Forbidden Pleasure

thirteen|decisions

TRIGGER WARNING: SA

AMBER JACKSON—AUGUST

IT SEEMED THAT EACH and every time I was moving on with my life since Henri, finally getting over just how much he hurt me, he somehow found a way to slide back in and put me right back where I began. This time however, he had gone too far.

Looking at Wesley, I could practically see the simmering rage in his eyes. Both his jaw and fists were clenched tightly as his eyes roamed my face, studying me. Glancing over at Valentino, I could see that he looked to be just as angry. While Valentino was an undeniably nice guy, something about him just screamed danger—and that was written all over his face at this moment.

"What do you mean he touched you?" Wesley questioned, his voice coming out low and gruff, almost as if he was struggling with the thought of having to say it out loud.

At having to relive what had gone down just moments ago, I felt as more tears welled in my eyes and a sob got caught in my throat. Wesley went to walk over to me, but decided against it—for good reason. A man had just assaulted me, and while I knew I could trust Wesley, it was still too much too soon. I was relieved that he understood that. It needed to be on my own accord.

"He...he pushed me up against the car after I put Riley in and—" I stopped, finding it almost impossible to continue. Not only was it traumatic to relive, but it was almost humiliating. "He touched me, Wesley."

He roughly ran a hand through his hair before then running it down his face as he turned to face away from me. His anger was radiating off of him in waves, almost as much as the tears running down my cheeks. I didn't know how I had expected him to react, but anger wasn't an emotion I had ever seen him show. And even now, he seemed composed in his anger.

Moments of silence passed between all three of us before Valentino spoke up. "What do you want us to do, Amber?" He questioned softly, looking at me intently as he spoke.

I shrugged my shoulders, but I knew that wasn't enough of an answer. However, I was feeling so violated that I couldn't even coherently decide what it was that I wanted to do. All I could think about was his hands on me, touching me too far up my skirt—in places I had never wanted him to touch me again.

"You don't have to decide right now," Wesley spoke up when I hadn't replied. "But I refuse to let him do this to you and not face any consequences."

"What can I do?" I croaked, wiping away at the wetness that was falling from my eyes, so much so that I wondered if it would ever stop. "No one saw, he's a fucking lawyer, and I can't handle that kind of drama in my life!"

I didn't mean to yell, they didn't deserve it, but they had to understand how stressful it was to make decisions about what I wanted to do if I hadn't even processed what happened yet.

"Amber, that doesn't mean any—"

"Please," I practically pleaded with Wesley. "Please just let me think about it."

With that said, I decided I was done with the conversation. Crouching down, I unbuckled Riley from her carseat and lifted her out. Holding her tightly against me instantly eased the tension I was feeling—not by much, but it made a difference. I sent Valentino a final look before letting my gaze travel over to Wesley who hadn't taken his eyes off of me.

He ran another hand through his hair before he let out a sigh of what seemed to be one of defeat. He knew he wouldn't get anywhere with pressuring me into deciding, and I was glad he respected that. Still, my heart was pounding like wild in my chest and the fact that I hadn't panicked when it happened let me know that the rush of debilitating anxiety would be coming soon.

I would simply have to wait it out, not knowing when it would happen.

***
WESLEY ANDERSON

I WATCHED AS AMBER turned away from me, making her way over to the living room with Riley in her arms. It wasn't until she was seated and changing the tv from Valentino and I's game that I glanced back over to him, the two of us undeniably sharing the same feelings at the moment.

As I made my way past him and towards the kitchen, he didn't hesitate to follow. As soon as I stopped beside the island, I couldn't help but to slam my hand down on the marble countertop.

"I'm gonna kill him," I asserted, leaning onto the counter and putting my head in my hands. "I'm going over there."

Sure, I had thought it was weird that Henri concerned himself with what Amber did with her life even if they weren't together, but I never thought he could cross the line. It made my hatred for him grow to unthinkable levels.

"No, you're not," Valentino replied with a roll of his eyes. He was right, I wasn't going to kill him, but I couldn't say I didn't want to. "Let her make a choice about what she wants to do. Don't make this any worse for her."

As much as I hated to admit it, he was giving me the advice that I needed. There was no way I could have interfered without causing even more drama for her. Amber was sensible and I knew she wouldn't let him just get away with this—she just needed time.

"You're right, Val," I sighed, leaning forward on the island on my forearms and just wishing this had never happened. I'm sure that Amber wished that too, only a thousand times more. "I know you have to go. I'll let you know what happens."

He nodded, patting me on the shoulder in his way of telling me that he was there for me before he made his way out of the house. It took me a while, but I finally got myself calmed down and level headed enough to go out to the living room where Amber was watching tv as she played with Riley.

"Hey," I smiled as I fell back onto the couch beside her, watching as she threw back a smile that failed to reach her eyes. I desperately hoped she wouldn't try to act as if she was fine when there was no way she could be after what had just happened. "How're you feelin'?"

She sucked in a deep breath, her body tensing up. "It still feels like...something that just...happened. Obviously I'm stunned by it and...hurt by it, but it just hasn't hit me yet."

I nodded at her words, sure that she didn't want to hear any lackluster response from me, but I wanted her to know that I was there for her. Always.

"I just don't want you holding anything in. If you can't talk to me about it, please promise me you'll at least talk to Desiree or someone else you trust."

It was her turn to nod, her lips pressed in a thin line as she glanced down at Riley with glossy eyes. I followed her line of vision and felt that anger—and worry—build up in me yet again. I never wanted to have to worry about something like this ever happening to Riley and it horrified me to no end to think about it.

"I won't," she promised, attempting to smile only for those tears in her eyes to finally spill over.

She kept Riley clutched tightly to her as she let her head fall onto my shoulder, sobs racking through her body as her shoulders shook violently. She was crying so loudly I couldn't get a word in, yet I was more than relieved that she was at least letting out her emotions. I knew what pent up emotions could do to someone, and I didn't want to see that happen to her.

Without thinking, I pulled her into my embrace, Riley in between the two of us as I just let her cry, keeping her in my arms to let her know I was there for her. While I wanted nothing more than for her to press charges against him—at the least—I knew I would support her no matter what.

a/n: who's on the 'i hate henry' train with me? i'm sorry if this chapter was triggering for any of you, i just feel that it's essential to what i have planned for the plot of this story

what do you think amber will choose to do? do you think wesley will be able to stop himself from taking matters into his own hands? how do you feel about how protective wesley is proving to be?

i hope you enjoyed and thank you so much for reading!!!