“You can tell me anything, Lucy.”
“Okay.” Here goes. “You’ve asked me about my family and I’ve skirted around the issue, but I can’t do that anymore. As much as it hurts, I want to talk about it.”
Drake’s lips pressed together, but the tenderness in his eyes gave me courage.
“When I was in high school, I met a boy at a party the end of my sophomore year. We didn’t go to the same school, but he played football with some of my friends, so he was there. His name was Greg Madison. Anyway, he and I hit it off and we began seeing each other. This went on all summer. My best friend’s mom knew about us and told my parents, who flipped out because he was from the wrong side of the tracks, so to speak.”
I glanced at Drake, who was listening intently, so I pushed ahead.
“My father was a prominent businessman, so my parents were well off. They had a reputation to uphold, and when their only daughter decided she liked a boy from the poor side of town, that didn’t sit well. Anyway, I didn’t care what they or anyone else thought, so I’d sneak out to meet Greg. I was fifteen and he was eighteen when we met. He was my first love, and my first . . .” I stopped, my heart breaking a bit with each word.
Finally, I sucked in a deep breath and looked into the eyes of the man I loved, and said, “I got pregnant.”
Drake’s eyes widened, and he sucked in a sharp breath. Seeing his reaction hurt more than what happened back then.
“Lucy,” he said, but I held up a hand.
“Please. I need to finish,” I said, and he nodded.
“By the end of the summer, I couldn’t hide it anymore. My mom thought I had the flu because I was constantly sick, and she wanted to take me to the doctor. I knew I needed to tell my parents, but I was terrified.”
My eyes filled with tears, but I choked them back.
“Greg wanted to come with me when I told them, but I couldn’t let him. I didn’t know how my father would react, and I knew my mother would blame him for everything. It wasn’t as if we planned for this to happen. We used a condom, but I guess it failed. We were only together once, but apparently that was enough.”
I stopped my pacing and knelt down in front of Drake. With my trembling hands on his knees, I looked into his eyes.
“My father was at a business meeting, so I decided to tell my mom without him there. She didn’t take the news very well. In fact, she was furious, not only with me, but with Greg. When Mom asked me how old he was, I told her the truth, that he’d just turned nineteen. For some reason, I thought because Greg was an adult in the eyes of the law, he would seem more responsible. But it backfired on me.”
“Did she hurt you, Lucy?” Drake’s expression was compassionate as he stroked my cheek with his thumb.
“Not in the way you might think, but yes. My mother asked when this happened, and I told her it was when we went out for Greg’s birthday, which was a day before mine. She remembered that night because I was supposed to go with them to an awards dinner for my dad, but I said I wanted to go out with my friends. Then my mom’s face lit up with a strange smile, and she said Greg raped me. I was shocked that she’d say that, because it wasn’t true, and I argued with her. She reminded me that they’d wanted to celebrate my dad’s award and my birthday together, but I’d told her we could do it on my actual birthday, which was the day after.”
“So you were a minor and he was an adult.” Drake’s voice was tight, and his eyes had lost their sparkle.
“Yes, I was only fifteen when we had sex, one day shy of being legal in the eyes of the law. My mom picked up the phone and said she was going to call the police. I didn’t know what to do, so I panicked. Then Mom said something I never thought I’d hear in my lifetime.”
My eyes welled with tears, and I didn’t know if I could continue, but knew I had to.