Unmasking Charlotte (a Taboo Love series) (8 page)

I rip my hand from his, a clear scowl on my face. Before I can say another word, he opens his car door and gets out. Then he leans back in facing me
with a huge smile on his face.

“Grab those two
masks in the back seat, would ya? And get your fine ass out of the car.”

Charlotte, one more time…

I follow
Parker into Club M like a punished toddler, dragging my feet and grumbling under my breath. I can’t believe after spending all of that time discussing in detail the lengths that I have gone to in order to avoid Calvin, this is where he brings me.
Dick!

We walk through the solid wood doors and the cold air from the air conditioner sends goose bumps down my arms. At least that is what I am telling myself. I don’t want to a
dmit that being in this close of a proximity to Calvin, knowing that I could potentially see him at any minute, is wreaking havoc on my nerves. The same nerves that are already shot from my earlier phone call.

Parker notices that I have stopped walking.
He probably also notices that my eyes are red and puffy, and probably red rimmed from so much crying. He turns to me with a frown and whispers reassurances in my ear that Calvin is not here, and that I will be “okay,” that he will be there for me, be my strength. With a chaste kiss, he pulls down my mask and grabs my hand, leading me to the club’s entrance. As we pass Monica, I don’t really hear what Parker says, but I see her nod and hand him our in-house messaging devices, nametags, and a key. Odd.

After putting my name tag on my shirt – shit! I am still in my work clothes – and handing me the texter,
Parker walks me directly to the bar. He instinctively knows what I need. I sit on a stool by his side, while he orders for me. I am so lucky to have a friend like him. He is still holding my hand, and I am using his strength to keep me from completely falling apart. I never realized how important he is to me. Suddenly, I feel bad for all of the negative things I was thinking about him today for being late, and my eyes begin to water…again. I am a fucking mess!

Parker lets go of my hand and wraps his arm
around my shoulder, holding me tight. The bartender hands me my drink and I gulp it down. Not very lady-like, maybe, but right now, I don’t give a shit. I see Parker nod to the bartender to fix me another. As he hands me my second, I see Parker reach across the bar and just grab the entire bottle of Jose Cuervo tequila.
‘Atta boy!
Just as I start to get comfortable in Parker’s arms, the hairs on the back of my neck stand, and a pulse strums between my legs.
What the hell?
Lo and behold, Calvin just sauntered into the club. And of course, my vagina has to take notice. Why does he have to be so fucking hot? Wow, I think I am a little tipsy.

My body stiffens as he nears us. Parker realizes why and
texts me that he will be right back. He walks over to Calvin and I can see that they are having a discussion via text messages. Calvin glances at me, then Parker at me. Okay, so clearly I am the topic of their conversation. And it seems to be very emotional or something. Calvin’s face looks strained and Parker is grimacing. I have no idea, but I am definitely going to get to the bottom of it. I stand up off the bar stool and I guess the drinks were a lot stronger than I thought, because as I try to take a step, I falter and start to wobble. I put my hands out to catch my fall, but I never actually hit the ground. When I get my wits back, I realize that both Parker and Calvin are holding me up. They start texting each other, but I am not privy to what’s being said. I imagine it is something like…

Ham Bone #069:
I’m going to take her up

C-dog #413:
I’ll come check on u in a bit

Seconds later, with Parker’s arm thankfully still wrapped around my waist, my
new best friend, Jose Cuervo, and I head toward the stairs. I don’t have to ask where we are going, I know what’s up there. We walk down what seems to be the longest hallway I have ever experienced, and then stop in front of a locked door.
The key! Duh!
Parker ushers me in and I take a long look around. The room looks awfully familiar, and even in my tipsy hazy state, I recognize it as the room I confronted Nick, er, Nico.
Ah, the good old days
. I plop ungracefully onto the bed and take a swig of Jose. I am going to need the liquid courage for what I am about to do. It’s time to come clean.

“Parker, you have been so patient with me. I owe you an explanation,” I say nervously. He is standing a few feet away from the bed and I want him closer. I need him closer. Drawing from his strength is the only way I am
going to get through this.

He
somehow reads my thoughts and comes to sit next to me on the bed. “You don’t owe me anything, Char. That’s what friends are for. To support each other. Unconditionally,” he responds sincerely, and I believe every word.

“I know. But
it’s time to share my past with you. I trust you and know you will not tell anyone else.”

“Of course not, s
weetie. Anything you say gets locked in my vault. Once it goes in, it never comes back out. Ever.” He shoots me a wry smile and I just want to hug him. So I do.

“Does this have anything to do about the phone call from your dad?”

“Yeah,” I say and look away. This is going to be harder than I thought. It’s one thing to tell him about the phone call, but it’s another to tell him my past. It is so humiliating.

He sees that I am struggling, so he grabs my hand again, covering with both of his. I can do this. I take another swig of tequila.

“Before I tell you about the phone call, I need to give you a little back story, so you will understand its significance.”

“Whenever you’re ready.”

Okay, here goes. I take a deep breath. “I was raped.” Holy shit, I have never said that aloud like that before.

Parker shoots up o
ff the bed, anger emanating from every part of him. His fists ball at his sides and his beautiful face is contorted into stone. I have never seen him like this.

“What the fuck do you mean you were raped?” He seethes.

I attempt to stand by his side to calm him down but when I do, I fall back over onto the bed. He sees me struggle, and helps me back upright, sitting next to me again. His face is red in anger, and I can feel the heat pouring off him.

I need to keep going. At this point, I am all in. “When I was in high school. I was raped.”

I work up the nerve to look him in the face, and I see unshed tears welling. He scoots down onto his knees, kneeling between my legs, facing me. He lays his head in my lap. He doesn’t say a word, so I continue.

“It turned out to be a big deal. A very big deal. I
am not ready to go much more into detail than that, but…”

I pause, needing a breather. I look down at Parker’s head in my lap and realize
that I have been running my fingers through his hair. An unconscious behavior, but it calmed me nonetheless. I take another mouthful of tequila and continue my train of thought. Parker is still silent.

“…but, it got so out of hand that my family had to move. That’s how I met Delilah. She’s the only other person in my new life who knows.”

Parker finally lifts his head and looks at me square in the eyes. He nods his head, letting me know that he understands the implications. We are both quiet, until he eventually speaks, breaking our silence.

“And where is this fucker now?”

“Prison…”

Parker lets out a breath he was holding and speaks before I get to finish. “Thank god for small miracles,” is what he adds until I break his spell of relief.

“…for now.”

Parker propped himself up on his knees so our faces are more aligned. “What? What is that supposed to mean? ‘For now.’”

I try to keep as calm as possible and not cry. I am so sick of crying. “That’s what the phone call was about from my dad.”

“I don’t follow. Spell it out for me, Charlie.”

“DeShawn, the man who raped me, is up for parole.”