Gifted Connections 3

I turned. If I could spit fire I would. “Yes, I’m going to bed, and no, I’m not ready to talk. I don’t know if you realize this or not, but I was nearly raped tonight. I’ve been poked and prodded and basically called a liar. And oh yeah, I was drugged. I’m calling it a night. By the way,” I said pointing at my chest and then at them. “You see this? I’m upset with you, and I’m to the point where if this was a normal relationship I would probably call it quits,” I felt hot tears burn my eyes, and I heard and saw the shock cross their faces. “But at least I’m still talking to you. That’s more than what you did earlier.” I looked at Jace. “I remember a time when I gave you the silent treatment, and you said we needed to communicate to make our relationship work. Obviously, you don’t prac

tice what you preach.”

He reeled back as if I had hit him physically.

Drake ushered me into the room, and I slowly got undressed.

“Do you want a shirt?” Drake asked as he took his off.

I nodded. “Yes, please.”

He handed me the one he just took off, and I smiled at him. I loved wearing their shirts, especially when it smelled like them, and he knew that. He slid into bed, and I climbed in after him, seeking the warmth and shelter of his arms.

I felt like I had just gotten to sleep when I heard an alarm going off. I felt a warm arm pinning me down to the side of a warm, hard male’s chest and common sense flew out the window. I was disoriented. I was fatigued. In my exhausted frame of mind, I couldn’t compute that it was Drake. I yelped and immediately began to panic. All I could see was Bradford pinning me down with his body.

I couldn’t breathe. I tried to take big gasp of air, but I couldn’t. I began struggling against the arms that reached for me.

“No,” I screamed between ragged breaths as I tried to slap it off. When I was free of it, I scrambled away. I barely registered the pain of falling off the bed.

The light came on and I saw Remy, Jace, Jaxson, and Noah standing in the doorway. Troy sat up in his bed turning on the lamp on his nightstand. I looked around in confusion, blinking the sleep from my eyes. I realized I was now on the floor, and I was staring up at Drake’s concerned expression.

I still couldn’t breathe, and I knew I was in danger of getting sick all over the floor. The nauseousness and dizziness was back in full force.

“Move,” I gasped out as I tried to scramble to the bathroom. I made it just in time to throw up into the toilet. The only problem was, I hadn’t eaten since last evening, so it was disgusting bile that came up.

I felt hands go to grab my hair back. “Don’t,” I snarled knowing his presence. It was Jace once more. I felt him try to push calm onto me, but I used everything within me to push him back and raise my barriers.

“Blake, you’re having a panic attack,” he explained soothingly. I could still hear the hurt in his voice. “Let me help,” he pleaded.

“No,” I said resolutely. When I felt his gift begin to retreat, I slumped onto the floor. Throwing up and fighting his gift was too much for me right now. I took deep breaths in and out, trying to breathe normally once more.

I was okay. It wasn’t Bradford. I fell asleep with Drake. I was okay. This was the baby-blue rug Troy picked out. It was soft under my cheek and fingers. I curled my fingers into it. I could smell the vanilla air-freshener Jace had put in here. Not Bradford’s cologne. I was okay. I could hear Troy’s alarm going off once more. It was an annoying high-pitched sound that he downloaded. He must have forgotten to turn it off. He was notorious for doing that. I was okay.

I opened my eyes. Breathing normal once more.

The cold beneath the bathroom rug seeped into my bones, I started to shiver.

“Blake,” Jaxson said as he knelt beside me. “What happened beautiful? Are you okay?”

“It was too dark,” I whispered as I closed my eyes. “I forgot where I was for a moment.”

“Can I touch you?” he asked softly. I weakly nodded, and he pushed my hair back off my face. “You’re getting goosebumps, are you ready to head back to bed.”

I shook my head and slowly sat up. The guys were all huddled in the hallway, but I wasn’t ready to talk to them yet. I was still angry at them. Well most of them. “I need to brush my teeth first.” I said ruefully.

He grabbed my toothbrush out of the holder. He turned on the faucet, rinsing it, before he put toothpaste on it. He then handed it to me.

“I’m okay,” I muttered to the guys.

They still didn’t move. I rolled my eyes and finished brushing my teeth. Jaxson led me back to the Drake and Troy’s room, then I crawled under the blankets.

“Do you want me to keep the light on?” Troy asked from across the room.

I started to shake my head, but then I nodded.

The next time I woke up, I was alone in bed. I looked down at my watch and was shocked to see that it was almost noon. I padded out into the bathroom and started the shower. I maniacally scrubbed my body. I knew he hadn’t really done anything with me, but I still felt violated. I scrubbed my skin nearly raw. It was bright red. My bruises were disgusting but I couldn’t bring myself to ask Noah for his assistance.

I left the bathroom and rummaged through my clothes to find something. I settled on a pair of skinny light-washed jeans, a white racerback tank top, and then added a black off the shoulder sweater. I could hear the television as I came out of the room.