Page 26 of Claimed and Shamed

Melissa shakes her head, looking scared out of her head. “No, I don't. I don't know what to do.”

“Okay, first things first, we need to get Tricia somewhere safe,” I say, thinking quickly. "Stevie, can you try to find a blanket or something? This is a dorm after all?"

Stevie nods and hurries off, while I try to keep Melissa calm and Tricia awake.

“It's okay, Tricia. We're going to help you,” I say, while Melissa just shakes her head, tears streaming down her face.

“I didn't mean to. I just wanted to feel something.”

I feel a pang of sympathy for her, but I know we need to act quickly. Stevie returns with a blanket, and we wrap Tricia up and guide her out of the party.

“Can you take her to a hospital?” I ask Melissa. She nods, looking relieved to have a role in the plan.

“Yeah, I’ll take her right away.”

“I’ll go with you guys!” Stevie tries to stay with them and I grab her by the arm again.

“Ah ah ah! We have other things to deal with tonight,” I say, dragging her outside.

Sawyer finally catches up to us and we all start arguing with each other.

“Why would you come here, Stevie? You’re not a fucking bimbo like these other girls. I thought you were smarter than this! We warned you so many times!” I yell and Stephanie huffs.

“I can't believe you guys sometimes,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest. “I'm not a child. You’re acting like overprotective parents.”

“But you're not invincible either,” I shoot back. “You have to be careful, Stevie. Look at Tricia for God’s sake! You don't know what kind of people you're dealing with.”

“I can handle myself,” she insists.

“Don’t you think Tricia thought the same thing?” I ask, gesturing back to where Melissa is still trying to calm Tricia down.

Stephanie frowns, but I can tell my words have hit home.

“What do you want from me, huh?” she asks, her voice softening. “I can't always live my life in a bubble. I need to have fun sometimes.”

“It's not about living in a bubble,” Sawyer says, trying to keep his voice even. “It's about being responsible. You have to be smart about the risks you take. You’re young and clearly you need people looking out for you.”

“I know,” she says, but her tone is resigned. “I just...I don't want to miss out on anything, you know?”

“I get it,” Sawyer says, putting a hand on her shoulder. “But there's a difference between living your life to the full and putting yourself in danger. I care about you, Stevie. I don't want anything to happen to you.”

Stevie looks up at me, her eyes searching mine to see if I feel the same. As if to ask ‘Why are you here?’

“I don’t want to see you hurt either, Stevie,” I hear myself say. “Why else do you think Sawyer and I are here?”

“You care about me?” she asks, sounding surprised. I freeze, realizing what I've just said.

I look at Sawyer but he hasn’t seemed to notice anything off.

“Of course,” I say, hoping to brush it off. “We're friends, aren't we?”

Stephanie doesn't look convinced. “Is that all we are?” she asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

I take a step back, suddenly feeling as if the ground is shifting beneath me.

“Stevie,” I say, my voice shaking. There’s no way she’s actually saying all this. It must be the pills she took, because there is no way she would be this bold in front of Sawyer or this vulnerable in front of me.

How much truth is there to this?