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The air escaped my lungs in an audible gasp.
Unable to stop myself, I sagged against his chest, eyes glued to our reflection in the mirror as he stared right back at me, blue eyes scorching holes in my soul, waiting for an explanation I could never give him.
"Tell me who put their hands on you," he coaxed, as he stood behind me, my face in his hand and his fingers on my throat. "And I'll make it better."
Think, Sha "Well?" Hurry the hell up… "Sha "I got smashed up in P.E," was all I came up with. Joh He just continued to stare at my neck with a dark expression. Panicking, I hurried to add to my lies, "It was my fault. I got in the way of the boys during soccer and four of them ended up crashing into me." Slipping around Joh "I ended up on the bottom of a pile-up. Happened just before you came in." Shaking my head, I forced a small laugh. "It was total carnage." Joh "So, one of the lads in your class's hand just so happened to land on your neck?" he asked, tone laced with disbelief. "His fingers just so happened to squeeze your throat?" This one's nobody's fool, I thought to myself. Lie better, Sha "It didn’t feel like that at the time." I gave him a weak shrug and sat down on the edge of his bed. "But I guess that's what happened." "You guess?" he repeated, folding his arms across his chest. The movement caused his huge biceps to bulge. He was seriously huge. It was incredibly intimidating. But I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. It was one of the few things in my life that I was absolutely certain of. This boy would never put his hands on me in anger. Inhaling a steadying breath, I added, "Maybe he caught me when he was trying to stand up." "Maybe," Joh I sagged in relief. "Or maybe it was those Legos again." My heart sank. "Was it?" Joh "Joh "And how about the bruise on the back of your neck the time before that? Or the red mark on your face the time before that again? Or the bruises on your thighs? And your arms? And the rest of you?" He glared at me. "Was that those pesky Legos, too?" "Do you think my uniform's ready yet?" I changed the subject by asking. "I should probably get home." Yeah, I needed to get out of here. And fast. "No. No! Don’t do that," Joh "I want to go home." Sniffling, I quickly wiped my face with the back of my hand. "Now, please." He ran a hand through his damp hair and sighed. "Christ, Sha He unfolded his arms and moved towards me but I shook my head and held a hand up to warn him off. Joh "I can help you," he pleaded. "Let me help you." "Then help me by getting my clothes," I sniffled. "That's the only help I need from you. Exhaling a pained groan, Joh "I want to help you." He placed his hands on my outer thighs and looked up at me, blue eyes wide and sincere. He squeezed my thighs gently. "All you have to do is tell me what's happening, okay?" Reaching up, he tucked a wet strand of hair behind my ear, "Just tell me who's hurting you and I'll make it go away." You can't help me. No one can. I took that beating for talking to you. For taking a fucking picture with you. You are the last person who can help me. "I'm okay, Joh "You're lying to me," he growled, looking furious. "You're fucking lying to me and I can't stand it." "Please take me home," I strangled out, jerking away from him. "Just take me home and you won't have to stand me." Joh "I want to go home, Joh "Okay," Joh Exhaling a shaky breath, I nodded. "Thank you." He watched me for a long moment before shaking his head in resignation. "I'll be right back, okay?" Nodding, I watched him walk out of room, waiting until he was gone before slumping down on his bed. "God," I cried, furiously batting the traitorous tears away. "Get it together, Sha Don’t even think about telling him anything. His father's a barrister. You know what those guys are like. They'll get involved and you'll all be split up and put into care. Like Darren... Joh "Hi," I sobbed, dropping my hand on her head. Sookie nuzzled my hand with her snout and licked my fingers. Her affection only made me feel worse. I didn’t deserve it. I had just lied to her human. "I wish I had a dog," I whispered to her, focusing all of my attention on her, desperate to block out my thoughts. "One just like you," I told her as I pulled my feet up on the bed and twisted my body to face her. "If I ever get a dog, it'll be one that that looks just like you – 'cause you're so pretty. Yes, you are." She rewarded my attention by crawling onto my lap – or at least she tried to. She was a fully-grown Labrador and I probably weighed less than her. "What do you want?" I whispered, scratching her neck with both hands. "Huh?" Tickling her ears, I pressed a kiss to her nose. "You want me to give you love?" Her tail wagged like crazy and she smothered me with wet dog kisses all over my face. It was a welcome distraction and I choked out a laugh at her enthusiasm. "What a good girl," I cooed, falling into a playful game of wrestling with her. "That's right. You're the best girl. You are." Encouraged by my response, Sookie clambered onto me, pushing her whole weight down on my chest and causing me to flop back on the pillows. "What?" I giggled through my tears as I ruffled her ears. "You like me?" She groaned deep in her throat, her approval obvious as she stretched out on top of me and nuzzled my face with her wet nose. "Thank you," I praised when she slapped her paw on my shoulder. "You're such a ma "Your uniform's still damp, but I brought it up anyway…" Startled by Joh "Sookie, down," Joh Obedient, Sookie immediately climbed off me and clumsily jumped off the bed, her paws slip-sliding on the wooden floor. "Out," Joh