“She doesn’t have any cuts or bruises when she gets back from class. That’s the best I can say.”
When Lauren stays silent, I clear my throat. “What is it? You went away for a second.”
She offers a brief, sheepish smile. “You caught me in the middle of asking myself whether sharing a piece of information with you would be ethical. It was shared in confidence, but it might be something worth reporting.”
“Is it Aspen? Did something happen to her?”
“No. Delilah.”
Shared in confidence. During her exam? Immediately after our encounter in the bathroom? “What is it?”
“I’m telling you this because I think it affected her much more than she was willing to show.” She snorts, eyeing me up. “Reminds me of somebody I know.”
“What did she tell you?” Why is my heart pounding the way it is? Now, the Scotch sloshes in my stomach.
“I’m afraid she was sexually assaulted.”
Fuck. She told her about the blowjob. I knew it was a terrible idea, leaving the two of them alone. I knew she’d find a way to fuck me over.
“It seems it happened when she was being held captive.”
The dread that bloomed in my gut a moment ago is now hardening into something else. Something just as potent. “Those lying fucks. They told me they never laid a hand on her—not that way. Quinton forbade it.”
“They didn’t lay a hand on her. They were clever enough to find the loophole in the rule.”
“I don’t get it.”
“They…” She shifts in the chair, grimacing. “They jerked off and came on her chest.”
My stomach drops like I’m on a roller coaster. “The fuckers. Disgusting pieces of shit.”
I’m the biggest hypocrite who ever drew breath. I came on her tits, too, right after forcing her to suck me off. Yeah, she offered the first time, but the second… that was all me.
They’re a couple of filthy pigs. I hate the thought of them looking at her, much less jerking off in front of her. Anger burns through my veins, followed by confusion. Why am I so bothered by the thought? She doesn’t mean shit to me, yet in a way, she does.
I can’t quite pinpoint how or why, and I’m not in the mindset to try to dive deeper into these emotions, nor do I want to admit to myself that there might be something deeper because to do that would make me feel like I’m betraying Aspen, and I never want to feel like I’ve let her down in any way again.
“I’ll bring it up with her,” I decide.
“Take it easy. Don’t barge in and stomp around like a bull in a China shop.”
“What would ever give you the idea I’d be capable of that?”
She checks the time, then pretends to wipe sweat from her forehead. “Wouldn’t you know it, our time is up? We’ll have to come back to this topic during our next session.”
Rather than head to my office after leaving Lauren’s, I go straight to the apartment. I won’t be able to concentrate until I know whether this story is true or not. Why didn’t she mention it? I can see not saying anything while we were still there, but she’s been here for days.
More likely, she told Lauren some made-up bullshit story to gain sympathy. That makes much more sense. But then again, my first instinct was to believe her, and usually, my instincts are on point.
She’s in the guest room, where I left her, lying on her stomach with a book open in front of her. Her head snaps up at my barging in, the pencil in her hands drops and rolls off the bed in slow motion.
“Is it true? What you told Lauren during your exam?”
She doesn’t look surprised. “I knew she wouldn’t be able to keep her mouth shut about that. I should’ve told her nothing happened.”
“Is it true?”
“What does it matter to you?” Her chin juts out like she’s ready for a fight.
“I would hate to know you’re taking advantage of a caring doctor by telling a story you knew would get back to me. A way of making everybody feel sorry for you.”
She glares at me with what can only be cold hatred. “You saw those guys. Would you put it past them to do something like that? They couldn’t fuck me, so they figured out a way around it. They got off. They had the added pleasure of making me want to scrub my skin until it shredded.”
She goes back to reading her book while I stand here, speechless. Something toughened this girl up. I suspected she had plenty of grit, seeing as how she made it through captivity in one piece.
But this is a different level. She’s been hurt before. So much so that she’s built thick walls around her. She has ways of coping, even if she doesn’t know it. At some point, she was forced to adapt. “Why didn’t you say anything to anyone?”