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I glossed over the articles only to read the same political garbage that seemed to be on repeat. It wasn’t until I turned to page ten that something caught my eyes. The heading read ‘Lingerie Giant Accused of Assault.’ Holding the newspaper to my face, I studied the picture. My head grew light, stomach churning when I saw who it was.
It couldn’t be.
I didn’t want it to be.
I tried to read the article, my mind battling to absorb the information.
It read:
‘New York based Lingerie Giant has been accused of assault. The alleged offense occurred in one of the bedrooms, at what the victim has described as a frat-like party. Hawk Carnage, the owner of Carnage Lingerie, is facing charges of indecent assault and possible rape convictions. The victim, Rita Waltsworth, filed the complaint last night at the downtown district police headquarters. The red-headed beauty, who works as a head-hunter for large corporations, has told the New York Times, she’s only seeking justice, so it doesn’t happen to anyone else.’The article continued, but I was on the verge of being sick. Lowering my head between my legs, I attempted to steady my breathing. My entire body was trembling, but it wasn’t cold on the plane. My heart was further breaking when I didn’t think that would be possible. I could hear the hostess talking in the background asking if I was okay. I could feel her fingers touch me gently on my back, offering comfort on what would have been a standard, perfectly smooth flight. Yet, all I had was one thought on continual repeat. Taunting and jeering.
Why was everything suddenly spinning out of control?ARMED WITH THE NEWSPAPER rolled up in my handbag, I drove to Slate’s house. He always had the best advice, and never shied away from giving it. That’s what I needed, someone to take the lead and safely direct me through this shit storm. When I pulled up, I saw Ricky and Harry were also there. I didn’t need to ring the doorbell because the door was ajar, their voices filtering out. What I did notice because it was rare, was that there was no laughing.
I walked down the hall, my heels clicking slowly on the polished wooden floor. As the sounds echoed into the living room, the conversations ceased. Emerging from the hallway, I stared at the serious faces belonging to my three brothers. I took a few more steps and paused, retrieved the newspaper from my handbag and dropped it on the coffee table open to the page of the incriminating article.
“Can someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?”
They looked nervously at each other, and I was just about ready to crack.
“Who the hell is this woman?”
“We only know her as Rita,” Ricky began. “When she arrived at Jarod’s party, she claimed to know Hawk. You know those parties were guest list only, but her whole face lit up when she saw him, and when I asked how she knew him she said they had a casual fling going on once.”
“So, does Hawk actually know her?” I asked, thinking of all the times she magically appeared and on every single occasion Hawk was in the mix.
“No,” they all said at once.
“So, let me get this straight...” I began. “This chick started popping up everywhere, claiming she and Hawk had a ‘thing’ going on. Was quite happy to place herself in his path. Was more than happy to throw herself continually at him, and then... she claims he sexually assaulted her at Jarod’s ‘frat-like’ party when she practically mauled him in front of everyone. Is everyone following me?”
They all nodded in agreeance.
“So...” I continued, collapsing in a single sofa chair, “... has anyone seen Hawk? Is there any validity to this story?”
“There’s no validity,” came the rumbling voice that had been evading me all weekend. I looked up to meet his penetrating glare. “And I would have thought you of people would know that.”
Was this a challenge?
I’d rise to it.
“I don’t know what I know anymore, Hawk. I haven’t exactly had the best forty-eight hours either.” I stared at the man who still made me throb between the legs, who still set my heart aflutter, and now who still broke it every time I saw him.
“Well, let me set the record straight, Britta.” Hawk stepped forward out of the shadows of the room he was in. His attention solely targeted at me, and I felt another three sets of eyes flicking between us. I looked at my brothers, who other than Slate, were puzzled by the intensity between us. Slate knew all this time. “The record is that there is no record. I don’t know of this woman and I sure as fuck would have remembered if I had indeed... fucked her. She came into my life the same time you saw her throw herself at me. And since that point, she’s continued to make her presence known. She didn’t care who saw her get rejected, she didn’t care if she made a fool of herself. And I can only wonder why that would be the case. It was like she put on a show every time.”
