“Just shut it, Bailey, and you listen to me. He is not the one for you, I am.” He pokes himself in the chest again.
“William, I—”
“I said shut the fuck up.” He steps toward me, my panic spikes and I take a step back in fear. “You are too good for him. You and I belong together, we always have. If he hadn’t swooped in, you would be mine.” He roughly grabs me by my upper arms, pulls me closer to him, and slams his lips forcefully against mine. Clamping my lips shut tight, I refuse him entry. I close my eyes and try to wriggle free, but his grip on my arms is really tight. He angrily pulls back, raises his hand and slaps my face. He then sneers, “Let me in, Bailey.” Then he slams his lips to mine once again, and he loosens his grip on my arms, so I push him away.
Shaking my head at him in disgust, the first tear falls down my cheek. I wipe it away and will myself not to cry. “No, William. Please don’t do this.” He glares at me again, and when I look up at him, I don’t see the nice, friendly William that I know. Instead, I see monster William. He raises his right arm again and slaps my left cheek, my head snaps to the side, and I let out a yelp in shock.
“See what you make me do,” he growls at me. “Bailey…” he says, stepping near me again. I take a step back in fear and this only aggravates him further. He grabs my arms again and pulls me to him. He tries to kiss me again but I turn my head, this only angers him more. He squeezes my arms tighter before he shoves me to the ground. I land on the grass with a thud, but before I have a chance to register anything, William pushes me down and is straddling my legs. I try and get up, but he pushes me back to the dirt. The grass is cold beneath me, and I try and focus on that, but all I can concentrate on is William and what is going to happen next.
William lowers himself over me, one hand resting beside my head, caging me in. The other hand is roughly groping my breast through my top. My eyes well with tears, everything is blurry. I close my eyes and take a deep breath when I feel him slide up my legs. His erection is pressing into my stomach when he leans down and tries to kiss me again.
Blinking away my tears, I shake my head and beg, “Please, William.”
He mistakes my plea as me giving myself to him, and with a sinister smile he says, “I knew you’d come round.”
Leaning down, he tries to kiss me again, when all of a sudden the pressure of him on top of me is gone, and I’m alone lying in the grass. Everything around me is muffled, but I vaguely hear someone yelling, “You asshole, get your hands off her.”
Looking over, I see Nate and Archie dragging William away. Nancy and Wendy come rushing over to me. I roll onto my side, close my eyes, and I huddle into a ball. Wendy touches my shoulder and I flinch. “Bailey, it’s me, you’re safe now.”
Opening my eyes, I look up and see both Wendy and Nancy crouched next to me, their faces full of fear. My brain kicks into gear again, and I register that it’s them. Sitting up, I wrap my arms around Wendy and cry. The tears flow down my cheeks as I huddle into her. Everything around me becomes fuzzy as I let the tears and grief overtake me. Nancy slips her cardigan off and drapes it over my shoulders. I look down to see my top has been torn; my bra is not in place, and my breasts are on display. Reaching up, I grip the edges of the sweater and hold it tight to me.
I’m tugged from Wendy’s embrace as Nate pulls me into his body. His chest is erratically rising and falling, his breathing labored. “Bai, babe, are you okay?”
I nod my head that I’m fine, but to be honest, I’m not sure how I feel right now. Nate leads me over to a table, sits down, and pulls me onto his lap. He holds me tightly and his embrace is exactly what I need right now.
William walks toward us and I feel Nate tense under me, William is about to speak to us when Wendy grabs his arm and drags him away. I’m so thankful for her at the moment, I’m not ready to speak to him yet. I knew William liked me and prior to today, I kinda sorta liked him too, but then I met Nate and everything changed.
From where we are sitting, I hear Wendy letting loose on William. “You are my brother and I love you, but right at this moment, I have no words to describe how I feel about you. None. What you just did is unforgivable, and if Bailey never speaks to me again because of you, I will never forgive you. Now just go, you are not wanted here.” He lowers his head and walks away, he doesn’t look up at anyone. I cannot believe it, but I actually feel sorry for him. This causes me to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Nate says, his face etched with a mixture of anger and sadness.
Never in a million years will I tell him what I just felt for William. I shake my head and sadly smile at him. “It’s nothing, can you please take me home?”
“Of course.” He stands up and instinctively I wrap my legs around his waist and snuggle into him. Pulling back, I stare into his eyes and I know that I will be fine. “Nate, put me down. I can walk.”
“I know you can, but I like having you in my arms, Bai.”
“I like it too, but please, I want to walk.” He reluctantly lowers me to the ground and outstretches his hand to me. I place my palm in his and he pulls me into his side. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and hugs me for dear life. This causes the dam walls to break once again and I begin to cry. “Shhhhh,” he coos. He pulls me to him and instinctively, I wrap my arms around his waist and he holds me tighter.
“I was so scared, Nate. So scared. I never thought William would do something like that. Never.”
“It’s over now and you are safe with me, Bai. I will never let anything like that happen to you again. I’m just glad that I was there.”
“Me too, Nate, me too.”
Wendy walks over to us. “Bai, I’m so sorry about my brother. He’s such an asshole, I can’t believe he did that. If you want me to move out, I totally understand.”
“Wendy, no,” I say, pulling away from Nate. “You are my best friend and I don’t want this to ruin that. Your brother will never come between us, ever. You are the sister I never had.”
“Ohh, Bai,” she cries, I wrap my arms around her and offer her the comfort she needs right now. Nancy walks over, I pull her into our hug, and the three of us stand there hugging and crying.
“Come on, ladies, let’s get you home,” Nate says.
The three of us pull apart. I take Nate’s outstretched hand, while Wendy and Nancy link hands, and I find myself smiling at this. Together, we walk to Nate’s car and he drives us home.
When Nate drops us off, I ask him to stay and he quickly agrees. After a quick shower, I change into my nightie and climb into my bed. While I wait for Nate to shower, I think about the last few days: the concert, Nate, William, and everything in between. This weekend has been perfect, absolutely perfect, even with what William did. I’ve never been so happy or content in my life. Nate comes into my room in nothing but a pair of boxers. My eyes rake over his body, and I find myself once again smiling.
Nate and I lie on my bed together. He pulls the duvet over us and we both relax. “Are you okay, Bailey?”
“I’m not sure. But having you here makes me feel safe.”
“I’m happy to be here, and I can say without a doubt, I don’t want to be anywhere else right now.” He pauses. “When I saw him on top of you, my heart stopped and shattered at the same time. A force beyond my control overtook my body, and all I could think about was saving you. I’m sorry that happened. I should have protected you better.”