The Sweetest Summer

Chapter Nine - You Broke Me First

The world seemed to spin on its axis as I opened my eyes, but not from the nagging hangover, which was there, but from the way Beckett Press' hands still lingered on my body. A ghostly reminder of the way he'd tasted, the way his bony fingers had groped me through the black dress. The dress that lay in the corner of my bedroom. My breasts felt bruised, but not nearly as bruised as my ego for getting into his car last night.

I knew it was stupid to blame myself, victim shaming is what they called it, but I still couldn't believe I'd kissed him back, even if only for a moment. His slimy snake-like tongue had darted into my mouth in sharp jabs, making me want to gag.

I rose from my bed and strode quickly to my bathroom, taking the hottest shower of my life, and shoved my toothbrush into my mouth, brushing my teeth - three times over. I dressed in a black oversized sweater and black jeans, pulling my platinum blonde hair back into a half ponytail on the top of my head.

I didn't want to face the day, but I knew my father would be waiting, ready to reveal whatever the plethora of security footage showed. Heightened security was a bonus to having an insanely famous, notorious rockstar for a father.

I trudged down the stairs into the white modern kitchen, not surprised to find my father's blonde/grey locks stooped over his laptop on the island, but was surprised by the tall dark headed man that stood with him, keenly observing whatever was on the screen. Fuck.

"Good morning, darling." My father pressed a kiss to my hair and I smiled tightly, returning the greeting, but was careful to keep my eyes down on the island instead of on the other man in the room.

"Is the coffee fresh?" I asked, grabbing an old blue mug with a German Shepherd on the front from the cabinet.

"Yes, Elijah made it about ten minutes ago." My father answered absentmindedly and I poured myself a full glass, ignoring the other set of watchful eyes in the room.

"What are you guys watching?" I moved closer to the laptop screen, careful to stand on the opposite side of my father, as far from Eli as I could.

Despite his bloodied knuckles and his heroics from last night, my heart still hurt from his blatant brush off after our kiss. One week of silence. Seven Days. One hundred and sixty-eight hours. Fucking misery in the form of a lost lover, an abandoned friend.

"It's the driveway footage from last night." My father put his hand over mine, but I moved away and took a long drink from my scalding coffee. I hated to admit it, but it even tasted better when Eli made it.

"Yeah?" I guarded my voice to keep the anxiety out of my tone. I didn't exactly feel eager to watch my violation for a second time. Living it once had been enough.

"Yeah. But unfortunately, the area he parked in was too dark. We can't see a damn thing." My father huffed, running one of his heavily tattoo'd hands through his hair. I wondered why he'd gotten so many, or at least why he had the ones he had. I knew the small Barbie on the outside of his forearm was meant for my mother, but the other ones were more of a mystery.

"It's okay, I mean we both know what happened, and I can promise I won't go near Beckett Press ever again." I mumbled taking another long sip of my coffee.

"I'm certainly glad to hear that." My father said tightly. "I still think it would be a good idea from here on out not to go out alone for the rest of the summer..."

"I wasn't alone." I protested, setting down the coffee on the counter harder than I had anticipated. The mug made a loud clanking sound and I cringed a little. "Marissa was with me."

"Please, we all know she's only focused on whatever warm body is giving her attention." Eli laughed, but my eyes snapped upwards to glare at his stupid strong chest. I still didn't feel brave enough to look him in the eye, but he needed to shut the hell up. Marissa was my friend, and any discussion about her sex life were wildly inappropriate in front of my father.