Breathless 4 (Breathless #4) by Claire Adams Read Free Book Online Page A

had been involved. They didn’t have enough proof.” He
laughed bitterly. “As if DNA, as if a girl writing down everything she remembered
— every person who’d…” he took another breath. “I testified against them all.
Everything they’d said — the picture I’d gotten, all of it. They’re all exactly
where they belong, and I hope they’re just as hurt and scared and shamed as
they made her feel — every day. I hope they’re getting it over and over again.”
I heard his breath hitching again and heard him starting to sob.
    “I’m so sorry, Johnny,” I said, feeling my heart
aching in my chest. There was no way he could fake something like this. It had
to be the real story.
    The tears were streaming down his face. “If I hadn’t
left... No wonder everyone blames me. I even blame me. I should have been there
— I should have been able to do something. I had to leave. I couldn’t go to
school there, I couldn’t take it.” He started to shake.
    “Is that why you don’t drink?” Johnny nodded quietly.
    “I have to be alert. I have to make sure that never
happens to anyone — no one. That’s…” he shook his head. “I can’t let that
happen to anyone. I have to be alert.” I heard the deep, soul-sadness in his
voice. I looked around; we were on the middle of the highway, but I couldn’t
just leave him the way he was. I pulled over onto the shoulder and parked the
car, leaning across the divider to hug Johnny tightly. He sobbed, holding me as
if he had to cling to something for life itself.
    “I’m so sorry I made you tell me all this,” I said,
hugging him and stroking his head. “I’m so — thank you, for being willing to
tell me.” I kissed him on the forehead, on the lips. “I love you so much,
Johnny. I hate the pain you’ve been through.” We held each other in the
darkness, and I barely even noticed the few cars that rushed past us. I felt Johnny’s
sobs starting to ease, and he pulled my face up to kiss me on the lips. I
didn’t even realize that I had been crying, too, until he reached up to wipe my
face.
    “I will never let you down, Becky,” he said, kissing
me softly on the lips once more. “Never. You are always — always — safe with
me.”

 
    Chapter
Seven
    The next day, I got through my classes, but I kept
thinking about everything that Johnny had told me. We had gotten home late the
night before, and he had told me he was too tired to do more than just kiss me
goodnight. I had to admit that I was more than a little emotionally exhausted
myself, though it would have been nice to be able to get into bed with him for
nothing more than the sake of cuddling. I watched him head off towards the frat
row and dragged myself up to my dorm room where I had the best night of sleep
I’d achieved in weeks.
    The more I thought about it, the angrier I was with my
mom. She had hired a private investigator because she’d had some weird
suspicion about my boyfriend, who had been nothing but polite and pleasant to
her. And the PI hadn’t even managed to get the full story. I knew I would have
to talk to her, even though I didn’t want to dredge up any of the sordid
details of what I had heard the night before. But I owed it to Johnny; I
couldn’t just let my parents go on thinking that I was dating some rapist who
got off, when I knew the truth. If he had been willing to tell me about it, I
had to make sure that they understood the whole situation — before they got it
into their heads to do something stupid like say something to Johnny that would
only hurt him more.
    I went up to my room as soon as classes were done and
took my phone out. My hands were shaking from anger and frustration at my
parents, from the sadness and horror of what Johnny had told me the night
before. I gritted my teeth, found my mom’s number, and hit the call icon. I
nearly lost my nerve; it was so difficult to even make myself think about what
Johnny had been through, the fact that he couldn’t