Against All Odds - Angel's Story(53)

One thing she says I find interesting, as well as disturbing, was she went to the same high school as Riley. Apparently another female student accused him of date rape. Whatever evidence the police had mysteriously disappeared, so no charges were ever laid. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who was behind that.

Rumours circulated after she came forward, and the girl was made out to be a liar and a slut. Her and her family were victimised so badly, they ended up leaving town. Honestly, I don’t blame them. I can only imagine how she must have felt.

“I never would’ve encouraged her to go out with him if I thought for one minute those rumours were true,” she confessed. I have no right, but it pissed me off to no end to know she’d encouraged Angel to go out with that fucker.

Pops has always said the police force in this town is full of corrupt cops. I hate to think how many other victims there have been, aside from Angel and this other girl. Benson’s always acted like he’s untouchable. I’ve never liked him, but this just proves my point.

I’m so glad I kicked his motherfucking arse.

Dana does promise that when the opportunity arises she’ll try and talk to Angel. That’s all I came for, so I thank her and leave. Right now, I need to get back to my girl. I hate how she’s on her own.

It’s a good twenty minutes before I get my things from home and make it back to her place. To say I’m shocked when I find her in a heap on the front porch is an understatement.

“Fuck,” is all I manage to get out as I drop my backpack and go to her. “Angel,” I say when I’m squatting down beside her. I gently place my hand on her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“Chase,” she cries as she pulls herself up from the floor, throwing herself into my arms.

“What happened?” I ask pulling her to me. “Talk to me, sweet-cheeks.” My mind is fucking spinning as I try to figure out what the hell is going on.

“R…R…Riley’s d…d…dad.” She’s been crying so hard she can hardly get the words out. What does she mean ‘Riley’s Dad’?

“Was he here?” I ask as the anger rises within me. She nods her head. What the fuck!

There’s no way I’m going to get any sense out of her while she’s like this. I’m fuming that he’d come here and upset her, but I’ll deal with that prick later. I don’t give a shit who he is. Mess with my girl, and you mess with me.

I see her keys laying on the ground beside her. After picking them up, I scoop her into my arms and carry her inside. She’s clinging to me so tight it breaks my heart. What is it with the Benson men, that they think it’s okay to treat women like this?

I don’t put her down. Instead, I take her straight to her bedroom. When I go to place her on the bed, her grip on my shirt tightens. She doesn’t say it, but I can tell she doesn’t want me to leave her alone. I exhale as I contemplate what to do. Laying down with her isn’t a smart move, but there’s no way I’m leaving her either.

Against my better judgment I lay down next to her, pulling her into my arms. I hate seeing her like this, and I’d do anything to make it stop.

I stroke her hair and hold her tight against me, and after a while she begins to calm. I really want to know what happened, but I also don’t want to upset her again by asking.

“Are you okay, sweet-cheeks?” I eventually ask.

“He doesn’t believe our story,” she whispers. “He thinks you and I are involved.”

“He said that?” This time she just nods. “Did he hurt you in any way?”

“Not much. He just roughed me up some.” I tell you, I see fucking red when those words leave her pretty lips. I’m so close to losing my shit right now it’s not funny, but I try my best to remain calm. Losing my temper isn’t going to help her any. It’s only going to scare her more.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here to protect you,” I say as I pull her closer. She wraps her arm around my waist, laying her head on my chest, snuggling into me. As angry as I am, it makes me smile. She’s so damn sweet.

“You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

“Well I hope you like having me around, because I’m not leaving your side again. Not until this mess is over.”

“Really?” she asks, lifting her head to look at me. “You don’t mean that.”

“I fucking do. You’re stuck with me, sweet-cheeks.”

“What if it’s never resolved?”

“Then I guess you’ll be stuck with me forever,” I chuckle.

“I like the sound of that,” she answers sweetly as she rests her head on my chest again. I smile at her reply. In my heart I know she wouldn’t want that though. She’d soon get sick of having me around, just like my mum did. I decide to throw her own words back at her.