Chapter 4

• DANI
• Tonight was girls’ night and after the whole drama with Zack, I really needed it.
• The breakup affected me more than I admitted. I acted like I was okay but inside I was dying. That was the thing with emotional pain, you could never really explain it to someone, and even if you tried, they would never fully comprehend what you were feeling inside.
• When I finally caved and told my mom about it, she just kissed me on my forehead and said, “At least he’s still alive, sugar-muffin.” She didn’t need to explain. Dad was six feet under and Zack was still living and breathing. I could see him if I chose to whereas Mom only had memories.
• Every Friday after class Tina and Beth came over to my house in Wilshire/Montana and we’d have a movie and food fest. Candy, takeout, sodas, or wine for them. I wasn’t a drinker for no reason other than I just didn’t like to, but I never judged anyone who was into it.
• Tina sighed dreamily while staring at the full-length poster of my ultimate celebrity crush Remy Le Roux pasted behind my bedroom door. “Please tell me we’re watching the latest season of College Brat?” He was not only the star of the show, but he was also an award-winning dancer/rapper/singer; and a sinfully gorgeous supermodel.
• Beth snorted, tucking a pillow under her chest, and grinned. “And you’re asking this, why?”
• Chuckling, I rolled on the rumpled cerise comforter and rested on my elbow. “That’s what I’d like to know?”
• When mom’s friends came over for their book club thingy, we moved our party to my cerise pink, black, and white bedroom. It was spacious and decorated simply. Just a massive king-size bed with a mountain of pillows, a plush charcoal rug spread over the floor, a desk I used to study, a comfy white suede couch, and a huge, wall-to-wall curved TV screen that occupied the greater part of the room.
• “Gosh, he’s gorgeous!” she splayed her hands over the picture, tracing the eight-pack of his lean body with the tips of her fingers. “I would do you, boo-boo. I would do you so good.”
• “You’d have to wait in line,” Beth mumbled through a mouth stuffed with gummy bears. “And go through this one first,” she scrunched her nose and tossed a cute little gummy bear at me.
• “No worth risking our friendship, Tin Tin,” I tsked, pointing the remote to the flickering screen mounted on the wall. Not wanting to miss a single second of the new episode, I’d set a timer for the premier of College Brat. “We all know I’m the unofficial Mrs. Le Roux. I’m allowing him to have his fun but when he’s ready he’ll come and find me.”
• With his sculpted Adonis-like face, unique brooding amber-gold eyes, framed by thick dark lashes, provocative lips, wavy sable hair, and rippled beautiful body, Remy Le Roux was the G in gorgeous, D in Dreamy, the H in hot, and the S in swoon-worthy. His sexy French accent was the frosting and cherry on the cupcake.
• Almost every girl had a celebrity crush and Remy Le Roux was mine. It would annoy Zack when I’d gush over him but I didn’t care. It was no secret that Remy was my guy. I’d watched all his movies and repeatedly watched his TV show, been to all his local concerts, and even flew to Belgium once.
• Although he had a rep for being a bad boy, I personally thought that he was just misunderstood. He went through women the way I went through Big Berry Tic Tacs, and that’s downplaying it. At twenty-one, he was an icon, and since I religiously followed him closely on his social media, he hadn’t been in a committed relationship. He would surely break a lot of hearts when and if he did settle down, (mine included).
• “For a piece of that, I just might,” Tina winked, the mattress bouncing as she threw herself beside me. “Do you remember the time we snuck into his dressing room and stumbled in on him drilling his stylist against the mirror?”
• We all burst into a fit of giggles at the memory. “His jeans were dropped to his knees and we saw his taut dimpled, baby-smooth butt.” Drool filled my mouth and I smacked my lips loudly.
• Beth sighed, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. “Best back view I’ve ever seen in my life…”
• “He didn’t even hear us,” I sat up between my friends and shook my head.
• “Because the lucky girl was moaning so loudly. I’m surprised security didn’t rush to her rescue,” Beth threw her blonde head back and snickered. “Remmyyyyy! Yes, babyyyy!!!” Her imitation was on point and drove us into another bout of tickles.
• “The funniest part for me was she still had a blow-dryer in her hand!” Goshness, that was hilarious, I remember us laughing as we made a run for it before we got caught. “And it was still on!” We always had VIP tickets with backstage passes. I had more money than I knew what to do with so I liked to spoil my friends.
• “No, no!” Tina shot up beside me. “I think it was the part where he was casually dragging his cigarette while he jack-hammered into her.”
• We cracked up and chorused. “Epic!”
• “She was totally faking it,” Tina snorted, lying back down again. “The loud ones usually are.”
• “I doubt,” I said. “He has quite a reputation. All the women he’s been with can’t stop singing his praises.”
• “It’s a pity we couldn’t go to the after-party though…” Beth nibbled her lip and the room fell silent and a feeling of sadness swept in.
• That was the fateful night I got the call about my dad. The night my whole world turned upside down.
• Thankfully, my phone broke into the silence and I patted around the covers, looking for it. “Here it is!” Tina sing-songed and handed it to me. “And…it’s your ex mom-in-law.””
• I cut the call off and put my phone on flight mode.
• “Not in the mood.”
• After my older brother caught Zack going through my stuff the other night and had him arrested for trespassing, his mother had been blowing up my phone. She accused me of setting up her son because he rejected me and said a lot of hurtful things to me, hurling unjustified insults, when I was the victim. Not her son.
• My mom and brother agreed to drop the charges if I agreed to get a restraining order. That's how he got off the hook. His mother didn't see it as pity, she saw it as spite.
• Tina sat cross-legged, dropping a cushion onto her lap. “So, I heard Mrs. Miller is accusing him of rape?”
• “I heard,” I sighed and pushed myself against the inbuilt padded headboard. “She’s probably trying to save her neck.”
• “I guess the bruises I gifted her the other day helped her case,” she said.
• “Some students in the quad were talking about it,” Beth said, moving closer to me. “They heard her and coach go off at each other in his office. Coach Miller heard about Closet Gate and she told him that Zack repeatedly violated her in the janitor’s closet. She threw in tears and he was a goner. Had him kicking himself for being an inconsiderate jerk.”
• “She also told him that you lured her there, and kept watch,” Tina added. “While your boyfriend used and abused her.”
• How dare they drag me into this mess! “What?!”
• “Just be careful,” Tina frowned. “And stay out of it.”
• “We know that you’re tempted to help,” Beth squeezed my shoulder. “This could get messier. Just don’t get involved, okay?”
• I nodded but my mind was in turmoil. Would my conscience allow an innocent guy to go to jail for something that he didn’t do? Could I just stand by and do nothing? “College Brat is on,” I announced, reaching out for the Pringles and turning my focus to the TV. “Let’s not talk about Zack for now.” Or ever. I was cool with that.
• Although I would heed their advice, something told me these weren’t just typical campus rumors. I was already neck-deep in this. Call it a gut feeling, but I sensed that my troubles with Zack were just beginning.
• My friends were right though. I was going to stay away from him.
• I owed him nothing.