Step-Lover

“Blade,” I say carefully. “Think about what you’re doing.”

He shoots me an angry look. “He raped my girl,” he spits. “He isn’t getting away with it.”

I flinch.

He notices.

“Peyton, give me a second with Aria.”

Peyton nods, and he flashes her a smile before she rushes into the office. When we hear the door close, he turns to me. “He raped her, Aria.”

“I know that, and he deserves to pay for it,” I say, looking away.

He studies me. “You really don’t care if I go and beat the shit out of him. You care because I was wrong, and Peyton didn’t do bad by me. You care because you’re afraid I’ll leave you and go back to her now that I know.”

I flinch again.

He shakes his head and points to the door. “That girl in there got raped, and she was my girl when it happened. She is suffering far more than you right now, so put your fuckin’ selfish shit aside and get over it.”

I jerk and tears burn under my eyelids. “I never said . . .”

“You wanted to,” he mutters.

With that, he turns and storms out.

Great. Back to square one.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“Do you want a drink?” I ask Peyton, closing the office door behind me.

She shakes her head, staring at the desk. Jesus, I have to put my hurt aside right now, because she needs me to be strong for her. I drag a chair over and sit down beside her. “Are you okay?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. It’s strange. I know what happened to me, everyone has told me, it’s been confirmed, but . . . I don’t remember it, Aria.”

“That can’t be nice,” I say softly.

She shakes her head. “It’s not. My mom says it’s a blessing, because remembering would cause so much damage, but not remembering is seeming to do more.”

“Either way, what happened to you is going to take time to get over. You need to give yourself that time and let people help you.”

She looks to me and blinks her pretty eyes. “He thought I cheated on him,” she squeaks.

“I know.”

“I know I’m not the smartest girl, or even the best, but I would never . . .”

God, I actually think I might like this girl.

“I know,” I say again.

“He hasn’t spoken to me. The horrible thing was, when I came around the next day, he wasn’t there, and I didn’t even know why. Then I rang him and he exploded at me, called me all these names and told me he never wanted to see me again.”

“He didn’t know, honey,” I soothe.

“No, and I’m not mad at him for saying those things. If it were me, I would have done the same. I’m just so miserable without him. I love him, Aria.”

Oh god.

That makes two of us.

“And I’m sure,” I manage, “that he loves you, too.”

She nods and takes a tissue, wiping her nose.

“Do you think he’s going to hurt Brian?”

I cover her hand with mine. “I hope so.”

She smiles weakly. “I kind of do, too.”

~*~*~*~

It’s been three hours.

Blade finally returns, his fists bloody, his face a mask of anger. Whatever happened, it riled him up. He looks at the two of us sitting at the desk, and I quickly stand. This isn’t the time or the place for me to let my feelings show. He needs to be able to make a choice, or at the very least, support this girl who is hurting. I smile down at Peyton. “It was nice chatting with you. Feel better soon.”

“Thank you, Aria,” she says softly. “You’re amazing.”

I force another smile and try to step past Blade when I reach the door. “Where are you going?”

“Home,” I say. “Please move.”

He steps aside and I walk out into the garage. When I get outside, he catches up to me and grabs my arm. “Aria . . .”

I turn and face him. “You’re right. That girl, she needs you more than I do. I need to go, Blade.”

“What I said to you was uncalled for. I was angry.”

“Yeah,” I whisper looking at the floor. “Well, I’m used to it.”

With that I pull my arm out of his grip and turn, walking down the street. I call a cab and it picks me up a few blocks down. By the time I get home, my heart is aching. I want to go back and be with Blade, but I know I can’t. He needs to make up his mind about what he’s going to do, and I’m not going to be in his way while he does that.

When I get to the house, Ripley is sitting out the front on the step. I frown and pay the cab driver, then I get out and hurry up to him. “Hey dude,” I say. “What’s wrong?”

He looks up at me, and while he looks fine, I can see in his eyes that he’s pained. “It’s just been a shit day, you know? Do you want to grab a drink with me?”

I’d never say no, even though I want to go inside and soak in the bath. I can’t because Ripley has come to me, and there’s a reason for that.

“Sure.”

He stands and we both walk off down the street. There’s a café a few blocks down so we stop, grab a seat outside, and order a couple of burgers and milkshakes. I stare over at Ripley as we wait, wondering why he wants me here. He obviously has something he wants to say, but is finding it hard to express that. I just give him time, waiting painterly until he’s ready.