Chapter 25 #3
Tiana gives me a quick rundown of her history with Markell. The relationship. The cheating. The breakup. The months of silence afterward. Then how he suddenly reappeared, wanting another chance.
“When I got there, he was already drinking. But he seemed normal enough at first. Actually, he was overly nice, which should’ve been my first red flag.”
Tiana lets out a humorless laugh.
“He kept touching me. My waist or my arm or my leg under the table. But I kept telling myself it wasn’t a huge deal because we’d dated for two years and he was used to being comfortable with me.”
Something ugly twists inside my chest.
Tiana swallows. “He ordered drinks, and I kept drinking because I was nervous and I felt like I needed the liquid courage to get through the night.”
“Tiana—”
“I know,” she says quickly. “It was stupid.”
“No. None of this is your fault.”
Her eyes lift to mine, then she looks away first.
“Eventually, the restaurant started turning into more of a club. The music got louder. More people came in. I started feeling way too tipsy, so I told him I was going to the bathroom because I needed a second.”
Every muscle in my body goes tight.
“When I came back out...” Her voice falters. “He was waiting outside and cornered me before I could even react.” She wraps her arms around herself. “At first I thought he was just trying to talk to me, but then he grabbed my face and kissed me.”
My hands curl into fists.
“He wouldn’t stop. I tried pushing him off, but he’s bigger than me and I was off balance because of the alcohol and—” She cuts herself off.
I can barely hear my own breathing.
“He kept kissing me, down my neck, touching me…” she says, eyes fixed somewhere over my shoulder now like she’s forcing herself through it. “I kept telling him no, but he just… He wouldn’t listen. Said I owed it to him.”
Rage slams into me so hard I have to look away.
I want to hit something.
No.
I want to hit him.
Badly.
“So I stomped on his foot with my heel as hard as I could and ran outside.” A shaky breath leaves her. “Then I texted you.”
I drag both hands over my face and try to get a grip on myself before I say something that would genuinely alarm her. Because right now, I could kill Markell. I should’ve hurt him when I had the chance.
Her fingers tighten around the blanket.
“I should’ve left earlier. I knew something felt off but I stayed anyway.”
“That didn’t give him the right to put his hands on you.”
“But I still went there with him.”
“And?”
Tiana turns to blink at me.
“And?” I repeat, anger rising all over again. “You agreed to dinner, Tiana. Not whatever the fuck he turned it into.”
Silence fills the room.
I can practically see the war happening behind Tiana’s eyes. She has probably replayed the night over and over trying to figure out what she could’ve done differently. What she did wrong.
“You saying yes to drinks doesn’t mean he gets access to your body,” I add. “Dating him before doesn’t mean he gets access to your body. Wearing something nice doesn’t mean he gets access to your body. And being drunk sure as hell doesn’t mean he gets access to your body.”
Her breathing stutters.
“He cornered you and assaulted you, Tiana.”
The second the words leave my mouth, her eyes glass over.
“I don’t want that word,” Tiana whispers, shaking her head. “Please don’t call it that.”
My chest tightens painfully.
“Okay.”
I grab her hands in mine. A tear slides down her face, and I catch it with my thumb, wiping it away.
“Sugar, don’t cry.”
She squeezes her lids shut and drops her head down.
“Hey.” My voice softens. “Look at me.”
Tiana hesitates before lifting her gaze.
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
A doubtful look flickers across her face, like she wants to believe me but doesn’t know how.
“I swear to God,” I mutter, more to myself than to her, “if he contacts you again—”
“Griffin.”
“No. I’m serious. He doesn’t get to scare you and then keep popping up in your life like nothing happened. He should be in a fucking hospital.”
Tiana lets out the tiniest, most exhausted laugh. “It still feels like I should’ve known better.”
I shift closer. “He will never come near you again.”
We’re inches apart now. Her glassy eyes meet mine. “Kiss me. Just this once… so I can forget.”
It takes everything in me not to.
And I want to. God, I want to.
I’d raze the whole block just to put a smile back on her face. Tiana doesn’t even come close to understanding just how goddamned worth it she is.
“Please,” she murmurs.
But not like this.
Not when Tiana’s drunk, hurting, and trying to erase something ugly.
So instead, I lift a hand, cup the side of her head, and press a lingering kiss to her forehead.
“Sleep, Sugar. You’re safe with me.”
She lets out a deep breath. Then slowly, her body unwinds. She nestles closer and drifts off.
The mere idea of someone laying a hand on her again makes my hands curl to fists and my vision go white at the edges. Tiana doesn’t know that protecting her isn’t a choice, it’s a reflex out of my control.
And she is mistaken if she thinks I’m not already knee-deep in the fire for her.
I know it’s not rational, but rationality lost the round when Tiana first stepped through my door.
But she can never know how I truly feel about her.
I stay awake for a while after and I think about how, for the first time in years, I’m sleeping in the same bed as another woman. And how when Tiana asked me to kiss her, Lila didn’t cross my mind.
Not once.
Fuck.
I’m so screwed.