Page 76 of Giving In

“What’s your deal with Sam?” I ask, perfectly knowing it’s not a good idea.

Still, curiosity is eating at me. The way Jake gets around him, and now Chris, he’s more than just a ghost from his past.

Jake sighs and his shoulders slump. He suddenly looks fragile, exhausted from the argument, from the thoughts running in his head and making him grind his teeth.

He starts massaging his temples as if his head is hurting. “Why do you want to know?”

“It affects you, badly. I thought you might want to talk about it instead of letting it build up and attempting to break every single one of your teeth.”

He looks at me in surprise and suddenly stops grinding. He takes a deep breath and releases it in a loud huff, but he doesn’t say anything for what seems like a long minute where we both sit in complete silence.

“There’s bad, there’s dangerous, and then there’s Sam,” he finally says.

“What does he have on you? He threatened Rose to go to the police, about something her brother did.” I inhale a shaky breath. “What did you do, Jake?”

He pauses, looking outside as if the trees hold all the answers.

“Don’t play detective with me, Angel. You’re not anywhere near having all the evidence you need.”

“I’m not playing detective,” I argue. “I’m just trying to understand.”

“Why are you so obsessed with my past anyway?” he scoffs. “Fangirling doesn’t look good on you.”

“Because your past made you the way you are! It’s the reason you’re so…so…”

“Heartless? Sociopathic? Cruel? Go on, choose one.”

My mouth goes slack at his cold words. He’s saying them with such conviction and ice in his voice that there is no doubt he truly means them.

“Why are you trying to find me an excuse, Jamie? Maybe it’s just the way I am. Maybe I evenlikeit.”

The smile he gives me freezes my blood.

Jake White is filled with evil and darkness, and he puts a glossy golden-boy cover on top of it all. He’s not just unempathetic, he’s manipulative and that’s the worst part. He is deeply damaged, exactly like Chris had warned me.

Everything he’s done to me before now was just a little game for him. Something to keep his mind occupied. I don’t doubt he’s capable of going to lengths I wouldn’t think possible just to play with me. His heart is darker than the deepest pits of hell.

My brain reminds me of how I woke up this morning and rings the emergency bell. Fear claws onto my insides. I was naked under his shirt; would he have done anything to me while I was passed out?

As he parks in front of my house, I turn to him one last time. “Did you do anything to me?” I ask as cold as possible.

“Yes.” He didn’t even think for a second. No regret, no remorse.

My heart drops in my stomach as he turns to me with a grin on his flawless face.

“I fingerfucked your virgin pussy senseless until you begged me to make you come. You were there.”

Said pussy clenches at his words. Why does he make me feel this way? I gulp and keep my thoughts on my initial question.

“I–I meant after.”

“After?” he asks clueless. Whether he’s pretending or genuine I don’t know yet.

“I woke up naked with only your shirt on, Jake. I want to know what happened,” I say in a steel voice. I want to know. I want the truth.

He starts laughing and hits the steering wheel with the palm of his hand like it’s the funniest joke he’s ever heard. He looks at me again and calms down.

“Oh shit, you’re serious.” He pauses for a heartbeat. “Nothing, Goody. What do you think of me? I’m not like that.”

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