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18 - ADDISON
Idon’t think this is a good idea, Addison. I shouldn’t have dragged you into my mess,” Charlotte said, her voice strained with worry.
I sat at Nana Kelly’s desk, facing her back porch with my thumbnail in my mouth, trying to think of something to say to ease her worries. My cell was heavy in my hand as I pressed it harder to my ear, hating I had to sneak away from the party to answer Charlotte’s call. But the poor thing was a ball of nerves—terrified she’d fail her class, lose her internship and scholarship, all because a prick wanted to take advantage of her.
“I won’t let that happen, I promise. I’ll set up a date with him or something. Get him to admit he threatened to fail you unless you agreed to meet up with him. Maybe get him to admit he’s messed around with students before.”
“But what if no one believes you? What if no one believes me?” she whispered, making me hate that man even more for dimming this girl’s beautiful light.
“Charlotte, listen to me. That asshole is using his position of power to take advantage of you. He said he’d fail you if you didn’t meet with him after his office hours by the end of the month, right?”
“Yes,” she said.
“And your class GPA has been lowered over a point without explanation?”
“Yes,” she said again.
I lifted one arm in a gesture of I told you so, like she could see me through the phone, and shook my head, knowing I’d need to set a date with Brad. I shivered with the thought, but swallowed the bile that bubbled up to my throat, unwilling to think about that fucktard any longer than I had to.
“And you won’t consider going to the campus police?” I asked, twirling back and forth in the swivel chair and focusing on a cardinal sitting on the edge of a concrete birdbath. That bird was braver than me. It was fifty-eight degrees when I woke up this morning and hadn’t warmed up much.
Charlotte made a strangled sound in her throat, drawing my attention away from the bird. Her paranoia was worrisome.
“What aren’t you telling me? Why haven’t you told anyone else? Your parents? Friends?”
Silence.I stopped moving the chair back and forth and laid one elbow on my knee, rubbing my eye without ruining my eyeliner.
“My roommate’s father is on the Board of Directors. She said he helped cover up Brad’s relationship with a student last semester. The student lost her scholarship and dropped out.”
I sucked in a breath, anger pulsing through my veins. If there was even a whiff of truth, this was bigger than her and me. Brad was a predator, and he had to be stopped.
“What’s your roommate’s name, Charlotte?” I asked, keeping my voice as steady as I could.
“Katie Jorkins.”
“Right.” I scribbled the name on a sticky note and tucked it into my bra. “Listen. I have to get back to a party I’m attending, but I want you to please try not to worry. I promise I will do whatever it takes to bring this slimy douche-nozzle down, okay?”
“Okay,” she said, sniffing and ending the call.
Before second-guessing my next move, I pulled up my contact list and sent a message, knowing I needed to suck it up and be the bigger person.
Me: I know I’m the last person you want to hear from, but I don’t care. I have something bigger than both of us and need your help. Tell me when we can meet, or I’ll show up unannounced.
I tossed my phone on the desk and stood, smoothing down my sweater and tucking my hair behind my ears. The cardinal had long given up on its too cold bath, and as I turned around, my steps faltered as the all too familiar steel-gray eyes of Nana Kelly pierced me. One regal, perfectly arched eyebrow was raised, and her arms were crossed over her lilac blouse.
My shoulders straightened, and my arms dropped to my sides like I’d been caught with my hand in the cookie jar and not sneaking away for a phone call. There was no point in thinking of a plausible excuse, as this woman’s bullshit detector looked like it could go off a hundred yards away. She stepped forward, all five-foot-nothing of her, and passed me a glass of champagne with two raspberries floating in the bottom.
“Here. You look like you could use a drink.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” I said, taking a careful sip of the bubbly liquid, which did nothing to ease the strain in my voice.
“Better finish the glass. You look like a deer in headlights.”
“Um, okay.” The rest of the glass went down smoother. This wasn’t bargain, grocery store champagne after all, and Nana took a step closer, keeping her keen eyes fixed on me.
“Now, will you tell me why you look like you’re trying to handle things you have no business doing on your own?”
“Are you going to tell me how long you’ve been eavesdropping?” I bit back. She tilted her head to the side, her perfectly coiffed hair unmoving, and I quickly added a please before smiling.
