“Why is he even free? Shouldn’t he be in jail?” I ask.
David sighs again. “Yeah, he motherfucking should. Supposedly they brought him in for questioning, but released him ‘pending investigation’,” he spits bitterly.
“He denied it?” I gasp.
“Well would you fucking admit it?” he says harshly. “Look, I’m sorry. I don’t know all the details. I only spoke to Kari—she’s one of Liz’s sorority sisters. But you know how these things go. He said–she said and all that shit. He denies he was even with her, so they’re investigating, I guess. I texted Liz, but she’s not responding to me. Not that I can fucking blame her, considering I’m the one who introduced her to that piece of shit.”
I swallow down my guilt. Because, actually, that was me. I’m the one who befriended him, who invited him to the bar Friday night.
“This isn’t your fault, Bea.” David reads my mind. “It’s not. But you need to be a little less trusting, okay? Not everyone deserves your friendship.”
“Yeah,” I breathe.
But the fact remains, if I’d been smarter, more vigilant, Liz would never have been attacked. Brody’s behavior was alarming, and I so easily dismissed it and accepted his explanation.
Did he read me? Realize I was awkward and shy, and use it against me? Am I that easy to manipulate?
I feel stupid. The self-worth I’ve spent three years trying to rebuild into something tangible slowly starts to chip away again. I hate that I’ve given Brody that power, and it makes me resent myself even more.
“Look, I’m almost at your dorm. Hang up, and call security,” David says softly, kid gloves on tight. I don’t even blame him.
“I need to sign you in,” I say almost robotically.
“No.”
“But—”
“Do not leave your room for any reason, Bea. Do you understand?”
David’s order reminds me that the danger remains, and that it is very real. “Okay.”
“I’ll have Shitface sign me in. He lives in your building.”
“Good to have pledges,” I murmur.
David huffs out a breath. “I’ll see you in a minute.” He hangs up.
I stare at my phone. But instead of calling campus security, my first call is to Lani. She’s jumpy and nervous and confirms she’s been trying to reach me to tell me about the assault. She’s in Campus West, another freshman dorm, studying with Elise, a girl in her statistics class she’s become friends with.
I tell her what happened with Brody. She had no idea he lived in our building, either.
“Which is weird, right?” she says. “A guy who looks like that…I mean, you notice him, you know? Although he seems kinda lurky, like he’s trying to blend into the shadows.”
She has no idea. Again, I’m reminded that the red flags were all there, and that I chose to ignore them.
“Yeah,” I tell her. “Look, I gotta go. But maybe you should ask Elise if you could stay there tonight?” Lani has mentioned that Elise’s roommate is a townie who rarely stays in the dorm, so I know there’s probably an empty bed for her.
“I’m not going to leave you alone tonight, Beth,” Lani asserts. Because she’s that kind of friend.
“I’m already in the room, door locked tight. And anyway, David is on his way up.”
I hear the smirk in her voice when she says, “Of course he is. Well, you know, maybe he should stay the night. Just to make sure everything’s kosher, right? He can sleep in my bed. I wouldn’t mind coming home to my pillow smelling of that man.”
Lani elicits an impossible giggle despite my mood, if a vaguely jealous one. I don’t want David in her bed, even alone.
“Or, actually, my bed is super uncomfortable. I totally forgot. He should probably just bunk up with you. You can both fit; you just need to cuddle real close—”
“Oh, shh, Lani!”
