Page 14 of Our Cracked Pieces
We stayed the way we were for a while, Grayson giving me the time I needed to get my shit together, and when I finally did, I pulled out of his arms, and looked up at him. He looked wrecked, and it broke my heart.
“A few weeks ago, Carly, Tammy, Mandy, and me participated in senior prank week.” His blue eyes held my gaze, searching for hints of what was to come. “We…we broke into the Administration offices at Sequoia and stole freshman transcripts.” I took a deep breath and tried to calm my racing heartbeat. “As we were making our escape, I got hung up on the fence. I…I told the girls to save themselves, but I got caught by the school’s utility officer.”
“Row, if it was just a prank-”
I shook my head. “But it wasn’t just a prank,” I told him. “We hadn’t taken into consideration all the confidential information contained in our student files, and that’s not a prank, Grayson. With some of those files containing medical records, what we did was illegal. It wasn’t just a prank.”
“Okay,” he said carefully. “Dad’s a lawyer, so he can-”
Shaking my head again, my voice broke when I said, “I made a huge mistake, Grayson. With the threat to my future and Carly’s, Mandy’s, and Tammy’s, I made a huge mistake. But there were cameras and…”
Fear flared in his eyes. “What did you do, Rowan?”
“The…” Tears started pouring again, and I couldn’t stop the revulsion I felt at having to tell my brother something so personal and dirty.
Grayson’s hand reached out and squeezed my leg. “Rowan, whatever it is, you’re still my sister. Nothing else matters, okay?”
I nodded. “The…the officer he…he agreed to…he agreed to let me go, and…and not go after the girls if…if I…”
Color drained from his face as soon as he made sense of the words that I’d left unsaid. But that paleness quickly gave way to a rush of anger coating his face. “He made you have sex with him?”
Shaking my head, I told him everything.
I told him every detail about the night of the prank, and every single time Officer Connors had sought me out since then. The words came out like a fountain of disgust at myself and Officer Connors. And even though he was my brother, I didn’t sugarcoat the things I’d done. I didn’t gloss over the things Officer Connors had made me do. When I was done, I told him the reason for finally coming clean and calling him.
“I…I can’t do it, Grayson,” I blurted. “It’s bad enough that I…I can’t give him my virginity, too.”
Like crunching gravel, Grayson’s voice was dark and sharp. “I’m going to fucking kill him,” he snarled. “I’m going to fucking kill him, Rowan.”
I grabbed onto his arms. “No!” I cried out. “That’s why I didn’t tell you. I…I can’t…I’m not going to let you get in trouble, Gra-”
“Fuck that, Rowan,” he snapped. “You’re my sister. You’re my sister, and some sick pervert has been abusing you. I’m going to fucking kill him with my bare hands.”
My tears started bordering on hysteria. “No!” I cried again. “Please, Grayson. Please, listen to me.Please.”
Grayson jumped up off the bed and started pacing my room. “What the fuck do you expect me to do, Rowan?” He stopped and speared me with a look. “How can you honestly expect me not to kill the motherfucker?”
I was desperate. I couldn’t let my brother go to prison for life because I didn’t doubt his words. He wasn’t venting or in a fog of anger. If given the chance, Graysonwillkill Officer Connors, and I knew it.
“Wha…what if…I…” I stood up, walked towards him, and took his hands in mine. “I’ll tell Mom and Dad, okay?” His eyes locked onto mine, and it was identical blue staring back at me. “I swear. We…we can tell them in the morning.”
Grayson shook his head. “We tell them now, Rowan,” he insisted. “If you don’t want me to leave right now to go hunt that motherfucker down, we tell Mom and Dad now.”
I nodded frantically. “Okay,” I agreed. Anything to keep my brother from ruining his life. “Okay.”
Grayson’s arm snaked out, and he hauled me into his arms. “Jesus fucking Christ, Row,” he swore. “Jesus fucking Christ.”
Chapter 10
Lorcan~
Vanessa and I had spent the rest of Wednesday evening talking about the last few weeks, and she had even apologized for her behavior.
We hadn’t talked about college or what this meant for our future. We hadn’t even discussed our options. We hadn’t discussed anything significant other than why she’s been all over the place these past few weeks. It was as if Vanessa had finally been able to release her confused feelings, and I held her as she purged her imprisoned feelings.
After leaving her asleep in her bed Wednesday, I had gone home and told Molly. She had listened intently, and though you could see the disappointment in her eyes, she hadn’t turned her opinion into the focal point of the conversation. Molly had just listened.
And now, it was Friday, and I had only a couple of more classes to get through before going home and telling my parents that I was going to be a father.
