don’t have to explain it to me.” Please don’t explain it to me.
“I shouldn’t have come. I knew it was a mistake and did it anyway. I just thought, with Skylar and him dating…” She squeezed her eyes closed and clenched her teeth like she was delivering a punishment to herself. “He’s been telling people I cheated on him. I didn’t.”
“Okay.” I prayed she’d end the conversation there. The hole I stumbled into was already twelve feet deep, and each word heaped another bucketful of dirt on top of me.
“You probably think I’m a coward for not saying anything. For not standing up for myself.”
I felt her waiting gaze even though my eyes were locked on the road ahead. I had no intention of ridiculing her for doing the same thing I was doing. “I’m not here to judge. I just want to get you home.”
“This summer we had a scare.” Her voice cracked. “I was two weeks late.”
“Lindsay, you don’t have to tell me this.”
She continued as if I hadn’t said a word. “All I could think of was that I was trapped. And the idea of being with him for the rest of my life scared me more than walking away. When the test was negative, I knew I had to separate myself from him somehow.”
She exhaled slowly. “The scare affected him too, so he was okay when I said I needed some time to myself. After a week of distance, I grew stronger. Soon a week turned into a month, and I thought for a few glorious days, I might really be free.”
“And that’s what you want isn’t it?”
“It doesn’t matter what I want. He still watches me. Calls me. Demands to know where I am and who I’m with.” She hung her head and whispered, “He still controls me.” With those words, she finally quit talking and stared out the window.
Her two-story brick house came into view, and I pulled into her driveway before the silence grew any more awkward. She opened the door and slipped out. “Thanks for listening, Cody. I know I dumped the world on you. I guess I just needed a friend tonight.”
I dipped my chin, and seconds later she was safely inside, but the chaos inside lingered.
He still controls me .
The streets were quiet as I drove home, but the song Skylar sent me blared through my speakers. I pictured Lindsay standing in the field, refusing to fight Blake’s words.
He still controls me.
I’d played the game for years. Was willing to sacrifice my reputation, my pride and my conviction just to stay in line. To stand there like Lindsay while Blake called all the shots. But maybe freedom was possible. Maybe I just needed to be smarter than the king of Madison.
He still controls me.
I hit repeat on the song.
Not anymore.
SKYLAR
I woke up to my cell phone ringing with a number I’d added only a week ago.
“Blake?” My voice was hoarse with sleep and surprise. “It’s two in the morning.”
“I know. Sooo sorry. I just…I just needed to talk.”
I recognized the slur in his soft murmur. Ricky would come to our house sounding just like that after a long night of drinking. My father would make him coffee and listen to all his sad stories. I’d listen, too, through my cracked bedroom door. The stories always seemed to revolve around a woman.
“Is something wrong?” I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
“Yes. I feeeel…lost.” He sounded barely coherent. “You go…sleep. Bad to call.”
“No, it’s fine. Really.” I switched on the side lamp and let my vision adjust to the light. “Did something happen?”
“You’re sooooo pretty. Especially your lips. I like your lips.” A long silence followed. “But I don’t like Cody looking at them.”
His name brought a familiar twisting in my stomach. I swallowed.
Blake muttered a curse. “He takes everything.”
I was about to ask for more details when he cut me off, his voice suddenly deep and thoughtful. “Nobody really cares about me. They just want to use me. They take…take…take.”
His words tugged at a buried
“I shouldn’t have come. I knew it was a mistake and did it anyway. I just thought, with Skylar and him dating…” She squeezed her eyes closed and clenched her teeth like she was delivering a punishment to herself. “He’s been telling people I cheated on him. I didn’t.”
“Okay.” I prayed she’d end the conversation there. The hole I stumbled into was already twelve feet deep, and each word heaped another bucketful of dirt on top of me.
“You probably think I’m a coward for not saying anything. For not standing up for myself.”
I felt her waiting gaze even though my eyes were locked on the road ahead. I had no intention of ridiculing her for doing the same thing I was doing. “I’m not here to judge. I just want to get you home.”
“This summer we had a scare.” Her voice cracked. “I was two weeks late.”
“Lindsay, you don’t have to tell me this.”
She continued as if I hadn’t said a word. “All I could think of was that I was trapped. And the idea of being with him for the rest of my life scared me more than walking away. When the test was negative, I knew I had to separate myself from him somehow.”
She exhaled slowly. “The scare affected him too, so he was okay when I said I needed some time to myself. After a week of distance, I grew stronger. Soon a week turned into a month, and I thought for a few glorious days, I might really be free.”
“And that’s what you want isn’t it?”
“It doesn’t matter what I want. He still watches me. Calls me. Demands to know where I am and who I’m with.” She hung her head and whispered, “He still controls me.” With those words, she finally quit talking and stared out the window.
Her two-story brick house came into view, and I pulled into her driveway before the silence grew any more awkward. She opened the door and slipped out. “Thanks for listening, Cody. I know I dumped the world on you. I guess I just needed a friend tonight.”
I dipped my chin, and seconds later she was safely inside, but the chaos inside lingered.
He still controls me .
The streets were quiet as I drove home, but the song Skylar sent me blared through my speakers. I pictured Lindsay standing in the field, refusing to fight Blake’s words.
He still controls me.
I’d played the game for years. Was willing to sacrifice my reputation, my pride and my conviction just to stay in line. To stand there like Lindsay while Blake called all the shots. But maybe freedom was possible. Maybe I just needed to be smarter than the king of Madison.
He still controls me.
I hit repeat on the song.
Not anymore.
SKYLAR
I woke up to my cell phone ringing with a number I’d added only a week ago.
“Blake?” My voice was hoarse with sleep and surprise. “It’s two in the morning.”
“I know. Sooo sorry. I just…I just needed to talk.”
I recognized the slur in his soft murmur. Ricky would come to our house sounding just like that after a long night of drinking. My father would make him coffee and listen to all his sad stories. I’d listen, too, through my cracked bedroom door. The stories always seemed to revolve around a woman.
“Is something wrong?” I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
“Yes. I feeeel…lost.” He sounded barely coherent. “You go…sleep. Bad to call.”
“No, it’s fine. Really.” I switched on the side lamp and let my vision adjust to the light. “Did something happen?”
“You’re sooooo pretty. Especially your lips. I like your lips.” A long silence followed. “But I don’t like Cody looking at them.”
His name brought a familiar twisting in my stomach. I swallowed.
Blake muttered a curse. “He takes everything.”
I was about to ask for more details when he cut me off, his voice suddenly deep and thoughtful. “Nobody really cares about me. They just want to use me. They take…take…take.”
His words tugged at a buried
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