Ruin(6)

“How indeed?” Lisa finally spoke up, “The man’s a god. I bet the bitch set him up. No way would that guy risk that much.”
“But rich guys tend to be controlling,” I said, stomach dropping as I remembered the exchange Weston and I had had in his dorm room. Holy crap, was I almost taken advantage of? I wrapped my sweater tighter around my chest.
“Just goes to show money buys everything.” Gabe stretched out on the couch. “He’s our RA, didn’t get kicked off the football team, and rumor has it just spent the weekend partying in Malibu. I’d say he’s just fine.”
“What about the girl?” I asked.
“Ah, Lorelei. She’s just fine. The day after the incident she was seen making out with some other guy, so, yeah, the whole rape thing? Probably not true, though I’d still carry a whistle.”
“Whistle?” I repeated. “Like a rape whistle?”
“No.” Gabe shook his head. “Like one you use at a basketball game. Are you for real?”
“Yes?”
His gaze examined mine. “I worry about your roommate’s safety, Lisa.”
“Eh she’s fine.”
“Right.” Gabe closed his eyes and let out a humorless laugh. “And when the big bad wolf, also known as Weston Michels, decides to pounce on her pasture, what is she gonna do? Hide? Look at her.”
Gabe pointed. I stepped back. Lisa tilted her head to the side, her eyes roaming from my outfit to my hair. I shifted uncomfortably and tucked my hair behind my ears.
“We could make her ugly.” She thumbed part of my t-shirt and squinted. I swatted her hand away and folded my arms.
“We’d have to shave her head.” This from Gabe.
Lisa nodded. “And put a mask over her face.”
“It can be done,” he agreed.
“Um, no.” I stepped back even further. “It can’t. And stop worrying about me. I’m fine.” Right, as long as I had my medication and at least eight hours of sleep every night, I’d be fine. I clenched my hands, allowing myself to feel that brief pain of my nails digging into my palms. If I could feel pain that meant I could at least feel, right? Sometimes I needed that little reminder to know I wasn’t just a walking zombie.
“Alright.” Gabe stood. Apparently the subject was closed. “I’ll be back to pick you guys up around nine okay?”
“Nine?” I asked.
“See ya!” Lisa smacked him on the back as he waltzed out of our room. He was cute, in one of those dark rocker sort of ways, and Lisa was right, I guess. Tattoos weren’t so bad. At least on Gabe they weren’t bad.
“Stop staring at my cousin,” she said coming up behind me. “He’s off limits, as in, bad news for girls like you. He’d take his one night stand and kiss you on the cheek in the morning all before you could say no.”
“Comforting.” I sighed.
“Come on.” She gripped my hand. “We’ve got a lot to do if we’re going to have time to get ready for the party tonight. And I still need to get my ID card.”
“Yeah, I can help with that,” I mumbled softly, briefly remembering Weston’s concerned gaze as he told me to take a buddy everywhere with me and be careful. Were rapists that concerned for others’ safety? He didn’t do it. He couldn’t have, because he could have easily taken advantage of me, and he didn’t. Instead, he helped. Yet the thought lingered… what if?



Chapter Five

Living is hard — dying is easy. You close your eyes and never open them up again. What’s so difficult about that? Nothing really —except it hurts like hell to those you leave behind.

Weston
I should have let well enough alone. My doctor would have told me I was playing with things I should just forget about. After all, he’d say, how much time do you have? I was damn sick of hearing him say that. Ridiculous. Even my dad was tired of the doctors. Then again, I was tired of them when I was eight and was told my mom wasn’t going to make it through surgery.
And again last year, at the hospital when my brother didn’t wake up from his… situation. Some people believe our family was cursed. After all, you can’t have as much power and money that we do and not suffer the consequences. When I was little, my Sunday School teacher told me that sometimes tragedy happened in order to keep us relying on God.
How much more trusting does God need me to be? I mean, I’d lost everything, and last year almost lost my reputation and football career, all because I said no. Funny, nobody ever talks about guys being taken advantage of.
I gripped the phone in my hands. I had her number. How creepy was I? Seriously. I hacked the school system and pulled her number from it. The poor girl already thought I was stalking her, probably wouldn’t help my case if I suddenly called her up and said, “Hey.” Loser. I was an absolute loser. I’d never had trouble getting girls, in fact, I felt a bit gun shy after last year.
My entourage helped.
I only called them that because it made it sound so much cooler than it really was. A knock sounded on the door. I got up but it opened before I had a chance. David strolled in, all three hundred pounds of him, and threw my prescription on the table. “How’s it going?”
“Fantastic,” I lied, and quickly hid the piece of paper I’d written Kiersten’s number on.
“You feeling okay?” David leaned forward and pointed the flashlight in my eyes, like some sort of scientist. I slapped it away.
“Fine.” I cleared my throat and stood. For a brief moment I felt dizzy; that’s what I got for standing up too fast. “Where’s James?”