Rock beamed, showing off his pretty white teeth. Dang it, he was nice to look at, and I was proving to be a weak female.

“There you are.” Noah’s sickeningly sweet voice reminded me of everything I was letting myself forget. “I’ve been waiting out by my car forever. I thought we’d go have some fun before we headed to the party and celebrate your win.”

“Noah, I told you that was off.” Rock’s reply was laced with frustration.

“No, you didn’t.” She pouted, then ran her hand up his arm. “I didn’t wear panties,” she added.

Okay. I’d had enough. I was leaving now.

“Seriously, Noah. This isn’t cool. I told you earlier today after the stunt you pulled in the cafeteria that this was off. I’m not going to the damn party.” His tone was cold. Either she was lying or he was.

I took a step back, thinking I could sneak off. But Rock’s gaze snapped back to mine, and his eyes were pleading with me. “Don’t. Please just give me a minute.”

He was asking me “please” again. It was really hard not to give in when he asked so nicely.

“Rock, stop playing with her. She’s not going to give you what you need tonight. After a win like that you need a wild ride, and I’m ready to give you several rides before the night is over.”

Yep, that was enough. “I need to go. They’re waiting on me,” I said in a rush, before hurrying off toward my friends and brother. All their eyes were trained on me.

“Trisha,” Rock’s voice called out.

I heard Noah saying something else, and then Rock raised his voice. I believed that he didn’t want to be with her tonight. It was just that this was something he would always deal with. And I didn’t want to be a part of it.

“Trisha, please!” he called out, and I realized his voice was closer. He was following me. And did he have to say please again?

I turned around and saw Rock coming after me and an angry Noah standing where he had left her. Her eyes were shooting daggers at me. Noah Miller was just one of many. She could make my life hell at school. And all the other girls would react the same way she was.

Rock was beautiful and strong and so damn hard to say no to. But I couldn’t bring the drama into my life that would come with saying yes to him.

“Just let me go,” I begged. “I can’t do this. She’s just one of many. Go to her. I’ve got bigger problems than fighting over a guy.”

He flinched and I turned away.

Krit’s arm came around my shoulder, and he was scowling at Rock. He didn’t know what had happened. I’d have to explain to Krit that he didn’t need to be mad at Rock. But right now I just wanted to go.

“Let’s go get that burger,” Davey said, breaking the silence.

Krit pulled me closer to him with the crook of his arm. “Yeah. I’m hungry,” he agreed.

Rock didn’t come after me again.

Rock

Two weeks of trying to forget her. Trying not to look for her. Trying to ignore her when she smiled in the cafeteria. Two weeks of hell. Trisha Corbin was put on this earth to remind me there are some things I can’t have. I would have thought having f**ked-up parents would be enough of a reminder. But no . . . the universe had decided that Trisha was needed.

I hadn’t gone with Noah that night after the game. I’d been crushed. Having been so close to getting Trisha for just a little bit and then having it snatched from me was too much. I had gone home and sulked.

After two weeks of sulking, I was determined to get Trisha out of my head. I wouldn’t be using Noah to do it, though. Rose Mann, however, was hot and more than interested. I was going to hook up with her at the pool party at Marcus’s house. His parents and little sister were out of town, so he was throwing a small get-together. Which meant most of the school would be there.

Dad was working days this week, which meant I had his truck. The last two Friday nights I had owned the field, so he was in a good mood. I was no longer on his shit list. As long as I was a star, he was happy. Once I would have done anything just to have his attention. But now I didn’t give a shit. Except I really needed his truck.

Something up ahead caught my attention, and I turned on my high beams to see what looked like a girl walking. What the hell? It was dark outside, and this road wasn’t a busy street. I turned off my brights and slowed down until I was beside her.

What happened next would haunt me for the rest of my life.

Trisha Corbin turned her head to look at me, and one of her eyes was swollen closed, her lip was busted, and there was blood on her face. She was limping and holding her arm funny. That pretty blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail that looked like it had been messed with. Hair was loose and sticking out in crazy directions. Motherfucker! I was going to murder someone.

Slamming on my breaks, I jumped out of the truck and ran around the front.

“Trisha” was all I could get out of my mouth. My heart was in my throat, and my damn hands were shaking.

She stared up at me through eyes wet from tears.

I was going to jail. Because whoever f**king did this was being put down. Slowly. And painfully.

“I need . . . I need to go to the . . . h-hospital.” She said each word like it hurt.

“Yeah, sweetheart, you do. How can I help you get into the truck? I don’t want to hurt you.” It was a helpless feeling. Picking her up in my arms was what I wanted to do. And tuck her against my chest so no one could touch her. But I knew from the odd angle of her arm that touching her wasn’t a good idea.

She inhaled sharply and held her breath a minute.

“Just stand . . . behind me in ca-case I lose my balance. I think my legs”—she paused and winced, then whispered—“are the only things that aren’t broken.”

“Shit, Trisha. Goddamn” was all I could say. I wanted to ask her who had done this, but it hurt her to talk. I would find that out later.

I opened the passenger side of the truck and watched as she limped, and listened to her whimpers. I had thought her rejection was hell. This was so much worse. I hated seeing her in pain. I would take her healthy and rejecting me any damn day over this nightmare.

When she started to lift a leg, she lost her balance and I dropped to my haunches and held her h*ps steady. “Can I lift you if I hold you here? Will this hurt?” I asked.

“That’s not too bad,” she said in another whisper.

I took her lower h*ps firmly and lifted her slowly until she was sitting safely in the seat. I moved her legs around to face her forward. “I’ll drive slow and safe. The seat belt might be too much.”

She nodded and mouthed, “Thanks.”

I closed her door and ran back around to get in on my side.

If she was walking by herself, then Krit had to be somewhere safe. I didn’t want to make her talk, but I also didn’t want that kid left alone with whoever had done this to her.

“Where’s Krit?” I asked as I pulled out slowly onto the road.

“Green’s. I promised him,” she said almost too quietly. “If he r-ran to Green’s and stayed there . . . I’d call Davey to take . . . m-me to the hospital.”

Instead she’d tried to walk the five miles from her house to the hospital. Stubborn female. But at least the kid was safe. “I’ll get in touch with him as soon as we get to the hospital and let him know I’m with you and you’re getting fixed up,” I assured her.

“Thanks,” she managed to say before wincing.

I wasn’t going to make her say anything else.

We drove in silence while I pictured the many ways I was going to kill whoever had put their hands on her.

It took only seven minutes to get to the local hospital, but it felt like forever. Hearing her whimper and sniffle was doing me in. I hated this. I hated her being hurt. I hated not being able to stop this shit. Why couldn’t she have let me be there for her? Why had she pushed me away?

I pulled up to the entrance and looked at her. “I’m getting you a wheelchair and helping you out. Stay put.”

She gave me a little nod and a tight smile.

Never f**king again. She wouldn’t get hurt again. I swore to God I’d make sure of it. I wanted to promise her that right then, but I didn’t. She would just worry about how I intended to keep that from happening. I was going to show her.

Trisha

Two fractured ribs, but then, I’d already known that. Luckily, my lungs weren’t punctured. A dislocated elbow and a fracture in my radius bone, which meant that my wrist was broken. When Fandora’s new boyfriend had grabbed my hand and slung me across the room, I’d heard the crack. So I already knew that too.

My nose wasn’t broken, thank goodness. It had bled so badly I wasn’t sure. I was just thankful Fandora had stood in front of Krit and kept him back. He had gotten slapped around a little, but she had put a stop to it fast. Krit had gone ballistic trying to get to me, but Fandora had stayed between him and her boyfriend, screaming at the guy not to touch her baby.

All of this because her disgusting boyfriend had grabbed my butt. I’d told him to stop, and then he had pinned me up against the wall and started telling me he wanted a taste of my pu**y. Krit had walked in on it and gone apeshit. He’d started attacking the guy, and the man had used his weight to throw Krit off him and onto the floor.

Fandora had come running out of her bedroom and seen the mess in the living room, and of course blamed me. I had fought back, but when I kicked the greasy jerk in the nuts as hard as I could, he began to beat me instead of grope me.

When Gary Holmes, the older man who lived in the trailer beside ours, showed up at the door, Fandora and her sorry excuse for a man left. I had hidden in the bedroom, where Krit had followed me. The last thing I needed was for Mr. Holmes to call the police. I’d heard Fandora tell him that they were just having an argument. I had begged Krit to stay quiet.

In the end Krit had agreed to go to Green’s if I went to the hospital. I told him if he didn’t leave right then, I wouldn’t call Davey and we would stay there all night. He’d battled with leaving me, but every time I breathed I whimpered in pain. So he finally left, making me swear to go to the hospital and call him as soon as I was there.

I couldn’t let Davey or Riley know about this. They would want me to tell the cops. But I wasn’t getting separated from Krit. He was safe here. Fandora had proved tonight that she didn’t want anyone hurting him. I could survive.

Rock coming out of the darkness had made me want to weep with relief. I had decided I was never going to make it to the hospital. Then he’d been there. And saved me.

The nurse had questioned me about Rock. They knew someone had done this to me, and their immediate response was to question the boyfriend. But I had sworn to them it wasn’t him. He had saved me.

The fact that he didn’t have a scratch on him helped.

Then they had started asking me who had done it. I had told them I’d fallen down the stairs outside my house and landed on a brick. It was the best I had been able to come up with. They didn’t believe me. I kept swearing that that was what had happened, and I could see they were frustrated but they eventually backed off.

The nurse walked into the room with a kind smile. “We can’t get your mother on the phone. I’m afraid you’ll have to stay here until we can get her to sign the paperwork to release you. Do you know where she may be?”

Yes, at a bar somewhere. “No. My younger brother was staying the night at a friend’s, and Mom went out on a date. Since my plan was to stay home tonight, she wouldn’t think there would be any sort of emergency.”

The nurse still didn’t seem to be buying it, but she nodded. “Okay. Well, we have two very anxious boys outside waiting on you. Is it okay if I let them inside? One is your brother. I think the guy who brought you called him and he got a ride here.”

Oh crap. What had Krit been saying in the waiting room for everyone to hear?

“Sure, yeah,” I replied, with a smile I didn’t feel.

She looked at me one last time with sadness in her eyes. I didn’t need her to help me. She’d ruin everything. I wasn’t being separated from Krit. I had less than two years before I was eighteen. I could save us both then.

Krit walked in first, with relief and worry both etched on his face. “You were walking! Seriously, Trisha. Walking? What if Rock hadn’t driven by? You could have died out there. God! I’m never trusting you again. I won’t leave next time.”

“I couldn’t let anyone know about this,” I whispered, glancing behind him to see that it was Rock who was standing just inside the door, not the nurse.

Krit ran his hand through his shaggy hair, which he was refusing to cut. “You scare the shit out of me. I hate this. I hate living there. I hate her. I wish she wasn’t my mother.”

I hated seeing him like this. Knowing he hadn’t been given a chance to be a kid. He had been trying to protect me all his life, even though it was really me who was protecting him. Even when we were little, he had held my hand after Fandora had beaten me, and promised he would keep me safe and that everything would be okay. I loved him. He was the only person I had ever loved and who had ever loved me. I would do anything for him. Didn’t he get that?

“It won’t happen again. I’m not going to let it.” Rock’s voice filled the room, with a determination I almost believed.

Krit glanced back at him. “You can’t stop it. This shit has been happening all our lives.”

Rock walked over to stand at the foot of my bed. He kept his gaze locked on me. “Yeah, I can. Even if you don’t want me to, I’m going to protect you, Trisha. I don’t care what excuses you throw at me. I don’t care if you ignore me. I will be there every damn time you need me.”