“Were
you crying?”
She
swiped her hands across her face before narrowing her eyes. “Yes, and my
tolerance for your bullshit is at an all time low tonight. I don’t know how you
got the idea that I’ve given you an open invitation to come to my dorm room
whenever you like. It’s rude to me and my roommate.”
“Do
you want to tell me why you’re crying?”
“No.”
She
didn’t have to say it because I already knew. She had found out about Thomas’s
release. As I looked at her, stared at this beautiful girl crying, a dark rage
built inside of me. I hated my stepfather—hated that he had done something so
horrible to someone who was so impossibly
good. I had been a fool to believe my stepdad’s version and I could admit
it to myself now. Autumn was never a liar. She had trusted Thomas in the same
way I had and paid the price for her kindness.
“Do
you want me to leave?”
Please say no,
I silently begged as an innate need arose inside my core to help her. I may not
have broken her, but I had to shoulder some responsibility for her pain. I’d
been one of her accusers—believing the worst instead of facing the truth. Loving
someone evil was a small burden compared to what she’d faced.
A
hiccupped sob escaped her lips and I could see the way she was trying to keep
it all in. In the past two years, how many times had she been forced to hold
back her emotions? She had been vilified despite the fact she was the victim. She
needed to know my truth—but not tonight. Tonight, she needed a friend.
