a crush on you for years.”

“Noah Harrington with a crush. I doubt it.” She laughs, and it’s the sweetest sound ever. I bring her closer to me.

“It’s true, and now that I finally have you here with me, you’re not going anywhere.”

“My daddy would kill me if he knew I was staying at your place. He really hates you.”

“Feeling’s mutual,” I huff. “I know why Parker hates your father, but what happened with you two?” If she tells me he beat her like he did his son, I will go around there tonight and deal with him myself. His life won’t be worth living after I’m done with him. I’m not some scrawny teenager afraid of what he will do to me and my friend anymore.

“It’s a long story.” She tries to brush it off, but I notice the sadness sweep over her at the thought of him. I need to know the truth.

“I have all night. I’m not going anywhere until you tell me. I know something’s wrong, I can feel it.” Her sparkle’s been extinguished, and I would give everything I have to get it back for her.

She considers me for a minute then drops her head, looking toward the wall away from me. “No one knows the truth.”

I take her hand. “Tell me, baby. I want to help you.”

She sighs heavily but still doesn’t look at me. I stroke her hand, waiting for her. “You and Parker had already left town, but the fall my last year of high school, there was a big rematch between the Bay Raiders and the Bluewater Beach Eels. I was crowned homecoming queen, a title I had wanted from the day my mother told me she was homecoming queen her senior year. I wanted to be just like her in every way.” Her voice is flat, and I know I’m not going to like what she has to say next.

A sinking feeling washes over me. “What did he do? If he laid a hand on you…”

She looks me over cautiously. “My father?” She shakes her head. “Not that night. He didn’t do anything, that’s why I hate him so much. I came home that night in a bad way. And he told me I was being dramatic, to stop my hysteria and pull it together. He didn’t care about me at all. This town all thinks of him as some savior, but when I needed him, he turned his back on me.”

“What do you mean a bad way? What happened at the game?”

“I was supposed to catch a lift back to the afterparty with some of the other cheerleaders, but I stayed chatting to this guy from the other team for way too long. So, when I went to find them, they had already left. He offered me a lift with a few of them in his brother’s car. I didn’t know the guys, they all played for the Eels, but there were a few girls as well, so Iagreed. I wasn’t even thinking about how dangerous it could be. I just wanted to get to the party, and they seemed nice enough. Just outside of town both cars pulled over, and the girls I was chatting with jumped into the other car. One of them said the boy who was driving, the older brother, was into me and wanted some time alone.” She shakes her head. “I was an idiot and believed them.”

My spine straightens. I think I know where this is going. Anger blurs my vision.

Her face goes pale. “The other car took off, and it was just the two of us. He was older, I think Parker’s age. He checked who I was, asked me like three times if I was Paisley Whittaker. I thought it was strange and started to get creeped out, so I got out of the car before he could take off. I tried to run back through the woods toward town, but he caught up with me. He was so fast, and I was in heels and completely terrified. He tackled me to the ground and pinned me beneath him. I struggled against him, trying to escape. That’s when he punched me across the face, breaking my jaw and nearly knocking me out. He was so much stronger than me.” Tears roll down her cheeks as she forces out the words. I wipe them away for her, wishing I could take away her pain.

My heart breaks for her. “I’m so sorry, baby. You don’t have to go on.”

Her sad eyes meet mine. “I need to, Noah. For years this has sat with me, drowning me in darkness. I need it out of me,” she sobs.

I kiss her forehead, wrapping my arm around her, trying to offer comfort in any way I can. But I alreadyknow this is the worst thing that could have happened. I can’t take this pain away.

“He forced himself on me, telling me it was my own fault. That I deserved what he was doing to me. When he was done, he told me to go home to my daddy and make sure he knew next time he fucked up, I wouldn’t be left alive. I was petrified.”

I stare back at her, my chest heaving with the anger boiling within me, a hate running deeper than I’ve ever felt before. Someone is going to pay for hurting her.

“You think I deserved it too,” she whispers, sobs racking through her.

“No, beautiful girl. No.” I pull her into me, holding her tightly, wishing I could take away all her pain. What that monster did to her is horrendous. I will hunt him down and make him pay for ever thinking he could get away with touching her. She cries into my chest, and I let her. She’s carried this pain around for years, not telling a soul. It kills me to know she was hurt so badly and left all alone to deal with it. “You never reported this to the police?” I check with her, needing to know what we’re up against.

“I tried to tell my daddy, but he wouldn’t let me talk. He patched up my jaw and gave me ice, then told me to stop being dramatic. He was cold and completely uncaring. I was so scared, I didn’t understand what any of it meant. I told him what they said. That they would kill me next time. He said I was making up stories. Why would I do that? The following week I took a job at Wild Magnolia and Stella helped me move out. I couldn’t stay living under his roof anymore.”

I brush her hair out of her face. “What do you remember? From that night,” I ask, desperate for details. The asshole who did this to her is going to pay.

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