I looked into Becky’s eyes, at the tears welling up in them. I felt horrible spilling my problems out onto her, especially after the awful experience she’d been through at the hands of Michael. But in a way, what she’d been through at the hands of my own tormentor somehow made her the perfect person who could understand what being the target of someone so cruel was like.
I got up from my bed and crawled over onto Becky’s, wrapping her up in my arms in a tight, warm hug as I laid my head on her shoulder. She was my closest and dearest friend, the person who I could rely on for anything. But even in my own time of crisis, I knew I needed to be there for her too, even if it was just for a simple hug.
A soft knock broke me and Becky from our embrace, both of our heads turning in curiosity at who would be here in the middle of the day, right when classes were going on all across campus. I glanced at Becky, meeting her eyes nervously as I got up and crossed over to the door and peered through the peephole.
Standing on the other side, to my shock, was probably the last person I’d have ever expected to see ever again. Greg loitered nervously just outside of our dorm room, his hands in his pockets as he rocked back and forward on the balls of his feet.
“It’s Greg,” I whispered, turning my head back to look at Becky, my eyes raised.
“What? What the hell is he doing here?” she asked standing up and coming to the door to look through the door as well.
“I don’t know… should we let him in?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” Becky said, looking once again through the hole.
“We should at least find out what he wants,” I said. “We don’t have to let him in, but I’ll talk to him and if you want you can stay hidden behind the door.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding and moving to the side to keep the door between herself and Greg as I undid the lock.
Greg looked like crap, his hair was a mess and underneath his eyes were dark bags that could only have come from a desperate lack of sleep. His clothes were rumpled and he honestly smelled like he’d failed to take care of himself since the last time I’d seen him.
“What do you want?” I asked, the door opened just enough for Greg to see my face.
“I need to talk to you… and to Becky.”
“And what if neither of us want to talk to you? You’re not exactly high on our list of people right now, Greg.” I glared at him, watching his sad, simpering expression.
“It’s about Michael—about what he did… and had me do.”
I stared at him for a moment, unsure whether I even wanted to hear another word from his mouth. The only thing that kept me from slamming the door in his face was Becky’s hand on my shoulder, encouraging me to hear him out.
“All right,” I said. “What did you want to say?”
“Could I come inside?” he asked, glancing down the hallway in either direction. “It’s not exactly something I want overheard.”
Another squeeze from Becky’s hand told me that she was okay, and wanted to hear what he had to say. I reluctantly nodded and moved aside, opening the door wider to allow Greg to enter. Once he was inside I shut the door and locked it with both the bolt and the chain lock.
Greg stood awkwardly in the center of the room, his eyes downcast and his shoulder hunched. He looked absolutely pathetic, like a scolded puppy dog that had been left out in the rain all night.
“What did you have to tell us?” I asked, keeping myself between him and Becky. “I want to make this quick. Like I said, you’re not my favorite person right now.”
“I don’t really blame you,” he began, “I did something stupid for cash, and instead I got people in a really bad situation.”
“A bad ‘situation’?” Becky asked incredulously, finally speaking up. “Is that what you’re calling what happened?”
“No! I didn’t mean—”
“Do you even understand what he did to me?” she asked, her voice suddenly rising to levels I’d never heard it go, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Of course you don’t, because I can hardly even remember half of it! All I remember was waking up in the dirt with my panties around my ankles!”
“Becky, I—” he stammered, but she couldn’t stop herself, even his pleas for understanding were rolled over by things she’d been holding inside since that night.
“He took me!” Becky cried. “He did awful things to me. He drugged me! And after all of that, after everything he did, you had the chance to do something when Richard and Jessica found you… You ran!”
“I’m sorry!” he cried, tears spilling from his eyes. “I was afraid! Afraid of what might happen if I stood up to him and it failed. I didn’t know what he’d do if I helped them—if he’d hurt you again, or hurt me… I didn’t know what else to do!”
“So now what, you’re just here to make amends?” I asked as Becky held herself behind me. “You say sorry and hope that everything’s forgiven?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head almost violently. “I don’t think I even deserve that… but I can help you do what you asked me to do. I can help you get your pictures back.”
“How?” I asked, frowning.
“It’s not exactly legal,” he said, a grimace on his face. “And it’ll require you to do something that I doubt you’re going to be comfortable with.”
_ EIGHTEEN _
Dick
The last two days had been more than a little hectic.
With Greg’s refusal to help us get the pictures out of Michael’s possession, we had no way out when it came to our predicament. Either we found a way to delete those pictures or Michael would hold them over our heads. Even if we could nail him to the wall for what happened to Becky, our lives would be ruined.
I’d tried my best to go about the day like normal, though wherever I went I saw members of AEO, watching. I knew Michael didn’t have much power among the upperclassmen in the fraternity, but the amount of influence he’d apparently gathered among his fellow pledges was more than a little unnerving. People like Michael always knew just how to get others to do what they wanted, sometimes even eagerly; they brought out the worst in people.
Jessica and I hadn’t seen one another since the confrontation with Greg, and I was beginning to wonder if she’d given up on what we’d begun together. The thought of that alone was enough to make me feel like my heart was being stabbed out.
The fact that I was so powerless to stop what was happening was what killed me the most. I’d always been strong, fast, capable, even smart. But faced up against an obstacle like Michael, there didn’t seem like there was any way to really beat him. Sure, I could hurt him, kick his ass from here to Oregon, but the fact remained that once I was done he’d just send every single one of those pictures to the entire campus. No matter what I did, Michael still had the upper hand and Jessica would suffer for it.
I sat on my bed, my head in my hands for most of the morning. There were only a few more days until the game, and for once the coach thought that maybe getting a little rest might do us some good. My entire body was sore
now that it had a chance to recover from its weeks-long torture before the first game of the season. Sleep would have been more than welcome, but the thought of that bastard holding those pictures over Jess and I kept me tossing and turning through the night. It would be one thing if I was disgraced, I could probably find another college to take me, especially with my prowess on the field, but the shame it would put on Jessica if we were outed like that wasn’t something I was ready to put her through. Sure, some day we’d need to own up to our parents, but I wanted that to happen on my terms, not thanks to some filthy pictures being sent by mail… I had to keep her safe.
It was late in the evening, and after the previous night of restlessness I was more than ready for some sleep. I’d been regrettably lax in giving commands to Jessica, but with the situation with Michael I felt like now wasn’t the time for our intimate games and with Michael on our heels I thought it best no one catch us with our pants down—literally.