Don't Let Go by Michelle Lynn Read Free Book Online

don’t have to tell me, Jessa,” I declare, shaking my head.
    “I want to,” she assures me. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to tell me yours, until you are ready,” her voice sympathetic. “Rob reminded me of my ex. To say we ended things on bad terms is an understatement. We were dating for a couple months when he asked to take pictures of me while we were having sex. I fully trusted him; he gave me no reason not to. We continued to date for about two weeks after that.” Her head is down, reliving the moment things went bad.
    “We were out at a party,” she continues. “I saw an old boyfriend and was talking with him. Nothing big, just catching up with one another. What we had been up to in the years since we had seen one another. Jason, that was my ex’s name, became furious. He started busting tables and throwing things around until his friend took him outside to cool down. Honestly Sadie, it was an innocent conversation. I didn’t even hug him hello or good-bye.” She seems adamant that I believe her. “Anyway, he wouldn’t talk to me. Just kept calling me a whore. I was in tears, practically begging him to forgive me, for what now I have no idea, but at the time I just wanted him to stop being mad at me.” She takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly before continuing.
    “The next day when I woke up, my phone had fifteen missed calls and twenty texts from my friends. He posted the pictures online and had his friends send it to his friends and so on. Everyone from my childhood friends to my college friends saw the pictures.” A tear rolls down one of her cheeks, but she swipes it away quickly. “After that, all the guys thought I was easy and the girls thought I was a slut. I have never regretted anything more and the thing was, I couldn’t do anything to stop it. My parents were embarrassed in front of their friends and family, not being able to ignore what I had done. That was last January. I dropped out of school and ran away from everything I knew. My parents are the only ones who know where I am. They didn’t even tell my sister, afraid she would slip at some point.” The grief and distress is evident in her voice.
    “I’m sorry, Jessa,” I say, knowing it’s not enough. I know first-hand that sorry isn’t enough.
    “When Rob first sat down, it was all I could think of. But after the show started and I saw him up there, I was able to see the differences between him and Jason. My therapist has taught me many coping techniques to be able to start trusting people again. Of course, those two vodka tonics didn’t hurt,” she jokes, but her laugh is empty.
    “Where is Jason now?” I ask her.
    “Back home. Working as a mechanic, fixing up cars. Hopefully enrolled in a wonderful anger management class,” she jokes again, but it’s not her true laugh and there is a twinge of unsettled fear in her.
    “What an asshole,” I confirm.
    “Yep. Speaking of assholes, what is a wasp?” she asks.
    “It’s a term to describe privileged white kids with money. The actual phrase is White Anglo Saxon Protestant. Jokes on him, I’m Catholic,” I laugh, mine as empty as hers.
    “I don’t know what his problem is with you. I hope you aren’t mad I slept with him.” She puts her hand on my knee.
    “No, I’ve handled worse than him.”
    “Don’t worry. I think Brady was ready to pounce on him when he came home this morning.” Jessa goes to stand up. “When Rob was leaving to drive me home, Brady was pulling up in the driveway. He stuck his head in the window and told Rob to get the fuck back because they had to talk about last night.”
    “Brady didn’t get home until this morning?” I swallow the large lump in my throat.
    “Well… yeah. Wasn’t he with you?” She answers her own question when she notices the shocked expression on my face. “Oh…I’m sorry, Sadie. I just assumed,” she says. Her eyes display her empathy to my pain.
    “It’s okay. I’m going to go take a