“Open the door,” a guy ordered from the other side.
“You can get some later,” Gavin shouted back.
The guy on the other side rammed the door. The wood around the frame cracked, but the door held.
The next ram splintered the wood.
The third one broke the door free.
Chapter Twenty-One
The next few seconds passed in a blur. A guy ran in, grabbed Gavin by the shoulder, and yanked him off of me. The smack of a fist hitting flesh filled the air. Gavin spun, his expression dazed, and crumpled to the floor.
I finally caught a glimpse of my knight in shining armor.
Brett Pederson.
Only he wasn’t the good-natured, easygoing guy I’d come to know. A snarl of rage twisted his handsome face as he pulled Gavin up by his shirt and punched him in the face again, knocking him down. “Didn’t you hear her, asshole?” he shouted, kicking Gavin in the gut. “No means no.”
I’d never seen Brett this angry before, and the result terrified me. I couldn’t move, and I couldn’t look away as he continued to beat the crap out of Gavin. It was only when someone took my hand and pulled me out of the room that I finally turned away.
An audience had gathered in the hallway, and a chill iced my veins when I realized how close I’d come to being raped. I crossed my arms to hide the trembling in my hands and the ripped front of my top, but I couldn’t stop the shiver that rippled down my spine.
I looked up at the person at my side and wasn’t as surprised to see Josh this time. He glanced over his shoulder inside the room, his expression tight with worry. “That’s enough, Brett.”
I heard one more blow before Brett emerged from the room. The rage had eased from his face, but the moment he saw me, anger flashed again in his eyes. His hands tightened into fists, and he rocked back on his heels like he wanted to go back in there and finish Gavin off.
“Brett,” Josh warned before jerking his head toward me.
I must’ve been a pitiful sight to behold. My clothing was torn. My hair was a tangled mess, and sometime during all of this, I’d started to cry, which in turn probably meant I had black streaks of mascara running down my cheeks. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop shaking.
Brett’s anger evaporated, leaving only concern behind. He shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. “Let’s get you out here.”
I stumbled down the hallway and the stairs, nestled between Brett and Josh. People pressed against the walls to let us pass, and we were almost at the door before I noticed that the music had stopped. My cheeks burned as I realized it was all due to me. I lowered my eyes and stared at the ground until we reached the sidewalk outside.
Brett stopped me and lifted my chin. “Lexi, are you all right? Did that bastard hurt you? Did he—?”
I silenced him with a lone sob that broke free and shook my head.
“Thank God.” Brett pulled me against his chest and hugged me. “You have no idea how scared I was.”
I had a pretty good idea, considering I was the one almost violated, but my tongue lacked its usual sharpness. The shock from the last ten minutes still left me numb and confused.
Josh placed his hand on my shoulder. “Alexis, on behalf of my brothers, I’m so sorry this happened. We’d suspected Gavin of some stuff, but it wasn’t until tonight…” His voice broke, and he removed his hand. “We’ll deal with him.”
I didn’t give a damn what happened. Brett had probably left him so broken and battered that short of tattooing Rapist on his forehead, I couldn’t come up with a better punishment for him.
“Give him an extra kick in the ass for me.” Brett squeezed me one more time before stepping back, holding me at arm’s length. “Do you think you can walk a few blocks, or should I leave you here with Josh while I get my truck?”
“I’ll walk,” I mumbled. The further I got away from this place, the better. The last thing I needed was a group of Gavin’s drunken pals coming after me.
“Then we’ll go slowly.” He threaded his fingers through mine. “I can’t thank you enough, Josh.”
“Just looking out for my teammates.”
The ground rolled underneath me as we started down the street, and I grabbed Brett’s arm for balance. He responded by placing a steadying hand on my waist and letting me lean against him. He didn’t have to tell me how messed up I was. I could tell by the way my feet tripped along the cracks in the sidewalk or the way the streetlights blurred together like Van Gogh’s Starry Night.
Neither one of us said a word on the way back to his 4Runner. When we got there, he helped me up into the passenger seat and buckled my seatbelt. I huddled under his jacket, unable to stop the shivers that coursed through my body. I worried that I’d never feel warm again.
I’d been so lucky that Brett had been there. So damn lucky…
That still didn’t stop the waves of nausea that grew stronger as we drove across the bridge back into the Eastside suburbs. By the time we got on the lake road that led to our homes, I couldn’t hold it back any longer. “Stop the car!”
Brett pulled over into one of the small parking lots that dotted the shoulders of the road.
I opened the door and managed to get a couple of feet away from the car before I puked. Brett came up behind me and pulled the hair out of my face until I finished.
“Done?” he asked. I nodded, and he handed me a baby wipe. “Then clean up and let’s take a time out.”
I wanted nothing more than to scrub my skin clean under a hot shower, but the cool baby wipe erased the stench of vomit that lingered in my nose and even made me laugh. “Do you always keep baby wipes in your car?
“Have you seen how messy the twins get?” He gave me a weak smile and led me back to his truck. His face grew more serious. “Are you sure he didn’t hurt you?”
“He scared me. He ripped my top. But he didn’t get into my pants.”
He nodded, but still cracked his knuckles. I’m sure if Brett ever saw Gavin again, he’d deck him one more time. “What the hell happened tonight?”
“I was angry at you for making out with Summer, and…” My voice dropped with shame. “And I wanted to get back at you. So I called Gavin.”
“You said he was a douche.”
“I did. He still is, and I knew it would piss you off if you found out I went on a date with him.”
Brett dropped his arms to his sides and stared up at the sky as though he was having a conversation with a complete moron. “You know, if you’d let me get a word in, you might have spared yourself tonight’s drama.”
“If you had just been honest about you and Summer from the beginning, then maybe I wouldn’t have been so upset when I caught you two together last night.”
“But we’re not together. We never have been.” He paced several steps back and forth, his movements tight and jerky with agitation.
“Then why was she straddling your lap and kissing you?”
“Summer set us both up.” He slid to a stop and rubbed his face. “She told me she wanted to talk in private about some stuff, and the next thing I knew, she was all over me.”
“So you aren’t an item?”
“We never have been, and after last night, we never will be.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve, and for a brief moment, I wondered if Summer kissed like Gavin.
One question answered. Time for the next one. “What were you doing at the party?”
“Josh called me when he saw you with Gavin.”
“And you got jealous?”
He snorted. “Jealous wasn’t the word I’d use. I was in the middle of chewing out Summer for lying to me when he called, and I almost said good riddance. But when Josh told me about Gavin’s reputation, I realized how damn much I really care about you.”
“You care about me?”
“Far more than I probably should after reading your notes to trash me on your blog.”
That rankled me enough to add some
vigor to my words. “You’re not entirely innocent in all this, Football Boy.”
I went to poke him in the chest, but he caught my hand and drew me into his arms. “One of these days, maybe we’ll learn to stop arguing and listen to each other.”
“It’s not about listening, Brett. It’s about trust.”
The strength seemed to bleed from his body, and he let me go, his shoulders hanging at the same downward angle as his head. “I did what you said. I asked around, and I feel like such an idiot for believing Summer’s spin on things instead of you.”
“So now you know why I became who I am today.” I crawled back into the passenger seat, but sat sideways with the door open. “Did they tell you that we were best friends once?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah,” I repeated, my voice haunted by the memory of her betrayal. “I trusted her with my secrets once, and after that day…well, let’s just say I have trouble letting people get too close to me.”
“Understandably.” He reached for my hand, his attention fixed on my fingers instead of my face. “Do you trust me?”
I could’ve told him no. I could’ve called him out for being an idiot and falling for Summer’s lies all this time. I could’ve pushed him away for all the heartache he’d caused me already. But my dad’s words echoed through my mind.
I refuse to dwell on the past and the things I can’t change. I can only control the present and my place in it.
Maybe it was time for me to let go of the past and focus on the present.
When I needed him the most, Brett had come through. When I was in trouble, he’d been there for me. And when I was around him, I noticed how happy and carefree I felt.
I curled my fingers around his. “I’m starting to.”
He gave me a hopeful half-smile before letting go. He picked up my feet and spun me around so I was in the car and facing front. “Let’s get you home.”
“But my car—”
“We’ll pick it up tomorrow. You’re in no condition to drive.”
I wasn’t going to argue with him. My head wavered from floating to pounding, and I still didn’t trust my body to react quickly.
I glanced in the side-view mirror at my streaked makeup. “Do you have another baby wipe?”
“Yep. I keep a pack on hand for when I have to drive the twins somewhere.” He tossed the package to me before starting up the engine. I spent the rest of the drive home scrubbing my face, and by the time we pulled into the driveway, I looked a little more like myself.
Brett came around and helped me out of the truck. My legs still wobbled as I walked, and even though I’d thrown up all the beer, I could still feel its effects.
Before I could stop him, Brett rang the doorbell.
Mom answered in her bathrobe. She took one look at me and pulled me inside. “Alexis, what happened?”
“Some jerk tried to go too far with me, but Brett took care of him.”
She turned to Brett and studied him as though she were trying to form an opinion based on everything she’d heard about him over the last two days. “Well, thank you for taking care of her and bringing her home.”
“Of course.” He tapped my arm to get my attention. “Call me when you’re ready to get your car in the morning.”
I caught a glimpse of him waving before Mom closed the door and hurried me up the stairs. “Tell me everything that happened this evening.”
“I already did.” I pulled off Brett’s jacket when I got to my room and realized I hadn’t returned it to him. Of course, he hadn’t asked for it back, either.
“From the beginning.” She sat next to me on the edge of the bed, her hand on my shoulder.
I fully expected to cry as I hugged my pillow and told my mom about the date from hell, but I must’ve exhausted my tear supply for the week because not a single drop spilled over. I admitted that I’d been stupid and lost track of how much I’d been drinking while playing beer pong. Then I discovered how stupid I’d been to allow myself to be alone in a guy’s bedroom when I was drunk. And by the time I got to the part where Brett came to my rescue, I’d spared Mom most of her lecture.
That didn’t excuse me from the question I knew she’d ask. “And what did you learn from tonight?”
“I learned not to drink on first dates. I learned to trust my gut once again and to never go out with guys who give me the asshole vibe, especially out of retaliation.” I paused and remembered the one highlight of this disastrous evening. “And I learned I could count on Brett to be there when I need him.”
My mom leaned back, one brow arched with suspicion. “Even after last night?”
“We were set up. Summer waited until she knew I’d catch them together so I’d see her jump his bones.”
“And you believe him?”
I paused and tried to make sense of my thought process, but I was still too drunk to explain it. But there was one thing I knew for certain. “If he wanted her and not me, would he have come to my rescue when Josh called him to let him know I was with that scumbag? Would he have beat Gavin senseless when he saw what he tried to do?”
A mixture of remorse and pity flickered across my mom’s face, and she gave me a fierce hug. “You poor baby.”
“I’m not a baby. I’m just a teenager who did something very stupid and now I know not to do it again.” I stood, noticing that even though the room wasn’t spinning as badly as before, my head was starting to pound. I grabbed my pajamas. “I think I need a shower.”
Not to mention, I wanted to brush the taste of vomit from my mouth.
“Wait.” Mom cut off my route to the bathroom. “Are you sure you won’t be washing away any evidence?”
“Mom, my pants stayed on. No penetration. I was lucky.”
“Very lucky.” She let me pass and was waiting for me when I emerged from the shower.
I was too tired to say anything more about tonight. All I wanted to do was sleep.
She helped me into bed and tucked me in the same way she did when I was little. She pointed to the bottle on my nightstand. “Make sure you drink some Gatorade. It will help with the hangover.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
She kissed my forehead and left the room.
I lay in bed for what felt like hours, too exhausted to move, and yet unable to shut my mind off.
Brett still cared about me.
Maybe there was still a chance to salvage our relationship.
But it would involve a leap of courage…and trust.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I awoke to a headache that was the equivalent of someone bashing me over the head with a load of bricks. I reached for the bottle of Gatorade my mom had left and took a few sips. It tasted like salty, watered-down Kool-Aid, but I had to trust the doc on this. I glanced beyond the Gatorade and noticed she’d also left me a little foil packet with a meltaway nausea pill. I took it and waited for the room to stop spinning before venturing out of bed.
Note to self: avoid beer pong in the future.
Half a bottle later, I was starting to feel human enough to get dressed. Then I looked at my alarm clock.
1:24 p.m.
Damn it! I’d slept most of the day away. My car was still in the U-District and was probably in danger of getting towed. I found my nearly dead cell phone and called Brett.
“Good morning, Lexi,” he said as soon as he answered.
I groaned. “You’re way too chipper for my hangover.”
“Are you saying I should take it down a notch?”
“Maybe.” I paused and let the awkwardness of the last few days seep in. “Um, are you still up for giving me a ride to pick up my car?”
“Sure. Are you ready to go now?”
“Can you give me a few minutes to finish getting ready?”
“Sure. See you then.” He hung up, and I made my way downstairs, still clutching my bottle of electrolytes.
Taylor was sprawled out on the couch, flipping through the channels on the TV. She spotted me
and stopped. “You look like shit.”
“Thanks. I love you, too.”
She gave me a wry smile and sat up. “Thanks to you, I had to endure an hour-long lecture from Mom about being safe at parties and on dates and not drinking too much so some guy could take advantage of me.”
“You mean the way Sanchez tried to do last week.”
“Hello? That was totally consensual.” She pulled her knees up to her chest. “But did that really happen last night?”
“Depends on what you’re talking about. If you mean the part where I was drunk and some guy tried to rape me, then yes, that was true.”
I paused to wonder if the same thing had happened to Morgan. Maybe that would explain her ho-hum reaction to her date with Gavin. I made a note to ask her once the thought of last night didn’t send shivers down my spine.
“And as much as I hate to admit my own stupidity in the matter, if Brett hadn’t come to the rescue, he might have succeeded.”
She perked up. “Brett came to your rescue?”
“Yes, and you can pass that on to Summer, since I know you will anyway.”
But Taylor didn’t pull out her phone to start texting right away. Instead, she cocked her head and studied me. “What really is going on with you and Brett?”
“Hell if I know.” But if I hadn’t destroyed my chances with him, maybe I could still salvage a relationship with a great guy.
“He went over to Summer’s last night and chewed her out. He broke her heart, you know. She was dead set on going to Homecoming with him.”
I’d lost all sympathy for Summer five years ago when she stabbed me in the back. “I guess she’ll have to settle for someone else.”
“Unfortunately, that means she’s going after Sanchez.”
“They deserve each other.” I tried to slip away from the soap opera drama of the popular kids, but Taylor kept going.
“You know, I won’t tell her about last night. I’m even sort of rooting for you and Brett to be a couple now.”
That caught my attention, and for my sister not to feed information to her master, she had to have a good reason. “Why?”
The Queen B* Strikes Back Page 18
