Benji followed me down the metal corridors. I could barely hear the clanging of the iron catwalk under our feet. I wasn’t sure what the warehouse had been used for before, but now, it was a maze of debauchery—new couples making out, keg stands at every other corner, dark rooms filled by couples having drunken sex, and people surrounding a few makeshift tables covered by lines of coke.
We wanted to be engineers, not saints. The workload could drive you out or drive you mad. Everyone dealt with the pressure differently, and finals were approaching. We all had to find an outlet or pop, but no one wanted students screaming, vandalizing, wrecking their cars into trees, secluding themselves, or wielding guns.
Benji pulled open a heavy metal door, and then we walked outside into the courtyard. We followed the covered sidewalk until we reached a small group of students huddled around three kegs. Once we made our way to the front, Benji held a cup under a keg nozzle and waited as the beer dribbled out. He looked at me apologetically. We arrived so late that the kegs were nearly dry.
“There has to be another keg somewhere. You wait here. I’ll see what I can find.”
I nodded and scraped my fingers through the bit of hair left on my head. The short strands didn’t even require work to be coaxed back into place, which was freeing.
Ellie was standing in a doorway with a random stranger. His jaw worked as he kissed her so deeply and sloppily that it made my stomach turn. His lips were sealed and working impatiently over hers. I anticipated that the skin around her mouth would be glistening with a ring of his spit when he pulled away, and a shiver ran down my spine. She had one of his legs trapped tightly between her thighs, and she was moving her h*ps ever so gently against him.
Ew. Ew, ew, ew. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t.
“Rory, right?”
Oh, thank Christ. Whoever you are, thank you.
“I’m Kevin Monroe. We have Physics II together.”
Even if he didn’t have that sleazy look in his eye, I knew to stay away. I’d heard about Kevin. He was in his third year of KIT and should have been in jail at least three times for sexual assault. And that was only the number of times the women had enough support and courage to press charges. But for various reasons, the charges kept getting dropped.
He looked down at my br**sts and then back at me with familiar scrutiny. He had the kind of look that said, I hope you’re as drunk and easy as I am.
I took the thank-you back.
“Do you recognize me?” he prodded.
“No,” I said, looking away. It was the truth. I’d only heard about him.
“I recognize you. You shaved off all your hair.”
“Not all of it,” I said, running my fingers through what was left. When pulled to one side, the black tresses I didn’t shear grazed my cheek.
“It’s hot.”
I sighed and looked him straight in the eyes. “Is there something you need?”
He took a step toward me, forcing me to back up just a couple of inches from the wall. “Actually, now that you mention it…” Kevin touched his nose to my ear.
I could smell the alcohol on him before, but now it was pungent, saturating my skin—just like the breath of the men who murdered almost everyone who ever cared about me.
I looked around for Benji. There were several people in the small fenced-in area outside with us, but no one was paying attention. They were all either making out, talking, or huddled around a barrel they were using to light a fire.
I glared up at him and put my hand on his chest, holding him at bay. “Kevin, you need to back off. You’re making me uncomfortable.”
He took another step toward me. The pressure of my hand meant nothing to him. Now, my back was pressed against the wall.
“Is that so? I didn’t think girls who looked like you got uncomfortable. So, does that mean uncomfortable in a good way?” He took my hand and forced it down until it settled on his crotch.
“Call me crazy,” Benji said, “but the word uncomfortable has a universally negative connotation.”
Kevin took one look at Benji and the two red Solo cups he held, and he batted them away, spilling the pale amber liquid all over Benji’s green Nikes.
“Back. Off,” I said again, my voice low and menacing this time.
I tried to jerk my hand away, but Kevin smiled and kept it in place.
Benji put his hand on Kevin’s shoulder, and Kevin grabbed at his wrist, freeing mine. Before either of them could make another move, I moved my hand in a downward motion, forcing Kevin’s hand off of Benji. I grabbed the thumb on his offending hand and bent it backward, and with my free hand, I grabbed his throat and slammed him against the wall where I once stood.
“I said, back the f**k off.” My voice was strangely calm, just like my nerves.
Kevin, his eyebrows pulled in and his eyes wide, bobbed his head up and down quickly. I released him then, letting him scamper away.
Benji stood quiet like a rabbit, hoping he wasn’t next.
“We’d better go,” I said.
“You…wow. How’d you learn to do that?”
I glanced around, seeing that now, of course, everyone was paying attention. “I took a class. C’mon. This was a bad idea.”
We walked back inside and began heading down the corridor. Once we turned the corner, I stopped dead in my tracks. Kevin was against another wall—this time, being held by Cy. Kevin wasn’t just shocked. He was terrified.
“I’m…I’m sorry! I’ll never go near her again.”
Cy’s eyes were fixed on me, looking as if he’d been caught. Kevin was released, and he took off in a full sprint down the hall toward the exit.
“Why are you here?” I asked, taking one step forward. “What are you doing?”
“Did he hurt you?” Cy walked the few feet to me, looking me over and then touching my arm gently.
“I told you, no one can hurt me.” The words seemed insufficient, but I was so baffled by what I’d just seen that they were all I could manage.
Cy pulled me into his arms into a tight hug. It was the second time in as many weeks that he held me that way. I melted against him. His body was rock solid yet so soft. He smelled like soap and sun-dried laundry.
His hand settled lightly on the back of my neck, and he rested his cheek against mine. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered.
“I’m really okay,” I said, trying to reassure him.
It was at that moment when I realized he was trembling. He was shaking from anger.