Our Darkest Hour (Our Darkest Series Book 1)

by Sarah Bailey

He struck then, launching himself towards me and shoving me up against the wall before I had a chance to run. He had a few inches on me so I had to crane my head up slightly to look him in the eye.

  “The only problem I have is with you making fucking gooey eyes at him. You’ve been obsessed with King since we were kids.”

  “So what? It’s not your business.”

  I tried to shove him off me, but he pressed down harder on my chest.

  “I think you’ll find it is. If that little prick hadn’t come along, we’d have never fallen out. You were too busy protecting him to notice anything else.”

  I blinked, unable to comprehend the meaning behind his words. Why would he care about us being friends? I’d never liked him. The first time our parents had introduced us, he’d sneered at me. A black mark against him in my book. He was an absolute prick who’d not grown up at all in the intervening years.

  “What kind of deluded bullshit have you got knocking around in your head? We were never friends.”

  He used his free hand to trace a finger down my cheek. The gesture made my skin crawl as did the look in his eyes. I didn’t want to believe what I was seeing. Not one bit.

  “Liar. You weren’t meant to be his. And I fucking hated you for it. But I hated him more. Hated the two of you for making me feel like this.”

  I swallowed hard, not wanting to ask what he meant as I had a pretty good idea already.

  “I like girls,” he ground out. “I love pussy… but you… you fucking make me crazy.”

  What the actual fuck?

  “I’m not gay. I fucking swear it.”

  I tried to move again, wanting to be as far away from this man as possible and the desire flickering in his eyes. He held me tighter against the wall, leaning towards me until his breath hit my cheek.

  “It’s not fucking gay if I stick it to you. That fucking King took you away from me. I’m taking you back.”

  I struggled harder against him.

  “Get off me!”

  “Oh no, no, no, Aaron. You’re fucking mine.”

  “I’m not, you psycho. Get off me. I don’t want this.”

  He laughed. He actually laughed. The sound made my body tense up.

  “Oh, you do. You really fucking do. You’ve been taunting me for years.”

  I shook my head. Whatever he thought, he was wrong. I’d done nothing of the sort. I’d stayed away from him as much as possible. It was him constantly getting up in mine and Rhys’ faces, not the other way around.

  This was the most fucked up situation I’d ever been in. I should have run when I saw him.

  “Get off, Valentine. I’m not fucking around.”

  He pulled away, giving me precious inches, but it wasn’t any good. The next thing I knew, he’d grabbed me, flipped me over and pressed my front against the wall, pinning my hands to it.

  “Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to take it like the pussy boy you are. Just like all the girls I’ve fucked. It won’t be any different from them. It won’t make me fucking gay.”

  My entire body froze on the spot. I didn’t know how to get out of this. Not when he held me down with such a force, my face dug into the brick wall he’d pressed me against. It hurt and I was in no doubt if he went through with this, I’d be in for a lot more pain.

  I don’t want this. Not with him.

  The only person I’d ever consider letting fuck me would be Rhys. We’d never talked about it since we’d fallen into our roles with little hesitation. He had my heart and he could have that part of me if he wanted. I certainly did not want to give it over to Valentine. Especially not like this. The very idea of being forced horrified me.

  “No. You can’t! Stop it.”

  “Oh yes, I fucking can, Parrish.”

  I felt his body press against me and his cock harden on my behind. It sickened me all the more. No way in hell I’d let him rape me without putting up a fight. I couldn’t allow this to happen. It would break something inside me.

  “Now you better shut the fuck up and take it like a good little pussy boy.”

  No, no, no. This cannot be happening!

  He let go of my hands so he could unzip his jeans. I felt him fumbling behind me and took the opportunity to make my escape. Dropping my arms, I bent one and elbowed him in the gut. He let out a grunt and I did the same with the other side. He loosened his grip, giving me some wriggle room. I shoved hard against him. He took a step back. I didn’t want to give him a chance to recover. I pushed off the wall and spun around. I could see the shock in his eyes. So I shoved him hard again, forcing him backwards.

  “You fucking prick,” I almost shouted at him. “Stay the hell away from me.”

  I didn’t care any longer. His intentions made me ill. This prick would’ve raped me without a second thought. My hands came up one last time as he fumbled with his clothes, trying to adjust himself so he could come after me again.

  The next moments happened in slow motion. Valentine stumbled backwards, catching himself on the top step of the stairs behind him that led down to the canal. The moment he lost his balance, he let out a yelp, putting his hands out to grab hold of something but it was too late. I watched him fall backwards and heard the sickening crunch as his head slammed down on the steps below. It didn’t stop there. He rolled down the steps, falling in a heap at the bottom.

  I put my hand to my mouth, running towards the steps and staring down at the body at the bottom.

  “Valentine?”

  There was no sound or movement from him. Had the impact knocked him out?

  What the fuck did I just do?

  “Valentine!”

  I stumbled down the steps in a hurry. This wasn’t meant to happen. I’d only wanted to get him away from me.

  Shit!

  When I got down to the bottom, I knew things weren’t good. Blood had already pooled by his head.

  “Valentine?”

  Leaning down, I tried to feel for a pulse at his neck. There was nothing. I staggered back, putting my hand on my mouth again. Was he dead? He couldn’t be. I hadn’t meant to. It was an accident.

  My body shook violently, my hand trembling against my face. My whole world crumbled before my eyes. The idea of anyone finding out I’d accidentally killed Valentine making me want to throw up. I backed away to the wall next to me, pressing against it to hold myself up.

  “No. No. He’s not dead. He can’t be.”

  I couldn’t deal with this. Nothing felt real. How could this happen? All Rhys and I had wanted to do tonight was to have some fun. How had I ended up like this?

  Rhys.

  My chest ached. I needed him. He’d know what to do. He’d help me. Rhys and I would go to the ends of the earth for each other.

  With shaky hands, I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialled his number.

  “Hey, prince… I’m sorry I ran out of the party. You ready to head home?”

  The sound of his voice broke me. I let out a choked moan.

  “Aaron? Are you okay?”

  “No,” I whispered, feeling tears welling in my eyes.

  “What’s happened?”

  My free hand flattened against the wall behind me as my legs tried to buckle under the onslaught of feelings rushing through my body.

  “I need you.”

  “I’m coming. Where are you? Still at the party?”

  The concern in his voice destroyed me.

  “No… the… the canal path.”

  “Okay. I’ll be right there, okay? You going to tell me what happened?”

  I couldn’t bring myself to say the words.

  I think I killed Valentine.

  “Just come, please. I can’t do this, Rhys. I can’t.”

  My legs gave out. I slid down the wall, not caring about the concrete grazing my skin.

  “Hey, hey, you can. I’m on my way, I promise.”

  “Hurry.”

 
I couldn’t hold the phone up to my ear any longer. My hand dropped onto the floor below me. I could still hear Rhys’ concerned voice, but nothing seemed to register with me any longer.

  I killed someone. How could I do that?

  I tried to remind myself it was an accident and Valentine had been attempting to rape me. It didn’t matter. The guilt ate me alive. I couldn’t move from the spot I’d found myself in. Rhys had to get to me. I needed him. I couldn’t survive this without him.

  Hurry, Rhys… please.

  Chapter Forty

  The panic in Aaron’s voice spiked my anxiety. What the hell just happened? Why was he on the canal path? It wasn’t like I’d gone too far when I’d left the party. I’d found a bench in the park and sat down, staring up at the sky whilst I calmed my warring soul.

  “Aaron? Can you hear me? You still there?”

  He wasn’t talking any longer. I couldn’t help the sickening feeling coiling in my stomach. Something terrible had happened to him. The knowledge of it sunk into my bones, making me run up the path towards the alley where the stairs to the canal were.

  The moment I reached the top of them, I froze, staring down at the scene below me. I hung up and stuffed my phone in my pocket. There was a body slumped at the bottom. Beyond that, I could see another person huddled against the wall.

  “Aaron?”

  When he didn’t answer, I hurried down the steps, not wanting to look at who was on the ground at the bottom. When my eyes fell on the body, the whole world tipped on its axis.

  Why the fuck is he here?

  I didn’t have time for this. The most important person was Aaron. I rushed over to him, crouching down and putting my hands on his shoulders.

  “Aaron?”

  He slowly raised his head, looking up at me.

  “Rhys,” he whimpered.

  “Hey, hey, I’m here. It’s okay.”

  He reached for me, his hands grasping at my clothes and tugging me closer.

  “I killed him. I killed him, Rhys.”

  “What?”

  “Valentine is dead. I killed him, it was an accident. Oh god!”

  He broke down into wracking sobs, burying his face against my chest and clutching me for all he was worth. I stroked his hair on automatic, trying to comprehend what he’d said.

  “What do you mean you killed him?”

  “I… I… I pushed him… he… he… he fell and now… he’s… he’s… he’s dead.”

  My boy was completely distraught and honestly, I didn’t know how to take what he’d told me. Why would he push Valentine down the stairs? Aaron didn’t like to get into altercations with anyone unless someone had pushed him beyond his limits.

  “What did he do to you?”

  Aaron sobbed harder. I wanted to check on Valentine to see if he was actually dead like Aaron had said, but my boyfriend held on too tight.

  “Hey, it’s going to be okay, A. I promise. I’m right here.”

  “No,” he moaned. “No, it’s not. He’s dead, Rhys, dead!”

  I held him, letting him cry on me whilst I rocked us back and forth. How could I soothe him enough to get him to let go? We couldn’t stay here like this. We needed to deal with the situation.

  “I just want to check on him, okay? We’ll need to call the police and an ambulance.”

  “No! You can’t! Rhys, no.”

  I pulled away slightly. Aaron looked up at me, his face completely void of all colour. The fear in his blue-grey eyes made me hesitate.

  “What happened, Aaron?”

  He swallowed back a sob as more tears dripped down his cheeks.

  “He… he… he tried to rape me.”

  If the prick wasn’t dead already, I’d have killed him myself. Except I couldn’t afford to lose control right then. Aaron was relying on me to sort this shit out. I could see he was in no fit state to do anything.

  “Stay here.”

  He let me go, but I could feel his reluctance to do so. I rose to my feet and walked over to Valentine. I looked down at him. His chest wasn’t moving and his eyes stared up at me, glassy and unblinking. I squatted on my haunches and felt for his pulse at his neck. There was no movement or activity. I put my hand close to his mouth, unable to feel any breath against it.

  “Shit,” I muttered.

  Aaron was right. Valentine was dead. And he’d tried to rape my boyfriend. The entire situation made me feel like throwing up. I swallowed down my reaction and rose back to my feet. Then I tugged my phone out of my pocket. We had to get the police here and we could explain what happened. It was an accident. I knew Aaron. He wouldn’t have done this on purpose.

  “I’m going to call 999 now, okay?”

  Aaron scrambled to his feet and lunged for me, grabbing my phone.

  “No!”

  “Hey, what’s up with you? We can’t leave him like this.”

  “Do not phone the police. Promise me. No one can find out about this, Rhys. No one. I can’t… they won’t believe me. How could they? It will look like I did it on purpose.”

  I frowned. He hadn’t. If Valentine had been trying to hurt him, then it was self-defence.

  “No, it won’t. I know it’ll be hard to talk about, but they’ll believe you. Aaron, this is for the best. They’ll know what to do, okay?”

  He shook his head, holding my phone out of my reach and backing away.

  “No. Promise me you won’t tell anyone about this.”

  I saw the seriousness in his eyes. He was scared out of his mind, but we couldn’t walk away without telling someone.

  “Aaron…”

  “No. Do you not understand? My parents, they’ll call them. What if they don’t believe me? What if they think I did it on purpose? Rhys, they’ll kill me and use it as an excuse to break us apart. You know that. They don’t want me around you. No one can know. No one.”

  I blinked. His parents would go absolutely crazy if they found out Aaron had got in trouble with the police. It would ruin their perfect image if it got out. And he was right. Patrick would use any excuse to ruin my friendship with his son.

  I didn’t know what to do. For Aaron, I’d go to the ends of the earth. This, however, wasn’t something I could have ever anticipated.

  “Promise me, Rhys, please.”

  The panic in his voice and on his face made the decision easy. It was simple. I loved Aaron. I’d always kept his secrets just as he kept mine.

  I took a step towards him.

  “Okay. I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”

  The relief in his eyes had my heart in knots.

  “We need to leave before someone else comes along.”

  He nodded. Then he turned around, picking his phone up from the ground before handing me back my own. I took his hand and he let me lead him back up the stairs and out into the alleyway. We’d caught the bus here from mine, but in all honesty, Aaron wasn’t in a fit state to be around anyone. We could walk back to his from here. He didn’t live too far from Olly’s place.

  As we walked through the park together hand in hand, I wasn’t sure if I should ask exactly what Valentine did or not. I glanced at Aaron to find tears still running down his cheeks. So I pulled him off the path to the side and tipped his face up, wiping away his tears with my thumbs.

  “I know it’s hard, but I need you to hold it together for me, okay? Just until we get back to yours. If you keep crying like this and someone sees, I can’t protect you. When they find his body, they’ll appeal for witnesses if they suspect foul play. Do you understand?”

  He nodded, sniffling. Then he reached up and wiped his face with his t-shirt.

  This secret was now on both our consciences. Aaron might have accidentally killed Valentine, but I was an accessory to it. By calling me and not the police, he’d set us on this path. So now we had to stick together. I’d keep his secret even if it meant I had to lie about it. I’d give my fucking life to protect him.


  “You good?”

  “Yeah,” he whispered, reaching for me and curling his arms around my neck before pressing his face into my shoulder. “I just need a second.”

  I wrapped my arms around him and kissed the top of his head. He could have a moment, but we needed to get as far away from here as possible. I tugged him off me and took his hand, pulling him back onto the path.

  It took us half an hour to walk back to his. Neither of us spoke. We saw a few people out and about, but some of them were drunks so they’d likely not paid much attention to who we were. It made me a little paranoid, but I couldn’t let on to Aaron about that. He was shaken up enough already.

  When we got into his house, I took him upstairs and stripped the two of us down to our boxers. Then I put him to bed before I went downstairs to get us both a drink. I could only be glad Patrick and Kellie weren’t home, but they were due back in a couple of days according to Aaron. They wanted to talk to him about his last year at school, apparently.

  I took the glasses upstairs and set them on the bedside table. Crawling into bed, I wrapped my arms around Aaron and held him close to my chest. He wasn’t crying, but his breathing was a little erratic.

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “What’s there even to say?” he replied, his words muffled by my chest.

  “Aaron…”

  There were plenty of things for him to say. Like first of all, why the fuck would Valentine Jenkins try to rape him? I thought the guy was straight. It didn’t make any sense whatsoever. Then again, nothing Valentine did could ever be called rational. He’d spent far too much time bullying us and generally being very homophobic.

  “It was horrible, Rhys. I was so scared.”

  I held him tighter, reassuring him I was right there and would listen to everything he had to say.

  “He followed me from the party and pinned me against the wall… then he started spouting all this stuff about how he hated you for stealing me away from him. He kept saying shit like it wasn’t gay if he fucked me like a girl… he said I drove him crazy. I kept telling him to get off me and stop, but he wouldn’t listen.”

  Rage boiled inside me, but I kept a lid on my temper. He was dead now. There wasn’t anything I could do.