Impossible (21 page)

Oliver began to wrestle with the belt around his waist and I tried to wriggle away. He jerked me back hard and pinned me under him as he pulled down his pants. I screamed and kneed him in the groin. My screams echoed through the woods, but were lost amongst the din from the bonfire.

No one was around to hear me. No one was going to help me.

Oliver groaned and rolled over clutching himself in pain. I scrambled to my feet, wanting to put as much distance between us as I could, but a firm hand clamped around my ankle and dragged me down again. “You bitch! You’re going to regret that!”

I kicked at him with both legs and clawed my way across the ground, digging my nails into the dirt, as I tried to get away from him. It didn’t do any good because a second later, he pulled me back towards him and slapped me across the face. “Where do you think you’re going?”

The blow sent a sharp pang of pain shooting through me, and I cowered behind my hands. As Oliver straddled me, my body wracked with sobs and all I wanted was for him to let me go. Because I knew what came next and that’s what scared me the most.

“Please! Don’t, Oliver! Please!”

Oliver’s weight was suddenly lifted off me and he landed somewhere to my left with a loud thud. I glanced around in surprise and saw someone standing in front me. My heart began racing.

It was Luca.

“Shit, Ash. Shit, shit, shit. Are you okay?” He bent over me, his voice filled with concern and something else I couldn’t place. I tried to say something, but my face hurt too much. It was already swelling up, so all I could manage was a whimper.

Luca growled and straightened himself up. “Fuck! I’m going to kill him!”

He ran over to Oliver, who was standing now, and began throwing kicks and punches at him. Oliver was a lot bigger than Luca, but they seemed pretty evenly matched. Luca was a much better fighter, which surprised me. I watched them, stricken with fear, not daring to breathe or move.

“You fucking freak, I’m gonna enjoy putting you in your place!” Oliver swung wide and Luca easily avoided it, countering with a kick to the gut. Oliver keeled over and Luca beat down him with more kicks. When Luca paused, Oliver let out a roar and rushed at him in a head butt. He got him right in the stomach and Luca doubled over, clutching his mid-section and swearing in agony.

My injuries forgotten, I rushed to his side to help him to his feet, but Oliver wrenched me by the hair and shoved me aside. “You stay out of this! I’ll get to you soon enough.”

I cried out in pain and fell onto the ground again. My head was on fire as I struggled to my feet. Blind panic raced through me at the sight of Luca’s limp body.

No, no, no!

He wasn’t getting back up. He wasn’t moving. He had to be okay. Please, God, let him be okay.

Luca

I lay face down on the ground trying not to move. Ash was crying loudly and each sob wrenched at my chest. She probably thought I’d passed out, or worse. I wanted to comfort her, but I didn’t want to move. I couldn’t tell her that I was fine, that I was waiting for the right opportunity to kick the shit out of that bastard.

“Shut up!” Oliver barked at Ash. “Or I’ll send your boyfriend for a little swim.”

That ass wipe! He thought I was unconscious and wanted to throw me into the lake, not caring if I lived or died. Well, he had another thing coming.

It was easy to hear his footsteps on the ground, and I knew the second he came and stood beside me. A blunt stab of pain hit me squarely on the side. He had the nerve to kick me while I was already down.

I swallowed the pain down and tried to stay as quiet as I could, even though it freaking hurt. He kicked me a couple more times, and then I felt him turn around. “Stay right where you are, Ashton. If you so much as make one sound, I’m going to make sure you never see the light of day. You understand me?”

With Oliver’s attention on Ash, I made my move. Jumping to my feet—and ignoring the pain that shot through my ribs—I tackled Oliver to the ground. Ashton screamed as I pummeled Oliver with my fists, pushing him back down every time he tried to get up.

Son. Of. A. Bitch. He was going to pay for what he’d done to Ash. I would never let him hurt her again. I was going to break every single bone in his body. As I punched him, all I could see was red. I wouldn’t stop until he got what he deserved.

Soft, gentle hands pulled me back, but I freed myself and got ready to punch Oliver again. The hands latched onto me again and then I heard the only voice that could calm me down.

“Luca, it’s okay. You can stop now…he’s unconscious. Leave him.” Ash’s arms were wrapped around me from behind, and I crumpled to my knees, taking her with me.

We lay there for several minutes until my breathing returned to normal. I glanced over at her, biting down on the guilt that filled me at the sight of her injuries. In the moonlight that filtered through the trees, I could see that one side of her face was rapidly swelling and there was a scratch just below her eye. If only I’d gotten there sooner. Why had I taken so long? I should’ve gone after them straight away. This was all my fault.

“Let me take you home,” I said as I smoothed back her golden hair.

Ashton tried to speak, but her voice caught in her throat as she looked past me, her eyes wide with fear. Oliver groaned from behind me, and I realized that he was waking up. I stood up and took Ash’s hand. She didn’t need any further prompting and followed me without a word.

As we disappeared deeper into the trees, a string of curse words rang out loud and clear into the night.

***

Once I got Ashton into my car, I noticed how badly she was shaking. I reached behind me to grab the spare jacket sitting on the back seat, and wrapped it around her shoulders. She still hadn’t said anything and I was starting to worry that she was going into shock. Momma would be home soon. Maybe I should get her to take a look at Ash.

My first thought had been to drive her home, but now I wasn’t so sure if that was a good idea. Ms. Summers would have a hundred questions for Ash, and I knew she wouldn’t want to be interrogated by her mom. It was probably best if we went straight to my house before Momma got home.

“Do you want to stay the night at my house?” I asked.

Ash studied me with large eyes and slowly nodded. That was all the confirmation I needed before I pulled out my phone and texted Yuki.

Can u cover 4 Ash if her mom calls u?

Ten seconds later, my message tone went off.

Sure. Y?

She’s spending the nite at my house.

Oh. Ok. Have fun ;)

Yuki probably thought that I’d finally scored with Ash. Little did she know how bad things really were. It was ironic that up until a week ago, I’d barely acknowledged Yuki’s existence, but now she was someone I could call a friend. I’d been a huge judgmental prick too when it came to the “popular” kids.

Except Oliver. I’d judged him exactly right. He was the sick, ass wipe I’d always thought he was.

I turned back to Ashton who was staring out the front window with glazed eyes. I really hoped she wasn’t reliving the attack. “Can I have your phone?”

She regarded me with surprise, but handed me her phone without question. Then she went back to staring out the window with the same blank look in her eyes.

I sent a brief message to her mom and hoped she didn’t ask too many questions.

Hey mom, I’m staying the night at Yuki’s after bonfire. Be home tomorrow. Luv u.

Without waiting for a response, I reversed out of the parking lot and drove as fast as I could—within the speed limits—so that I beat Momma home. I didn’t want her to see Ash until I got a chance to talk to Ash about it first.

When I
pulled into my driveway thirty
minutes later, Ash’s phone beeped. I glanced at it before handing it back to Ash, who stared at the message curiously.

Ok, have fun but don’t stay out too late. Let me know if you need me to pick you up tomorrow. Love you too.

I got out of the car and walked around to let Ash out. She took my hand and we both walked inside before her mom could look out the window and catch her going into my house. When we were in the kitchen, I gave her a glass of water.

“Do you want anything to eat?” Under the bright lights of the kitchen, I saw how bad her injuries really were. Her face was red, bruised and lumpy, and I hoped to God that Oliver looked even worse than she did.

Ash shook her head and handed the glass back to me as I tried not to stare at her. “I want to ask you something, okay? And I don’t want you to be afraid to tell me the truth.” I stared right into those blue eyes that looked so sad and broken. “When I got there, I saw you on the ground with him on top of you. Did he do
anything
? I want you to be completely honest with me.”

Ashton blinked rapidly as tears came to her eyes. My heart constricted painfully. Goddammit! He had done something to her! That slimy, low-life…

“No, he didn’t do anything.” Ash said, finally breaking her silence.

Relief flooded through me at those simple words. I had gotten there in time to stop him. If I’d been a minute later or if I hadn’t decided to go home, then I’d never have found them out there. No one would’ve heard Ash screaming and crying. The noise from the bonfire was too loud.

That thought sent chills up my spine.

“Do you want to go to the hospital or report this to the police?”

She shook her head again. “He slapped me, but he didn’t get any further than that. I really don’t want to tell ten different people about this. I want to forget that I ever liked scum like him. I just want to lie down and forget about everything.”

Ashton looked so defeated, and all I wanted to do was protect her, but I had to make sure one more time. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell the police about it?”

“I’m sure, Luca,” she assured me. “Can we please just go up to your room? I’m so exhausted.”

Taking her by the hand, I led the way upstairs. Ash was silent and I didn’t try to make small talk. She needed her space.

Once we were inside, I flicked on the bedside lamp. The warm glow lit the room and highlighted Ash’s hair as she sat down on the bed. I kicked off my shoes and eased down beside her, the bed sagging under my weight. I guess Ash could take my bed, and I’d sleep on the floor. It seemed like the decent thing to do.

“Can I get you anything?” I asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“No, I just want to sleep.”

Her eyes studied my face and then flickered down to my mouth. There was a swelling in my chest that made me want to take care of her. It made me want to take on the world for her. I really wanted to pull her into my arms and hold her, but we’d gotten into a fight earlier on in the afternoon and I wasn’t sure if she’d be okay with that.

Instead, I stood up and peeled back the covers on my bed. “Alright, well you can take the bed. I’ll take a pillow and sleep on the floor.”

Ashton took off her shoes and climbed into bed, scooting over until her back was pressed up against the wall. She stared up at me longingly and my insides writhed with nerves. Shit. Ashton Summers was in my bed. I never thought it was possible.

She patted the empty space beside her. “Sleep with me.” Her words held no double meaning or sexual innuendo. She just wanted me beside her, to comfort her. She didn’t need to ask me twice. Every part of me wanted to be there for her—it was an instinct.

I reached over and turned off the bedside lamp before stripping down to my boxers. Hopefully, she wasn’t too weirded out by me being half naked. It was how I slept and anything else made me uncomfortable. I pulled my phone out from the pocket of my jeans and placed it on the bedside table beside me before climbing in beside her.

We lay there facing each other in the darkness with a gap between us. I didn’t want to say anything just in case she was trying to sleep, so I let the silence drag on. If she wasn’t ready to talk, then I wasn’t going to push her.

I wasn’t sure how long we lay there before the message tone of my phone went off. I grabbed the phone off the bedside table and squinted at the bright glow from the screen. It was a message from Momma.

Just got home. Saw your car in the driveway. Did you take Riley’s car or are you at home?

I quickly messaged back and put the phone on silent.

At home. Don’t feel well. Trying 2 sleep.

My phone vibrated when Momma messaged again.

Do you want me to come up and check your temp?

No I’m ok. Just wanna sleep.

Let me know if you need anything. I start at 8 in the morning so I’ll see you at dinner. Good night.

C u 2moro. Night.

I put the phone back and turned on my side again so I was facing Ashton. “Who was that?” Her voice came out of nowhere and made me jump.

“Shit! I thought you were asleep. Did it wake you?”

“No, I was never asleep.”

“Oh.” I said, feeling incredibly stupid. “It was just my momma letting me know she has work in the morning. I told her I was feeling sick so I went to bed early.”