Broken Trust: A Dark High School Romance(28)

“Faster,” I said, and that one word had his head snapping to the side, eyes running over me. He must have seen it in my expression, the desperate clawing need.

The Bugatti surged forward and Beck ignored all the road rules, running red lights and through intersections, so that he never had to ease up on the accelerator. He pushed the car to her limits, and as the familiar, throaty roar of the engine filled me, the screaming void of pain inside my head started to ease. Just a little. Enough that I was no longer digging my nails into my thighs, desperate to tear these clothes off.

When we pulled up at my place, Beck was out and at my door before I could even get my seatbelt unclicked. He helped me out, and I knew he was about to carry me again, so I shook my head. “I can walk,” I said.

Those bastards did not break me.

Beck’s dark gaze never left mine, and I would have been worried about the simmering fury still buried deep in those storm cloud eyes, but I knew it was not directed at me for a change.

“Did you kill them?” I asked while we waited for the elevator.

“I hope so,” he said without inflection.

When I was finally inside, I ran for my bathroom, unable to stand the clothes touching my body any longer. I wasn’t gentle as I tore off the uniform and my underwear, nails scraping along my skin at the same time.

Gentle hands stopped me. “Butterfly! Riles!” Beck said, getting my attention. “Let me help you,” he pleaded.

Memories were pressing in on me again. Their fucked up faces filled with anger and desire. The laughter. The helplessness I’d felt when they’d pinned me.

A keening sound fell from my mouth, and I gulped to try and stop it. To try and fill my lungs with air. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t stop the memories.

Hot water splashed over me, jolting me back to the present, and I realized that Beck had stepped into the shower with me, holding me, while the water beat down on us. I was naked. He was fully clothed. Both of us fucked up messes.

I screamed, beating my hands on his chest as my tears mixed with the falling water, stealing them down the drain. Beck let me hit him, never moving or flinching. He took the punishment, even though in this second, I was not angry with him.

Sure, I could have blamed Beck for this—the actions of Delta put me in this situation—but that wouldn’t be fair. It wasn’t his fault.

He’d saved me.

Some of the thoughts scratching in my head eased, and I was finally able to allow rationality to enter. I let my hands fall and slumped forward. As I stared down, I finally noticed the red streaked water, and it took me a moment to realize that was from Beck. He had been covered in blood. Blood that he’d earned protecting me.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered against his chest. “You saved me. I’m sorry.”

“Never fucking apologize to me,” Beck growled, and wanting to see his face, I tilted my head back. “I don’t deserve it.”

That was true. To some extent. But on the other hand, I’d seen real evil today, and it wasn’t the guys from Delta. Needing something to do, I reached for my body wash and loofah, and for the next five minutes, I scrubbed at my skin like I could remove memories if I removed layers.

Beck remained in the shower with me, his eyes locked on my face, arms crossed and expression hard. Finally he reached out and stopped me. “I think that’s enough, Riles,” he said. “You’re starting to bleed.”

His gentle caress brushed over the top of my thighs, where I’d been scrubbing, and I finally felt the slight burn I’d left from almost rubbing my skin raw.

With another sob, I dropped everything, letting it clatter to the floor. Beck took over again, shutting off the shower, wrapping me up in a towel, and gently placing me on my bed. He disappeared for a beat, and I heard him throw his clothes into the dryer before he entered my bedroom with a towel around his waist as well.

My limbs were still shaking and I felt bone-deep cold as I slipped under the covers, pulling them tightly around myself, trying to hold my shit together. Beck crawled in next to me, but he stayed on top the covers, wrapping me up in his arms. For once, I didn’t fight my natural instinct. Lately I’d had to push Beck away out of anger, but my body had hated it every single time I did it. Today I could just let myself be with him. Feel his comfort. Today, I could have Beck back.

“Thank you for saving me,” I said, realizing I hadn’t told him that yet.

His lips pressed against my forehead, and I closed my eyes, pretending that everything was okay between us. “I should have gotten there sooner,” he said in a deathly cold voice. “The bastards had it well planned. Dylan and Jasper are with their parents this morning, and Evan’s front tires were slashed in the parking lot. I was helping him change them when it happened.”

Those fuckers had been planning this for a while. “How did you get to me in time then?”

He brushed a hand over my head, gently stroking back the long wet strands of my hair. “Not everyone in that crowd was okay with it,” he said. “Someone told us that we’d better get in there.”

“It was all setup by Katelyn,” I whispered. “It had to be. She’s the only one with the money and resources to know that Dylan and Jasper were out for the morning, and to pay enough people to make all of that happen. When I walked into the school, about twenty of them were waiting for me.”