Stepbrother Billionaire(20)

Right when my mom died, he was still sort of in the picture. We weren’t dating or anything, but we were spending time together. I went over to his place one night when my dad was wasted, just to get out of the house for a minute. His parents were away, so it was just us. He’d broken into his dad’s liquor cabinet and offered me something to drink. Said it would make me feel better. I had some booze, he gave me more. He over-poured my drinks. I got drunk. Then he started touching me, pushing me further than we’d been before. By then, we’d only really kissed. But he was feeling me up, trying to undress me. I told him to stop, I was too wasted to enjoy it, to want it. But he kept on me. Said that would make me feel better, too.

He was much bigger than me, and I was so far gone. I passed out in the struggle. When I woke up a few hours later, I was naked from the waist down. He was asleep. Passed out. There was some blood on my thighs, and...you know…everything else. I got dressed, went home, and took a shower. He and I never spoke again. The only other person who knows this besides you is Riley. But I need you to know. It’s important to me that you do.”

A heavy, thick cloud of silence descends as Emerson’s jaw pulses with rage.

“This guy,” he says, his voice ragged, “It was Tucker. Wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” I whisper, “Yes. It was.”

“Abby, I’m so sorry,” Emerson says, “I’m so sorry that happened to you. I’m sorry no one was there to help you. If I’d known—”

“What, you would have beat him up for me?” I tease, trying to force a little bit of levity into my confession.

“For starters,” Emerson says resolutely.

“That wouldn’t fix anything,” I reply. “Even if I’d told someone, no one would have believed me. I only would have gotten a reputation for being a lying whore at school. With his popularity, his family’s reputation in town...I wouldn’t have stood a chance. I’d rather get to leave this place behind and forget about every one of these *s than give them the satisfaction of dragging me through the mud.”

“I just...I wish there was anything I could do for you,” Emerson says, “To make things better. Anything.”

“This is a pretty good start,” I tell him, giving his hand a squeeze. “We can’t change the past, you know. But we do get to decide what the future looks like.”

“Right,” he says softly, tucking my hair behind my ear. “You’re right.”

The sky is just starting to lighten overhead as we make our way back inside. We have school later today, as mundane as it is to think of. We pause at the top of the stairs, just before peeling off toward our own rooms. Emerson lays his hands on my bare upper arms, looking at me intently.

“Thank you for telling me everything,” he whispers, “It means so much that you can trust me with that.”

“I’d trust you with anything,” I reply, taking his face in my hands. Standing on my tiptoes, I kiss him earnestly, swiftly. This time, he doesn’t hold what I want just out of reach.

We step away from each other and dart into our rooms. As my face hits the pillow at last, I realize the enormity of everything that’s come to pass in these last 24 hours. The diner incident. The impromptu date night and steamy make out session with Emerson. Dad and Deb’s big announcement. My confession to Emerson. Our agreement for my eighteenth birthday.

“Man,” I sigh, drifting off to sleep, “I’d better give this to Riley in small doses, or else she’s going to lose her shit. Permanently.”





Chapter Six





Sure enough, my best friend is flabbergasted and delighted when I give her the scoop of all that’s gone down with me since last we spoke. We’ve decided to spend gym class huddled at the top of the football field bleachers, now that our teacher has given up on trying to make us participate in class. It’s a good thing, too, because the squeal that Riley emits when I let her in on my and Emerson’s plans for Saturday would be enough to burst any unaccustomed eardrums.

“What the f*cking f*ck?!” she shrieks, shoving her hands through her black curls. “This is too much. In the best way possible. Where is it gonna go down? What are you gonna wear? What if the sex is just too good and you have to rush off and elope just to beat your parents to the punch so that they’re the f*cked up ones? What if—?”

“Whoa, whoa. Slow down, Tiger,” I laugh, “Neither of us expects this to be a long term thing. It can’t be, with our parents getting married. We’d probably hardly even see each other after graduation, anyway, even if they weren’t tying the knot. This is a onetime thing. A gift to ourselves. Please don’t get your hopes up for some happy ending.”

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” she scoffs, “My imagination can wring a happy ending out of any situation. I’m holding out hope for you two.”

“I wish I had your optimism then,” I laugh. “Really, I do.”

“And I can’t believe you told him about...you know,” she says, growing somber. “You must really trust this guy, huh?”

“I know it’s crazy, but I really do,” I tell her. “It might blow up in my face and ruin me for life, but hey, nothing’s been able to ruin me yet. So, I like my chances.”