Page 91 of The Love Penalty
Now he’s pressed against the wall where that girl used to be standing and frowning at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“Asher? What the fuck, man?”
His shocked expression somehow stops my brain from short-circuiting, and I suddenly come out of my raging fog to notice more movement around me. Whispers scurry around us as phones are being held in my direction, pictures being snapped and sent. Fuck, they’re probably taking videos, thinking this will be a fight worth posting on social media.
Dammit!
Calm the fuck down, Bensen!
“We have to talk,” I growl, tipping my head to the side and stalking toward the front door.
Harvey mutters something behind my back, and I turn to make sure he’s following me. He’s giving the girl he was flirting with an apologetic smile, gently touching her face. “I’ll just be a few minutes, okay?”
She nods, her expression adoring before she flicks me an acidic look.
I spin for the door, my insides churning. It’s hard to imagine Harvey turning from Mr. Sweet into a guy who rapes a woman.
But Lani said he did.
Fuck. I want to believe her, but Harvey’s not like that.
Sure, he’s a flirt and sleeps around as much as Casey used to, but that’s because he’s popular. He appreciates women, enjoys them. Does he really rape them?
Shoving my hands in my jacket pockets, I stop in the front yard, moving all the way to the tree so we’re hidden by the black shadows its branches are casting over the lawn.
Laughter and music from the party float out of the house, masking our conversation.
“Dude.” Harvey shakes his head at me. “What is going on with you?”
“Did you rape my girlfriend?” I don’t have time for bullshit, so I get straight to the point.
There’s a beat of thick, painful silence before Harvey chokes out his disbelief. “What?”
“Lani. Did you ra?—”
“No!” He cuts me off before I can say it again. “I only just met her today. Did she say that I tracked her down later or something? What the fuck? I was with you all of lunch, then this afternoon, I hung out with that girl I met, and then I came here.” He points behind him. “Did she say I did something to her?”
I clench my jaw, my throat so thick, it’s hard to swallow. “It wasn’t today. It was at a party… a few months back.”
He shakes his head. “I can’t believe this. I swear to you, man. I only met her today for the first time. I did not touch her or rape her or… shit, man! You honestly think I’d rape someone?” His voice pitches, and then he lets out this sigh like I’ve hurt his feelings. No, not hurt them, crushed them to dust. “You’re my brother. How could you think that about me?”
Working my jaw to the side, I can’t even look at him as I squeeze the back of my neck and try to figure out what I’m supposed to do.
Lani said it was him.
But maybe she was wrong?
Maybe the guy who raped her is just really similar to Harvey.
The thought actually gives me a small spark of hope.
Harvey’s a good-looking college athlete with brown hair that’s cut short at the sides and styled into purposely messy spikes on top. There’s a bunch of guys out there who look just like him. Lani did say she was drunk and things were fuzzy. Maybe the guy who did that to her had a Harvey essence.
The thought sits ugly in my chest.
I don’t want to doubt her. I want to respect what she feels and believes.
But what if she’s wrong?