Remake

by A. J. Sand

  But it was the most recent pictures that struck her hardest. They were from Luz and of her dancing with Abel. They had been taken at the perfect time to make the situation look more intriguing than it was. The origin of the pictures was a text from a number she didn’t recognize, but she had a pretty good idea of who was behind it. The only tiny bright spot now was that Chase had probably crossed over into something she could take to the police, even though she knew he had probably used a burner cell.

  “Who the hell is doing this to you, E? Has this been going on long?” There was calm in his voice but wrath pulsed in his eyes. “Tell me what’s going on. Please.”

  She was hurt, though, she was too stunned to cry right now. But her heartbeat was resonating in her ears, and her stomach was tightening with each drawn breath. Erica sighed and wrung her hands. “It’s all part of what I was hoping to tell you tomorrow. I just wanted us to have another good night.”

  He shook his head and cradled her face. “No, I don’t give a shit about the party. I want to know who’s trying to hurt you right now. You have to tell me everything. If whatever this is will lead to me losing you again… I’m not giving you the opportunity to run, E.” Taking her hand, Bryson led her to his room, and she sat on the bed. “Talk to me, baby.” He kneeled in front of her, his arms crossed against her thighs.

  All she wanted to do tonight was tell him how amazing he looked in his suit and tie then go downstairs and dance with him until her feet ached. This was definitely not how she hoped to have this conversation. But there’s never a good time. “It’s probably Chase. He hired a private investigator to follow me and look into my life. And I think somebody I know is helping him.” Feeling dizzy, Erica hadn’t even heard her own voice, and it wasn’t until Bryson frowned that she was absolutely sure she had spoken.

  “Why? Did Chase do something to you? Is he the one…did he hurt you?”

  “No… but Jeremy did when we were in Thailand. He slipped something in my drink at a club the last night we were there. The group split up…” Erica balled her hands and clenched every part of herself to stop her trembling. This wasn’t like telling Dylan. Or Kai. Or any of her friends. It was ten times worse. Her blood was burning hot in her ears. “…Our hotel was such a short walk from there, and I had done it alone before, but I was so disoriented. I think he followed me out and caught up to me…” She trailed off as the rosy color faded from Bryson’s face. He was on his feet in the moment it took her to blink, slackening his tie at the neck. “Bryce?”

  With his back to her, he braced his hands on the bureau across from the bed for a second before his fist collided with the wood several times. “That motherfucker asked me about you after you left. He asked, E. He fucking…he told me he hoped we’d be able to work it out.” Bryson huffed out a breath. “Just…just keep going…I want to know everything. Please.”

  “My memory’s pretty spotty, but he must’ve led me down to the beach. Way, way away from all the people. Where I woke up the next day was pretty secluded. I didn’t want to go with him. God, I didn’t want to go. I couldn’t do anything to stop it. I was thinking about you and how I just wanted to be home with you.” Bryson’s head dropped in the silence and her tears sprang out. Erica couldn’t look at him anymore if she expected to continue, so she turned her gaze to the window. “My clothes were damp the next day, so I’m assuming at some point, I was in the water, but he…he raped me. I started fighting back, I guess…my bracelet snapped off when I pulled his earring out, and he was injured in the process… Things get hazy from there until morning.” Well, it was out now. And she didn’t feel relieved at all. “You suspected it was rape, didn’t you? Is that what you meant in New Orleans?”

  “Yeah…sort of,” Bryson said, sighing. “I figured it was some kind of attack. But you never really want your mind to go there. God, I wish I had been there for you, Erica, in Thailand…and after.”

  “I didn’t want you there, Bryce. I didn’t want you to see…” She trailed off before her voice cracked. “I shouldn’t have left the way I did. I am so sorry for the way I treated you. There is no excuse for hurting you like that. I was beating myself up so much more back then, and questioning every decision I made that night to the point that I became fixated on it for days. Then I was worried about how I would react when you went to touch me in a sexual or just a caring way. I didn’t want to reject you or fear you, but I was worried I would. I just got to the point where it seemed easier to make you hate the person you thought I was than know what I actually was.”

  Bryson made a sharp turn toward her, his expression inching toward pained. “And what’s that, E? What do you think you are?”

  “Someone who couldn’t deal very well with what happened to me.” A tear slid down her cheek finally. She hated having to admit that.

  “He was one of your best friends, Erica.” He kissed her forehead as he sat next to her, and then he hugged her. “I’m so sorry he hurt you. I love you so much, and I’m here for you, okay? Whatever you need.” He brushed the side of her face.

  “Thanks…” Erica squeezed his hand and pressed out a quick smile. “I don’t need anything.”

  “Chase trying to bully you into not reporting?”

  Shaking her head, she said, “No, I reported it in Thailand. There’s even a witness…sort of.”

  “Sort of?”

  “The person came forward but is hesitating to say what they know. I don’t know if Chase knows about the witness, but he certainly knows that I’m saying Jeremy assaulted me. He doesn’t believe it, and now he’s trying to intimidate me into shutting up or trying to prove that I’m someone who has sex with the guys I know and is probably just making a false accusation. What’s even scarier is that I don’t know who’s helping him, but someone is, because he’s getting access to my Facebook pictures. He was obviously only recently informed about his brother attacking me, and I can count on my fingers all the people who knew it was Jeremy before Chase started all this. It’s not a huge number. And it’s all people who are my friends.”

  “Oh, God…”

  “But it’s impossible. They wouldn’t.” Erica wasn’t trying to convince him or herself; she just knew it wasn’t one of them. She still felt so guilty for even thinking it in that fleeting moment a few weeks back. “There’s something I’m just not seeing. And you know Chase. He wants to make things harder for me. He’ll destroy everything in his path to protect his brother, and Jeremy’s not even a suspect right now in Thailand. The only reason I was able to figure it out was when Kai saw the earring the cops sent me a picture of from the scene, to see if I could identify it, and he remembered Jeremy’s ear was bandaged on the flight back. He confronted him at Club Victory at my urging and—”

  “The alley thing…” Bryson’s eyes stretched at the realization. “Makes far more sense than two guys arguing over music royalties. I never bought that. But I knew there was only one person in the world Kai would beat someone else up for like that. The same person I would’ve done it for.”

  Erica expressed her disapproval with a frown. “No! He almost killed him, Bryce!” she said as he stood up. And at her angriest that’s actually what she’d wanted, but spilling Jeremy’s blood would not have brought any justice for what he had done.

  Anger shaded Bryson’s face just for a moment. “Jeremy’s supposed to be here tonight,” he said with a tentative expression as he studied her. Maybe she was being paranoid, but she thought she saw hints that he was feeling sorry for her. “I just remembered.”

  “It’s okay…well, it’s not, but it doesn’t mean I’m not going to walk in there with my head held high at my favorite guy’s side,” she assured him, ignoring the anxiety squeezing in her chest. What would Jeremy have to say to her tonight?

  “You sure? We don’t have to—”

  “Bryce, we’re going downstairs.” Erica swung the room door open. “End of conversation.” She held out her hand to him, he took it and they walked out together, but they didn’t g
o too far before he stopped her.

  “I love you, Erica. You look amazing tonight, and I’m so glad we’re here together. I want tonight to be a beginning for us to work on getting back what we had. I just wanted to make sure I told you that.”

  A feeling of peace warmed her. “I love you, too, Bryce. I’m glad we’re here together, too.” They took the elevator down to the lobby and walked into the enormous and crowded event hall with her arm threaded through his. It was stunning in there with the dimmed lighting, the bobbing black and white balloons, and the towering ivory tulip and black calla lily centerpieces. The actual program, featuring the speeches and performances, was not scheduled to start for another half an hour or so, but dinner had already been served, so people were mingling, and a jazz band played on the stage. She wondered where Dylan was, and she realized her purse was in Stazia’s room, but she spotted Wes leaning against one of the room’s thick white columns. He gestured for her to come to him.

  “Go,” Bryson said. “I gotta go play nice with the Silver Method folks.” He placed a kiss on her temple and then her cheek before vanishing into the maze of a room. With every step of her approach, Wes’ expression only got graver. Oh, fuck…what now?

  “E, are you all right?” he said, hugging her. “I just got that fucked up text. Dylan did, too. She said Kai called her really angry, so he got it, too, I bet. She’s outside on the phone trying to calm him down. He’s been calling you. Abel said he got it. He’s pissed. He wants to apologize to Bryson. I’m so sorry about this, baby girl.”

  Her stomach twisted with more distress, and she felt the first burn of tears, opting to suppress them. It was probably fair to assume he had sent it to all her friends, but who could guess how far-reaching that text would actually get. Whether anyone believed it or not, the not truths hurt, too. Fuck Chase. He isn’t going to win this. No matter what. “Thanks, Wes, can you come help me find Dylan, please?”

  “Can’t, E. I’m not done with my barbeque shrimp.” He pointed to his plate at a nearby table that wasn’t in use, but his eyes were locked to something over her shoulder. He tried to stop her, but she spun and placed herself at the exact angle he was standing. Jeremy was in her direct line of sight, several tables away, laughing with a group of guys and girls. It was so eerily similar to all the fun times he’d had with their group of friends.

  She turned back to Wes. “You’re here for him, aren’t you?”

  Wes narrowed his blue eyes. “He’s got to go to the bathroom sometime.”

  “Let me guess, you’ll only get probation?”

  “Exactly.” Wes’ sullen expression finally broke into a grin. “Ooh, looks like things are about to get real interesting for that asshole.” Suddenly, a crew of security guards was at Jeremy’s table, and after a brief, tense exchange with them, Bryson approached next. Interesting was not the word she would’ve chosen. Erica dashed over there as quickly as she could.

  “Not here, Bryce…” Her skin was on fire under the stares of the people Jeremy was sitting with. She wondered if they were looking at her because Chase had sent them the text, too.

  “Get the fuck out of my party,” Bryson ordered, leaning down until he was right in Jeremy’s face. The ire in his eyes looked powerful enough to make Jeremy implode. “All of you should go, too,” he added.

  Jeremy rocked his chair back and balanced on the balls of his feet. Knowing the true undertone of the conversation, he held a taunting smirk on Erica first then transitioned a challenging one to Bryson. “You didn’t invite me. My label arranged this. I’m performing as part of the big tribute concert, remember?”

  With a growl, Bryson collared him, lifting him right out of the chair, and the momentum rocked the entire table, causing everyone to jump back away from it. The eruption of disorder drew the attention of the guests at nearby tables, but Bryson showed no interest in prudence as he throttled Jeremy, with a flurry of people trying to yank him off. They were evenly paired physically, but Bryson had caught him off guard, giving himself the advantage. “This whole fucking time! You looked me in the fucking eye and you asked! This whole fucking time. You motherfucker!” Bryson yanked his fist back, but before he could land a punch, a tangle of hands netted his arm. Though struggling in futility, Bryson remained undeterred in his need to hit Jeremy.

  “Bryce, stop!” Erica yelled, but it was another act done in vain because she was suddenly pushed to the outside of the tower of bodies surrounding Bryson and Jeremy.

  “Get the fuck off me, Ellis! Come on, man! It’s a lie! It’s a goddamn lie!” Jeremy shouted. He finally gained his bearings and managed to weaken Bryson’s hold on him, but security was already pulling them apart and dragging them both out of the room.

  “Shut the hell up!” Bryson screamed as he tried to free himself and get a hand on Jeremy. Erica and the group from the table trailed them out, and the raucous quickly nabbed the attention of the stragglers in the lobby, press members included. The security released Bryson almost immediately but kept Jeremy restrained. Bryson slung his arm around Erica’s shoulders and pulled her into his chest, leading her away. Erica was shaking, and she could hear her pulse beating in her ears. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion.

  “Mr. Bunyan, you and your party have to leave the event,” she heard one of the security members say behind her.

  “I didn’t do anything!” But when people started snapping pictures, Jeremy suddenly calmed down. The gossip blogs would devour this scene tomorrow, Erica thought. But everyone here was familiar with dealing with media, so releasing boilerplate statements about the unfortunate nature of the situation and asking for privacy were the predictable next steps.

  “In order to maintain the safety of all hotel guests and patrons, we reserve the right to withdraw and deny entry to anyone at any time. If you have your valet ticket, someone will bring your car around for you or contact a car service instead,” security further explained to Jeremy and his entourage.

  “Whoa, what’s going on here?” Wes asked as he walked up to the gathering of Jeremy’s friends still arguing with the security guards. He wore a confused expression momentarily before he raised his arm and blindsided Jeremy with a hard hit to the cheek that forcefully sent his head swinging to the side. “Signed...everyone.” He winked at Erica. “Sorry, had to,” Wes added, as security corralled him with the group of people they were ejecting from the building.

  Dylan and Naomi walked into the lobby next and buried her in hugs before ferrying her off to the ladies’ room. Dylan shooed all the women out and locked the main bathroom door after them.

  “We’ve been looking all over for you,” Naomi said. She grabbed a piece of tissue and dabbed Erica’s cheeks as she held her hand. “It’ll be okay. I don’t know when or how, but it’ll be all right.” How odd, Erica didn’t even realize she was crying until Naomi touched her. And had her big sister really just become a big sister? She was still adjusting to this role reversal between them, but Erica suddenly got a flash of who Naomi would be in a few years as a mom. She had never wanted this attention from her before, but tonight she needed it.

  “And what the hell just happened? Was that Jeremy?” Dylan asked, her eyes narrowing as she spoke his name. She had witnessed the confrontation between them at Wintervention, and she’d had her own experience with both Jeremy and Chase while working for Kai.

  “I told Bryce what happened, finally,” she explained.

  The bright lighting illuminated the tears settling in Naomi’s eyes. “Oh, God, Erica… I hate those guys. I hate both of them so much! Why won’t he just leave you alone? Haven’t they done enough?”

  “E, I hate to pile on, but we have another problem. Our neighbor called earlier. She said some guy was hanging out outside our apartment this evening, and it looked like he was doing something to our door, but he left in a hurry when she called out to him. She called the police. I already spoke to an officer about it. It didn’t look like there was actual entry. But alarm system or not, I just
don’t think I want to stay there tonight. I’m going to go pick up Buttons with her and Hayden later,” Dylan said solemnly. “Abel said we can crash at their place if you want.”

  Erica leaned against one of the doors of the stalls, rolling her head back against it. She felt lightheaded and it was probably due to having held her breath periodically since entering the bathroom. Everything she had toiled over at the Elliotts’ home was unfolding; maybe there was no real way to keep her friends out of it, no matter how much she tried. “I’m going to the police tomorrow, too. They probably won’t be able to do anything since Chase probably didn’t text from any phone still in his possession.” She shifted her gaze to them. “As strange as it sounds, I really hope it was him at the apartment. At least that’s something.”

  “Is there anything we can do for you right now?” Dylan asked, cradling her face. “Do you want to get out of here?”

  “No! Come on. You guys have on pretty dresses and we’re at a party! Go enjoy the night.” She attempted a confident smile, but the edges of her composure were weakening at a rapid rate. “I’ll be fine. I just need a minute.”