Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
LOUISA
We get to the dock, and I’m standing up to get out when I feel a hand on my ass. My towel is still wrapped around me, but I can feel it. I choose not to say anything because I’m exhausted, and I just want to shower and go to bed.
Liam stays to secure the boat and ensure everything is put away before he comes up to the cabin. The rest of us walk through the grass and enter through the sliding glass door.
B and Iris go to their bedroom on the right. Evie goes down the hall to where her and Liam’s room is. Tony and I trail behind, and we both start to go upstairs to where the extra guest rooms are.
I’m about halfway up the stairs when I feel hands grab my waist and pull me down a step. I slip on the step and fall backwards into Tony, dropping my towel. He wraps his arms around me from behind and nuzzles his face into my neck.
I try to pull away from him, but he has me in a tight grip .
“Tony, get off me,” I whisper because I don’t want to wake up Evie’s parents or the other guys.
“What, you change your mind now?” He starts kissing across my shoulder and up my neck.
I try to pry his arms apart, but he’s too strong.
“What are you talking about?”
“Don't act like you haven't been after me all day,” he says between kisses.
He reaches one arm up while still maintaining a tight grip around my waist and grabs my jaw, turning my face around toward him. He starts kissing my cheek, past my ear, and down my neck. I try to turn my head away, but his grip holds me where he wants me. When he gets to the base of my neck, I feel my skin get hot and feel a tight pressure where his mouth is.
“Ow!” I think he’s biting me. “Tony, stop.” It comes out a little louder this time, but still not loud enough for anyone else to hear.
“You kissed me on the boat.”
“That was a dare.”
“And then you sat next to me on the ride home.” I can tell he’s starting to get angry at my resistance. He takes his hand off my jaw and moves it down to my chest, cupping my breast and squeezing it too hard.
“Tony, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please let me go.”
“You can’t let a guy grab your ass and talk about all the dirty things you’ve done in front of him, then expect him to not get his hopes up.”
I try to pry off his arm around my waist, but again, it doesn’t budge. So this time, I dig my fingernails into his arm as deep and hard as I can.
“Oh, you like it rough, do you? I’d prefer those claw marks on my back.”
His hand that's cupping my breast trails down my stomach. He puts his palm over my bikini bottoms and curls his fingers under me, between my legs.
My mind is racing, and I can’t think straight long enough to come up with a way to get out of this. Tears are running down my face, and my body is shaking.
“Please, Tony, let me go.” I’m gasping for breath as his grip tightens on my waist, cutting off my air.
“No, I think I’ll?—”
He’s cut off by a man’s voice that I barely hear over the ringing in my ears. I didn’t comprehend what they said or who it even was. I vaguely hear the sliding door slam shut and footsteps rushing across the kitchen toward the stairs.
The next thing I know, Tony lets me go, and I fall down onto the stairs, gulping down air. My knees sting when they hit the carpet.
I hear commotion on the stairs behind me. I whip around to see what’s happening, but my eyes are full of tears, so it’s all a blur.
“What the hell is going on in here?” Evie. That’s Evie’s voice. “Liam!”
I blink away the tears, and before new ones can replace them, I see what’s going on. Liam has Tony pinned to the ground at the bottom of the stairs, hand around his throat.
Evie rushes over to them and pries Liam off of Tony. “Liam, I said what the fuck is going on!”
Liam turns around to look up at me. His face is filled with rage, and at first, I’m nervous he’s mad at me. Then his face softens. “Are you okay, Lou?”
I nod because I just want this to be over. I can’t believe this is all happening because of me. And it only gets worse when B and Iris come running out, B with shampoo in her hair and a towel wrapped around her chest. Then, as if this couldn’t get more devastating, Evie’s parents run out of their bedroom to find this shitshow.
Everyone is stunned in silence until Evie's mother speaks. "Can someone please explain to me what's going on?"
Liam looks around. “Everyone go back to bed. I’ve got this handled.”
I look around to find that a large vase that was once next to the stairs has fallen over and shattered.
Evie gently slaps Liam’s shoulder. “Clearly you don’t if you’re beating up your friends.”
My stomach is twisting in knots. I don’t want him to tell everyone what he more than likely saw through the windows. Liam looks back at me again, and I subtly shake my head.
No, please, no.
Before he can speak, I run up the stairs to my room. I can't sit there any longer. I can't have any of them looking at me with confusion and pity in their eyes.
I can hear footsteps following me up the stairs, and it only spikes my panic.
When I get to my door, I shut it behind me. Shortly after, I hear the locked doorknob rattle, and then I hear B on the other side. "Lou, open up. What happened?"
"Go away."
"Lou, come on, talk to me."
"B, please. I'm begging you, leave me alone. I promise I'll talk to you tomorrow."
There's a long stretch of silence, and I hope that she's left .
"Okay, I love you, and I'm just downstairs or a text away if you need me."
I know I’m going to have to do some explaining tomorrow, and the thought of that makes me want to throw up. But for now, I'm grateful to B for giving me space when I asked for it.
With my back still up against the door, I can hear voices coming up the stairs. Male voices.
“Get the fuck out of this cabin. Right now. You can grab your things, but then you're out.”
“Liam, come on. You don’t even know what was going on.”
“All I know is that she clearly didn’t want you touching her, and you were. That’s all the information I need to stand here and tell you to get the fuck out.”
“I didn’t drive here.”
“Then wake up the other guys, and whoever drove can give you a ride home. They'll be sober by now."
“Come on, Liam. You’re just drunk and overreacting.”
“Being drunk is not an excuse for anything. Now go before I drag you out.”
I can't listen to this any longer, so I walk over to the attached bathroom. I take a long hot shower and use that as an opportunity to cry without anyone being able to hear me.
When I’m finished, I dry off and get dressed in my sweats and baggy T-shirt. I’m not sure I’ll even be able to sleep after that, but I have to go through the motions.
Shortly after I crawl into bed, I hear a soft knock on the door. Although it was barely loud enough for me to hear, I startle. I don’t want to talk to anyone right now, but I also don’t want anyone to worry. It’s probably B coming to check on me, and if I don’t answer, she’ll just come in anyway.
I crawl out of bed and walk over to the door, opening it slowly. I see Liam standing in the hallway. He’s wearing a different shirt and sweats than he was before, and his hair looks wet from showering.
I don’t say anything because there’s nothing to say. I ruined his 4th of July weekend, along with everyone else’s.
“I’m sorry to bother you. I’m sure you want to be alone right now.”
I just stare at him through the cracked door.
With my silence, he continues. “I’m so sorry that happened to you, Lou. I just want you to know that I didn't tell anyone what I saw. If you want to tell them, that’s your call. I just needed to tell you that so you wouldn’t worry about it all night. And I wanted to tell you that Tony and the rest of the guys are gone.”
I still don’t know what to say. Tony is probably feeding them all lies on the ride home. Telling them I asked for it or that I came onto him first.
Liam bends down to catch my eyes, which I didn’t even realize had been staring at the floor.
“I feel responsible for what happened to you.”
I cut him off. “Liam, no. You had nothing to do with what happened.”
“He was my friend that I invited here. I was never close with Tony because I don’t like the way he treats women, and Evie has never liked him. But I still invited him here with that group. I brought him into a house with my wife, sister, and two other women I care for very much.”
His eyes are full of tears, one escaping down his cheek, and he quickly wipes it away.
“That was irresponsible of me, and I won’t forgive myself for what he did to you.”
“Nothing happened, Liam. I’m fine.”
“I’m okay with everyone else believing that if you’d like, but I don’t ever want you to think that what happened was nothing. I sure as hell don’t.”
His words hit me in a way I wasn’t expecting, and my eyes are wet again. I want him to leave. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I want him and everyone else to forget what happened and move on.
“Goodnight, Lou. Please let Evie or me know if you need anything.”
He turns and walks away. I lock the door and lay back down in bed, thinking about what Liam said.
The next morning, I wake up, unsure of when I fell asleep. The last time I remember checking my phone was around four in the morning.
I walk to the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror. My eyes are bloodshot from crying, and I spot a hickey on my neck from where Tony was biting me. I shiver and push that memory away, deep down.
I splash my face with water and throw on a sweatshirt to go downstairs. I can hear everyone eating breakfast in the kitchen. The last thing I want to do is go down there and face everyone and answer their questions. But I know that the longer I stay up here, the bigger a deal it becomes, which is exactly what I don’t need.
I get down to the kitchen, and everyone watches me as I descend the stairs. I'm grateful when no one asks any questions, but I can still feel the tension thick in the air. I sit down at the table and pour myself a bowl of cereal. I keep telling myself nothing happened, everything is going to be fine, and that I just made a big deal about it in my head.