Chapter 24

Van

My head falls back against the chair as my eyes close.

The tension in the room is so thick you could cut it with a knife. No one speaks, but still a million things are being said. The only sound is the humming of the fan.

How is this my life? My head begins to throb, the pounding growing more intense with each passing moment. Lifting my hands, I press my thumb to my face as I rub my fingers up and down my forehead, trying to alleviate the pain with no success.

Barbi's dad is here, in the same fucking room as me, and he's not ripping out my heart for pressing charges against his daughter. Not just any charges, but rape. Not to mention, he's not doing anything to help her. He's glad she's being held accountable for what she's done. If it was my daughter, I don't know if I would be acting the same way. I'd be full of anger and disbelief at the allegations.

Olivia forgives me and is heartbroken about what happened.

How can I do that? Share her with two other men. It's not normal.

"Van." Her soft voice pulls me from my thoughts.

"Yeah." I don't even open my eyes.

"Can you tell me what happened?" I turn my head, locking eyes with her as she looks at me pleadingly.

It seems like all I've done is recount that night. But I haven't explained all the details to Olivia. Hell, a lot of it is still a blur to me, thanks to Barbi drugging me. In a way, it's a blessing. I'll never have the memory of fucking her.

"Never mind, you don't have to tell me." My silence sent her a message that I couldn't.

I clear my throat. "It's not that I don't want to tell you. I do. It's just hard and I'm not sure"—I look over to where Kipp and Grady are sitting next to her on the couch—"Well, I'm just not sure if it's appropriate to share in front of her father."

There I said it. The two of them look at me, understanding in their eyes.

Kipp clears his throat, and Grady grips his knee, squeezing it.

"I might be wrong, but I think you should," Bre speaks up. "When this goes to court, they'll be there. Telling them what happened now will not only lessen the shock in court, but give you practice as well."

"Practice?" I question her.

"You're going to have to tell your story in front of people. Think of this as a trial run. But they've shown they don't condone what Barbi did to you. They deserve to know that they are right in not doing so. Barbi is a cunt." She turns to face them. "No offense, but she is. She's never been a good friend, but Olivia's been too blind to recognize it."

"I know firsthand how she can be. She's never approved of our relationship and has made it known on more than one occasion. Honestly, I'm surprised she hasn't tried harder to break us up." Grady leans into Kipp, kissing him on his cheek.

"Fine, I'll try." I sit forward, scooting to the edge of the chair, resting my arms on my thighs. I drop my head, gazing at my shoes as if they're the most interesting thing I've ever seen. My eyes fixate on the scuff marks.

I can do this. Breathe in. Breathe out.

"Olivia, you encouraged me to go to the party, the one I didn't want to go to." I can hear her gasp, but I don't acknowledge it.

"Van." Olivia's gentle voice fills the air.

I open my mouth to respond, but Bre beats me to it. "No, sweetie. Let him finish."

Clearing my throat, I begin again. "I went to the party, and she was there with some of her friends. As soon as I walked in, I was ready to leave, but John stopped me and was talking to me about his trip to the Congo. I didn't even notice she had stepped up beside me until her arm slipped around my waist.

"I pulled away from her and excused myself. The only thing I wanted to do was leave. She followed, grabbing my arm right before I got to the door and stopped me. Said she wanted to talk and apologize."

"What did she need to apologize for?" Olivia asks.

"For flirting with me." I can tell by the way her eyes go wide that she never noticed or realized that was indeed what Barbi was doing anytime we were all together. Bre must notice the same thing.

"Olivia, any chance she had, she was flirting with Van. You were just too clueless to recognize when she did it. That's one of the main reasons she hates me. I called her out for doing it."

"How did I not notice?" Olivia asks calmly.

"She admitted to being jealous of you and that she was attracted to me the night I met you at the bar. She was hurt that I didn't show any interest in her and that we were together. Barbi went on talking about how she wanted to start fresh as friends and how she had met someone and hoped we could double date. I accepted her apology, but she wouldn't let me leave without having a drink with her. I agreed, hoping it would put an end to everything."

God, I wish I had just gone home that night. No, not gone home, never went. Is it bad that a small part of me resents Olivia, that if she hadn't pushed me to go, it would never have happened? We'd still be together, and she'd never have met the two men sitting across from me.

"In hindsight, I shouldn't have let her get the drink for me. It tasted funny, but I attributed it to maybe being the bottom of the keg. From there on out, things get hazy, but I remember sitting on a couch with her talking. She kept giving me drink after drink, encouraging me to drink more. Stupidly, I did. It was like I didn't know what I was doing."

I grip my thighs. I need to get through this, so Olivia knows I didn't do anything intentionally.

"Finally, I told her I had to go. When I stood up, I staggered, falling back onto the couch. She asked if I was okay, and her hands started groping me and when I asked what she was doing, she told me she was looking for my keys and that she was taking me home. She went on about how Olivia would kill her if she let me drive drunk."

I can hear the gasps around me. But I can't look anyone in the face. Not yet. I just need to get the rest of this out.

"She led me out of the house, telling me how she was jealous of my and Olivia's relationship. But after tonight, she wouldn't be anymore. I couldn't even form words. The next thing I knew, I was at my apartment and she was helping me to bed.

"I remember asking for Olivia and then someone saying I'm here. It wasn't your voice, but I wanted you so badly I didn't think. She took off my clothes and then helped me lay down on the bed, before removing her own and crawling on top of me. A moment of clarity hit me and I saw Barbi's face and I knew it wasn't you. I tried to push her off of me, but she kept saying she was you and began kissing me, stroking me."

I break down, unable to say anymore.

When I look up, Olivia is crying and Kipp's face is red, his nostrils flared in anger, while Grady is wide-eyed and sympathetic.

"I'm so sorry, baby. My mind was so messed up, I really thought it was you. I don't remember much after that."

Olivia stands from the couch and rushes over to me, dropping on the floor in front of me.

"I'm so sorry, Van. This is all my fault. I pressured you into going, to be friends with her. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been there and it would never have happened. Can you ever forgive me for doubting how much you love me, how loyal you are to me?"

She looks at me, her eyes rimmed red from crying, her lip quivering.

"I'm sorry I was such an asshole, Van. If you never forgive me, I will understand."

"I love you, Olivia." I break down, leaning forward and cupping her face with my hands. "This is not your fault. Barbi is the only one to blame. You only had a video, and it was incriminating. I'm sure I would've acted the same way as you. I've been spending all this time with Bre's help to get proof of my innocence. That she raped me."

Olivia's head pulls away from my hold as she casts her gaze on Bre. "Is that true?"

Bre nods.

"That day you saw me at the restaurant, I was attempting to get a confession out of her. I wasn't there because I wanted to see her. Unfortunately, I didn't succeed. Bre had another plan, and it was a success. She managed to get a confession out of her and we went straight to the police station. That, along with the video, was enough to issue a warrant for her arrest."

"I'm glad Bre was there for you when I wasn't. That she was able to get the confession you needed."

"But now I have to confess to the world that I was raped. It was bad enough telling the first detective about it and how they ridiculed me. I imagine it's why you don't have more men coming forward when it happens to them."

"Van Michaels, I'm going to be there with you every step of the way. When you need support, lean on me. I'm not going to let you face this alone."

Leaning forward, I crash my lips on hers, not caring that the two men she's been fucking since she broke up with me are watching. She's mine and it's time they knew that. I'm not letting her go without a fight.