The Star and the Ocean (Book 1 in the Starborn Series)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

[Content/Trigger Warning: Strong language, 
mention of implied sexual coercion]

"Oh, May," Em whispered. "You loved her, didn't you?"

May's whole body wracked with a heavy sob. She only managed a small nod before covering her face and losing herself to another round of tears. Em pulled her closer and let her cry.

"I thought it would just be the one time," she wept. "But he wouldn't give me the picture. He just kept saying 'next time, maybe next time' and like an idiot I believed him. I just kept going back because I didn't know what else to do. Meanwhile he was telling everyone we were sleeping together. Before I knew it, there were rumors I was sleeping with everyone. I was so humiliated."

May paused to try and collect herself, pulling in one shaky breath after another.

"Everything fell apart. The rumors spread and no one wanted to believe me when I said they weren't true. People started treating me like I was some kind of filthy animal. My family was a mess over it and Mila... She cut me out of her life, like this had nothing to do with her."

May looked at Em, eyes wet and red. "Do you know what Kane said to me?" she asked in a small voice.

Em shook her head.

"He said I was getting what I deserved." She looked down in shame. "And that being with him would 'fix' me."

A rage unlike anything Em had ever known radiated from somewhere deep and dark inside. She pulled her arm away for fear that May could feel it pulsing through her.

"I was alone," May's voice was hardly a whisper now. "Eventually it felt like I had nothing left to lose. I didn't think it could get any worse, so I told him I was done."

May looked Em straight in the eyes and smiled sadly. "But I was wrong. If I thought things were bad before, it was nothing compared to what happened next."

"He released the picture." Em stated it like a fact instead of asking because inside, she knew. May nodded in a way that moved her whole body, rocking back and forth.

"It was horrible," May said. "People turned on my parents, saying they never should have taken me in. That I was corrupting people because that's just what mainlanders do. Mila's family was so ashamed. They completely cut ties with her. She ran away, some say to the north shore. Some people wanted my family to send me away too, but mama and papa held their ground. They were embarrassed but they stood by me anyway. I was the one who decided to build the treehouse and live away from town."

"And what happened to the asshole?" Em asked through gritted teeth.

May wiped at her tears with the back of her hand and laughed bitterly. "He left for some other island, chasing his music career. Everything worked out just fine for him in the end."

Em wrapped her arms around May once more. "May, I am so, so sorry."

For a moment they were quiet. The waves, the wind and May's quivering breath were the only sounds.

"I've been so scared about you finding out," May whispered into Em's neck where she had nuzzled in close. "For the past four years I've been on my best behaviour, trying to make people forget. I didn't want you to lose respect for me the way they did."

Em turned and pushed May back just enough so she could look her in eye when she spoke.

"Don't do that to yourself, May. These were terrible things that happened to you; that were done to you. But they aren't who you are. I know we haven't known each other long, but I hope you at least know me well enough by now to know I wouldn't hold something like this against you. I think you're awesome."

Out from beneath May's sadness and hurt bubbled a genuine laugh.

"Well, that's a relief," she smiled, giving her eyes another wipe. "I just wish I felt the same way."

"What do you mean?" Em asked sadly as she reached out to tuck the unruly waves of May's hair back behind her ear. May leaned into the touch.

"I've just spent so much time hating myself over all of this," she admitted. "There was a period of time where I couldn't even stand to look at myself in the mirror. That's why I cut my hair – I wanted to get as far away from myself as possible."

"And now?"

May blinked. She had spent years living with the ramifications of what happened–blaming herself and obediently trying to win back the favour of the people around her–she hadn't even paused to wonder what it might be like to find herself on the other side of that darkness.

Was this it?

She reflected on the last few weeks; precious time in which she felt more like herself than she had in ages. May recalled the release Em's arrival had brought into her life and in the back of her mind, a small voice echoed.

You want the same thing...

May smiled.

"Now, I'm just tired," she said. The truth spilled out, no longer content to be kept secret. "I'm tired of being sorry for everything and I'm tired of hiding who I am all the time. I just want my life back." She squinted, thinking over what she had just said. "No, I don't even want that. I want my own life, one where I don't have to feel bad about having mainlanders for parents or for liking girls, I just..."

She almost said it. I don't want to hide. I don't want to be alone.

But she held on to that part. I wish I could live my own life, she thought.

In her silence, Em smiled brightly.

"Well, Maybe," Em said, leaning forward to plant a soft kiss on May's forehead. "Let's get started."

***

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