How to Not Fall for My Boss ✔

13.2 High School Bliss (part 2)

If Luke was having trouble understanding Cobie's words earlier, Luke is now immobile. He doesn't even give a sign he's breathing at the moment. The analog clock above Cobie's head has never been this noisy since the day she started working in this office.

"I was a naive girl, but at the same time, I was broken inside. Our father was bipolar, and things got uglier every day. To protect us, Mom decided to bring us with her and moved to a small town, somewhere he couldn't find us. It was during my high school years.

"Long story short, any kind of attention from boys felt like an oasis to me. It was a quick fix to fill the hollow that our father left for us. And I met this boy, the popular guy at school. I fell hard and went way too far with him, but of course, I was just one of his toys. When he finally met another girl, he ditched me without bathing his eyelashes. Little did we know, I was pregnant with his baby. He denied it, of course, and things got very ugly after that point."

Luke sucks in his breath, rubs his face, and groans. "How old were you again?"

"Almost seventeen." She brings her hands backward and traps them between her lower back and the wall.

"Your kid lives with you now?"

"I lost it weeks after I found out. It was just a series of nightmares in my life."

"Gosh, Cobie. How did you...you were just a kid! Did you report him or go to counseling?"

Cobie shakes her head. "What to report? I wasn't even raped. I hid it from my mom and my sister for a while, living in denial and convincing myself it never really happened. I was so afraid, so alone, but I just kept going with my life. Luckily, the news about our father dying made us move back here."

"I'm sorry for what you've been going through, Cobie."

Cobie forces a smile and shrugs. "It happened a decade ago, Luke. It's in the past but I learned the hard way not to trust any guy easily. I mean, Harry is not bad but he reminds me a lot of my ex." She closes her eyes for the next word that is about to roll off her tongue. "And I clouded my sister's judgment with my prejudice against popular guys like him. So yeah, it's my fault that they broke up."

"You couldn't help it."

"I could have. I could have done things differently from the very beginning."

"I think you're a bit too hard on yourself, Cobie. Look at you now, you've been so brave and moving forward after that horrendous moment. Your situation could've been worse than this. Way worse."

"I wouldn't say I'm being brave. I let my sister carry my baggage and my mistake. I'm a coward just like our dad. And now she hates me because of that and I deserve it."

"Hey, hey, listen," Luke says, holding both her shoulders with his hands, pinning her firmly against the wall. He lowers himself so that his face is level with hers. "You're being unfair to yourself right now. You've been through terrible situations when you were young, and it took away your trust in others. And you. Can't. Help. It. You need to deal with that first. Make peace with that."

"I don't know how." Cobie's voice comes out as a whisper.

"By talking about your feelings out loud with people you trust. Your sister, your mom, your friends. You've been holding it inside and that doesn't make it go away. You need to acknowledge every single one of them. I can also refer you to someone if you want to talk to a professional." Luke lightly brushes her bangs and tucks them behind her ears. "Just give it some thoughts, okay? You don't have to answer it now."

"Okay." Cobie bobs her head weakly. Mom has occasionally brought this up too, that she should consider seeing someone, but of course, Cobie always believed time would fix everything. Mom. She snaps her head to check on the time. "I need to go home. My mom must be waiting for me now."

"I'll drive you."

"It's fine, Luke. I can just catch a train."

"Don't argue with me, Evans."

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