“Should we follow?” I ask, reading the message Rose sent me.
Rose – Work on your spy skills, Gray. Declan knows you’re watching us. P.S. I’m going to the loo with Pen.
“Apparently our spy skills suck and what the hell is a loo?” Ashton laughs. And I don’t know why, but it bothers me that she sent us near identical messages. Truth is, I think I might be broken, and it’s Rose who did it.
“British for toilet.” I chuckle. “Come on, let’s watch for her return from the bar. I need a drink.”
“Are we commiserating your ruined reputation?” he jokes.
“Yeah, something like that,” I mumble.
Ordering two more glasses of scotch, I let the cool liquid slid down my throat and settle in my stomach. I’m all over the place at the minute, and the fact that people are starting to notice a change in me is troubling. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to go off with Lara to a quiet corner somewhere, but if the last few weeks have taught me anything, it’s that there are some things more important than getting laid and keeping your bad-boy rep.
Family, friends, they’re what matter… it just took me until I was nearly seventeen to figure it out.
“Wait,” Ashton rasps, snapping to his feet. “Isn’t that Penelope?”
I follow his finger and find it is indeed her walking out of the far hallway alone. Dread fills my chest, constricting my lungs.
“Come on.” Making our way toward Penelope, I scan the sea of faces for any signs of Rose or Declan, trying to ignore the chaotic drum in my ears.
“Gray, I can’t see Dec,” Ashton murmurs, confirming the fears building in the pit of my stomach.
Our pace increases, shouldering people out of the way without so much as a sorry and then Ashton’s pulling Penelope to a stop, desperation in his every word. “Where is she, Pen? Where’s Rose?”
Penelope eyes us, confusion and shock on her face as she mumbles, “In the bathroom. She needed a minute. Told me to go on ahead without her.”
“Damn it,” Ashton growls, already forgetting Penelope and rushing away.
“Wait! I don’t understand. What’s wrong?” she gasps.
Grabbing Penelope’s hand, I tow her behind me as I push through the crowd, following Ashton. “Did she tell you about, Declan?” I ask as we walk, surprising myself with the calmness of my tone.
Inside, it’s as if I’m coming undone. Fear and rage are colliding together with dizzying effect.
“That her mother’s made her go with him, yeah?”
“What about the fact he likes to rape girls?” I ask.
Her hand flies to her mouth. “No. Who…?”
“I’ll fill you in later. Right now we need to find her.”
Rushing through the corridors, we make our way to the ladies’ restroom and all the while a voice whispers in the back of my mind that she won’t be there. I knew he was dangerous. I knew she wasn’t safe, and I didn’t do enough to save her.
“Pen, go see if she’s inside,” Ashton instructs as he paces the floor. I’m surprised he didn’t just barge right in; he looks worse than I feel. “Why didn’t I just pummel that fucker while I had the chance?”
“She’ll be fine,” I say, more for myself than Ashton’s benefit. But my words sound hollow even to my own ears.
“If he—”
“Don’t even say it. She’s in the bathroom. She’s going to come out the do—”
Penelope appears and she doesn’t have to say her words for me to know the answer. The terror is written all over her ghost white face. “She’s not in there.”
Ashton’s fists flies, connecting with the wall. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
“I’ll go search the ballroom. Maybe we just missed her return,” Penelope offers.
I nod, manage a small smile, but we all know she won’t be there. Wherever she is, Declan has her.
“Come on, Ash, let’s keep searching.”
Chapter 35
Rose
Five minutes, that’s all I needed. Five minutes to get my head back on straight. To breathe. To do anything but pretend I was okay. After doing my business, I close the toilet seat and uncaring of the extremely expensive designer gown I’m wearing, I plonk my arse down and close my eyes, tipping my head forward into my hands.
It doesn’t feel like I’ve been in the cubical long. But from the sound of Penelope’s tentative tone, I’ve obviously been in this position trying to gain some control of myself for more than the minute I think it’s been.
“Rose, are… are you all right in there?”
Sighing, I climb to my feet and lift the billowing fabric of my skirt to resettle my gown before opening the door. Penelope eyes me with caution, a question in her arched brow.
I shrug. “I’m okay. Go on ahead. I… I haven’t got the willpower to face Declan again yet.”
“Are you sure?” she asks. “I don’t mind hanging out with you. In fact, I could go score us a bottle of bubbly and we can finish our night off in here?”
Smiling, I take in the girl who is fast becoming my best friend. But as much as her offer sounds tempting, it wouldn’t be fair on her. She’s having a fabulous night at a masquerade ball, and she shouldn’t give that up to mope in the restroom with me.
“No, Pen, honestly, it’s fine. I just need a few more minutes and then I’ll come find you.”
“We’ll hit the dance floor.” She beams. “Forget Declan and just have fun with me.”
I nod. “Sounds like a plan. See you soon, okay?”
“Okay, Rose.” She walks to the bathroom door and someone walks in just before she walks out and I quickly shut my cubicle again, but not before I see Pen hesitate, concern etched onto the lines of her face.
Do I really look that bad?
After a few more minutes when I’m sure there is no one else in the bathroom with me, I unlock the door and slip out, pausing at the marble sink and staring at my reflection in the mirror.
“Come on, Rose,” I tell myself. “You’re stronger than this.”
After fussing with my hair and applying two coats of red lipstick, I run out of things to drag out the time and have to go back to the party… to Declan. He wasn’t so bad at the start of the evening, but seeing me dancing with Ashton has stirred a bitter darkness in him that frightens me. He’s crossed over from “slightly drunk and fondle your boobs” to “slobber all over your neck” drunk. If my gown wasn’t floor length and made from heavy material, I think he’d have had his hand up my skirts by now too.
With each step from the ladies’ restroom, I find myself becoming numb. I’m outside of my body, floating above my head, becoming a robot functioning on automatic. I don’t see Declan hiding in the shadows. I don’t register him leap out and wrap an arm around my waist until he’s dragging me away, his hand clamped so tightly over my mouth and nose I can’t breathe.
Fear locks my limbs, stalls my heart, and it’s not until he pushes me up against a wall, shadows enveloping us that my brain kicks back into gear and I fight. Lashing out, I claw his face, his skin coming off under my nails, leaving a trail of blood dripping down his cheek as my knee comes up, connecting with his groin. I shove all my strength, but for all my effort, Declan doesn’t budge. In fact, I’ve only made him more enraged.
“Bitch,” he spits, slapping me so hard across the face my vision blacks for a second and I stumble back. “You’ll pay for that.”
His fingers touch his cheek, coming away red with the blood I’ve drawn from him and his eyes darken with menace. “You’re a tease, you know that? You’ve used me from the start, led me on, and now I’m going to claim what’s owed to me.”
“Declan, please,” I beg, hating how feeble I sound, hating the hitch of fear in my throat.
“That’s it, baby, beg,” he rasps, pressing himself against me, lodging his arm against my throat and pushing until I can hardly draw breath.
“I’m going to ruin you. And no one, not even Grayson and Ashton will want to touch y
ou again. Your reign is coming to an end.”
His mouth clashes on mine, violent and savage, his arm pinning my throat so I cannot move, while his free hand yanks at my dress, bunching the fabric of my skirts, pulling and tugging until I hear it rip. I kick and struggle, tears falling down my face, whimpers escaping my mouth, but nothing works. Declan is relentless. His fingers thrust inside me, the pain causing me to cry out, and he shifts his position to clamp a hand over my face.
I can’t breathe, can’t think, my hearts hammering, fear and desperation whirling through my brain. I register the sound of his zipper dropping, hear his grunt at his frees himself and then feel the hard length of him brush against my bare skin.
“You want this really. You’ll be begging for more before I’m through,” he growls, before biting my neck painfully.
A sob leaves me as I peer into his dark, maddened eyes. This is what I feared. This person, right here, was always just below the surface, and I ignored my every instinct, ignored the warnings…. I brought this upon myself.
Smiling, Declan thrusts forward and I squeeze my eyes shut, bracing for the pain, the humiliation, the act that will tip me over the edge, all while I thrash and kick, determined to never submit, to fight until the bitter end.
But instead of his intrusion, his violation, soft gentle hands cup my face. I register the unmistakable sound of flesh hitting flesh, but my eyes won’t open. My heart won’t still, and I writhe and gasp, desperate to be free.
“Rose.”
Gray?
“I’m going to fucking kill you!”
Ash?
“Rose, you’re safe. Stop, stop.”
The words enter my head and I register their voices, but it’s as if I can’t absorb it any further. Adrenaline and terror pump through my system and I’m trapped in fight-or-flight mode, unable to register the safety Grayson and Ashton have brought me.
“Ashton, enough, you’ll fucking kill him,” Grayson growls, his words harsh, and as I open my eyes, his gaze falls on me—warm, safe, his hold on my cheek featherlight. “Shush, you’re okay,” he whispers.
My gaze finds Ashton. He has Declan by the throat. Declan’s face is covered in blood, unrecognizable as Ashton’s fist slams again and again with brutal force. My first thought is good, make him pay, make him feel the torture he’s just put me through, but then reality sinks in, and Grayson’s earlier warning whispers through my mind.
You’ll fucking kill him….
“Gray,” I gasp. “Stop him.”
Declan slumps to the floor as Grayson rips Ashton away and when my gaze meets Ashton’s—crazed with rage—I’m slammed with the intensity of my emotions. Fear, shame, fury, sorrow… my head spins with it. And no matter how hard or fast I breathe, my lungs won’t fill with air. Hot tears spill down my cheeks, a choked sob leaving my throat. As Ashton rushes forward, my knees buckle, and I give in.
There’s no more fight left in me. I’m damaged, empty, full of hate; I’m a broken queen in a tainted kingdom.
This is my penance. This is my rock bottom.
Chapter 36
Ashton
Lunging forward, I catch Rose as she collapses, cradling her to my body as her chest rises and falls in quick succession.
“Breathe, baby, breathe,” I murmur, rubbing her back in gentle circles. “I’ve got you. You’re safe. Slow down, Rose. Slow, slow… breathe.” Her baby blues meet mine—lost, frightened, ashamed. “I’ve got you. No one is ever going to hurt you again.”
A loud, fractured sob leaves her on my words, and she hides her face against my chest, clinging to me, shaking and shattering in my arms. The sight reignites my rage; Declan’s stolen her fire, extinguished the essence of who she is—the fierce, brave, determined girl I fell in love with. If I wasn’t the only thing holding her upright, I’d turn back to Declan and finish what I started. Make sure the monster never rose from the floor again.
“Take her home, Ash. I’ll deal with this piece of shit,” Grayson growls, his voice vibrating with the same emotions coursing through me.
Meeting his stormy eyes, a silent promise passes between us, and Grayson nods.
Declan will pay for what he’s done. There’ll be no burying his sins this time.
“I’ll see you at home,” I say to my brother, before sliding my arms down Rose, and leaning back slightly to see her face.
“Don’t let anyone see me,” she whispers, her lip trembling.
Brushing the tears of her cheeks, I run a hand through her hair, freeing the strands clung to her wet skin. “I won’t,” I promise.
“If you take a right at the end of this corridor, it leads to a fire exit. It’s alarmed, but who gives a shit,” Grayson instructs.
Smiling tightly, I take a small step back from Rose and fully take her in for the first time. Declan’s ripped her dress. The fabric of her skirt’s torn and jagged, while the bodice has been forced down, revealing most of her chest. It takes all my willpower to keep my hands relaxed and on Rose.
Her gaze follows mine and she sucks in a breath, cheeks reddening when she realizes her breasts are on show, and quickly tugs the dress up. Shrugging off my suit jacket, I drape it around her shoulders and then wrap my arm around her and bring her close to my side.
“Ready?”
Swallowing, Rose takes a deep breath as she straightens her spine, chin lifting, and I smile, my heart sighing in relief as I spy a little of my plucky girl beneath the pain.
“Yes.”
Following Grayson’s instructions, I guide Rose along, our exit appearing in the distance when Penelope’s voice drifts through the air from behind, and Rose goes stiff at my side.
“If you don’t want to see her, I’ll get rid of her,” I murmur quickly.
Leaning her head on my chest, tears roll silently down her cheeks. “I’m ashamed, Ash. Afraid. What will she think when she sees me?”
“Rose? Rose, what’s going on?” There’s caution and an underlying tone of panic in Penelope’s tone. “Ashton, I’ve been calling you. You were supposed to let me know you’d found her,” she continues, closer now.
“Rose?” I ask, tipping her chin up. “You’ve nothing to be ashamed of. It’s Declan who should be ashamed.”
Letting out a shaky breath, Rose slips her hand into mine and squeezes tight, before turning around and facing her friend.
Penelope gasps, tears pooling in her eyes. “Oh God, he got to you, didn’t he? Declan, he… he—” Her words break off into a sob before Penelope closes the distance between us and flings her arms around Rose. “Oh, Rose, I’m so, sorry. I should have never left you alone in the toilet. I knew you were upset, and I just left you.”
“I told you to go,” Rose manages. “And he… he… Ash and Gray… they—” Her voice breaks, anguish the only sound she can make.
“Oh, babe,” Penelope soothes. “I know. I know. Go, go with Ashton. Please, is there anything I can do?”
It seems as if Rose has lost her strength to answer, so I nod in the direction we’ve just come and answer for her. “Gray’s back that way, on the left. He might need your help.”
Releasing Rose, Penelope pulls back her shoulders. “Ring me if you need anything, Rose. Okay?”
Rose nods, but before she falls back into my arms, she looks back, her voice small but firm, “Pen?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t tell the girls, okay?”
Penelope runs her fingers over her mouth. “My lips are sealed, babe. You can trust me.”
Rose doesn’t say anything else as we leave the ball and I bundle her into the awaiting car, but when I lean forward and give Taylor, Rose’s address, she clutches my knee, eyes wild.
“Please, no, no, Ash….. I can’t… I can’t face my mother.”
“Okay.” I slide my hand over hers. “Taylor, take us home.”
Her tears have run dry by the time I walk her into the lobby of the hotel, doing my best to shield her from view. Her expression is blank, her gaze empty, as
if she’s retreated so far into herself, she’s not there anymore. Anxiety has my heart beating wildly; I’m so far out of my depth, I’ve no idea what she needs.
Should I have taken her to the hospital?
I’m not sure how far Declan got before we arrived. It was all a blur. The second I saw her pinned by that monster, tears streaming down her face, eyes wide with horror, I lost all sense of self. I became a creature of violence, so consumed with my anger that if Grayson hadn’t torn me away, I would have beaten Declan to death. As it is, his face is smashed in, nose broken, maybe a cheekbone too. His blood coats my knuckles, drying on my skin, mingled with my own.
The elevator opens, letting us into the penthouse.
“What do you need, Rose?” I ask gently. Her only answer is fresh tears. “It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m going to take you to bed, okay? Is that okay?”
She nods, choking back her tears.
“Boys, is that you?” my mother’s voice calls out, the sound of her slippers flapping on the floor coming closer toward us. She’s not had a drink in a couple of weeks. Every day it’s as if she wakes up a little more, and I couldn’t be more grateful for that at this moment. “Ash? Oh my gosh, what’s happened?”
Rose shies away, pressing herself impossibly close to me as my mom appears. On instinct, I shield Rose from view, curling my body around her small frame, ushering her toward the stairs.
“Mom, I need you to get me a fresh change of clothes. Can you do that for me?” I eye her, pleading silently for her to not question me further.
“Yes. Of course.”
“We’ll be in my room,” I answer, already heading up the stairs.
Opening my bedroom door, I realize this is the first time she’s been in here. I’ve dreamed of her on my bed, dreamed of having her alone, but never had I dreamed it would be under these circumstances.
She perches on the edge of my mattress, staring into space. Thanks to Mary, the bed’s freshly made and the dirty laundry I’d left scattered across the carpet has been picked up and taken away, but Rose registers none of it, and my unease begins to grow.
“Sweetheart,” I urge, brushing her hair from her face and kneeling before her. “Tell me what to do.”
The Resurrection of Us: A High School Bully Romance (Albany Nightingale Duet Book 2) Page 19