Find Me (WITSEC, #1)

by Ashley N. Rostek

“Don’t make me choose,” I begged, pulling away a little. Understanding what I was telling him—what I refused to do—his eyes bored into mine. “We won’t.”

“I can still taste you on my tongue.”

Ethan whistled. “You’re both whipped.” I fixed him with a disapproving look. “I have Isabelle's phone number.” He lifted his hands up in surrender. “I take it back.”

Just as I pulled my head from my shirt, I was shoved forward and fell into the lockers. Hands grabbed my arms, holding me against them. I immediately tried to get free. “Hold her still,” I heard Amber order from behind me. Cold metal slid up my spine, scaring the crap out of me. For a moment, I thought it was a knife. When I heard the soft sound of a snip and the band of my bra was cut, I knew it was scissors.

Before I could reach them, someone grabbed me from behind, squeezing my breast as they did, and then I was thrown toward the pool. I let out a scream as I hurtled toward the water.

I paused my pacing to argue, but Mr. Morgan's office door swung open and Gabe’s mother came storming out with Gabe and his father right behind her. She stopped in front of where the guys were sitting and sneered down at them. “We’ll be pressing charges.” When she went to leave, I stepped in front of her. “If you’re going to be pressing charges, then so am I,” I threatened,

“Your son grabbed me and threw me in the pool. That’s battery. I don’t know what his motive was, but this isn’t the first time he’s tried to hurt me. He shoved me in the gym a month ago and there were many witnesses. I wonder what a judge will make of that. He also groped my breast when he grabbed me today. So I’ll be going after him for sexual assault as well.” I looked at Gabe. “Good luck getting into a decent college with that on your record.”

“I come from money and a lot of it. I will get the best lawyer money can buy and I will take you to court for however long it takes. Lawyers charge a lot of money by the hour. I can afford it. Can you?” I asked.

“If you promise not to press any charges against Creed, I won’t press charges either,” I said.

Connie huffed and stomped out of the office. Gabe walked past me next. “This isn’t over, bitch,” he threatened. “Gabriel!” Henry barked.

Knox moved me behind him. “It better be, because we’ll be getting a copy of today’s footage of the pool. If you touch her again, it’ll be the first thing she’ll hand off to her lawyer to use against you.”

“The only reason I have it is because they’re dead and the reason they’re dead is because of me.”

“You’re a royal pain in the ass, you know that?” Knox raged at me. “You need to stop being so hard on yourself. Mr. X is a psychotic bastard who developed an obsession with a young girl he had no business even looking at. You are not responsible for what he did to you and your family. He is. You did nothing wrong then and you’ve done nothing wrong today.”

“Creed had accepted his suspension because at the end of the day it was his choice to pummel that little fucker. If I had been there, that punk would have gone home in a wheelchair because he should have never put his hands on you.”

“Why must you be a pushy jerk?” I snapped. “I’m only pushy when it comes to you,” he snapped back. “That makes me feel so special,” I said caustically.

“Then how come it’s okay for you to protect us but it makes you feel guilty when we do the same?”

“I want to know why it scares you to rely on us.” “Because it just does,” I admitted, just as frustrated. “Why?” “Because I don’t know how to French braid my hair,” I blurted. He blinked at me. “What?”

“My mom always used to French braid my hair. It’s what she did if I was ever upset or stressed. She’d start off by running her fingers through my hair to help calm me and when she could tell I was feeling better, she’d braid my hair. I never learned to French braid my hair because I thought I’d always have my mom around to do it.”

“I’m terrible at putting nail polish on my right hand. Shayla would alway...

“My dad was who went with me to see the newest Marvel or DC movie that had released and who I would yell...

“Every day I find something new that reminds me that I don’t have them anymore and it’s a living hell. So when the four of you try to do something for me or help me, it scares me sometimes. Not all the time but sometimes. And it’s not the stuff that you do, but how I feel when you do it. I feel happy and not alone. I honestly love it, but I know how easy it is to have all that ripped away. That fear overwhelms me.”

“We’re not going anywhere, Shiloh,” he said softly.

But living in fear isn’t living.”

“I’m going to pull your hair today,” he whispered suggestively in my ear. “A lot.”

“I’ve been wanting to kiss you for the longest time.”

“I didn’t want to have to do this,” he said angrily and I saw a syringe with a needle in his hand. “But you stupid bitches won’t spread your legs otherwise.” He lunged at me, intending to stick me with the needle.