All the Little Truths (English Prep 3)

“Don’t you want to know how it feels to be with a man?”

My heart flew to an unhealthy speed.

Before I could say anything else, his hand clamped down onto my mouth fast and hard. My eyes grew wide. For a moment, I just lay there. Stunned. He took me by surprise.

I was never surprised. I was in control of every situation I was ever in, unless it came to my father, but that was a whole different ball game.

But so was this.

Finally, I regained my courage, and the anger came flying back. How dare he touch something that wasn’t his? My hands flung up, and I clawed at his skin, trying to pry away his fingers that were squeezing the life out of my face.

This wasn’t happening. This could not be happening.

When the man hooked a leg over mine and straddled my body, the fight inside of me left. Tears flung to my eyes. Wait. Why wasn’t I still fighting?

It was karma. I’d made one too many bad choices. Said one too many evil things. I was getting what I deserved.

Why was I not fighting back? Why was this happening?

Knee him in the fucking dick, Maddie!

The last voice had me wavering. Eric? Why was Eric here? That was not how this memory went. I knew what happened next, and it was enough to make my entire body go into shock.

My eyes flew open as I gasped for air. I pushed away the covers that weren’t even there and flipped over onto my stomach, falling to the ground with a thud. Pain radiated to my hip, despite the soft carpet below, and I jolted to my feet before running to my bedroom door. My hand hit the cold metal doorknob, and I twisted it no less than five times, making sure it was locked. Sweat trickled down the side of my face as I turned around to grab the computer chair to push up against the door for extra caution, but I screamed instead.

My hand flew up to cover my mouth as I stood there, all sweaty and panting, looking at Eric who was sitting in my chair in nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants with a book propped in his hand. His dark hair was damp, not moving an inch when he sliced his dark eyes my way.

“Have a nightmare, Maddie?”

My eyes closed tightly. I’m still in a fucking nightmare, Eric.

Chapter Ten

Eric

Madeline’s front door was locked, but being her neighbor for many years taught me where the spare key was. I moved the potted plant to the far left of the front door and found it within a second. I chuckled under my breath as I opened her door quickly, noting there was no alarm.

The entire house was dark. Madeline’s mother was long gone. And her father? Well, who the fuck knew where he was.

As I climbed the steps one by one, remembering the last time I’d done just that, I stopped in front of her bedroom and listened for a moment.

Nothing. I didn’t hear a single peep. A wicked part of me wondered if Madeline was in the shower, and I gave myself three seconds to imagine her wet and naked before I pushed those thoughts away and remembered that I hated her and her pretty face.

Should I knock?

No. I’d rather barge in and catch her off guard. As soon as I turned the doorknob, the question about her pill usage on the very tip of my tongue, my shoulders slumped.

Locked?

The disappointment was there, and it was loud.

I was disappointed because I wasn’t going to see her, and that didn’t sit well with me. I needed to turn around and go back home. I could find a distraction elsewhere. It was really fucking low of me to come here anyway. Nothing good was going to come from it.

I hated her.

And even if I didn’t, nothing beneficial was going to arise from digging into her life. Madeline had her own shit to deal with, and there was no fucking way I was going to help her with it.

She pushed me away a long, long time ago. I needed to accept that—regardless if she was no longer dating my best friend.