Page 57 of Rebel Summer

“You want me to come and show you?” Dax yelled back, taking two steps toward the stairs.

Lucas blanched before striding toward his golf cart and shouting one last parting shot my way. “Your dad can kiss his money goodbye!”

He slid inside and glowered, flipping us off with both of his middle fingers before backing out of the driveway. The sight of his nose bent in the middle and his face streaked with red provided me with a small glimmer of satisfaction.

Dax looked over at me. Whatever he saw was enough to move him closer, his careful eyes taking in every detail.

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

I could only blink and stare at the spot where Lucas had been moments ago as I attempted to make sense of what had just happened.

“Ivy.” His body now stood in front of mine, but he was a blur in my vision. I couldn’t move. The gentleness in his voice might unravel me. The sympathetic look on his face would no doubt make me cry. I had to look away. My hands covered my face as I held as still as I could and tried my best to hold back the tears. I was fine. Nothing had happened. Lucas was gone. I wasn’t sure why my limbs felt so stiff.

“You need to breathe. Put your hands on your knees.” With soft fingers, Dax held my arm, guiding me to bend over. He was careful not to get too close, like he knew I wouldn’t want to be touched.

With deep breaths in and out, my nerves began to subside. Eventually, I straightened and met his gaze, which proved to be a mistake. Those eyes brought to memory a softness I’d only ever seen years ago in my garage. I tore my gaze away to keep myself from leaping into his arms.

“I’m okay,” I said. “Just a little shaken up. Thanks for your help.”

“I told you three knocks when you’re in trouble is stupid,” Dax said lightly, his hand still holding my arm. “You sure you’re okay?”

Nodding, I reached for my doorknob, needing to be alone. “Yeah. I’m okay. Thanks.”

“I’m going to call Beau and tell him to go look for that guy. Is he at the resort?”

I nodded. “Yeah. His name is Lucas Forester.”

“Did anything else happen?”

I shook my head. “He got kind of handsy, but nothing I couldn’t handle.”

Dax stared at me for a long moment before looking to where Lucas’s golf cart had been only moments ago. Finally, he swore and muttered something under his breath as he turned away, his phone pressed to his ear. He whipped back around. “Lock your door.”

I would definitely be locking my door.

Biology Class

Day 20

I looked over at the empty seat next to me before I flicked my gaze to Mr. Gray, standing by the whiteboard. Dax hadn’t shown up for school today. Rumors of him getting into a fight and being suspended had been filtering through the hallways all morning, but I wasn’t sure what to believe. Thankfully, there were no dead animals or scalpels in sight, so it wasn’t like I needed him to be in class. It was actually nice having the desk all to myself. And you know what? It was even better not having Dax’s annoying comments in my ear during the entire lecture. My gaze, once again, fell on the empty seat before I yanked my attention back to the front of the classroom.

I told Dax I was fine. And I was fine. I closed the door, walked the three steps to the couch, and dropped my purse on the coffee table. Dax’s voice on the porch was loud and humorless as he recounted the incident to Beau. He hung up soon after, and I heard him enter his apartment. His sounds were easily recognizable to me now. The thump of his shoes against the wall as he kicked them off by the door. The bang of the refrigerator closing. Cupboards were opened and shut repeatedly like he couldn’t decide what he wanted to eat. The noises sounded sharper. Harsher. As though he was angry and had only the kitchen cupboards to witness his frustration. I heard the water run for a shower. I needed a shower. I wanted to wash off everything Lucas said, touched, or insinuated, but my gaze was trained on a scuff mark on the wall, so there I stayed.

Being a woman had left me vulnerable to unwanted attention my entire life. I’d had my body looked up and down by men I’d just met, ranging from simple curiosity to vile leering. Men had shouted crude things at me in parking lots. I’d been called sweetheart by male colleagues at the university. A guy at a party grabbed my butt once. He insisted he thought I was his girlfriend and had repeatedly apologized. I had laughed it off, even though it became clear the rest of the night that he didn’t have a girlfriend with him at the party.

Lucas hadn’t hurt me.

He had terrified me.

And I hated that he had made me feel that way. I hated that he thought he could do something like that to me. The second he had me pinned, everything I thought I knew about self-defense had vanished.

I wasn’t hurt.

I was livid.

My fingers clenched at the same time they shook. I didn’t want to give Lucas the satisfaction of my emotions, but there didn’t seem to be enough air on the whole island to satisfy my needs.

My body itched to run a thousand miles, but I never left my couch. The breeze picked up outside, rattling my windows. I tensed at the sound. Another noise came from the window, and my heart lurched in my chest. I double-checked that the door was locked before sprinting to the back bedroom and making sure the window to the side of my bed was latched as well.

---