Cheap Shot by Brittney Mulliner
Reid
This had easily beenthe longest week of my life. Sleeping on the floor of Benjamin’s single room wasn’t exactly the most pleasant experience, especially since the monster woke up at dawn each morning for a run and didn’t even bother attempting to be quiet. He tried to get me to join him the first two days but had since given up.
And that wasn’t even the worst part.
I went through the motions without really thinking or seeing or feeling. I went to class when I was supposed to, took notes that didn’t make sense later, then went to practice or training. We had two games since the disastrous night, and I couldn’t even remember the highlights.
I felt like a zombie leaving my last lecture for the day. I just wanted to climb into my bed and ignore the world for a while. I crossed the central quad and headed toward the dorms.
I was miserable, and the idea of continuing like this until the season was over was enough to make me want to quit and leave this all behind. Nothing seemed worth it anymore. How could this be better than being with Haley? Sure, it would be stressful and there would have to be a lot of compromising and communication so neither of us built up resentment toward the other, but I would much rather have that kind of burden than walking through life like nothing mattered.
There was no way this was the right choice if it felt so wrong.
I hadn’t seen or spoken to Haley, and Ethan avoided the subject of his sister around me, but from the bits and pieces I’d overheard from the guys, I knew she wasn’t doing much better than me. She hadn’t left our room, not even to go to classes.
Granted, she was also recovering from the assault, and I knew that was more of the reason she was hunkering down than nursing a broken heart.
Still, knowing she wasn’t happy either weighed me down. I didn’t take any joy in knowing she was suffering like me. I wanted to fix things. I wanted to find a way for both of us to be happy, preferably together.
We hadn’t even given us a chance. We gave up the second things got a little bit difficult. One word from my coaches, and I was ready to walk away. Things between me and Ethan were as tense as ever, but we could work through things. He wanted Haley to be happy too. That was all that mattered in the end, and I knew in my heart that I could be the one to put her smile back in place.
I was done. I couldn’t go another day like this. My phone was in my hands, calling Haley before I could talk myself out of it. It rang and rang before going to her voicemail. She didn’t ignore my call, so at least that was something.
If the guys were right, she was probably still in my room, so I picked up my pace, feeling something other than dread for the first time in days.
As soon as the building came into view, I jogged up to the entrance and took the stairs two at a time to my floor. Our door was locked, so I knocked before using my key to let myself in. I held my breath as I pushed it open fully, ready to see Haley.
It was empty.
I checked our small bathroom, but she wasn’t in there either. A quick glance around revealed nothing. No sign of her. None of her clothing or books or her backpack. She wasn’t staying here. At least not anymore.
I ran my hand through my hair. Where was she?
Would she go back to her room? I hadn’t heard anything from the officers about Jay getting arrested, but maybe she or Ethan had. I didn’t like the idea of her being alone if he was still out there.
Ethan would have told me. Or he would have told Benjamin who would have then told me.
No. Something was wrong.
She wasn’t here, and she wasn’t answering her phone. I could be jumping to conclusions, but my gut was screaming that I needed to find her and confirm for myself that she was safe.
I dumped my backpack on the ground next to my bed and turned to head back downstairs. If she wasn’t here, she was probably in her dorm or with her friends. As long as she wasn’t alone …
I called Ethan as I jogged down the stairs to the back entrance that was closest to her dorm.
“Hey, man.” I was so surprised he actually answered and hadn’t cursed at me that I missed a step and stumbled down to the floor, barely catching myself on the railing so I didn’t hit face first. “Have you seen Haley?” I rushed out the words while pushing the door open and stepping into the courtyard between our buildings.
“Yeah, I walked her to her dorm a few hours ago.”
That should have been a relief, but I only felt sick.
“I tried calling her, but she didn’t answer.” I sounded a little bit insane, or obsessed, but I couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong.
“She said she was going to hang out with her friends. Maybe she’s just distracted.”
“Yeah, maybe.” I ran across the lawn and climbed the steps to the entrance of her building and took the stairs again running up to her floor.
“I’m at a study group right now. I’ll be done in about an hour. If you haven’t heard back from her by then, I’ll call her.”
I shoved open the door to her hall. It was empty. Silent. Strange for this time of night.
“Okay, man.”
“Talk to you––”
A scream sounded from farther down the hall, and I took off running.
“What was that?” Ethan sounded panicked.
“A scream.” I reached Haley’s door and turned the handle. It was locked but when I heard a muffled yell, I took a step back and kicked the door in with all the force I had. It shattered at the contact and swung in.
“What was that?” Ethan screeched in my ear.
“Call 911.” I ended the call and dropped my phone as I ran into the room and tackled the man on top of Haley to the ground.
She was still screaming as I wrested the blond guy until I had his hands behind him and my knee digging into his spine, keeping him from moving.
“Haley, you’re okay,” I told her while I looked over her body for any signs of injury. Her top was torn and there were more angry red marks on her neck and arms, but other than that, she was fine. She was whole. She was safe now.
“Haley! What’s going on?” a female voice called from the doorway.
“Sadie! Call the police,” another girl told her friend.
Jay shifted under me, and I threw a punch to the side of his head. He grunted and stopped moving.
I listened to Sadie tell the operator where we were and what was happening. “She said officers are less than five minutes away.”
I nodded but didn’t take my attention off the creep below me.
The tense moments passed quickly, and soon, heavy footsteps sounded toward us.
“You can get off. I’ll restrain him.” A man stood over me, and I checked over his uniform, confirming he was a police officer, before slowly standing and stepping away from Jay.
He was in cuffs and being carried out of the room within seconds.
Sadie and the other girl, Ella, stepped to the side and watched us from across the room.
I turned to Haley and wrapped her in my arms. She crumpled into me. It was like we were both waiting for him to be gone before allowing ourselves to absorb the situation.
“Haley!” Ethan’s voice carried from down the hall. He ran into the room, looking around before coming toward us. “What happened?”
It was then that I realized she hadn’t said a single word. She was shaking against me, and when I pulled away enough to see her face, she clung to me and pressed herself into my chest.
A paramedic entered the room and was directed to us. “Can I look you over? I want to make sure you’re not injured.”
I shifted, and Haley stared up at the women and gave one nod. I held her hand and looked back at Ethan.
“I heard screaming and busted down the door.” I started to explain realized another officer was at the entrance to the room, listening and assessing the damage. “He was on top of her on the floor. I tackled him and restrained him. Sadie came in right after that and called 911.”
The officer stepped farther into the room. “Miss, can you tell us what happened?”
Haley tensed, and I rubbed my hand up and down her back. “Take all the time you need.”
She inhaled a big breath and slowly let it out. “There was a knock on my door. I assumed it was one of my friends and opened it. When I realized it was him, I tried to shut it, but he was too fast. He pushed his way in and locked it behind him then shoved me to the ground. He climbed on top of me pinned down my legs and arms with his. I tried to kick and thrash to get him off me, but he started choking me and I panicked. I stopped moving, and he let go of my throat. Then he started kissing me and tried to rip my shirt. I was able to scream, and that’s when Reid burst in.”
Each word she said made me feel sicker until I thought I was going to throw up. He pinned her down. He forced himself on her. Again.
“Why wasn’t he arrested before this?” I asked, clenching my jaw to keep from making any more accusations.
“He’s been hiding since the attack last week.” His eyes flashed to Haley before dropping again.
“Why weren’t we notified of that?” Ethan demanded. “We thought you guys had already taken care of him. I wouldn’t have let her out of my sight if I knew that creep was still walking freely.”
“I’m not one of the officers assigned to that case so I don’t have all the details. I can assure you now that he will not be leaving our custody until he faces trial.”
“What about bail?” Haley asked.
“Someone who is an obvious danger like him will have a very high bail set, and he will not be allowed back on campus if he is able to pay it.”
She closed her eyes and rested her head against my shoulder. “That won’t stop him.”
I wrapped my arms tighter around her. “We’ll make sure he doesn’t get the chance to post bail.”
Ethan locked eyes with me and nodded. It was a relief to finally be on the same side as him for the first time in so long.
After a few more questions and a promise to follow up with us in the morning, the officers left. Haley remained in my lap while Ethan and Sadie worked together to gather enough of her clothing and necessary school work that we wouldn’t have to come back here until maintenance was able to fix the door.
“I’m so sorry, Haley. I shouldn’t have left you alone. I should have just skipped.” Ethan helped her stand and held her tight.
“You didn’t know. None of us could have predicted that.” She sighed against him. “I don’t know how he found out what room is mine.”
He was insane and a stalker. It wouldn’t have taken much for him to get that information.
“Don’t think about him anymore. He’s in custody and can’t get to you,” I assured her.
Sadie, who looked like she was two seconds away from breaking down, reached for her and hugged her until Haley grunted. “I’m so sorry. I should have come sooner. I was supposed to make sure you had someone with you.”
“It’s not your fault.” Haley smiled at her friend. “I’ll go crazy if I think about all the things that might have happened differently. If I asked who was at the door before opening it. Or asking our RA to wait with me until someone else could get here. But he’s the only person I blame. He was the one that targeted me and attacked me.”
She was so strong. So brave. I was grateful she had this mindset, but I wanted to make sure it stayed this way. I never wanted her to blame herself for the vile actions of that monster. She was a victim, but she was also a fighter. A survivor.
Ethan headed to the door with Sadie, but I reached for Haley’s hand and tugged her toward me. I held her until the officers asked her to speak to her for her official statement. The paramedics cleared us but offered to take us to the hospital for testing. Haley declined, and there wasn’t a chance I was going to leave her. My knuckles were fine, just bruised.
I stayed with her that night, and the next. I slept on the floor and woke anytime she moved or make a sound. She needed time to heal, physically and mentally, but when she got up the following morning and smiled at me, I knew she was going to be okay.
My heart nearly burst, and I knew I couldn’t hold back any longer.
“We need to talk.”