Page 98 of A Little Bit Reckless
“Look at me, Bow.”
I came back with Wells’s words. I swallowed. “Where are you?”
I wanted them here and wherever they were at it was dark like they were outside. Had they left the hospital?
“Not far away,” Wells said, and Bru nodded.
Bru edged more into the phone screen. “We’re about to do something, but we want your guidance.”
“What happens will ultimately be up to you,” Wells stated, and when he faced Bru, Bru nodded again. Wells’s expression was tense, serious. “You deserve to have a say.”
A say about what?
Wells’s nostrils flared. “We have Patrick Donovan.”
My heart thudded.
It stopped.
No sooner had it ceased its beat than it revved up again at jackrabbit speed. Sloane called me that, little rabbit, because I moved at a mile a minute sometimes.
Sloane had been at the hospital earlier too. In fact, all my friends and family had been here at one point before they ultimately left so that I could have time with my parents.
Sloane held me when she finally saw me though, and I cried. I was so happy she was okay. She barely even had to be looked at by hospital staff. She had not one bump or bruise from the accident.
I saved her from him.
Wells’s breathing picked up. His big chest rose and fell rapidly, and when Bru’s jaw clenched, I knew it was because of me, my reaction. What Wells had said froze me where I sat.
Bru looked at Wells. “This is too much. Maybe we should have waited.”
They were trying to protect me, both of them, and I had a feeling my brother and his friends were there too. Wells had asked if it was okay to tell them about the pregnancy, and there was nothing any of the guys did without each other.
Bru’s expression went serious. “We shouldn’t have surprised her with this?—”
“I want to see him,” I said, and both guys’ eyes darted toward me.
“You deserve a say.”
Wells’s words were clear for me now. He and Bru had Professor Donovan, and I had a say on what ultimately happened from there. I had a choice.
They gave me a choice.
I realized now that I didn’t have one back then. Professor Donovan had convinced me that he was my friend, and our relationship started innocently enough. I went to him for extra credit, and he expressed interest in my work. He gave me care.
He gave me attention.
Soon our meetings weren’t just about the work. He started talking to me as a friend and one thing led to another. Soon, weweren’t just meeting at his office but his house. He convinced me he was my friend, and I told him too many things. I told himeverythingabout my life and my pain. I told him about Wells, and Professor Donovan already knew a bit about the manipulation because everyone knew what happened in the world of Legacy. I actually thought he was my friend, and he convinced me that I wanted to have sex.
I hadn’t wanted to have sex.
I knew that as soon as it was over, and he held me. I felt so dirty, used, but I didn’t want to believe he did things to me that I didn’t want. I didn’t want to feelweakand lied to myself for a while after the fact. I convinced myself what happened was on my terms and what I wanted.
But it hadn’t been.
“I want to see him,” I said again, and, even though my voice threatened to shake, I steadied it.
The guys nodded and the camera view passed Thatcher, Ares, and Dorian before it ultimately found Professor Donovan. He was on the ground in a robe like he’d left from his house quickly.
