Chapter 60

My face is wet; I ignore it, barely noticing the tears running down my cheeks, oblivious until this second. I’m furious and yelling, but I don’t even know why I’m yelling at Jake. He’s not the one who did it. Sleazy Ray is the one who did it, and my mom’s creepy-ass boyfriends and their wandering hands. I’m shaking with heartache; my body has betrayed me, and I’m heaving with tears. My drunken stupor seems to have let all this mess out.

“Emma,” he breathes sharply. Jake hauls me toward him, trying to wrap his arms around me, but I’m not too fond of it. I’m in memory mode, and the thoughts of men’s unwelcome touch fire through my brain. I don’t want him to see me cry over this, not over those memories and those men. Not over that shit or Ray Vanquis. My mind is a chaos of rage and trauma.

“Stop it… stop it…” I resist him, but he’s stronger and faster, and I’m still drunk with slow reactions. The racking sobs make me weak, and he’s determined to hold me.

“Shhh, shhh,