I listen intently, still unsure where her story’s going.
“We didn’t have a lot of money, but my dad arrived home a few days later and handed me a large white box. It was wrapped with a pretty pink ribbon.” Her smile grows as she speaks. “Inside was the most beautiful dress I’d ever seen. It had capped sleeves, a sweetheart neckline, and the most gorgeous applique stitched over the bodice and along the hem of the sheer, tulle skirt.”
Capped sleeves… sweetheart neckline… applique?
What in the fuck is applique?
Despite having no clue, I feel myself smiling along with her. Her dad sounds like a great man, nothing like my father.
“I found out later my father had sold his prize pig, Jessabelle, to old man Tomkins to pay for the dress. I cried when I found out what he’d done. He loved that pig. She’d won him the blue ribbon at the local fair five years running, and old man Tomkins had been trying to get his hands on Jessabelle for years.” My grip tightens on her hand. “Prom night rolled around. I’d been bursting all day to get ready. Mrs. Sinclair, from across the street, came over and set my hair in loose curls, pinning a few on top of my head and applied a dusting of makeup on my face. It was the first time I’d ever worn it. I felt like a princess, maybe even a little beautiful. I couldn’t wait for my date, Kyle Sanders, to see me.”
I take a mental note of that name. I’m pretty sure I’m going to want to kill him by the time this story is over.
“My dad drove me to the prom in his old pickup. He’d even washed and polished it the day before, God love him. We have dirt roads all over town, so it was pointless, but he wanted my night to be perfect. Unfortunately, it turned out to be anything but.”
When she dips her head, I place my free hand under her chin, tilting her pretty face back to mine. The sadness I see swimming in her eyes tugs at my heart. Yep, Kyle Sanders is one dead motherfucker. I’m adding him to my hit list right beside Elijah.
My fingers graze the side of Emma’s face before I tuck her hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry it wasn’t everything you’d dreamed it would be, sweet-thing.”
“Thank you,” she says, squeezing my hand.
She takes a sip of her coffee, and I give her a few moments to compose herself.
“I hate this guy already, and I’m sure we’re not even at the bad part yet.”
“We’re not,” she says. “But I try not to hate people. I don’t want to carry that around inside me. I have secretly wished his dick would fall off, though.”
“Ouch.” I laugh, covering my manhood at the same time. “Remind me never to hurt you.”
“Please don’t.” Her words sound like a plea, and I find myself hoping I never do.
I lift our conjoined hands toward my face, placing a kiss on her knuckles. I have an overwhelming compulsion to protect her from all the bad in this world.
“I remember jumping out of the truck when we arrived. I couldn’t wait to get inside and see Kyle’s reaction when he saw me in my pretty pink dress. My dad is the sweetest,” she says as the smile returns to her face. “He was so sure there’d be a corsage waiting for me when I got inside. He’d bought a single pink rose boutonniere for me to give to him.”
“Did Kyle have a corsage waiting for you?”
“No.”
Fucker.
“All the other girls were wearing one. That was my second red flag. He didn’t even pin on the rose I gave him. He shoved it in his trouser pocket the moment I gave it to him.”
“Bastard.”
“I know, right. There was no comment on my dress. He didn’t even seem happy to see me. Looking back now, it’s clear how far my head was in the clouds. The signs where all there, but I chose to ignore them. And when he grabbed my hand and whisked me outside, I followed like an obedient puppy. We ended up at the football field behind the school. There’s no need to elaborate on what happened next.”
“You had sex with him?”
“Uh-huh. He told me he loved me and wanted me forever, and I believed him.” She lets out a sarcastic laugh. “I was so stupid. I had more sense than that. I was a straight-A student for crying out loud. Actions speak louder than words, and although he said he loved me, he certainly didn’t act like he did. I had no previous experience with men. I couldn’t even gain wisdom from my parents’ marriage because I was so young when my mother passed. I was a fool, a complete and gullible idiot.” She looks off into the distance again. “I desperately wanted him to love me, though. That’s all anyone truly wants right… is to be loved?”
Love is for fools.
When I think of all the one-night stands I’ve had over the years, my stomach churns. I hope I’ve never made anyone feel the way she did. I’ve never lied or pretended to have feelings for someone just to get in their pants.
My thumb glides over the scar on her wrist. “I’m sorry he did that to you.”
“That wasn’t even the worse part. I could’ve lived with being lied to, being used, a lesson learned, and all that. It’s what came after that truly ruined me.”
I brace myself for her answer.
Please don’t tell me you fell pregnant, and that’s why you tried to end your life.
For an instant, the world around me seems to be closing in. Images of Anastasia flash through my mind, and my heart thunders in my chest as I await her reply.
“When he’d finished, he stood, pulled his pants up, and helped me to my feet. I straightened my dress before searching the ground for my underwear. I couldn’t find them. When I asked him to help me look, he screamed at me. I was on the verge of tears by then, anyway. He went from loving and attentive one minute to cold and distant the next. He turned and started heading back toward the gymnasium, so I followed. I was confused. My gut told me this wasn’t normal behavior, but again, I had nothing to gauge from. We walked inside, and he moved straight toward his friends…” She pauses for a moment, clearing her throat. “You know what he did when he reached them?”
“What?”
“He pulled my underwear out of his pocket and waved it around in the air like a trophy. Everyone around him started to cheer, a couple even fist-pumped him.”
I’d like to fist pump his face.
“Fucking hell.” My blood starts to boil as everything she went through plays over in my mind. “What did you do?”
“I marched over there.” I fight my grin because I can picture feisty Emma doing just that. “I was humiliated, but I had to confront him.” I see the beginning of tears glistening her eyes, but I let her continue. “I tried to snatch my underwear out of his hand, but he held them high in the air so I couldn’t reach. Everyone was laughing. God, it was so awful,” she says, swiping her finger under her eye to catch the first tear. “That’s when I found out he pursued me because of a bet… for a measly fifty dollars. Then he told me he didn’t date pigs.”
Emma turns her face away from me as her hands frantically swipe over her cheeks. She may be trying to hide it from me, but I know the tears are coming thick and fast now. I quickly stand, pulling her in, and hugging her to my chest. I want nothing more than to protect her and give her every damn thing she’s never had.