Ground Rules

Why was I so stupid?

The knock on the door made me jump, and I spotted my clothes laying in a heap of a mess near the edge of the dresser. I rushed over, wobbling on my legs as if I’d just spent hours in the sea, and began slipping them on, holding back a sob from the marks on my legs.

“Mazey, are you in there?” I heard Kate’s voice echo on the phone and from outside the door.

I slowly turned the knob, and when we caught eyes, I saw the devastation all over her face. “Jesus Christ, Maze. What happened?”

“I…I don’t know.” Suddenly, my throat felt even drier, and it hurt to speak. Everything ached. “I want to go home.”

“We’re going to the hospital.”

“What?” I asked, confusion still lingering. Why did it feel like I was stuck in a cloud somewhere?

“Maze, there’s a video from last night…you…I’m such a shitty friend. I should have never left—”

“Maze?” Cole’s voice cut through the panic that was rising, and Kate saw the way my eyes widened. She stepped to the left, and murder was clear on her pretty features.

“What did you do to her?” Her voice rose to levels that made my head pound, and she stormed farther into the room with her blonde locks swaying with fury. “I will fucking kill you, Cole! Did you do this to her? How could you?! Give me your fucking phone right now!”

I glanced at Cole for a fleeting second as he blinked his eyes several times. His large hand wiped over the side of his face, and I turned around, too afraid to look him in the eye. It couldn’t have been Cole. He would have had no part in any of this. “What are you talking about, Kate? Get out of my fucking face.”

“Did you fucking drug her? Too much of a pussy to ask her out yourself because of your dear ol’ daddy not approving? So you decided to take advantage of her?”

“Kate,” I whispered, jarring them both with the creak in my voice. “Let’s go. I feel sick.”

I wanted to stay facing the door so badly, but I had to see. I had to see the look on his face. I knew him better than he thought—years of watching and observing someone without them knowing will allow you to peek into the deepest, darkest parts of them. But the very second we caught eyes, it was like a swift punch to my already sick stomach.

His tight jaw slacked, and his lips parted. His normally scorching gaze ran slowly over my bare legs and lingered on the marks painting my thighs. “No,” he whispered, turning white.

I turned around quickly and pulled my pants the rest of the way up. “Kate, let’s go.”

“You better watch yourself, Cole. If they match your DNA, you are done for.”

“Mazey,” Cole’s voice hit the back of my head, but I couldn’t even look at him. There were too many things happening, and each one made the room spin a little faster. “Mazey, you know I wouldn’t do this. Please wait. Let me help you.”

Kate’s hand landed on my arm, and I jumped at the sound of her snarl. “Fuck you, Cole.”