I look back to Harper.
“Thank you, for this.”
She shrugs. “It’s okay. Oh, can I ask you something…” She bites her lip.
I nod, walking to my side of the car.
“Are you and Reap a thing?”
Reap? That’s right, Marcus.
I look past her to Blaze, who’s watching us from the door.
“No, we’re nothing.”
Then I get in and drive the fuck out of there and take Tanika back to mine.
Tanika doesn’t talk until I help her out of the car and into my house. She falls onto the sofa and curls herself into a ball and starts crying.
“Tanika, what is going on?”
She won’t answer me. Just keeps crying. I grab a throw and place it over her and manage to get myself on the sofa as well, hugging Tanika from behind. It takes a while, but she finally stops crying, and when she does, I hear her soft breathing.
A knock on the door makes me move, and I’m careful not to wake Tanika when I get up to open it.
Damn, I wish I looked first.
“Marcus.” He looks past me and then steps back for me to step out of the house, which I do, shutting the door behind me. “If you ask me for sex, I may just junk punch you right here and now.” I push my red hair behind my ear as I look up at him while he watches the movement, then his eyes flick back to me.
“She was on trips all night. She will be coming down hard,” he tells me.
Fuck! Really? I look back at her and see her sleeping.
“You would know, right?”
Marcus’ eyes pin me. “I don’t touch the fucking shit. You forget what I do for a living, pretty girl? Drugs are high on the death list around here. Especially in a small town with nothing to do.”
“So they say. Yet, here I am not having touched it.”
“Yes, here you are, pretty girl.” Marcus eyes me up and down, making me feel dirty. Dirty as in I want him to touch me even while my friend is on the couch coming down from God knows what. How fucked-up is that?
“Is that all you need?” The words barely form as they fall from my lips in a whisper.
Marcus steps closer to me. “No. I’ve come to invite you to my home tomorrow night. Shall I pick you up at seven?” His hands are in his pockets as he watches and waits for me to answer.
“I have to work the next day.”
“Bring your clothes, I don’t expect to let you go.” His words send shivers all over my body.
“I’ll have to let you know. It depends…” I look back to Tanika, who still hasn’t moved.
Marcus reaches forward and slides his hand into my top. I go to tell him off and swipe his hand away, until he reveals my phone, pulling it out. He calls himself then slides it back into my bra.
“I’ll call.” Marcus turns and walks out to his truck.
Something comes over me, I don’t know what it is. Could have been my talk with my sister, but I think I want to go, dive headfirst and see if I can swim.
I really hope I can fucking swim and don’t drown in him.
My feet hit the pavement and I reach for him, turning him around so our lips smash against each other. I kiss him and then pull away, both of us breathless. Looking up into his hazel eyes, I smile.
Then I walk back to my house, and when I get to the door, I turn to see him smiling at me, one hand on his truck and the other in his pocket.
I’m unsure if I will survive Marcus.
His specialty is death.
My chances of survival are slim.
“You’re awake,” I say to Tanika as she sits up. She’s been asleep all day. I’ve waited for her, not wanting to leave her.
She rubs her eyes and pulls her legs up, tucking them under her ass as she pulls the blanket up, covering herself.
“Tanika, what’s going on?”
“Nothing. Everything is fine.”
I cringe at her lie. How didn’t I see it before? I move to sit next to her, placing my hand on her thigh. “You’re lying. What’s wrong?”
Tanika wipes at her nose and shakes her head. “Nothing,” she lies again.
“I didn’t think you’d ever lie to me, not like this. Not straight to my face.”
Her eyes go wide, they’re bloodshot and look so sore. “You don’t…” she stops, shaking her head. “You don’t understand.”
“Help me understand. I want to understand,” I say, turning to face her fully.
“I can’t, it hurts too much.” Tanika reaches for her chest and holds it, clings to it tightly, like it might break right in front of me.
“Then tell me why you’re hanging out with those bikers. Tell me, Tan?”
Her eyes look up to me. “They help me escape, and they don’t judge me.”
“I wouldn’t judge you if you just told me.”
She shakes her head again. “You don’t understand,” she repeats.
I pull my hand back from her and stand from the couch. I start pacing in front of her, but she doesn’t even move.
“Do you owe them something?” I ask, trying to guess at what, I don’t even know.
“No.”
“Okay, does your family?”
“No,” she answers, then stops breathing, holding her breath, then she pushes one out.
“I was assaulted, Rochelle, and they help me forget.”
I pause.
Look to her and see her gripping at her wrists.
“What?” I ask, confused, and sit back down next to her. Pulling her to me, I hug her hard while she cries into my hair.
I hold her. I hold her for as long as she needs to be held until she realizes she’s safe and she can let go.
When she does, she looks up at me.
“You don’t have to tell me everything if it hurts you too much to say the words.”
“I was out… it was the night after I met Blaze. I like him. If you got to know him, you would see he’s good, despite his gruff exterior,” she says, offering me a shy smile.
“I’m sure he is.”
Tanika laughs. “He doesn’t like you. He thinks you aren’t a good friend.”
“Blaze knows what happened?” I ask, not even answering that friend part. I know I haven’t been a great friend over the last month. I’ve been shit, actually. But she still could have come to me. Regardless, I would have been there for her. If I’d have known.
“He didn’t. Well, not until after that day in the lake.” Tanika shrugs. “He suspected, but I never confirmed it. I guess I did that night.”
“Are you comfortable to tell me what happened?”
“I was out. You were…” she pauses, “… well, you were grieving, and I went out with some new friends. I ended up leaving them early.” She hiccups, wiping the snot from her face with the back of her hand. “I don’t remember it all. He came up from behind, pushed me to the ground and started tearing at my clothes. He got my pants down and I could feel him…” she visibly shudders. “I could feel him… down there. And, somehow, I managed to push away, and when I did, I just ran. I ran so hard and fast that I went straight home. When I got there, my feet were bleeding and I had no clothes on down below.” Tanika’s visibly shaking now, tears streaming down her face, probably matching mine.