Ash glanced down at the hand clutching her shirt closed, and concern filled his eyes. “Shit.” He reached out a hand. “Yeah. Okay. Come on. But be quiet.”

Ash helped her climb through the window none too gracefully, and she lost a shoe on the way in but didn’t care. The warm light of his bedroom and his calm presence made something knotted inside her loosen. She straightened and took the first deep breath she’d taken in the last two hours. “Hey.”

Ash was standing there in his plaid boxer shorts and a Long Acre High gym shirt, staring at her disheveled state in horror. “KC, what happened? You look… Are you okay?”

“I’m not wanted for murder,” she declared, anger finally flooding in to replace the fear. “But I almost was.”

His brow knit. “What?”

“Xavier Capello is an absolute, douchebag asshole,” she declared.

“Wait.” Fury flashed in Ash’s eyes, dark and hot. “He did something to you?”

Kincaid’s heart picked up speed, the panic trying to come back. She hugged her shirt to her. “He tried. Handsy scumbag.” She stared at a small ink spot on the otherwise pristine tan carpet, too embarrassed to look Ash in the eye. “We went out tonight. I thought he liked me. You know, like wanted to go out to get to know me. Well, apparently, ‘get to know me’ means sticking his hand up my shirt and trying to get my bra off.”

“He forced you? I will fucking kill him,” Ash said, surprising Kincaid with the intensity of his anger.

She shook her head and finally met his gaze. “No need to get jail time, Isaacs. I stopped him. He listened to no. Eventually.” Thank God. She shivered. “But he said horrible things afterward. About what he’d heard about me. About the things he knew I knew how to do with boys. He said if I wanted to be with a senior, I’d better start acting like I wasn’t a little girl.” Tears finally fell. “I haven’t done any of those things he said. I’ve only kissed a few boys. I thought he liked me…”

Ash was still looking murderous. “What you’d have to do to be with a senior? What a prick.”

“He was. Is. God, I just feel stupid and…gross. And then I went home and Mom…has someone over, and I just couldn’t handle that crap right now. I’m sorry. I know it’s late. I don’t want to get you in trouble. I just didn’t know where to go.”

Ash stepped closer and put his arm around her shoulders, giving her a friendly squeeze. “Yeah, you did. You can always come find me if you need me, okay? You know I’m not on a date.”

She snorted.

“And don’t worry,” he continued. “My parents won’t be checking to see if I’ve snuck a girl into my room. I heard Mom tell Dad that she thinks I’m gay. That’s her latest worry. There must’ve been a sermon at church this week. Signs your teen son is really a ho-mo-sexual,” he said, sounding out the words with the full twang and fervor of his reverend.