Page 70 of Nightmare

He takes another step towards me, his hands raised in the air in surrender, “Olivia, please. Just hear me out. I miss you.”

My vision goes red, the air around me feels thicker with each breath I take and I shake my head from side to side before taking a step towards him, trying to show dominance.

I laugh a little under my breath, “I don’t want to hear you out, Brody. You fucking tricked me into falling for you and then you raped me! Do you not understand why I wouldn’t want to speak to you? Or are you just that goddamn stupid? Get thefuckout of my room!”

He squints his eyes at me, stepping towards me, and I feel the atmosphere in the room change, then I’m taking a step back again.

I suck air into my lungs as he reaches his hands out to grab me by the shoulders, then the whole room is spinning as anxiety washes over my entire body, making my vision blur at the edges.

He pulls my face towards his, dropping his voice to a whisper, “Olivia, I didn’t fucking rape you. You went into that hotel room with me willingly, and you were giving me ‘fuck me’ eyes all night. What did you expect to happen? I love you. You love me. We had sex. Grow the fuck up.”

My entire body shakes as I swallow down the breath I’m trying to suck into my lungs, “What we had wasn’t sex, Brody. It wasn’t something that people do when they’re in love.You. Fucking. Raped. Me.”

I suck down another huge breath and repeat the mantra I’ve been doing in my head the last month; I’m a fucking warrior, I’m a fucking warrior, I’m a fucking warrior.

I give him a giant, shit eating grin, “Do you wanna know how many guys I’ve fucked since you raped me? How many guys from Santa Barbara Prep who’ve made me come since you took whatever you wanted from me?” His face goes red, scrunching up in fury as his grip tightens on me.

I spit out a laugh at him, “Theirquarterback fucks like a God, Brody. And he didn’t have to fucking rape me to get into my panties. Maybe you should see if he’ll teach you how to satisfy a woman, that way you won’t have to rape them to get off.”

His hand flies through the air, gripping my throat and blocking off any airflow from getting to my lungs.

My vision spots.

I’m a fucking warrior, I’m a fucking warrior, I’m a fucking warrior.

I will not show him my fear. I will not give him what he wants.

“You’re going to regret the day you were fucking born, Liv. I will make sure of it.” Spit flies out of his mouth as he yells in my face, but I don’t break eye contact with him, I just give him another smile, holding back the gargling that threatens to pop out of my throat.

He gives me an evil smile and releases his grip on my throat, then leans in close enough that I can taste the smoke on his breath, “I’ll be seeing you soon, Olivia.”

He gives me a wink and shoves me backwards a step, then turns to head back out my bedroom door.

I slide down onto the floor, trying to get a steady pace back into my breathing. I run my hands down my make-up free face and tell myself not to cry. I will not let him affect me. I will not let him affect me.I will not let him affect me.

In no world will I let Brody fucking Rockport have any control over me or my emotions anymore, I am a bad bitch. I am a warrior. I am stronger than him. I am more than my rape story.

He knows I’m moving back to New York in three weeks, everyone does, because that’s the way this place works. Then I won’t have to see him again.

And just like that, I stand up on my shaky legs, take a deep breath, and continue packing.

Because I am a fucking woman warrior.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Olivia

present day

We waitfifteen minutes before we head outside into the night, the cool breeze from the ocean calms my anxiety a little and dries some of the sweat on my skin.

“Liv.” Summer says, “Let’s go home.”

“Home? We just got here.” I answer, searching her face. She looks shaken, which is a look I’ve never seen on my best friend before. She’s a rock, she’smyrock. Nothing gets under her skin.

Seeing her waver is making me uneasy, so I reach out a hand to grip the flesh of her arm, needing to feel her. “Summer.”

“Let’s just get out of here.” She says, her light eyes wide and glassy from unshed tears.

---