"Maybe but I don’t care," I shoot back.
He grabs my arm. Not really hard but not gentle either. Just enough to make his point.
"Don’t say that," he says, teeth clenched. "Don’t ever say that."
I yank my arm free. "You don’t own . You don’t get t "save " from things I choose."
"You weren’t thinking right," he says.
"I was thinking clearer than I have in years," I scream. "For once I wasn’t scared."
His eyes flick over my face, searching, like he’s trying to understand sothing.
"You think killing him would’ve fixed it," he says quietly.
"I think it would’ve maybe stopped him from doing it to soone else," I fire back.
The car continues moving through the city, the silence now thick and brutal.
I turn away again, folding into myself, arms wrapped tight like I can hold myself together through sheer force.
My voice cos out quieter this ti
"You took that from ."
Neither of us speaks after that.
When we reach ho, I get out of the car before he can think of opening it for . I’m not in the mood for that shit.
I slam the door hard enough that the sound rings through my bones. I don’t look back. If I do, I’ll either scream or collapse, and I refuse to give him either.
When I get into the house my footsteps echo as I head for the stairs, each step heavier than the last. With my chest feeling tight
I make it halfway up before a hand clamps around my wrist.
I’m yanked back so fast my shoulder jolts. My back hits the banister, pain flaring sharp and sudden.
"What the hell was that back there?" Zane snaps.
I don’t answer, I don’t even look at him. My heart is pounding so hard I can hear it in my ears.
"Elaine." His grip tightens. "Why were you going to kill him?"
I laugh but it cos out wrong. "Let go of ."
"Answer ."
"It’s none of your fuckign business," I say, my voice shaking despite myself.
For a split second, there’s silence.
Then his hand slides up and his fingers close around my throat.
Not enough to crush but enough to make my breath hitch, panic flashing hot and instant.
"I won’t ask again, little spitfire" he says, low and dangerous. "Why."
The world narrows and vision blurs at the edges. Not from lack of air, but from mory. From the way my body rembers this exact position, this exact helplessness.
Tears spill before I can stop them.
"Let go, please." I choke.
He doesn’t.
And Sothing inside breaks.
"Because he raped ," I say.
His hand loosens imdiately, dropping away like he’s been burned.
I suck in a breath, stumbling back, one hand flying to my throat. My legs are shaking so badly I have to brace myself against the railing to stay upright.
Zane just stares at .
"What?" he says quietly.
I wipe at my face with the back of my hand, angry at the tears, angry at myself for letting them fall. But they won’t stop now. They keep coming, hot and relentless.
"Years ago," I say my voice cracking. I clear my throat and try again. "He wasn’t alone."
Zane doesn’t move. Doesn’t interrupt.
"There were three of them," I continue, staring at the floor because I can’t look at his face. "Him and two others, they took turns on ."
My knees buckle so I slide down until I’m sitting on the stairs, my head dropping into my hands.
"I scread," I whisper. "And I fought but it didn’t matter."
"I spent years trying to forget their faces," I go on, my voice shaking apart. "Years telling myself I was safe now, that it was over. And then I saw him at the club that day, the sa man you dragged away from the last I was at the club....the whole incident brought back so many unwanted mories ."
A sob tears out of my chest. I curl forward, arms wrapping around myself.
"I searched for him," I admit. "For so long I wanted to look at him and know I wasn’t powerless anymore."
Zane takes a step closer.
"When I finally found him," I say, "I thought... I thought maybe I could take sothing back."
My shoulders shake violently now. I can’t stop crying, every word feels like it’s tearing open all over again.
"You stopped , you took that from Zane" I whisper.
There’s a long pause.
"Elaine," Zane says, and his voice is different now. "I’m sorry I didn’t know.... I’m sorry."
I laugh again, bitter and broken. "Of course you didn’t. I never told anyone asides my family."
He crouches in front of , careful, like I might shatter if he moves too fast.
"Is that why......" he starts, then stops. Swallowing. "Is that why you ran when I grabbed you the other night?"
My breath catches.
I nod.
"Yes," I say. "That’s why."
I squeeze my eyes shut. "When you bent like that, I wasn’t there anymore. I was back there, I could hear them again, I could feel their hands on ."
My hands tremble as I press them flat against my thighs, grounding myself in the present.
"I know you didn’t an it," I add quickly, because so stupid part of still feels the need to protect him. "I know you weren’t trying to hurt ."
Zane’s jaw tightens. His hands clench into fists at his sides.
"I should’ve known," he mutters. "I should’ve stopped."
"It’s not your fault," I say, even though my chest aches. "But it’s why I couldn’t stay. Why I panicked."
He exhales slowly, dragging a hand down his face.
"I didn’t just want revenge," I whisper. "I wanted closure, I wanted him to feel afraid of too."
Silence stretches between us.
"I won’t touch you like that again," Zane says finally. "Not without your consent and when you’re ready."
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