Wrong (Breaking the Rules) (2 page)

He shook his head, so I sat beside him. Trying to get past the awkwardness of having
the
hot Cole Stine in my living room, I jumped right into the tutoring. He seemed to be listening at first but then proceeded to just stare at me.

“I’ve noticed you for a long time. You’re very pretty, you know,” he admitted.

My heart pounded at his words.
Me? Pretty?

“I, uh, thanks,” I stammered, unsure how to respond properly. Warmth flooded my neck and cheeks. I hoped he wouldn’t realize how embarrassed I was at the moment.

My mom poked her head in, thankfully distracting me from his intense gaze and my social ineptitude. “Honey, I need to run to the store. Are you sure you’ll be okay just the two of you?”

She knew how few friends I had and how socially awkward I could be. I nodded at her and she waved, leaving us alone in the house. Nervously, I popped a piece of peppermint gum into my mouth to distract me from my proximity to Cole. Trying to focus on our lesson, I pointed back to the calculus book to show him something that needed noting. His hand darted out and captured mine.

My eyes jerked to his, because there was no way Cole Stine could ever like a girl like me. He was smiling at me, and his look was full of heat. I squirmed a little because I’d never kissed anyone before, and he was looking at my lips like he wanted to devour them. When I started to say something, he took his other hand and lifted my chin up.

“I want to kiss you,” he uttered softly, reluctantly dragging his eyes from my lips.

“Okay,” I breathed out.

His grin was almost my undoing. Dipping forward, he grazed his lips across mine, causing me to shiver. I could not believe this was happening.

I parted my lips, and he gently pressed his to mine. My heart was beating wildly in my chest. When his tongue slipped into my mouth, I moaned softly because this was perfect. My first kiss was flawless. His hands threaded through my hair as he deepened the kiss. He laughed once he realized that he’d stolen my gum. I was tingling all over because this was quite possibly the best moment in my life.

As if a flip had switched, our kisses became hungry and needy. His hands were all over my body, and I let them since it felt good. When his large hand slipped up my shirt, I gasped. I didn’t really want to go there, but I didn’t want to stop him either. He gently laid me backwards, still kissing me furiously. His hand eased up to my breast and I moaned again when he touched it.

He growled into my mouth as he lay over me to get closer. I could feel his hardness through his jeans pressing against my own sensitive area and it made me jump. His kisses became more hurried as he pushed himself hard against me. The hand that was on my breast started to roughly grab me now. I suddenly pulled my mind out of the passionate moment and wrenched my mouth from his.

“Cole, we need to stop.”

He ignored me and kissed me again, more insistent, as he pressed into me between my legs.

Pushing against his chest, I firmly told him, “Cole! I said stop. Get off of me.”

When he slightly lifted away from me, he was glaring. “Are you being a fucking tease? I’ll have blue balls if I don’t come. At least jerk me off,” he spat. His sudden change of demeanor chilled me to the bone.

“No! This is wrong. Get off of me, Cole. I’m done. You need to leave,” I begged as tears fill my eyes. I felt trapped underneath his heavy body that was making no moves to get up.

Without another word, he fumbled for the top of my yoga pants and started to wrench them down my body. I screamed and thrashed against him, but he was too strong. His hand covered my mouth, and I whimpered from underneath him.

I started really squirming and wiggling when he reached down to undo his jeans. Managing to get them down far enough to pull out his penis, he tried to hold me still so he could force it in but since my pants weren’t all the way off, he was having difficulty. I sobbed loudly as I prepared myself for what was about to happen.

When we heard the footsteps across the hardwood floor in the living room, he froze, which thankfully stopped him from taking what wasn’t his—my virginity. I was crying and still squirming, trying to get away, when he was ripped forcefully from me. Daddy was towering above me with his hand gripped tightly around Cole’s throat. Thank God he didn’t have to stay late at the office today and was right on time coming home from work.

“Daddy!” I screamed as I frantically pulled my pants up and scrambled off of the couch, doing my best to put distance between me and Cole.

Cole’s face was turning bright red as he tried to free his neck from Daddy’s hand. Daddy finally let go and shoved him away.

“Get the hell out of my house, you little worm! Don’t you ever so much as look at my daughter again or I will choke the life out of you!” I’d never seen Daddy so furious in my life.

Cole bolted towards the front door, yanking his pants up along the way. I was wailing still, and Daddy ran over to me, wrapping his protective arms around me. “My princess. Everything’s going to be okay. Daddy’s here now.” He held my trembling body until my sobbing subsided.

Apparently the cops couldn’t do anything. It was our word against his. There was no physical evidence because he hadn’t made it that far. So Daddy sent Cole’s family a very strongly worded legal letter that threatened his future if he ever messed with me again. After several days of missing school, I finally had to face going back.

When I walked into the school, all eyes were on me.

What the hell is everyone staring at?

Their whispers made me feel sick to my stomach.

Did Cole tell everyone what happened?

“She accused him of trying to rape her. Cole Stine would never even so much as look as her, much less sleep with her,” a voice whispered beside me as I walked past. I flinched at his words.

“Peppermint Pussy. That’s her new name. He said when she threw herself at him, she smelled like peppermint. I can smell her from here.”

Tears filled my eyes as I walked to my locker. These people were unreal. He had forced himself on me, but because I was a nobody, he was the victim.

Day after day for nearly a week, I suffered humiliation from those idiots. At first, I was devastated and nearly feigned illness so I wouldn’t have to come back. Each day, Cole would sit in his seat beside me. His smug attitude suffocated me in the classroom but I chose to ignore his presence.

Today, when the people in the halls began their chanting, “Peppermint Pussy,” my blood began to boil. Cole was a monster and these people were supporting him. Ignoring them all like I had done every day, I stomped into my calculus class and dropped into my seat, refusing to look at any of them.

When his familiar cologne invaded my senses, I felt like puking. He leaned towards me, and I shuddered at his proximity. This was his first attempt at making contact with me since the incident. The hairs on my neck stood up when he spoke.

“It’s a good thing I didn’t get to fuck you. My dick would have frozen and fallen off. I hear your Peppermint Pussy is wicked,” he spat at me.

Having finally had enough, I furiously jerked my head towards him. I was my Daddy’s girl, which meant that I would no longer allow him to intimidate me. He was glaring at me menacingly, and I tried not to flinch. Memories of the other day flooded my mind but I forced them away. Instead, I held my chin up and faced him.

Glaring at him with hate filled eyes, I spoke evenly when I said, “You say one more thing about me and I’ll have my dad nail your ass to the wall. He’s an attorney, and the only reason he hasn’t pursued ruining your life is because I begged him not to. I just wanted to forget that it ever happened. But your dumb ass won’t let me forget, which means I’m going to have him make sure that your life is over. You’ll never play football in college when I’m done with you.”

His eyes narrowed as he took in what I’d had to say. I could see that his brain was working out whether or not I had been telling the truth.

When I leaned forward a little more, trying not to choke on his scent, I whispered, “He will ruin you.”

“Bitch,” he muttered under his breath but turned and opened his book. I took that as his surrender and I opened my own book. My heart pounded furiously to what I considered my victory. The corners of my lips curled up in a smile—the first one since before he set out to terrorize me. If feeling awesome for what I’d just done made me a bitch, then I definitely loved being one.

I sipped my wine as I listened to Andi groan about her first day at work. We were sitting comfortably in a booth at the back of Dempsey’s bar. Andi always got herself in the weirdest predicaments. Her weekend beau, who was the biggest asshole ever, was now one of her bosses. And to top it all off, he’d treated her like dirt today, as if the weekend had meant nothing. I hoped that was the end of her stupid little game she liked to play. She was still a fragile girl, and I hated that she had to sleep around to act human.

The alternative was unacceptable though. Those weeks leading to her accidental overdose had been pure hell for the both of us. If the pills hadn’t almost killed her, malnutrition would have. She was a shell of herself, and I’d died a little every day from having to see her that way.

Andi was my best friend. From the moment she bounded into the dorm room four and a half years ago, blond hair bouncing in her ponytail, I had been instantly drawn to her. She’d looked like the typical snotty bitch like I was used to dealing with from my high school—until she smiled. When Andi smiled, she lit up the room.

I’d tried to avoid her at first, unsure of how to be a normal social being, especially after what had happened with Cole. Quite honestly, I’d wanted to put up walls and not talk to anyone. But with Andi, it had been impossible because she had been like a cute little puppy that wouldn’t go away.

That first day, she stuck out her hand to me. “I’m Andi, short for Miranda. I’m from Indiana.” She beamed at me, and my heart craved the possibility of a friendship with someone who didn’t know my past. I could be anyone I wanted to be now that I was in college. There was no room in my life anymore for the shy, scared girl I used to be.