Broken Hill High (Broken Hill High #1)(63)

Cade took complete charge of the situation and all that did was prove to me how often he’s had to do stuff like that for the boys. He was absolutely great and managed to get Nate off with only a week suspension, as after all, he did beat the shit out of a student before knocking him out based solely on my word.

Everything was going good until Josh woke up and entered the office. Then it was both Cade and Nate being held back by the staff and Jesse, showing me once and for all where Nate gets his temper from. Though, as promised, an investigation was launched and Josh has been placed on suspension until the investigation is complete. He’s also been dropped from the football team until further notice, though, once a thorough investigation is done, I’m sure he’ll be out of the school altogether.

My parents were called and since then have been blowing up my phone but I haven’t really had a chance to call them back until now, and I find myself putting it off. I don’t want to talk about it again but I know I need to put them out of their misery.

The memories of being inside that broom closet with Josh haven’t stopped circling my mind and all it does is make me feel sick and dirty.

I push myself up to my feet and Nate grabs my hand. “Where are you going?” he grunts as he tugs on my hand, stopping me.

“I want to shower. I feel kind of dirty after having him all over me.”

“Oh,” he says, looking broken that I feel that way.

He lets go of my hand and I walk out of the room but when I see both Nate and Jesse following behind, I turn and watch them over my shoulder. “You guys know that I’m capable of showering by myself, right?”

“Mhmm,” Jesse says as Nate silently continues following. I mean, surely, they aren’t planning on helping me shower, right?

I get up the stairs and push through the door of my room only to have both the boys follow me in. Jesse stops and drops down onto my bed while Nate follows me into the bathroom. He doesn’t shut the door but he doesn’t need to, Jesse won’t be able to see anything, as long as he stays on my bed.

I walk straight up to the mirror as Nate leans against the sink, watching me. I get myself undressed and can’t help but notice all the bruising over my body from where Josh had gripped me. I try not to focus on it, as all it does is make me remember every tiny little detail of how he touched me.

I turn away and lean into the shower to turn on the taps. After waiting a few moments, it’s warm enough to step into and I instantly let the hot water cascade over my body. Nate’s arms circle my waist and I gasp as I hadn’t heard him undressing. I turn in his arms and rest my head against his chest as he holds me.

This right here is exactly what I’ve been needing all afternoon. Just me and Nate alone.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs as he runs his thumb back and forth over my hip. “I should have put a stop to his plans when I first heard about it.”

My brows pull down as I look up at him and search his eyes. “Don’t do that,” I tell him.

“Do what?”

“Blame yourself,” I explain. “Once the idea was in his head, he wasn’t going to stop. I could sense that from him. I was the stupid one here. I was the one walking down the hall alone when I knew that was a possibility. I wasn’t thinking and that’s on me.”

He shakes his head, refusing to listen to my reasoning, but I get the feeling this is just one of those things where we have to agree to disagree. “I hate that he touched you,” he tells me.

“I know,” I sigh. “I hate it too, but I’m happy it’s over and now I’ll never have to see him again.”

Nate’s whole body tenses. “He better hope he never sees you again,” he mutters darkly.

I pull myself back into him and he instantly relaxes. “Come on,” I say after a moment of standing in his arms. “I want to wash him off me and forget this day ever happened.”

“Alright,” he says as he releases me. I reach over and grab the soap before cleaning myself and then going the extra mile to wash my hair as well. A moment later, I feel squeaky clean and fall back into Nate’s arms. “Better?” he questions.

I smile up at him and press my lips to his. “A million times better,” I tell him before kissing him again. “What are the chances that Jesse isn’t on my bed anymore?”

“He’s still there,” he groans as he pushes me against the cool tiles of the shower and kisses the sensitive skin of my neck. “He’s feeling protective of you so he won’t be going anywhere for a while.”

“Damn,” I grunt. “So, you’re telling me that I can’t take advantage of you right now?”

“Fuck no,” he groans low in his throat as he presses himself up against me and grabs my ass. In one quick movement, he lifts me and my legs wrap around him before he slides straight into me and makes me forget the hell of a day I’ve just had.

We step out of the shower once he’s thoroughly made me feel alive and he grabs a towel to wrap around me. I dry myself up as best I can before walking out into my room and heading straight for the closet.

I pull the door closed behind me to allow myself some privacy to get dressed and a few minutes later, I come out to find not only Jesse on my bed but Nate as well. I roll my eyes at my protection detail and grab my phone out of my bag before falling into Nate’s arms.