Chapter 23

“But your parents don’t.”

I look down and realize I’ve twisted my hands so much my fingers ache.

“The man who raped me…” I take a deep breath, realizing I haven’t said that word since I told Cass. “He was a friend of my parents. I called him Bob.” Just saying his name makes me tremble. “I got a job with him when I was in second grade. It was through my father. So this family-friend thing isn’t great for me. Let’s just say I closed in on myself, you know?”

He nods.

“You say you were fourteen?”

“Yeah.” I speak evenly; the only way to get past this is to just say it, like I’m summarizing company documents. “It started then.”

I see him flinch at the word started. I appreciate that he doesn’