“Maybe they’re just jealous,” Amelia offered. “Maybe they think you’re going to steal their men since you’re really pretty.” She smiled shyly.
I laughed. “Hardly. But thanks for the compliment. I have no intentions of dating any of the losers at this school, though I have to admit that this Tim guy in my class is kind of cute.”
I silently cheered for myself. That last line came out of nowhere, and it was perfect.
Amelia’s demeanor changed in a flash. She didn’t look scared. She looked pissed off.
“Did I say something wrong?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Are you talking about Tim Shelton?”
“Yeah.”
“Word of advice. Stay away.”
She moved to the bathroom door.
“Wait! Why?” I asked.
“He’s one of the assholes,” she said, and opened the door.
I ran up behind her and slapped my hand to the door, slamming it closed again.
“Tell me why,” I said.
“Huh?” Amelia fidgeted with her book bag, moving it from shoulder to shoulder, unable to find a comfortable way to hold it. “I’ve gotta go,” she said.
“Amelia, I . . . I really need you to tell me why Tim’s an asshole,” I said gently.
“I’ve gotta go,” she repeated.
“Please,” I begged. “I won’t tell a soul.”
“Get out of my way.”
“Did he make you do something you didn’t want to?”
Amelia backed away from the door like a scared rabbit.
“What have you heard?” she whispered. “Are they starting up that rumor again?”
“What rumor?”
“Don’t play dumb!” she screamed. “That rumor about me. It’s not true! I didn’t want to do it! I told him ‘no’!”
She dropped her book bag and wrapped her arms around her stomach.
“I don’t know about any rumor, Amelia,” I said.
“Yeah right! Everyone was talking about it at the end of the summer, right before school started.”
“I’m new here. I didn’t hear any rumor,” I said. I walked towards her, and she flinched. “It’s okay. I’m one of the good people.”
I saw tears forming in her eyes, and then they spilled over, plopping on her white, eyelet blouse. It was instinct. I wrapped her in my arms before thinking. It didn’t feel strange at all, holding someone I barely knew because in a way, I did know her. She was Beth. Like I told Terry. They were all Beth.
“I think he drugged me or something,” she cried into my shoulder. “People were saying I got topless at this party. In front of everyone, and that he was egging me on. I don’t really remember. I mean, I think I do, but I’m not sure. I remember a bed. I remember bleeding the next day, but I wasn’t supposed to start my period. It didn’t feel like my period, and it only lasted a day.”
I felt sick. I swallowed hard, forcing down the urge to vomit.
“Did you . . . did you tell your parents?” I asked.
Amelia pulled away. She wiped her face and shook her head.
“I wasn’t sure what happened. I should have told them, but I wasn’t sure,” she said, and then added more quietly, “I was ashamed.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I said.
She nodded like she wanted to believe me but didn’t have the heart to.
“I mean it, Amelia. You did nothing wrong. He took advantage of you. Like you said, he’s the asshole.”
She looked up suddenly, her face full of concern.
“You can’t tell anyone,” she said. “Promise me.”
I sighed. “It’s not my business to tell.”
“Good.”
“But I wish you’d tell your parents, Amelia.”
“What can be done about it now, Brooke? It’s been months. It’s not like I went to the hospital afterwards. There’s nothing to prove he did anything,” she said.
“There’s your word,” I offered.
“Yeah,” she snickered. “That’s good for just about nothing.”
Fifteen
“Beth? I thought we could go to the mall today,” I said, lingering in her bedroom doorway. She lay on her bed facing the window.
“What for?” she asked, disinterested.
“Well, there’s a sale going on at The Limited,” I replied. I walked over to the bed and tentatively sat down.
“No thanks,” Beth said.
“It’s Friday afternoon,” I said. “What do you feel like doing?”
“Lying here.”
“Oh.”
We were silent for several minutes.
“You don’t have to stay, Brooke. Go hang out with Gretchen or something.”
I took off my shoes and lay down beside her.
“I don’t want to hang out with Gretchen. I want to stay here with you.”
Beth rolled over and looked at me.
“I think Finn is getting frustrated with me,” she said. “I don’t want him to be physical with me, and he’s getting all restless about it.”
I tensed, unsure what to say. It was weird hearing Beth talk about Finn and their physical relationship. I knew they had sex. I knew they were probably still having sex even though he and I were. Did I have no self-respect?
“I feel lost, Brooke. I don’t know what to do,” Beth said.
I took her hand.
“You don’t have to do anything, Beth. You can just lie here. That’s okay.”
“You’ll stay here with me?”