“Be quiet!” Mike warned.
Jason and his friends hissed and threatened to keep me quiet but I was making as much sound as possible through the hand pressed against my mouth.
“Do you have to do this sort of shit to get laid?” I heard Corey’s mocking voice coming closer. “I thought you jocks always had enough pussy to go around.”
“Maybe that’s the problem,” Caleb’s voice sounded next. “They don’t like it when they come by too easy. Oi, Jackson! Is that why you’re raping some poor kid in the dark?”
Suddenly, two dark shadows fell over me. I blinked through my tears and saw their faces.
Shock and recognition settled into their identical emerald-green eyes as they looked at me. My tattered shirt was barely hanging onto my shoulders now. Jason and his friends already pulled my bra away.
“Milla...” My name was a shocked whisper on Corey’s lips.
I replied with a loud sob.
“What the fuck?” Caleb growled, striding toward me and roughly catching my chin between his thumb and fingers. “Was it them? Did they hurt you?”
Another sob escaped me as I nodded.
“Fuck!” Corey muttered. He shirked off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders.
“Hey, guys, look,” Jason said in a bracing tone. “Come on. Don’t ruin the party for us. You guys can join in if you want.”
“Or maybe they’re already bored of her,” Jason’s friend said with a snigger. “They probably feast on those boobs every night.”
“Are you?” Jason asked, looking over at Corey and Caleb. “She looks so naïve and innocent. Did you guys already break her between you three? Tell me. Was she tight? I bet she was tight as f—”
His words were cut off by the punch Caleb threw at his face.
Jason stumbled back but his friends stepped forward.
I watched them fearfully as they prepared to start fighting. Jason and his friends were tall, bulky jocks. Caleb was a match for them but only if they fought one-on-one.
“You should help him,” I said in a small voice.
“He’ll be fine,” Corey said nonchalantly. “Here, take my t-shirt.” He pulled his shirt over his head and handed it to me.
I got rid of my torn top and wore Corey’s shirt. The warmth clinging to the material felt exceptionally good against my skin.
“You’re shaking,” Corey said in an upset tone. He took his jacket, draped it around me, and hugged me tightly.
Tears slid down my cheeks and suddenly I couldn’t stop the sobs wracking through me.
“You’re safe, Milla,” Corey said in a gentle voice. “You’re okay now.”
My fingers clutched onto his vest, wishing he’d keep holding me.
“Look at those morons,” Corey said with a scoff. “You don’t have to be scared of them.” He turned us around so we could watch the fight happening only a few feet away.
Jason was already on the ground, clutching his knee. The other two were throwing kicks and punches wherever they could but kept getting hit instead because Caleb was faster and more focused. He moved like a pro, easily ducking their moves even though he was fighting against two.
“See?” Corey said with a chuckle. “They’re lame.”
I held him tightly. Fear still flowed like icy water through my veins, chilling me from deep within. I came way too close to being gang-raped by these guys tonight.
Jason’s friends joined him on the ground. They groaned, clutching their stomachs and ribs.
Caleb walked toward a bush and came back with a thick twig that could’ve come from a fallen branch.