Page 189 of Zero Chance

Keene tucked me even closer.“Yeah,” he rasped.“It sounded like she was involved in something like that.And the director there, just like the one here in town, he’d pull girls into his office forspecialtime.She would always get jealous until one day he called her name.”

Tears filled my eyes as I listened to him.

Mom had told me that being a part of making that video could help people.That was the only reason why I’d agreed to give my account.But Keene didn’t sound as if it had helped him.He sounded traumatized.Shattered.

“And he fucking raped her,” Keene said, his voice breaking.Talking through the tears, he went on.“On and off, for at least once a month, for the next five years, he…” He moaned out a sound of torment.“And she blamed herself,” he sobbed, barely able to talk.“He fucked with her head; he made her thinkshewas the—Jesus.I can’t.I just?—”

He rocked me slowly, crying openly.“He made her think hewasn’tmolesting her.He made her think she had to do the things she did in order to be special.He—fuck, I really hate this fucker.He made her think it was her fault when her family found out.And she—she tried to commit suicide because she was so ashamed.She…”

I cried with him, silent tears of hot shame streaking from my eyes.

He was telling my story, and it was breaking him.I couldn’t handle it.I had to stop him.

“Keene.”

I pressed my palm to his soaked cheek.

But he took my wrist and brought my hand to his mouth, kissing it sweetly.

“Her face was in the shadows, of course, and her voice was distorted.But when she lifted her hand to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, I saw your feather tattoo.Right here.”

When he drifted his fingers over my wrist and across my tattoo, I sucked in a breath and tried to jerk my hand away.But he tightened his grip on me and looked into my eyes, telling me without saying a word that he knew—heknew.

And I lost it.

Tightening my body, I instinctively tried to curl inside myself, suddenly feeling trapped.

“Don’t pull away,” he begged.“Please, God, Waverly.Don’t pull away from me right now.”

A high-pitched sound of panic left my throat, and I tightened against him, shifting to avoid contact.But I swear, the damn man turned into glue, and he wrapped his body around me even harder.

“I just want to hold you.Ineedto hold you.Waverly…”

“No.”I shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut.“I can’t,” I gritted out.“I can’t.”I needed to run.I needed to escape.I neededoutof this moment.

Because he knew.

He knew my shame.

He knew what I’d done.

And as he kissed my hair, not caring, holding firmly onto me, he refused to let me hide from it.“Please,” he begged.

Except I couldn’t give him what he wanted.

My mouth opened, and I screamed out a silent scream that made no sound but robbed me of all my breath.My face went hot, and by the time I was done, I sucked in air so greedily I went a little dizzy.Keeping my eyes shut, I shook my head, thrashing it violently.“No,” I mumbled, not wanting to do this.

And just like that, he released me.“Sorry,” he gasped, realizing he’d been holding me against my will.“God.I’m sorry.Waverly…”

I shot off the bed in a rush and was at the door in two seconds.But as I reached for the handle, my rational side came back to me.I pulled my hand back and slowly turned toward the bed.

Keene had sat up on the mattress and thrown his feet over the side.Hugging himself, he curled his shoulders in as he wept.His face was tomato red and drenched.

“I’m sorry,” he choked out, shaking his head in misery.

Blinking, I took a step toward him.Then stopped.

I’d wrecked him.This beautiful happy boy who always smiled and laughed was sobbing uncontrollably.Because of me.

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