Page 75 of Ghosts Don't Cry
Cassidy spots me just before I reach them, her eyes narrowing as I slide onto the bench seat. I can feel her gaze as it sweeps over me.
She knows.
“What the hell happened to you?”
“Nothing.” My voice comes out flat. I pick up my drink, hand shaking so badly liquid sloshes over the rim. I set it down again before she can comment, but it’s too late.
“Bullshit.” She leans closer, voice dropping. “Try again.”
“I—”
“Ohhh,thisis interesting.” Amy’s voice cuts me off before I can even attempt a lie. She leans forward, eyes bright with malicious curiosity, and I watch her take inventory. The flush that won’t fade from my skin. My messed up hair. The way I can’t quite meet anyone’s eyes. She smirks at me. “You look like you’ve had a fun time.”
Kate giggles, twirling her straw through melted ice. “They were out there for quite a while.” Her eyes drop to my neck. “Looks like he found a way to keep himself … occupied, after all.”
Amy leans across the table. “Tell me, Lily … was he worth it?”
Cassidy turns to stone beside me. “Don’t.” Her voice is low, vibrating with restrained violence.
Amy ignores her. “No, really. You should tell us. I mean …” She makes a show of trailing her gaze over me, taking in every detail. “You look like someone who’s just been thoroughly fucked against a wall.”
Heat rushes to my face, shame and anger burning through me. My nails dig into my palms hard enough to hurt. “Go to hell.”
Her smirk widens. “I would, but I think Ronan already took you there.” She tilts her head, studying me like I’m both fascinating and pathetic. “Tell me, does he still fuck the same way you remember? Or has prison changed that too?”
Cassidy moves before I can stop her, launching out of her seat so fast that Amy has no time to react before Cassidy’s palm cracks across her face. The sound cuts through the noise of the bar like a gunshot.
A hush falls over the nearby tables. Conversations die. Heads turn. Amy rears back, eyes wide with shock, hand flying to her reddened cheek.
“Shut your fucking mouth.” Cassidy’s voice is deadly soft. “Or I’ll shut it for you.”
For a second, Amy just stares, disbelief warring with fury on her face. Then the rage wins. She lunges forward, but I’m on my feet now, slamming my empty glass onto the table so hard I’m surprised it doesn’t shatter.
“Don’t say another word, Amy.” My voice is steady, even though my body is shaking with rage, adrenaline, and the unbearable guilt of what I just let happen outside. It doesn’t matter that she’s right. Ididlet him fuck me against a wall, even if it was just with his fingers. “Not one more fucking word.”
Kate pulls Amy back before she can push it further, but Amy stares at me with narrowed eyes, calculation replacing fury. “I wonder what the parents of all those little kids would think about their teacher getting a knee-trembler from an ex-con in an alley on a Friday night.”
The threat is clear. My stomach drops.
Cassidy wraps her hand around my arm, grip tight enough to bruise. “We’re leaving.”
I don’t argue, and let Cassidy drag me outside, past staring faces and whispered conversations that will be all over town by morning. The moment the cold air hits my skin, I suck in a breath. But the phantom touch of his hands is still on me. The memory of his mouth, his voice, and his control is still there, burned into my skin.
And the worst part? He wasn’t being reckless. He wasn’t angry or lost. He was in full control. He knew exactly what he was doing to me.
That’s what upsets me most. He broke me apart on purpose, then walked away.
Cassidy calls a cab, and doesn’t speak until it pulls up.
“Lily.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
She sighs, opening the car door. “Fine. Then just answer me one question.”
I take a deep breath and nod.
“Do you need me to do anything?” Her voice is quieter now, stripped of the rage. “Because if you do?—”
