Johnny & I : The Island by Daria Paus (best novels to read txt) 📗

answer presented itself to me. If it was more than a theory I didn't know, but I got the feeling it had to do with me. Had I not happened to arrive that same night, they would’ve finished their business long ago. But as Garrett had said, me being there changed things.

Had they lurked in the shadows, spying on us the whole time? The thought of it made me shudder. What had they waited for? The storm to pass? Or for Johnny and I to fall for each other so torturing us would give them some sick satisfaction?

Tears fell down my cheeks, and I quickly wiped them off, hoping Johnny hadn't noticed.

"Bree." His voice was soft. "I'm sorry you had to go through this." As he was about to continue, I hushed him, knowing he was going to blame himself.

"You couldn't have known."

He nodded, letting it go.

"Why is she doin' this? I have a feelin' I don't know the whole truth."

Johnny groaned. "I knew that question would come."

I smiled despite the situation being anything but amusing. When he remained silent, I started to think he wasn't going to reply. When he did, my eyes widened in surprise. I hadn't expected it, having his secretive history in mind.

"I uh—" He ran a hand through his hair. "I met her once. She seemed . . ." He scratched his head, searching for the right word. "Fun, maybe. After too much drinking, we ended up . . . well, you know . . ." The awkward look on his face could only mean one thing, and even though the reaction wasn’t justified or even acceptable, jealousy bubbleed up inside me. I forced myself to nod, digging my fingernails into my palm to distract myself from saying something stupid.

"Just once," he quickly added, careful not to look at me as he continued. "But she wanted more. I didn't. I turned it down but she wouldn't take no for an answer. I kind of told her to fuck off." He grimaced then let out another dramatic sigh. His eyes met mine for a brief second, then he averted his gaze again.

“The woman came to my hotel room bloody naked." He shook his head in exasperation. "She threw herself on me, literally, what was I supposed to do?"

My mouth hung open, and for a while, I forgot how to breathe. If I hadn't been too emotionally involved and if the scenario had been presented to me in any other situation, I would have laughed. Now all I could do was question the sanity of humanity and feel bad for Johnny.

"Holy shit!” I said. "I would've done the same thing." The moment the words left my mouth I heard how weird it sounded and me cheeks turned red. "I mean if I were you," I added quickly. "Not what she did."

Are you sure about that? The little voice taunted. You could barely keep your hands off him. 

He looked amused and I relaxed.

"But assault, rape . . ." I frowned. "You didn't do it. How's there any evidence to support her bullshit?"

"Bree." His voice was just a sigh. "You don't wanna hear this."

Maybe he was right. In fact, I was sure he was right, but I had no choice. I was already too deep into the drama to back out now. But then again, I was just as sure that his words had been a subtle but desperate attempt to make me back off. He’d already told me more than what I’d expected.

"I do," I heard myself saying. Seriously? My mind snapped. Just give the guy a break.

He took a sip of the coffee, which had already gone cold. "It's her word against mine. The fucking evidence she has against me proves nothing more than—" He cut himself off, but he didn't need to say it. I already knew what he was referring to, and I was glad the words were left unspoken. The last thing I wanted was a description of his latest one-nighter and how the bitch had used it against him—turning normal sex into a crime.

He slammed the cup down so hard the coffee splashed. "She's claiming sexual assault even though she's the one to fucking assault me."

I flinched, and he looked down at the spilled liquid.

"I just wanted her to get off me; I might have grabbed her." He scoffed, shaking his head. "She ran out of the room naked and crying, you can imagine the rumors."

I managed to nod. I could. All too well. But what I couldn't understand was how quick people were to jump to the wrong conclusions. How one rejected girl could create such drama. And for what? Money? Attention? I shook my head at the absurdity. I looked up at Johnny. He was watching me, twisting his scarf and biting his lower lip even though it hurt him to do so.

"Hey." A frown formed as a thought struck me. "How come you suddenly answer all my questions?"

He actually laughed then, and the sound made me feel warm inside. He studied me for a while, then he smiled a small smile, shrugging.

"Why the hell not?”

I laughed but shook my head. "No, but really?”

His face turned serious. "That's the least I can do."

I wasn't sure whether I should feel sad or flattered. I got the feeling he thought he owed me somehow, and even though I was happy that he was opening up to me, I didn't like the reason behind it. Giving it some thought, I started to realize, circumstances aside, there was no reason for him to tell me the details. And he wouldn’t have if he hadn't trusted me to keep it between us.

I stared at him as the feeling washed over me. I wanted to hug him, or a hell of a lot more than that, but most of all I wanted him to know how much that trust meant to me—how he was slowly infiltrating every fiber of my heart. But I didn't do any of