Fighting Fate (Granton University #1)(72)

“I’ll be fine.” She’d rather be alone than have Mariah hover over her, frowning all night, that was for sure.

Left alone, she took the longest shower she’d ever taken.

When she finished, she dressed in long sleeves, covering as much skin as possible, wanting every inch of flesh protected. But even in her long, baggy pants and turtleneck, she felt exposed, still remembering the air rushing up the back of her thighs, baring her to the world.

She dragged a sweatshirt over the turtleneck and wrapped a fleece throw blanket around her shoulders, but no matter how many layers she piled on, she still felt unprotected and cold, frozen to the bone.

She recalled the feel of Dorian’s breath on the back of her neck, moist and sticky. Shoving the memory into the back recesses of her mind, she grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste and scrubbed the taste of his beer and her strawberry Jell-O shots from her taste buds. She almost wished she’d had enough alcohol to be drunk right now; maybe that would numb some of the fear and creepy, there’s-a-spider-crawling-all-over-me sensation she couldn’t shrug away.

After brushing her teeth a couple more times, she paced the floor. But her knees still kept going loose and unstable, so she curled up on her bed and grabbed the remote to turn the TV on. After flipping through a dozen stations, she settled on an old episode of Dirty Jobs. She’d just lowered the volume and was staring vacantly at the screen when a soft knock came on her door.

She didn’t feel like talking to Einstein. But she didn’t want to brush him off either.

Closing her eyes briefly and bolstering her resolve, she pushed from her mattress to cheek the peephole.

Her breath caught when she saw a familiar pair of blue eyes staring back.





Chapter Twenty-Eight


FINGERS FUMBLING as she unlocked her door, Paige yanked it open to gape at Logan.

He lifted his face, looking apologetic. “Mariah let me into the building when she was leaving. She said to give you a couple minutes to get cleaned up before knocking.”

Silently, she shifted aside to permit him entrance. After he stepped past her, she shut the door and locked, then bolted, it.

When she turned around, she found him watching her.

“I just came by to see how you were doing.” Blue eyes analyzed her face, and he exhaled harshly. “He did hit you, didn’t he? You’re already starting to bruise.”

He stepped toward her, lifting the tips of his fingers to her still-throbbing cheek. She winced and skittered a cautious step back. “It’s fine,” she rushed to say.

He froze, his expression wounded as his gaze darted to hers. Dropping his hand, he swallowed hard. “Sorry.”

She licked her cracked lips and tried to think up something to say to make him feel better. “He…he didn’t hit me.”

She decided against explaining that the newest bruise had actually come from the wall when Dorian had shoved her against it and pinned her there while he’d thrust her dress up around her waist.

She shuddered, telling herself to stop thinking about that already.

Logan went beet red. “The police told me they talked to you. Did they really talk to you?”

She winced as that disturbing conversation wavered through her brain and gave a slight nod. “Yeah. We talked.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t really tell them it was a misunderstanding, did you?”

That hadn’t been her word, but she’d known that’s what the cops had wanted her to say. They’d led the questioning so that all she needed to do what nod and say, “Sure. That’s what happened.” They didn’t want their school embroiled into any media-covered scandal any more than she wanted to revisit what had happened. It had been so much easier to simply agree with them and let it all drop.

“Paige, you didn’t. Christ, he wasn’t going to stop, and you know it.”

She sat on the edge of the bed and tried to stop shivering, briskly rubbing her palms over the tops of her thighs. He knelt in front of her, his eyes reflecting all the pain and anguish inside her.

“You should go back to the police and tell them the truth. I’ll come with you.”

When he reached out as if to take her hand and lead her to the authorities right then, she shook her head vigorously. “No. No, I don’t want to drag this out. I just want it to be over.”

“But—”

“Please,” she whispered.

He clenched his teeth and closed his eyes. “I am so sorry, Paige. This is my fault. I should’ve checked on you sooner. I should’ve…Damn it, if I’d have known he wasn’t going to be punished, I would’ve hit him harder.”

But as soon as he spoke, he cringed. “God, I didn’t mean to say that. After what happened with…your brother, I didn’t think I’d ever want to hit anyone else again. But when I saw you struggling against him, with your skirt…I got over my aversion real quick.” He shook his head, his lashes lifting so he could look at her from tortured eyes.

“It okay,” she assured, her throat burning and sore from screaming a short time ago. Still feeling Dorian’s hands on her, ripping down the front of her dress and touching her where she hadn’t allowed him to touch, she hugged herself, protecting her chest, even though she knew the threat was gone. “I’m actually glad you got over it.”