“You say that, but do you actually believe it? You have to admit he’s controlling.”
“I stand up for myself. If you didn’t notice, I never told him where I was.”
“It’s great that you don’t give in all the time, but that doesn’t change what he is. He’s controlling and manipulative. Everything he does is an attempt to dominate you.”
I so did not need to hear the word dominate in association with Dylan ever again.
“I can’t just stand back and watch this.”
I groaned. “Then don’t watch.”
“Shut up!” His hands fisted at his side. I’d never seen him so angry.
I shuddered. “Calm down, Reed.”
“No. This is bullshit. I’m not letting this happen again.”
“Again? What is this about?”
He put his head in his hands. “You’re so much like my sister. Too pretty for your own good, and you’re so needy. You want to be wanted so damn bad that you’ll put up with crap.”
“Your sister? What does your sister have to do with me?”
“She was like you at your age. She dated an older guy—and six months into their relationship, she was engaged and living with him.”
“And? Was it the biggest mistake of her life?” I said sarcastically. I immediately regretted it when I saw the look that crossed his face.
“You know what? Forget it. You want to f**k up your life and destroy your family, go ahead. Do it.”
“What? Destroy my family? What happened to your sister, Reed?”
He shifted his weight from foot to foot. In the darkness, I thought I saw a few tears. “She got in too deep. Everyone loved the guy—my parents thought he was a prince. From a well-known family, tons of money. Sound familiar? They got married when she was only nineteen.”
I nodded. I needed to hear the rest.
“Eventually, things got worse, and she wanted out but felt like she couldn’t leave. I’m the only one who believed her when she said he’d become abusive.” He got this far-off look on his face. “My parents told her to be loyal to her husband. He started talking about kids. I don’t think she wanted to bring kids into her world.” Reed was a mix of anger and hurt, and I didn’t know which one was harder to watch.
“Wait? What happened?”
“She killed herself. I guess she thought it was her only way out.”
I touched his arm. “I’m so sorry, Reed.” I couldn’t even imagine how hard that must have been for him.
“Don’t be sorry. Just don’t make the same dumb mistake.”
“I’m not going to do something like that, and I’m not planning a wedding anytime soon.”
“Please be careful.”
I still hadn’t moved my hand. “I will.”
“Promise me something.”
“Okay.” I would have promised him anything in that moment. He looked so vulnerable.
“If you ever feel like you’re trapped, talk to me. I couldn’t help Shannon, but I can help you. I’m not a puny sixteen -year-old anymore.”
“Puny? You could never be puny.” Without thinking, I moved my hand up to touch his bicep. Reed was a giant. The last thing he could be described as was puny.
“I make it my business to make sure I never am again.”
It all clicked. The obsession with lifting weights, his issues with his parents, living with Al. “I promise.”
“Good. Want me to walk you home?”
“Yeah, that would be nice.”
We walked in silence. Neither of us spoke until we reached my dorm. “I know I say this a lot, but take care of yourself.”
“I will. You, too. And just so you know, if you ever want to talk, I’m here.” I hugged him.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He rubbed my back gently, as if he was comforting me rather than the other way around.
Chapter Seventeen
From: [email protected]
Subject: The meaning of life is relative
Dear Juliet,
Are you really considering philosophy? I thought you liked history.
Your Proud Business Major Cousin,
Amy
Fifty degrees was entirely too cold for a car wash. I understood it was for charity, and the bi-annual car washes were by far the highest grossing philanthropic events, but the last thing I wanted to do was spend my morning freezing in a bikini. I’d spent entirely too much time in bikinis that semester, and for the first time in my life, I was actually looking forward to winter. At least I could bury myself under sweaters again. I wore my blue floral print bikini for washing cars. It provided slightly more coverage than the red.
“Let’s go, girls!” Amanda sprayed us with a hose. I could have killed her. The icy spray made an uncomfortable morning so much worse. We all shrieked, and she laughed. I was really getting tired of her.
“Kill me,” Mallory said through blue lips. A Southern girl through and through, she didn’t take cold well. I didn’t enjoy it, but I was pretty sure my lips hadn’t changed color yet.
“Why don’t we just kill her instead?” Claire nodded at Amanda. Wow, Little Miss Suck-up actually bad mouthed our pledge mom.
“How many more hours?” Cara asked. She’d been surprisingly calm through the whole thing, probably because she knew she had a date with Aaron lined up. She’d fallen for him hard. I got it. He doted on her constantly and was always doing really sweet things like buying her flowers.
“Just two. We’re officially halfway done.” I didn’t need to look at my watch again. I’d checked every five minutes all morning.
“Oh, that’s Dylan’s car, right?” Mallory asked as Dylan pulled into the parking lot.
“Yup, that’s him.” I watched as he parked and got out. He was dressed in a light pink polo shirt, jeans, and flip flops. The only thing that could have made him look more college prep was if he’d popped his collar.
Mallory shivered. “Let’s convince him he needs the inside of his car cleaned. Then we can warm up.”
“The only one that would fly for would be Juliet, and he’d ask her to clean him.” Cara moved closer to me, probably under the shared body heat theory.
“Clean him? Is there a sexual reference there I’m not getting?” I wrapped my arms around my chest.
“Yes…well, I don’t know. It just sounded funny.” Cara crouched down, trying to warm up.