Hands grabbed my hair and held it up. Someone took the beer bottle that I was still clutching in my hand. When I was able to stop heaving, I sat back on my butt. I covered my face with my hands, and I cried.
Someone pulled me against their chest and rubbed their hand up and down my back. “You did good, babe,” Colt said softly into my ear. “I know that wasn’t easy and I’m so proud of you.”
I didn’t know how long we were in that bathroom, but Colt held me until I eventually calmed down, while the other three stood by in support.
20
The rest of the weekend flew by. My time was mostly occupied getting my window repaired, calling my insurance company, and purchasing a new car. I slept with the twins the first night. Things were kept PG. After being attacked by the sheriff and sharing a little piece of the night my family had been killed, I’d just wanted to be held. I’d spent the night with Keelan last night and the whole night had been deliciously X-rated.
It was now Monday. I had decided to skip school today. I wasn’t ready to return to the drama or see Cassy. I was sitting in my doctor’s lobby, waiting to be called. I couldn’t stop smiling. My thoughts were replaying everything that had happened last night. The things Keelan had done to me…the things Keelan had had me do. One moment in particular was my favorite. Keelan had instructed me to hold onto the headboard and then he’d had me straddle his face. Remembering what his tongue had done to me made me blush. It had been the dirtiest thing I’d ever experienced and I’d loved every minute of it.
“You have the smile of a woman in love,” a little old lady whispered to me as she leaned in close. “You’re glowing.”
“I am?”
She smiled.
The medical assistant came into the waiting room with a chart in her hand. “Shiloh,” she called. I gave the old lady a small smile and let the medical assistant lead me to an exam room.
I left the doctor stitches-free and with a prescription for birth control. After stopping by the pharmacy really quick, I went home. As I pulled up to my house, I spotted Logan sitting on my porch steps. I turned off my new silver 4Runner, hopped out, and ran across the lawn.
Logan stood from the steps, arms already open. I leapt into them. With my feet dangling off the ground, he held me tightly.
“It feels like you’ve been gone for years,” I said into his shoulder.
“Yes, it does,” he said, setting me on my feet. He patted my head. “You changed your hair again.”
I nodded, pulling on a strand. “Yeah, I went with a friend to get it done.”
“A girlfriend?”
I scoffed. “Yes, a friend that is a girl.”
“Did she get Ronald McDonald hair, too?”
I frowned. “I don’t have clown hair.”
“Whatever you say, Pennywise,” he said and I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes.
I went up the porch steps and unlocked the front door. Logan grabbed his suitcase and took it straight back to the spare bedroom. I went to my bathroom. Pulling my birth control from my purse, I put it in the medicine cabinet.
“What are your plans for the rest of the day?” he asked from the hall.
I went into my bedroom and saw him standing in the doorway. “I have that class I help teach with Keelan in a few hours.”
He nodded. “That’s one of the neighbor boys?”
“You already know the answer to that question.”
He smiled. “Ian said you were dating one of them, but couldn’t figure out who. We may or may not have made bets as to who it is.”
“What if I’m not dating any of them? Or what if I’m dating all of them?” I snapped.
He narrowed his eyes as he studied me. “You’re being defensive.”
“I’m not being defensive. I want to know why it’s so important who I’m dating.” I didn’t find it funny that they had placed bets. In fact, it really pissed me off.
“Because I want to make sure my niece is dating someone who is respectful and will treat her right.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “And I’m incapable of making sure of that myself?”
“It’s my responsibility to protect you, Shi,” he said, avoiding my question.
“I may be young, but I wouldn’t give someone my time if they hadn’t earned it. Especially with everything I’ve been through,” I said, walking past him.
I went to the kitchen to make lunch. I pulled things from the fridge and pantry after deciding to make sandwiches. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Logan creep in with his hands in his pockets.