Page 14 of Aaric
Turning my head a few inches, I meet Aaric’s gaze.“I don’t know what you mean.”
Aaric frowns.“Hannah… Honey, did the two of you make the decision to have sex together?”
“Of course not.Why would I do that?”
Aaric swallows.“So he forced you?”
“It was all my fault.I shouldn’t have been so slutty around him.”
Now Aaric’s face turns red.“Did Jeremy tell you that?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry to put you through this, Hannah, but I need to know exactly what happened.Are you saying you didn’t agree to have sex with him?”
I cringe and stiffen.“No.That would have been sinful.”
“Where did he…have sex with you, Hannah?”
“In my bed.”
“You were already in bed.”
“Yes.I was asleep.He came into my room.”
“And he forced you…”
“I shouldn’t have taken a shower and returned to my room with only my nightgown on.I shouldn’t have let him see my skin.”
“What skin?”Aaric sounds angry now.He should.I’m a bad person.“Your feet, Hannah?Your wrists?Your neck?”His voice rises.
“Yes.See?I’m a harlot.”
Aaric’s nostrils flare.
I wince, afraid he might hit me.I’m so scared I even lift a hand instinctively to cover my face.It’s been a while since Presley hit me, but I’m no stranger to being slapped around.
“Hannah.”Aaric gasps.“Honey…” His hand leaves my back, and he gently circles my wrist.“Do you think I’m going to strike you?”
I nod.
“Never.I will never ever hit you for any reason, honey.Not in this lifetime or the next.No one will ever strike you again.No one will force you to have sex, either.From now on, you’re in control of your own autonomy.No one shouldevertake something from you that you don’t freely offer.Do you hear me?”
His voice is so intense, and I’m not sure what he’s talking about, but I nod because it seems like the right thing to do.
“You are not a harlot.Don’t use that word again.Ever.You did not deserve for someone to come to your room and invade your body against your will.It’s illegal.If he were alive, I’d call the sheriff.None of this is your fault.Now I understand why you prayed he wouldn’t come back.I don’t blame you, but you’re still not responsible for his death.If anything, Jeremy was the sinner for taking what you did not offer.I don’t believe in a vengeful god, but if there is one, he punished Jeremy forhissins.Not you for yours.”
For some strange reason, I almost understand what Aaric is saying.It makes sense.Jeremy shouldn’t have touched me.Maybe he did get punished for doing so.“But…”
Aaric shakes his head vehemently.“No buts.It wouldn’t matter if you’d walked around that house completely naked; he still had no right to touch you without your permission.That’s the law, Hannah.”
“It is?”
“Yes, honey.He lied to you.I’d hunt him down and kill him myself if I could for taking your innocence and brainwashing you into believing you were at fault.That’s called gaslighting.”
I frown.
“Don’t worry.That’s a concept for another time.But trust me, Hannah, Jeremy deserves all the blame.You deserve none of it.”
