Read Far From Home for Free Online

reaching up and brushing some hair from my forehead, his fingertips grazing my cheek as he did so.  I could not believe I’d once found his touch enticing.  It was nauseating now.
    “That hurts, Riley.  I’d say we’re friends.  Yes, we’re definitely friends,” he said, taking a long, slow drink from his cup. “I mean, people who aren’t friends don’t have sex and we had sex, remember?” I tried to be strong, but I felt tears burning at the backs of my eyes.  He’d already humiliated me enough. I didn’t need to stand here and let him do it again. “Remember how I took you to my house,” he said, a loud laugh bellowing from him. “My parents were gone and you and I…well, you remember what happened.”
    “I need to get back to my friends,” I said, pushing past him, but he grabbed my arm forcefully and pulled me back in front of him. 
    “You mean Jesse?”  Alex rolled his eyes when he said Jesse’s name.
    “Why are you doing this now?  I’m so over this whole thing that happened between us.”
    “I doubt that,” he scoffed. “I pretty much ripped your heart out.”
    “You never had my heart to being with.  Now, let go of me, Alex,” I said, trying to yank my arm free, but I couldn’t.
    “Ya know, Riley,” he said, pulling me even closer, wrapping his arm around my waist. “I sometimes regret letting you go.  I mean, sure, I won the bet with Kurt, but I shouldn’t have let you go so soon.  I should’ve held on longer.  We could’ve had some fun.  It didn’t need to be a one shot deal.  You were a damn good lay.” The alcohol on his breath was causing my eyes to burn and I blinked, my tears betraying me as they silently streamed down my face. “Whaddya say?  You want one more shot?  End our high school career on a high note?”
    “I say go to hell,” I seethed at him, but he just started laughing and before I knew what was happening, I felt his lips crashing on mine and he was shoving his tongue inside my mouth. 
    I used all my strength to try and push him away, but his grip was too tight.  His tall frame dwarfed me and I couldn’t get away.  I wriggled quickly, trying to get his hands off me, but it was no use.
    “You’re so feisty.  I always loved that about you,” he said when he’d finally stopped the assault on my lips.
    “Please, Alex,” I finally said, trying to reason with him. “You’re drunk.  Let’s not do this.”
    “I’m not drunk!” he said, his voice turning angry. 
    “Hey!” a voice shouted and a second later, I felt Alex’s grip on my arm release and he went flying backwards, stumbling on the rocky ground. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Jesse was standing in front of Alex.
    “Calm down, Baylor,” Alex said.  Jesse stepped forward and shoved Alex backwards so his red cup went flying, the beer forming a puddle on the ground.
    “Why’d you have your hands all over Riley?”
    “You’ve got it all wrong, man.  She was after me.”
    “Bullshit! I saw the whole damn thing.  Stay away from Riley.” Jesse was only inches from Alex’s face at this point.  He’d grabbed onto the collar of Alex’s shirt and was holding it with a white knuckle grip.
    I was shocked that Alex was just standing there, taking it from Jesse the way he was.  He was probably too wasted to do anything and his buddies, the ones who’d jumped in to save him the last time he’d gotten into a fight with Jesse, were too plastered to realize what was even going on. 
    “Are you threatening me?” Alex asked, trying to rip his shirt away from Jesse.
    “You’re damn right I am.”
    Alex started laughing again and then smirked at Jesse.
    “How does it feel to have my sloppy seconds?”
    I can’t deny his comment felt like a punch to the gut, but I was too focused on the standoff between Alex and Jesse.  The whole thing was too reminiscent of what had happened that horrible day at school. They stared at each other and the rage I saw in