There was so much wrong with her statement. First…slut shaming. What a jerk. And second…didn’t prostitutes look classy? I was literally bleeding on the floor with no clothes or shoes. I looked homeless. If anything, I was a beat-up prostitute. They should have been helping me, not staring at me like I was diseased. But if they thought I was a prostitute, at least they didn’t know I was a fellow student. My best bet was to play along so they wouldn’t recognize me.
“Yes, I’m a prostitute!” I said as I searched for room 315. “You caught me!” I glanced at the door next to me. 302. I was close. I picked up my pace. Fortunately room 315 was still pretty far away from them. I stopped in front of the door and pulled the keycard out of my bra. The map slipped again and I held it to my stomach, not even caring anymore. “I’m having sexy time with the gentleman in this room. So stop staring at me and let me do my job.”
The football player laughed and the girl looked disgusted. But neither of them seemed to know who I was.
“Isn’t that James’ room?” the girl asked.
I ignored them. But I was relieved that I’d remembered the number correctly. I didn’t waste any time knocking. Any second now they could figure out who I was. I slid the keycard into the door and shoved it open. I stumbled into the room.
But instead of breathing a sigh of relief for being safe, I threw my hand over my mouth at the scene in front of me. Kill me now.
Chapter 2
Saturday
Rachel was kneeling in front of James. His fingers were buried in her hair, guiding her head up and down as he lazily stared down at her. His shirt was still on, but the buttons were undone. He was basically fully clothed, his pants just unzipped enough for Rachel. But Rachel was completely naked.
My pain and exhaustion morphed to horror. I shouldn’t be seeing this. I can’t be here. But I stood there frozen. Where the hell else was I supposed to go? I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
The door closed with a thud behind me.
James looked up. For a second we just locked eyes and neither of us said a word. Rachel kept bobbing up and down.
James groaned, his fingers tightening in Rachel’s hair. He closed his eyes, as if he thought he’d just envisioned me and I wasn’t actually standing there. Which apparently just turned him on. Because his breathing grew heavier.
Oh God, why am I watching this? I backed up until my butt hit the door.
James opened his eyes. And then blinked. And blinked again. He suddenly didn’t look so relaxed. He lowered both his eyebrows. “Brooklyn?”
I was pretty sure Rachel said, “What the fuck?” But it was mumbled because her mouth was full.
“What the hell!” James yelled, as he pulled away from Rachel. He grabbed himself and stared down at her. “Did you just bite me?”
Rachel stood up and poked him hard in the middle of his chest. “You said her name. Are you freaking kidding me? You were thinking about her when I was…”
“She’s standing right there.” He grimaced, still holding his junk.
I wanted to laugh. I wanted to cry. I wanted to be anywhere in the world rather than here as Rachel turned toward me and screamed at the top of her lungs. She flung herself on the bed, trying to wrap herself in the sheets.
“Shit,” James said under his breath, looking down at himself.
“I’m so sorry,” I croaked. “I’ll just…” I couldn’t leave. I didn’t have anywhere else to go. I put my hand out in front of me, blocking them from my sight. But it was a little late for that.
“What the hell are you doing in here?” Rachel screamed. “Get out!”
“I’m sorry,” I said again. “I…”
“How the hell did you even get in here? Oh my God, James, did you give her a key to our room?”
“I thought you slept with Matt,” he said, his voice laced with pain.
“It was just one kiss. It didn’t mean anything! I told you that! And instead of believing me, you were going to sleep with her? Are you kidding me right now?”
I lowered my hand slightly to make sure she wasn’t about to attack me.
She had pulled the comforter around her and was staring at me like she was going to kill me. “Get out of here you slut!”
The word was a punch in my gut. First a prostitute. Now a slut? I was in pain. I could barely stand. How could she not see that? How could everyone have just ignored me on the street like I was nothing? It was all too much. Her unkind words made me burst into tears.
“Are you deaf?” she screamed.
I closed my eyes. Maybe if I closed them tight enough I could wake up somewhere else. Why did I think I could just come in here? Of course he’d be with Rachel. They’d made up. Let this all be a dream. Please, please.
“Rachel, cut it out,” said James as he zipped his pants up.
“Excuse me?”
“She’s hurt, Rachel.”
“I don’t care if she’s…”
“She’s bleeding,” he said. “Just sit down and give me a minute to figure out what the hell is going on.”
This isn’t happening. It’s just a bad dream. I didn’t just see any of that.
“What happened?” James asked as he gripped my shoulders.
I jumped. I didn’t realize he was right in front of me. I couldn’t get the words out. I couldn’t breathe through my tears.
“Brooklyn, what happened?” His hands were on my face, trying to get me to focus on him.
“Don’t you dare touch her again, James,” Rachel said. “I swear to God.”
He didn’t listen to her. He just stared at me, his hands still on my cheeks.
And for some reason his kindness made me cry harder.
“You’re safe, Brooklyn,” James said. “Talk to me.” His hands were too gentle on my face. It was such a contrast to everything I’d experienced in the last hour.
I just wanted to go curl into a ball on the floor and sleep. I couldn’t speak. The words wouldn’t come. I tried to pull the map back up to cover my exposed bra. As if that would make this situation any better.
He was staring at me so intensely. “Did Matt do this?”
What? “No.” I finally found my voice. “Isabella. It was Isabella.”
“Jesus.” He let go of my face. He stepped around me and grabbed the door handle.