The Only Exception

CHAPTER 28

I was in a daze as Trey led me down the stairs, but as soon as we exited the front doors he scooped me up in his arms and hugged me close, lifting me off the ground and spinning me around. I laughed for the first time in what seemed like forever and then he put me down, placing his hands on either side of my face. “You did it, Mon. You faced your fears, and now those guys got what the deserved.”

I shook my head slightly and leaned in toward him. “No, you did it. You’re the reason I’m here; the reason I’m going to be okay.” My lips trailed to his in a brief closed-mouth kiss that still ignited all the passion that was flowing through me. Trey loved me. He helped me face my fears, and now I wouldn’t have to be afraid anymore.

I broke the kiss and took his hands. “Now, how about we get the report out of the way and get on to Chicago?”

His smile wasn’t the all out dimpled one, more like a tight-lipped forced one. “Well, we still have one more stop after the precinct.”

“One more stop?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Come on.” He tugged my hand, and we walked back to the car.

“Where else could we be going?” I drilled him with question after question, but he didn’t answer, even when he put the car into drive and pulled out of the parking lot. I kept wondering where we were going and could barely concentrate on my report at the precinct. I wasn’t expecting any sort of an engagement, too early for that, but he had something else planned.

When we left the station, he didn’t get back on the highway, but turned onto North Avenue. I knew exactly where we were going.

“You aren’t seriously taking me to the Kappa house, are you?”

Trey swallowed, nodding slowly. “I talked to Brittani as well; she is expecting you.”

“WHAT?” I shrieked and Trey winced, gripping onto the steering well.

“Look, it didn’t turn out as bad as you thought it would facing the Alpha Mu’s, so this shouldn’t be as bad either.”

I scraped my fingers through my hair, my breath coming out in slow, shallow breaths. “Seeing those guys was one thing, but you want me to go back to my supposed sisters who abandoned me?”

“Mon, a good politician knows that whatever they do in their past will always be brought up during election time. You have to know what skeletons are in your closet and exactly how you want to face them. If someone else finds out about them, then it’s just ten times worse.”

I shook my head. “But I’m not a politician. I’m just freaking Monica.”

He looked at me from the corner of his eye. “The same rules apply in life. You can’t run from your problems and expect them not to catch up with you.”

***

Greek Row was nestled off campus in what was probably, at one time, a residential neighborhood but now was lined with Greek houses and other student apartments. The Kappa house was an old, purple Victorian that was kept up by the large number of members they recruited and generous alumni. It sat in between two other sorority houses that also were former residential homes. They all had their perfectly manicured lawns and big signs with their letters, but the Kappa house always stood out to me.

Trey pulled the Mustang in front of the house and suddenly it didn’t look like the beautiful, purple wonder that I saw during recruitment, but more like a haunted house from the movies. Trey came around the side of the car and opened my door, helping me out. My legs felt like gelatin, and it became hard to breathe.

“You can do this, Mon, I believe in you,” he whispered into my ear and placed a small kiss on my cheek before he put his arm around my waist, and guided me up the stone path to the house.

We walked up the small, white porch and faced the stained glass door. It was a gift from one of the alumni years ago that had the purple dove symbol painted on it and the Kappa Beta crest with our letters. Every time I saw it, it usually brought good chills, but this time it just brought me a sense of dread.

Trey rang the doorbell, and it seemed like forever before I heard footsteps behind the door. It swung open and there was my former house mom, Dorota. She was a short, chubby Ukranian woman who was always like a second mom to all of us.

“Miss Remy, I haven’t seen you in forever and a day, as they say!” Dorota said in her thick accent.

“Yeah, I’ve transferred to a new school.” I tried to force a smile.

“Oh, well, it’s understandable,” she replied, but I could hear a twinge of hurt in her voice. When I left I never said goodbye to her either. I just sent her an email that I was leaving.

“Hi, I’m Trey Chapman.” Trey extended his hand to Dorota.

She shook his hand slowly. “Ah, you must be the new man in Miss Remy’s life. If you hurt her, Miss Dorota will come after you.”

Trey released her hand and put his arm around my shoulders. “I wouldn’t dream about it, Miss Dorota.”

“Now you come in. I’m sure the girls will be excited to see you.” Dorota moved away from the doorway, and we stepped into the foyer.

Trey and I followed Dorota down the small hallway to the common room, which was a former parlor, off of the entryway with a big bay window. The room was decorated with purple period couches and framed photos of alumni. Sitting on one of the couches was Brittani, the president, and Amanda, the vice president, who was one of the girls that was at the party with me.

“I’ll leave you all to chat. Call me if you need me. Good to see you again, Miss Remy.” Dorota patted my back before she shuffled out of the room.

Brittani and Amanda were every bit the same Barbie dolls they were when I left. Brittani had her long, blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and even though she was in sweats, they were designer sweats, and her makeup was perfect. Amanda was no different with her blonde hair styled into a pixie cut and wearing a pair of fitted jeans and a pink letters shirt.

“Hello, Monica, and this must be the boyfriend that we’ve been hearing so much about,” Brittani said in her baby doll voice, but didn’t move from the couch.

Trey moved forward and extended out his hand like a good politician-in-training. “Trey Chapman, good to meet you.”

They both shook his hand and put on their best fake smiles. The same ones they had for recruitment every year. I didn’t want them to be fake in front of Trey. I wanted them to be real.

Amanda cleared her throat and stared at Trey. “I hope you don’t mind, Trey, but even though you set this up, I think we’d like to talk to Monica alone.” Amanda’s tone was no nonsense and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

Trey swallowed and looked back at me. “Only if that’s okay with Monica.”

I nodded, slowly. I didn’t want him to leave, but I didn’t think I had a choice.

“Okay,” he said and walked back over to me, placing a quick kiss on my cheek. “I’ll be out in the car if you need me.” He then turned and waved to the girls. “It was nice to meet you.”

They smiled and waved until he disappeared around the corner.

“Monica,” Brittani said. “Won’t you have a seat?”

I leaned against the window. “I think I’ll stand, thank you. I hope this won’t take too long.”

Brittani put on a tight-lipped smile. “Very well. Trey emailed me and said that you want to talk about what happened last year. I got a text from Gabe at Alpha Mu saying that you brought charges against Joey for rape? What the hell happened, Mon?”

I let out a small breath and put my head down, plopping on the window seat. “It’s a long story.”

“We’ve got time,” Amanda pushed.

I wasn’t sure if I was ready to tell them. At one time I told these girls everything, but times had changed. I was different. They were different. But just like I had to face Joey, I had to face them. I took a deep breath in to steady my beating heart and then recounted the details as best as I could; trying not to let the tears flow from my eyes. I couldn’t go into all the nitty gritty, but I told them what happened with Joey at the party and even about trying to get the morning after pill.

When I finished the air felt so thick between us that it was like a giant wall. Brittani finally spoke. “I’m sorry, Mon, we really had no idea.”

“I know you didn’t, Britt. I’m sorry I ran away without talking to anyone.”

My gaze flitted to Amanda. She was there that night. She saw me mouth ‘help me’ and just turned her back to keep dancing. I was never really close with her, but now that I was looking back on it, I felt like she should have done something.

“Amanda, you were at that party, weren’t you?” Brittani tilted her head to the side like a confused Cocker Spaniel.

Amanda’s voice cracked. “I was.”

“Do you remember any of the other girls that were there that night, maybe the ones that would have seen something happen? It could totally help Monica with the charges.”

Amanda bit down on her lower lip, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. I didn’t think she would admit it, and I couldn’t wait for life to pass me by.

“You were dancing with me and some of the others that night, weren’t you, Amanda?”

Amanda let out a big sniffle before she finally spoke. “At first I thought maybe you wanted to sleep with Joey, but then seeing your face when he took you in that bathroom spoke volumes. I didn’t want him to hate me by saying anything, so I kept my mouth shut.” She sniffled and then spoke again. “Layla from Central contacted some of us, and I was so pissed at you for leaving, so Tara just told her that you were embarrassed because you were a slut. It was stupid and childish, and I wish we could all take it back.”

I felt the tears prick my own eyes. “I don’t know what to say.”

Brittani shook her head. “I’m sorry, too. When you left I should have reached out to you. I should have done something. I can promise you that Tara will be sent to Honor Council for what she did.”

I nodded slowly. “Okay, but no one has to be punished because of me.”

Brittani tilted her head. “Well, isn’t that what you came here for? Redemption?”

I shook my head. “No, I came here to heal. I’d been holding all of this in for so long that it was affecting my life. Now I can finally let it go and move on.”

Brittani’s eyes trailed to the window where Trey’s red Mustang was in clear view. “It seems to me like you’ve moved on pretty well. I just didn’t expect the wild child of the house to end up with the conservative governor’s son. Are you turning into a Republican now?”

I bit my bottom lip, which did nothing to stop the smile from spreading across my face just thinking about Trey. Yes, he was conservative and the governor’s son, and he drove me crazy with his politics, but he still loved me and today showed it. “No, still the classical liberal, but Trey is the exception. The only exception.”

***

Hugs and tears were exchanged between us and then finally I bounded down the steps and into Trey’s car.

“Hey, how did it g—”

Before Trey could finish his sentence I grabbed his face and pressed my lips to his, crackling the fieriest kiss I could. At first he just sat there but then his lips slightly parted letting my tongue in while he wrapped his arms around me. I was in love with Trey Chapman, and it wasn’t just about our banter or the sex. He really got me. He tried to make me a better person even when I was reluctant. He really was my exception to every rule.

Trey broke the kiss and looked at me, his breathing shallow. “Well, I take it that went pretty well?”

“Why don’t you get us to Chicago and once we get up to that hotel room, I’ll show you how thankful I am for what you did.”

“You don’t need to thank me, Mon, it was all you. You’re the survivor.”

I placed another kiss on his lips and then pulled at his bottom lip with my teeth before I slumped back into my seat. “And you are the best thing that could have happened to me.”

He grinned an all out dimpled grin before putting the car in drive while I put my seatbelt on. “To Chicago?” he asked.

“To Chicago,” I said, putting my hand in his.