Page 59 of Dark Obsession

“Luckily, another boy walked in and pulled him off of her.She went to the authorities at the college to report it.They sided with the guy.He was a rugby player for the school and helped them generate a significant amount of money.The sad part was they took her scholarship from her and ‘invited’ her to leave their college.They didn’t want any trouble or bad publicity.”

Daniel turned and looked out the window, and put his hands deep in his pockets.“She’s never going to trust me, is she?”

Layla curled a hand around his upper arm and leaned against him.

“Oh, I think you’ll be surprised.Just give her time.”

“And you?Will you be able to forgive me for not doing better than I did to help her?”

“There’s nothing to forgive.I know my sister and how closed off she can get.I was the only one who could have gotten through to her then.”

“Thank you.”He laid his hand over hers and squeezed.

“You know, we later found out the man in the foster home was caught touching another child, and the rugby player was finally kicked out of school and charged with rape.That girl wasn’t as lucky as Keira about getting away from him.”

Daniel didn’t say anything, just stood looking out the window for several long minutes.She let him be.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Keira woke up severalhours later.She lay still, listening and trying to get her bearings.One of her hands lay on top of Daniel’s head.She woke several times for very short moments, each time with her hand on him, and he had a hold on her.

A spike of joy ran through her at the sound of her sister’s voice whispering softly on the sofa.She must have made a sound because Daniel’s head snapped up.

He stood and ran a hand over her forehead.“Hey, Baby.”

“Hey,” she tried to say, but it came out more like a cough.“May I have some water, please?”

“I’ll get some for you, and I’ll tell the nurses she’s awake,” Logan said as he walked out the door.

“Hi, little sister,” Layla said as she came up to the other side of her bed.

Keira noticed the way she tried to smile, but her voice cracked, and her face crumbled.“I’m so glad you’re going to be okay.How are you feeling?”Layla asked.

Keira moved her head a little and then other body parts.“Actually, pretty good.My head doesn’t hurt nearly as badly as it did.I can feel where I have some stitches, but it’s mostly a tugging sensation and not real pain.How was your honeymoon?”

Layla wiped the tears that still fell.“I don’t want to talk about that right now.I want to know why you felt it was a better choice to hold back information from me.”

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