Tell Me No

tell me no GROVEWOOD INK BOOK 3 SAGE ST. CLAIRE contents Artwork Author’s Note Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Epilogue Also by Sage St. Claire Acknowledgments Meet Sage! © 2023 Sage St. Claire All rights reserved The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Piracy is rude. Just don’t do it, or else you’ll walk the plank…straight into a lawsuit. Cover design by: Sage St. Claire To every girl who has ever been told: Sit down and shut up You’re exaggerating You’re too much Prove it They’ll never believe you In the immortal words of FLETCHER, Do you know every battle that you’ve ever faced is making you bulletproof? Me, too. Girl, I believe you. Artist credit: Faith Carter of MR Designs playlist Clinton Kane - DANCING ALL ALONE Halsey - Nightmare EMELINE - cinderella's dead XANA - GODDESS Bishop Briggs - Wild Horses Cannons - Fire For You Five Finger Death Punch - Jekyll And Hyde 2WEI - Hit The Road Jack Nickleback - Next Contestant Rihanna - Love On The Brain Rush - Tom Sawyer Ingrid Andress - Feel like this Morgan Wade - Run Warren Morris - To Hell & Back YUNGBLUD, Halsey - 11 Minutes ft. Travis Barker Steven Rodriguez - The Devil Wears Lace Zach Bryan - Sun To Me FLETCHER - I Believe You Hozier - Work Song Teddy Swims - Devil in a Dress Find the full playlist on Spotify HERE! "You're not a victim for sharing your story. You are a survivor, setting the world on fire with your truth. And you never know who needs your light, your warmth, and raging courage." — Alex Elle author’s note This novel contains descriptions of sexual assault. Everyone has their own story, their own truth. You may think no one wants to hear your story, but we all feed ourselves lies when our hearts are starving. I hear you. I believe you. You are more than what has happened to you. And I’m not the only one listening…www.rainn.org Content intended for a mature audience only. Due to explicit language, graphic sex, detailed depictions of violence, and other possible triggers, reader discretion is advised. For a detailed list of triggers, please refer to www.sagestclaire.com prologue AURORA April 28th. It used to be my favorite day of the entire year. Now it’s a constant reminder that the girl I once was is dead, and she’s never coming back. I avoid thinking back on the day my life changed forever as much as I can. But it still comes to me, every single night, live and in color. My 18th birthday was a day like any other, only now I was officially an adult. Or so I thought. I’d been going to community college for almost a year, getting all my basic classes out of the way before applying to the Performing Arts Program at LSU. I’ve been a dancer all my life, but I had bigger dreams. I dreamed of owning my own studio someday, dreamed of inspiring other people with my creativity and art. It just made sense to live with my mom then, and save the money I would spend on rent. My boyfriend Erik and I had been together since my senior year in high school. I just knew he was going to be my happily ever after. It was probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever believed, but I was naïve then. He told me he had a surprise for me that night, something special just for my birthday. When he picked me up, he blindfolded me and drove me back to his place. Stupidly, I was so excited. He had never done something so spontaneous before, so I couldn’t wait to see what he planned. When he led me through the door, he pulled off the blindfold and all I saw were his friends, sitting around the living room, playing Xbox or some shit. He had set up some sorry excuse for a party, only inviting people he knew. He’d never taken the time to get to know any of my friends, so I shouldn’t have been shocked. I was livid. That’s what led to my first mistake of the night. I trusted that no matter how vulnerable I let myself become, Erik would always protect me. I don't know why I believed that when he never had before. He’d always let his stupid friends call me names and make comments about my body, laughing along with them every time. I never should have trusted him. But I did, and I poured drink after drink down my throat, trying to ease the anger of my disappointing birthday celebration. Within two hours, the room was spinning around me. I remember calling out for Erik, searching for him in a sea of swirling faces. Then it’s nothing but flashes for the rest of the night. I wish I could erase even the flashes from my mind. I’d rather be blissfully ignorant to everything than know what I know. I remember Erik’s face, only inches from mine, as he whispered to me that everything was fine, that this would be fun. Then I saw someone else. I’d seen him before, Dylan maybe? Or could it be Alex? My vision was hazy and unstable. I didn’t trust what I saw or felt. I told Erik no, told