Louder Than Words by Laurie Plissner Read Free Book Online

catastrophe.
    “Yes, good thing I distracted you.”
    What are you talking about
?
    “That’s why you forgot your coat, isn’t it?” He arched one eyebrow. My rescuer was flirting with me, at a time like this? More than a little inappropriate, but he
was
awfully good-looking. Or was he just being nice? It wasn’t like I had any experience talking to boys. I would have to check with Jules.
    I don’t remember
. Lying was clearly a waste of time, but I couldn’t help it.
    “If they had done more than tear off your shirt, I would’ve killed them.” Suddenly he was being serious again. Was this guy crazy?
    You could kill them? No offense, but you’re kind of skinny. What are you, a superhero? Did you get bitten by a radioactive spider or something?
    Ben laughed. “No, just a fourth-degree black belt. Lucky I have class tonight.” He waved his nunchucks in the air. “When that creep bent over and touched you, I wanted to rip his hands off his arms. Who were those assholes, anyway?”
    He reached behind me where my tattered bra lay in a crumpled ball, wordlessly picking it up and putting it in his pocket.
    Thank you. I don’t ever want to see that again
. I shook my head, as if to erase the memory of having it torn off, feeling a strange hand grazing my breasts.
They’re football players—Jeff or maybe Jed Colter, and Tom somebody, Paul Welch, and I’m not sure about the other one, Phillip Johnson, maybe. At school they’re always together, and they all look alike, so I’m not even sure which one is which. Obviously not friends of mine
.
    “Do you want to go to the police station right away, or do you want me to take you home first?”
    I just want to go home. I’m not going to the police
.
    I wasn’t sure about much, but I was sure about that. I felt ashamed, and somehow responsible for what had happened to me.
    “Don’t you understand? Are you in shock or something? Those dirtbags would have raped you if I hadn’t shown up. They can’t get away with that.” Ben was right next to me, but he was shouting.
    My rescuer was looking at me like I was insane. But actually, he looked pretty crazy, too—fists clenched, eyes wide. He was definitely more upset than I was at this point.
    They could be charged with attempted rape, assault and battery, false imprisonment, maybe even kidnapping, since they carried me into the gazebo from the path
. I rubbed the back of my head where it had hit the concrete. There was a big bump.
    “What are you, a lawyer posing as a high school student?” He looked at me quizzically.
    No, my aunt and uncle are both lawyers, so I guess I’ve picked up a few things. But if we go to the police, those creeps might turn around and sue you for assault, even if you were only defending me
.
    “I’m not worried about that.” This guy was awfully sure of himself.
    And all the attention—I’m enough of a mutant in school already. You don’t know me yet, but you’ll see
.
    “You don’t look like a mutant. Are you some kind of alien?” he asked. That maddening smile was back. Was this more of that flirting thing?
    Really, could we just forget about this whole nightmare? And I promise to be more careful in the future. Besides, maybe they weren’t actually going to do anything
. I managed a weak smile, wanting to show that it wasn’t as bad as it probably looked.
    “Well, they sure looked like they were about to do something terrible, and you don’t even want to know what they were thinking.” He shuddered and looked away for a second. “But whatever you decide. No pressure.”
    That’s what I decide
.
    “You shouldn’t let those assholes go free just because you think it’ll up your freak quotient. How can anyone think you’re strange just because you’ve experienced an unimaginable tragedy?”
    His words were so heartfelt I wanted to cry. I had run through everyone’s compassion a long time ago.
    So the nosy Mrs. Olsen told you about me and my issues
.
    Mrs. Olsen, who