In which I fall in love with my brother's best friend.
*****
"Don't pretend like you don't feel anything." His voice is low, sending shivers down my spine.
"What do you mean?"
"You know damn well what I mean."
"I don't know what you're talking about...
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Vaughn grabs the bathrobe hanging on the wall and covers my body with it. I realize that I was almost naked in front of him. I've never thought before that it would be that hard just to clean myself up. He seems to realize that I can't do it either, so he lifts me in his arms and carries me back into my bedroom.
He lays me down on the bed, and my body tenses at the sudden loss of his warmth. Thankfully, he also lays down beside me before pulling me closer to him.
It's like I need him to forget about what the psycho did to me inside the alley, to replace all the horrible and nasty feelings on my body. I still haven't cleaned myself up, but I'll survive if he keeps holding me close to him.
I put my hands on his back, sighing. "Did you call the cops?"
"I did," Vaughn says. "He deserves to rot in jail. Sick bastard." His anger is still evident in his voice. "If they don't find him, I'm going to hunt him myself. I'll find the person who fucking did this to you."
Somehow, I feel something new stirring inside me from hearing his sentence. Good kind of feeling. I'm used to receiving such protectiveness from Jake, but it feels different when Vaughn says it. It feels overwhelming. And I... like it.
I squeeze my eyes shut and shake my head, burying my face in his chest. Shit. All these things happening to me make me go crazy. My mind is so messed up.
My thoughts wander to the psycho. Should I tell Vaughn about what I heard earlier? That the guy has been watching me for a long time? But how long? It can't be accurately measured. I just got here in Boston. He could have been watching me for weeks.
"I tried to call Jake too," Vaughn says. "But he didn't pick up."
Jake would be so worried. And things must be hectic over there in his new workplace. I don't want to bother him. I know that this news will make him devastated.
"Just don't tell him," I say, my voice small.
"But Mel, he deserves to know--"
"No, please," I beg. "It's horrible enough for me to experience such a thing. It's horrible enough that you saw it too." My voice is shaking, the scenes flashing back in my mind.
Vaughn tightens his hold on me.
Now I know why some women stayed silent while they were being sexually harassed in public. It's because they were embarrassed enough. It's like being stomped. Disrespected. Abused.
Silence falls for a while before Vaughn speaks again. "Why didn't you bring your car?"
"It's broken. It happened this morning," I admit. "I couldn't start the engine. I was going to ask for your help, but --"
"The hell you asked me," he cuts me off. "One call, Melanie. Was it that hard?" he bites out.
I gulp. He's scary when he's angry. When will I get used to this guy? He's got many sides of him that always keep me in surprise.
