Cheap Shot by Brittney Mulliner
Haley
My heart thuddedin my chest. After everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, I was pretty sure I was reaching my limit. My body was going to give out soon. Ethan was silent when we walked me to my door earlier. I thought I was off the hook, but it seemed like he was just waiting to boil over.
“I can’t believe you would be so stupid!” Ethan roared at me while he stomped around the quiet courtyard. He was usually too tired after practice to do anything but eat and sleep, but he found enough energy to scream at me.
This was too much. I wasn’t stupid. I made a mistake. I wasn’t paying close enough attention. I’d been in the middle of working through a panic attack. I was overwhelmed and couldn’t think clearly when all I wanted was to get back to my friends.
“You’re an embarrassment to me, our parents, and yourself.” His words were another slap in the face. “I should call them and tell them you need to go home. You clearly can’t take care of yourself and need supervision.”
“Ethan, no! Please don’t do that.” I clutched at the edge of the table in front of me. It was my worst nightmare coming true. If he told them what happened, they would be on the next flight here to pack me up and drive me home.
I shouldn’t have answered his call. I shouldn’t have met him. He was clearly upset, and I didn’t think it was entirely about me and what happened. Something else was going on, and he was taking it out on me.
“Why not? You were drugged. Who knows what would have happened to you if Reid hadn’t gotten there?” He marched a path in front of me.
Didn’t he hear all the flaws in his blaming me? I was drugged. I didn’t purposely or willfully take anything. It was entirely Jay’s fault.
“You’re victim-blaming,” I retorted. “I know I shouldn't have gone to that party, but someone violated me when they took my choice away and put something in my drink. I am lucky I was able to get somewhere safe and even luckier that I remembered Reid’s number and not just yours because you weren’t there to help me.” My voice rose, but I didn’t care. If we gained an audience, it would look bad for him, not me.
“You know better. You should have left. You shouldn’t have even put yourself in that position.” He stopped moving and rubbed his face. “People saw you. They think you’re easy now. They think you’re this mess that parties too hard and is looking for the wrong kind of attention.”
Was he right? Did people think that about me?
How could news spread so fast?
I didn’t believe him. He was just upset and telling lies.
“Was last year not enough? Did you not learn anything?”
That was it. That was too far. I stood, squaring off against him.
“How dare you?” I ground out each word. “Don’t you ever throw that in my face.”
His eyes flashed with regret, but he was too worked up to stop now.
“You need to think about your actions and the consequences.”
I rolled my shoulders back. “You mean, how my actions might affect you?”
He straightened to his full height, looking down his nose at me. “Yes. Exactly. My reputation matters. What people think about me matters. I won’t let you screw that up for me.”
I shoved at his chest, but he didn’t move. “Not everything is about you. It’s my life, Ethan! You can’t even stop for five seconds to realize how that night made me feel. How terrified I was. How hard it was to think straight long enough to find a phone and call you for help. Only you didn’t answer! The one time in my life that I needed you.” My voice broke. “And you weren’t there.”
He stepped back and lowered his head. “I’m sorry.”
That was it. Still no explanation. I didn’t care anymore. If he was doing something he shouldn’t, it wasn’t my problem. He made it clear I was on my own, and as far as I was concerned, so was he.
I huffed out a laugh. “No you’re not.”
I turned and walked away from him before he could find another thing to blame me for. Something was clearly wrong with him, but it wasn’t my problem. He could sort it out without using me as his personal punching bag. He was used to our family giving in to his demands and always putting him and his needs first. Not anymore. I was done.
I left him behind and hurried down the curved pathway toward the closest cafe. It was late afternoon and I didn’t have anywhere to be, and it was the first place that came to mind. Having a destination helped focus on my mind on something other than the rage boiling within me.
Ethan and I didn’t always get along. We’d never been the type of siblings that were best friends, but we always had each other’s backs when it was necessary. If we needed to join forces as a team against our parents or convince them to agree with us. We weren’t close, but I always thought he would be there for me when I needed him.
Part of my heart had shattered when I finally accepted this morning that things had changed and that was no longer the case.
We were two separate people that happened to share parents and a last name.
There was a long line out the door for the cafe, but I didn’t have anywhere else to be so I quietly stepped in and folded my arms I wanted to give in to the pain in my chest and break down, but he wasn’t worth it. He wasn’t crying over me. I knew that for a fact, so I wouldn’t waste the emotional drain and headache that would surely come after.
I didn’t see the girls earlier, but they’d texted me, asking where I’d disappeared to. I let them know my suspicions that Jay drugged me and that a friend came and picked me up and promised to catch them up next time we were all together.
The line moved quickly, and I ordered a caramel latte before moving to the side and waiting. When the barista called my name, I took my cup and headed for the door. Someone stepped in my path, blocking me from the exit.
I lifted my head and gasped.
Jay.
“Hi, Haley.” He grinned and brushed a strand of hair over my shoulder. “I didn’t get a chance to say bye to you last night.”
I shifted out of his reach. “Excuse me.”
His smile grew but didn’t reach his eyes. How hadn’t I noticed how dead they were?
“We can go somewhere else if you want. You came all this way to see me.”
I glanced around and realized I was at the cafe closest to Granger Hall. I didn’t even think about that on my way over. I should have been avoiding this area entirely, but I wasn’t in my right mind.
He took my free hand and tugged me into a corner of the small shop where two chairs were empty. I pulled my hand free and started to turn, but he inserted himself between me and the chair, trapping me in the corner. His face held that creepy smile. I looked around for someone to help me. No one paid us any attention. The closest person was about ten feet away, too far to overhear us.
“Look, I’m sorry if I came on too strong last night.” He leaned against the wall, relaxing his expression into one of casual confidence. “I really liked getting to know you, and you kind of just disappeared, so I didn’t get a chance to get your number.”
Why was he acting like this was normal? For a moment I wondered if I’d imagined the whole thing. Did he really hand me a drink? Was it him or someone else that drugged me? What if someone slipped something into it without him knowing?
No. I could tell there was something off about him in the light of day. Every instinct was screaming at me to get away. I owed him nothing. I didn’t need to stand here and let him talk to me. I wasn’t weak. I wasn’t at his mercy.
“I’m not interested,” I stated as clearly as possible before stepping around another chair and hurrying to the exit.
“Haley, wait up.” He followed me.
I looked to the line, hoping at least one of them was paying attention. A guy that looked vaguely familiar noticed me, and his eyes darted to Jay.
“Hey.” He put his arm around my shoulders. “There you are. I thought you were going to wait for me.”
My initial reaction was to pull away, but then my brain caught up with his words. He was pretending to know me.
“Right, sorry. You weren’t here, and I didn’t know if I would have time to get my drink before my next class.”
He smiled, and it lit up his eyes. “No problem.”
“Who’s this?” Jay asked me.
I slipped my arm around the stranger’s waist.
“Simon.” He offered his hand, but Jay just eyed us.
“My boyfriend,” I added.
Jay’s brows shot up. “You didn’t act like you had a boyfriend last night.”
I wasn’t sure if he was trying to cause drama or poke holes in our story, but Simon didn’t flinch. “Oh, this was the guy giving you problems?”
I met his eyes and nodded, ready to hug him for picking up on things so quickly.
“Yeah, she called me and said she was uncomfortable, so I picked her up. She was really upset that someone ruined the girls’ night out.” His voice grew a bit threatening.
Jay held up his hands. “Whatever, man. She was flirting with me and all over me. If you want that trash, you can have her.”
He shoved past us and hit the door so hard it swung out and hit the wall with a crack.
I stepped away from Simon and let out a sigh. “Thank you so much.”
He nodded, his eyes full of concern. “I noticed how uncomfortable you looked over there, then heard you say you weren’t interested. I didn’t like that he started following you, so I stepped in.”
“I really appreciate it. He wasn’t taking no for an answer.” I was almost shaking now. Adrenaline had kept me alert during the whole altercation, but now I was burned out.
“I’m glad I could help. I hate seeing guys put girls in bad situations.”
“You look familiar.” I couldn’t place where I’d seen him before.
“We’re in the same biology class,” he explained.
I nodded. “Right, yes! Sorry, my brain is kind of foggy.”
He looked me over. “Do you want me to walk you anywhere? It doesn’t have to be your dorm if you don’t want me to know where you live. I can take you to meet up with friends or something.”
He was so thoughtful, and I was tempted to take him up on his offer, but he’d already done enough for me.
“That’s okay, but thanks for offering. I don’t think he’ll be bothering me anymore.”
He nodded once. “If you’re sure.”
“Yeah, I’ll see you later.” I hesitated. “Thank you again.”
He smiled. “No problem. See you in class.”
I was nervous Jay would be waiting for me outside, but he was nowhere to be seen so I hurried across campus toward my dorm. I kept my head up, paying attention to my surroundings even though it was still busy with students milling around.
I was hoping to run into one of the girls or even my political science group but didn’t see any familiar faces on my way. I could see the dining building when I heard my name called.
It was a male voice I didn’t recognize, and I was tempted to ignore it but turned my head just enough in the direction to see Reid and his little brother walking on the path parallel to mine. It must have been Jake that called out.
I waved, and we continued on the sidewalks as they merged together. “Hi, guys.”
Reid eyed me, and Jake grinned.
“Are you okay?” Reid asked. Of course, he could tell something was wrong. He seemed to have an uncanny ability to sense my emotions.
I shrugged. “I’ve had better days.”
Jake chuckled. “I feel you. I thought I was in shape, but one practice with the team, and I’m pretty sure my legs are going to fall off. I’m not sure how I’m even walking right now.”
I laughed. “So are you guys heading in?”
“We’re actually going to grab an early dinner,” Reid answered. “Do you want to come?”
I glanced at Jake. I didn't want to invade their brother time. “Oh no.”
“You should come! I want to hear stories about Reid, and I’ve plenty of dirt on him to share.” Jake wagged his brows.
“I don’t think I––” I started to answer.
“Please come,” Reid interrupted.
One look into his eyes was all it took. He wanted me there, and I couldn’t tell him no, even if everything in me was screaming this was a bad idea. I was only going to end up hurt.