“Jesus, I bet Dad was furious,” Kane says, shaking his head. “Can’t believe they didn’t tell me.”
“Kane—” I mumble, looking at him, my eyes brimming with tears. “They were mad at me. For having a rape kit done. They told me that it was my fault, and that Matthew would probably choose not to marry me because I was a whore who opened her legs on the first date.”
Kane jerks, like I just smacked him across the face. “They what?”
I nod, not able to keep the tears back any longer. My vision blurs, and suddenly, the booth dips down beside me as Kane sits next to me and wraps his arms around me, holding me like he did when I broke my leg sledding when I was eight. Broken bones and broken spirits feel almost the same pain. He held me all the way to the hospital, the whole time they wrapped my leg in a cast. Kane, my protector, but even Kane couldn’t protect me from that monster.
“I’m so sorry,” Kane keeps whispering over and over. When my eyes finally clear, I notice my chocolate chip waffle is sitting in front of me.
“I’ll be okay— I have been okay,” I tell Kane, wiping my eyes. “The other night, Mac and I encountered him on our date. Mac is helping me get a restraining order, and he contacted the parents of a girl that was in line to possibly marry that monster...”
“I hope Mac manages to ruin that cocksucker,” Kane seethes. “Hell, I’ll help him.”
I chuckle, and start cutting into my waffle. “You’ll have to get in line, because I’m sure Colin, Ben, and Alexander would join in if they knew.”
I’m telling them tonight. I’m not going to keep secrets anymore.
Kane nods, adding some hot sauce on his fried eggs. “They’re good guys, I’m glad you have them in your life. They might be ladies’ men, but I’m glad they’re treating you well.”
I blush. Kane doesn’t even know just how well they’re treating me.
Kane and I eat our brunch in silence, but he keeps one arm wrapped around my shoulder, anchoring me to him and the world. Finally, I feel some peace between us. I finally told my big brother the reason my life is a mess. We don’t discuss what’s going to happen, we don’t talk about our parents, we just sit there with each other. Kane walks me to the car, hugging me tightly and promising me that he’ll do something to fix what happened.
As long as Matthew Barnes can’t hurt another person, I’ll be happy.