𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 - 𝐓𝐎𝐌 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃

43

That night I am held tight by strong arms as I cry on the couch. My head is nuzzled into my dad's chest as tears soak his shirt. Tom sits across the room in a chair, waiting for me to be ready. Chris pets my head softly and pulls me in close. I feel like I'm a child again, crying to Chris because there was a mean kid on the playground. If only I knew how mean those kids could grow up to be.

When I wake up in the morning, I am still in his arms. Chris is too kind to have moved. I don't want to get up. Despite knowing that all the people around me will keep me safe, I can't help but be terrified that last night could happen again. My mind is clouded with images of me trying to escape his grasp.

"Lake?" I hear a deep, groggy voice.

I look up to find that Tom has not left his spot either. He slept all night in that chair. Honestly, he looks like hell. I'm sure I don't look much different.

"Laken, I am so sorry about what happened last night. It's all my fault. If I hadn't left you alone, he never would have come up to you. I could have protected you," Tom rants.

"Tom," I stop him. "You are not to blame for someone else's actions. I'm okay, and that's what matters."

I get up and meet Tom. He gives me a huge hug. And then he offers to make me breakfast. What a nice guy. I'm really lucky to have him.

While he cooks, I go on my phone and wait for everyone else to wake up. They all slowly join us in the kitchen. It seems like they're walking on eggshells around me. I have to assure them I'm fine, even though it's hard to even convince myself of that.

@lakenevans: i really like breakfast... i didnt before, but when you have a good chef it makes all the difference

↳username praying for you❤️❤️

↳username I hope she's okay!! Putting on a brave face as always

↳tomholland1996 I am a pretty good chef huh?

↳username hope ur food is yummy😋

↳username you've been through so much ! take a break love !!

↳username ❤️😇

"What the fuck is with my Twitter replies?" I ask openly. They all look around awkwardly.

"Um- Celebrities Now found out about what happened at the club. They published an article about you getting sexually assaulted and it went pretty viral. But they added a bunch of bullshit, as per usual. So, the media has been going crazy and so has your management," Kelsey explains. Right on cue, my phone buzzes with a call from Ryleigh.

Laken? Laken! I've been trying you and everyone else all night! What's going on? Are you okay?

I'm okay, Ryleigh. I have no clue how they found out about the club. It was just some guy, being a douche.

So, it's true?

Yes. It's true.

Oh my Lord. How are you holding up, darling?

I'm fine. Or, I will be. It's gonna take some time.

And therapy. We're getting you therapy.

Yay, so I'm truly a celebrity.

This isn't funny, Laken. How do you want to handle this?