I tossed my backpack on my bed and left the room. Ben caught up with me at the bottom of the stairwell. “Why are you so angry?” he asked, grabbing me by the elbow.
“I don’t really know why, if you want to know the truth. Only that the thought of you and Emma together makes me angry. She’s not right for you,” I said, pushing my way through the double doors.
“How can you say that about her?” Ben asked, following me. “She’s your roommate.”
“And I like her fine as my roommate. I just don’t want her going out with my brother.” I was walking so fast Ben had to work to keep up with me. “Don’t you realize she’s manipulating you? All she wants is a date to this party.”
“That’s cool, because we’re just friends. Why shouldn’t I take her if she really wants to go?”
When we reached McCormick Road, I stopped and turned to face him. “I thought you were dating Maddie.”
Ben shivered, rubbing his arms against the chill, and I realized he was the only one on the street not wearing a jacket. I hadn’t been in the room long enough to take mine off, but obviously he had.
“Maddie is going out of town that weekend, to her sister’s wedding in DC.”
“Really? Well I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to learn that her boyfriend has a date with the hottest first-year student on campus while she’s gone.”
Ben waved at a group of friends across the street and then turned back to me. “Listen, Kitty. I have no intention of screwing things up with Maddie. For the last time, Emma and I are just friends.”
“If you say so.” I turned left and headed toward the library, calling to him over my shoulder, “Just don’t come whining to me when Maddie won’t speak to you and Emma breaks your heart.”
There wasn’t much point of me staying in the library without my backpack, but I ran into some friends who invited me to go with them to Starbucks. Which gave me a chance to calm down a little before I had to face Emma. When I returned to our room, I found her prancing around in the black sequined dress my mother bought for me at the river.
“Please don’t be mad, Katherine. I know you think I’m using Ben, but he and I are just friends. He knows how much I want to go to this party.”
I couldn’t help but smile. She was so predictable. “I should’ve known. This is all about the dress, isn’t it?”
“Well . . .” She chewed on her lower lip. “The dress would look better on me if I didn’t have to hide my face behind some disgusting mask.”
“Who says you have to wear an ugly mask? You’re creative. Can’t you come up with something that hides your face in an alluring way?”
“That’s it!” She snapped her fingers. “You’re a genius, Katherine. I’ll go as Batgirl. Your knee-high black boots would be perfect with fishnet tights. That is if you’ll let me borrow them.” She danced around the room on her toes in excitement. “Surely I can find a Batgirl mask online.”
I rummaged through one of my drawers until I found my jewelry case. “What’re you looking for?” Emma asked, peering over my shoulder into my pouch.
“Earrings. I have a pair that’d be perfect with your costume.”
“Ooh, those are pretty,” she said, pointing at my diamond studs. “Are they real?”
I nodded. “They belonged to my grandmother.”
“Why don’t you ever wear them?”
“They’re not exactly the kind of jewelry you wear to biology class. Here.” I pulled an earring out of my satchel, a silver medallion on a chain with a black Batman emblem etched in it.
“Are you kidding me? You just happened to have a pair of Batman earrings lying around?”
“I bought them for a costume party a few years ago.” I located the mate and handed it to her.
“Thank you, Katherine.” She held the earrings up to her ears, admiring herself in the mirror for a minute before setting them down on top of her dresser. “On another subject, Phoebe and Carla asked me today if you and I would be interested in sharing a suite with them next year.”
Emma was a master at changing the subject and she’d picked just the right one to get my attention. So with only two weeks left before early applications were due to the housing department—ignoring the nagging concern in my gut and reminding myself that we were compatible as roommates—I committed to living with Emma for another year.
The night of the Monster Bash, I made a point of being out of the room when Ben came to pick Emma up, and I pretended to be asleep when she got home, although I peeked at her when she turned her desk lamp on. She was stumbling around, drunk. Her updo was no longer up, and her lips were swollen and red from kissing.
Friends? Right.
Made of stretchy fabric with no zipper, the dress presented a challenge to Emma as she struggled to pull it over her head. When she was free of it, she hung it in the closet. Then, she put on a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and a T-shirt and switched off the desk lamp.
She nudged me. “Katherine, are you awake? You missed a great party.” When I faked being asleep, she whispered, “Too bad for your poor brother. He has no idea what just hit him.”
Seven
After weeks of begging, I finally convinced Abigail to spend some time with me at UVA. It didn’t bother me any that her visit was scheduled at the last minute and had more to do with her parents needing a place to park their troubled daughter for the night while they attended a friend’s fiftieth birthday party in Lexington. She arrived just after lunch on the second Saturday in November. Even though she was all bundled up against the cold, her face and neck and the outline of her legs through her jeans told me she’d lost even more weight since Labor Day. Her parents came up to the room with Abby on the pretense of meeting my roommate, but I knew they were scouting out the place to make sure it was safe for their daughter. They didn’t hand me a list of special instructions, like making sure Abby got plenty to eat, but the manner in which they turned their daughter over to me—the concerned glances at one another and their hesitancy to leave—reminded me of a new mother trusting her infant child with a babysitter for the first time. These nervous people were not the same parents who once let Abby and me spend our days running wild on the creek. Had things gotten so bad with her eating disorder that her parents were afraid to let her out of their sight?
Abby brought with her a fresh batch of blonde brownies and four fifty-yard-line tickets to Saturday’s football game against Duke, a gift from her father’s colleague who was unable to use them due to a prior engagement. We texted Ben to bring a friend and come sit with us, but when he didn’t respond, Abby was kind enough to invite Emma to tag along. The tickets were ideal, midway up and dead center on the fifty, but the crowd around us was too tame for our taste. When the Cavaliers scored a touchdown within a minute of the half to tie the ballgame, 14–14, we could no longer contain our excitement and joined our peers in the student section on the other side of the stadium.
“Isn’t that Ben down there?” Abby pointed at my brother who was sitting seven or eight rows in front of us, flirting and laughing with the girl next to him. “Is that his girlfriend?”
I nodded. “She’s pretty, isn’t she? Her name is Maddie Maloney. They’ve been dating for a couple of months now.”
Emma removed a flask from her shoulder bag, took a gulp from her Coke, and filled her cup to the brim with bourbon. “Want some?” she asked, holding the flask out to Abby and me.
When I waved her away, Abby followed my lead. Normally I would’ve accepted, but I didn’t want to encourage my anorexic friend to put any unhealthy substances into her feeble body.
“Where’d Emma go?” I asked Abby, five minutes into the second half when I realized Emma was no longer beside Abby. We scanned the crowd until we saw her making her way toward Ben like a torpedo searching through the waters for its target. She wedged herself between Reed and Spotty, who were sitting directly in front of Ben. Pulling her flask out of her bag again, she offered it first to Reed and Spotty before turning arou
nd to Ben, as if realizing for the first time that he was there.
I rolled my eyes at Abby. “She’s a smooth one, isn’t she?”
Abby nodded. “She’s trying to make Ben jealous. Just like on Labor Day weekend. What’s going on between the two of them?”
I explained to Abby about how Emma had manipulated Ben for a date to the Monster Bash. “Poor Maddie doesn’t stand a chance against my roommate. If Emma wants Ben, she’ll find a way to have him.” Sure enough, halfway through the fourth quarter, Maddie got up and stormed off.
After the game, in an effort to avoid Ben and Emma, I guided Abby out the opposite end of the stadium from the crowd. Temperatures had risen quite a bit during the day, leaving us with a mild and pleasant evening. We took our time in wandering down to the Corner. Abby’s parents had made me promise to take her to the College Inn for a burger—one of their favorite hangouts when they were students at UVA twenty-five years ago. Abby settled into our booth as though she’d been there many times. When our burgers came, I gobbled mine down, but she only nibbled on hers, pinching tiny pieces off her bun without touching the meat.
“Are you just gonna pick at that?” I asked her. “Go ahead. Take a bite. It’s really good.”
She wiped her mouth with her napkin and then balled it up and threw it on her plate. “Please don’t start, Kitty. I already catch enough grief at home.”
I’d been trying since Labor Day, via texts and e-mails, to get Abby to open up to me about her problems. So far I’d been unsuccessful. Time for a more direct approach. “Tell me what’s bothering you, Abby. Explain to me why it’s so hard for you to eat.”
“It’s just—” she started, but then lowered her head and began picking at a hangnail. “I’m just not hungry. That’s all. I ate a big lunch with Mom and Dad on the way here.”
“That was hours ago.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “Come on, Yabba. You’re talking to me Kitty.”
“I promise I’ll tell you everything, but not now. Not here.” She looked back up at me, her gray eyes desperate. “Tonight, I want to have some fun for a change. You’ve been begging me to come for a visit, so here I am. Show me the college life.”
“Fine. I’ll drop the subject. For now.” I reached for my wallet to pay the check. “What part of college life do you want to see?”
“Greek life,” she said without hesitation. “I want to go to a fraternity party.”
Which was my worst nightmare. How could I take my friend who weighed less than a hundred pounds and had barely eaten any dinner to a keg party?
“Okay, so I know I promised I’d drop the subject, but—”
She held her hand up. “Don’t say it. Please. I hear it all the time from George. No food, no drink.”
“Then we’ll go see Ben at the KO house.” I knew I could count on Mr. Overprotective to help me watch out for Abby. That is if he could drag himself away from Emma.
We made our way up University Avenue and climbed the brick steps to the KO house. “I smell weed,” Abby said, sniffing. “Everyone is smoking these days. I just don’t see the attraction.”
I linked arms with her. “Nor do I, Yabba. Nor do I.”
As we started up the sidewalk, Ben and Emma stepped out of the bushes and blocked our path. “Kitty, whatzup?” Ben stared at Abigail, confused. “Shit. I may be high, but you look exactly like my friend Abby.”
She play-punched him in the arm. “I am Abby, silly.”
“Yeah, silly,” I said, punching him in the other arm. “Since when did you start smoking weed, Mr. Serious Athlete-that-you-are?”
Ben pointed at Emma. “Since she gave me this humongous bud.” He laughed hysterically until he realized he was the only one laughing. Straightening himself, he asked me, “Why didn’t you tell me Abby was here?”
“We sent you a text to come sit with us at the game,” Abby explained. “Didn’t you get it?”
Ben whipped out his cell phone and began scrolling through his texts. “Damnit. I totally missed it.”
“Wait a minute,” I said to Emma. “You didn’t tell him Abby was here?”
“Seriously?” Ben stumbled toward Emma. “You knew about this?”
Emma caught Ben and pushed him off of her. “I guess it just slipped my mind.” She glared at me. “What’re you doing here, anyway? Your friend doesn’t exactly strike me as the fraternity-party type.”
“My friend?” I said to Emma. “You spent the weekend with her over Labor Day, and you went to the game today on her fifty-yard-line ticket. I would think by now you know her well enough to call her by name.”
Emma placed her hand on her hip. “A-BI-GAIL,” she said, emphasizing every syllable in Abby’s name for emphasis, “doesn’t seem like the fraternity-party type to me.”
“According to who? You?” I asked. “Didn’t someone ever tell you it’s politically incorrect to social profile?”
“I’m sure she’s smart enough to get into UVA. But look at her.” Emma held her hands out toward Abigail. “She’s not sorority material. She’s earthy. I’d pick her for one of the clubs. Science or Marine Biology maybe.”
Ben and I both looked over at Abigail in time to see her eyes fill with tears.
“That’s enough, Emma,” Ben said, his voice sober. “I’m with Kitty on this. You don’t know Abby well enough to make that assumption.” He wrapped his arm around Abby’s shoulders and pulled her to him. “Come inside. I want you to meet some of my friends.”
Abigail took a deep breath and smiled up at him. “That’s okay, Ben. We weren’t planning to stay here long, anyway.”
I moved a little closer to Abby. “We just ran into Honey on the Corner. She invited us to go for ice cream with some of her friends. Emma may not think Abby is sorority material, but Honey sure does,” I said, enjoying the hell out of the look of envy on Emma’s face.
“Come on, Ben. Let’s go.” Emma grabbed him by the elbow and began dragging him up the sidewalk toward the fraternity house.
I took Abigail’s hand and led her in the opposite direction, across University and through the maze of sidewalks to the heart of campus. We walked in silence, composing ourselves, Abigail fighting back the tears while I tried to calm the rage. In less than four hours, Emma had ruined Ben’s relationship with Maddie, convinced him to smoke weed after all these years of standing firm against it, and made a game out of tearing Abby’s confidence to shreds. I’d never known Emma to be so blatantly cruel to anyone before. Whether she was showing off for Ben or whether she felt threatened by my relationship with Abby. Who knows? Maybe she was just being mean because she could.
Lucky me! I’d just signed a contract to room with her for another year.
“So, this is the Academical Village?” Abby asked when we were standing in the center of the grassy expanse known as the Lawn.
“Isn’t it amazing? And to think Thomas Jefferson designed it himself all those years ago. The Rotunda is the focal point at that end.” I pointed north toward the enormous domed structure. “And these buildings on either side of the grassy area are known as the Lawn rooms. Can you believe it’s considered a privilege to live here? Only fourth-year students can apply, the smartest of the class, and these people stand in line to live in a room with no air conditioning or heat.”
“What do you mean there’s no heat?” Abigail asked.
“I mean there’s no heat. Each room has its own fireplace. Notice the wood stacked alongside the walkways?”
“Okay. That’s pretty cool. I’ve been to Charlottesville several times with my parents for football games, but to think I might one day be a student here puts everything in a different perspective.”
Lost in our own thoughts, we made a couple of laps around the Lawn and then stopped at the Rotunda where we took a seat on the cold granite steps, leaning back-to-back like we used to do when we were kids.
“Funny thing, Abby. I can totally see you living here, on the Lawn, wilderness woman that you are, building your fires at night
and hiking it over to the outhouse to use the facilities.”
“Ha. You must have me confused with someone else.”
“Come on. As smart as you are? Don’t sell yourself short.”
“I’m glad you think so—because according to your roommate, I’m not even fit to be in a sorority.”
“Believe me, Emma is no expert on Greek life. You, Abby, have a much better chance of getting into a sorority than she does.” Sitting back-to-back, I couldn’t see her face, but I could tell by Abby’s breathing pattern—catch, hold for several seconds, release—she was paying close attention to everything I said. “Not only are you a legacy, your parents have plenty of connections with women who’d be thrilled to write letters for whichever sorority you choose.” I knew Abby’s parents well enough to know they’d do anything to make her happy, to get her to start eating again.
I shifted on the step so I could see her face. “No matter where you decide to go, what school you attend, you’re going to have a blast. Trust me on this. You know I wanted to go to Chapel Hill, but I’m having the best time ever, even with a bitch for a roommate.”
Her eyes lit up with hope and I knew she desperately wanted to believe me.
“If you decide you want to rush a sorority, the process is fair and you’ll find the right house for you.”
“Sounds like you’ve already made your decision about sororities.”
“Me? No way. I’m taking Ben’s advice and keeping an open mind until I go through rush.”
“But what about this Honey person? Sounds like the two of you are tight.”
I looked away from her, ashamed of myself for being dishonest with my closest friend. “I’m sorry, Abby. I shouldn’t have lied earlier. I was just trying to get back at Emma. She’s convinced Chi Delta is perfect for her. Funny thing is, Honey, their president, keeps blowing her off.”
“What would your mother say if you decided to pledge a sorority other than Chi Delta?”
“I hope she’d be supportive. Wishful thinking, huh?” I leaned against Abigail, pushing on her until she toppled over. Stretched out on the steps, we stared out across the lawn and up at the stars. “I’m feeling all mushy and sentimental right now, but I can think of at least ten corny clichés that describe how I feel. The world is our oyster, Yabba. Life is what we make of it. If you come to UVA and if you decide pledging a sorority is not for you, there are over seven hundred clubs to choose from. Besides, who’s to say you can’t do it all?”
Saving Ben Page 7
