Page 48 of Rolling Thunder

“But that’s the thing, Evan! You can’t do anything that’ll get you in trouble. Do you understand me? You can’t. You can’t go to jail because of me, not after everything,”

“You’ve got to trust me, Kayla. I’m not going to jail, but he’s not getting anywhere near you either.”

“And…it wasn’t rape.” Kayla said defensively.

“Really?”

She couldn’t respond to that.

“He drugged an underage girl and let some man have sex with you while you were passed out. Do I have some part of that wrong? I’m pretty sure that’s the definition of rape.”

“Well. I can’t prove he drugged me.”

“Best-case scenario, he gave you enough booze to get you blackout drunk when you were fourteen and dancing illegally in his club. It’s still rape. Not to mention he was dating you. How the fuck old was he?”

“He was thirty-two when we met.” she said softly. How had she never considered that? “I thought we were dating.”

“That’s not dating. He was grooming you, baby.” He stood up and she turned to face him as he walked to her. “How did you get to the place in your head where you think this is your fault?”

His question broke the dam inside her. Her throat closed and her eyes burned. She shook her head and shrugged a little, wiping at her face, trying to get herself under control.

“None of this is your fault, Kayla.”

Trent said it was. Her mother said it was. She’d run home to her mother the morning after, sick and horrified. Her mother half-listened to her while smoking a cigarette at the kitchen table. Kayla had cried and begged to go back to the farm. Her mother had given her drugs, instead.

“Take this, it’ll calm you down. What did you think was gonna happen if you’re drunk after hours in a strip club, Kayla?” her mother admonished.

“All the girls do it. The money’s good. We need the money.”

What did Kayla think was going to happen? She had no fucking idea, fresh off the farm, and dragged out from under her grandmother’s wing. She was woefully unprepared for life in the trenches of the sex-and-drug trade of downtown Fort Myers.

Kayla felt the shame and devastation as clearly as if it were yesterday. The only support she’d gotten from her mother was a trip to the drugstore for emergency contraceptives in case they hadn’t used condoms. Because Kayla didn’t fucking know if they had or not. Later, she’d gotten herself tested for STDs at a free clinic.

“I knew what I was doing when I went to work for him.” At least, that’s what her mother had said.

“Did you really? At fourteen? Did you agree to have sex with someone for money?”

“No. I don’t even remember it. I told Trent I wouldn’t do it. I know I told him that. I don’t even know who they were.”

“They?”he repeated softly. She glanced at his face for the first time, and the emotion there was almost more than she could bear. He looked hurt. And angry.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have dumped this on you. I—” She didn’t know what she was trying to say. All she knew was that now there was only one thing to do, and that was to run. She didn’t get far before he caught her arm. His touch was gentle enough not to be a threat, but firm enough to let her know she needed to hear him out.

“You’re not leaving yet,” he said firmly. “If you really want to go home, I’ll drive you, but you’re definitely not driving yourself the way you’ve been pounding the Jack.”

He had a good point. She wasn’t stupid enough to try to drive even an arrow-straight country mile in her current condition. He wasn’t letting go of her arm, either. And…she didn’t want him to.

“And you’re going to listen to me for a minute before you go. If you have to go.”

She stood still, saying nothing. She didn’t know what to say. Now that she’d unloaded the worst, she had no idea what to do next. It was like cutting loose an anchor that had kept her moored in a single spot since that night. Now that it was gone, she was drifting on a dark sea with no compass.

“This is what I need you to know. You don’t need to worry about Trent anymore. One way or another, he’s never going to hurt you again.”

The way he said it, she knew it was true. And she wanted to sag with relief.

“And… I love you.”

She turned around, shocked. “What?”