Page 35 of Seduction Under the Southern Stars

Fraser turns his glass around in his fingers. “It’s not really our story to tell.”

“Fraser, come on, I thought we were friends.”

“It’s not that. I don’t know if she’d want you to know.” He gives me a frank look. “She still has feelings for you. I think that’s obvious.”

I look at Joel, who lifts his eyebrows. “Guys,” I say softly, “I’m only here for a week. She meant a lot to me—still does. But you’re both incredibly protective of her. Is it only because of what I did back then? Because I’m telling you, whatever your dad said, it was just a kiss.”

“It’s not,” Joel says.

Part of me expects them to hold out. Despite their benevolence and charitable acts, the Bells are a tight family, and I assume after what happened, and them thinking for so long that I walked out, the two brothers now think of me as an outsider.

But I’ve obviously misjudged them, because Fraser sighs and nods, and Joel runs his tongue across his top teeth, then looks at me and says, “Okay.”

My pulse speeds up immediately, and I sip the whisky to try and keep calm.

“When you left,” Joel says, “Elora was absolutely devastated. She cried for a good week non-stop. And then for weeks—”

“Months,” Fraser interjects.

“—months afterward, she was quiet and forlorn. But gradually she picked up.”

“Did she hate me?” I ask.

Joel smiles. “Some of the other kids were quick to put you down for leaving without saying goodbye, but she always defended you. Always. I don’t think she ever blamed you for going.”

Well, that’s something, I think.

“Dad decided it would be best if she went to another school a little further away from Greenfield,” Fraser says. “He thought the influence of the kids at Greenfield was having a detrimental effect on her.”

“Like it had nothing to do with the fact that she was fourteen and turning into a young woman,” Joel says sarcastically.

“Yeah,” Fraser continues, “so they moved her to a larger, more modern high school. On the surface it was a good idea—the school boasted better results and offered a wider range of subjects. She did well and got A+ in every subject at Level Three.”

“She applied to go to Otago,” Joel says. “She was doing well. She was still very academic and shy. She didn’t seem interested in dating anyone, and said she wanted to concentrate on her studies. And then…” He sighs. “It was the school ball.”

In New Zealand, like in the UK, young people attend high school or secondary school from Years Seven to Thirteen, after which they go to university. In Year Thirteen, when most students have turned eighteen, there’s a school ball, which I understand is a bit like a senior prom in the States. I never got to attend one, but I know most students look forward to it.

“She got ready at home, but she was staying at a friend’s place when it finished,” Joel says. “Mum and Dad didn’t know, but there was an after-ball party planned, and Elora’s friend had talked her into going.”

Alcohol and marijuana obviously aren’t allowed at school balls, and therefore it’s common to attend less-formal parties afterward where these things are available. In New Zealand eighteen is the legal drinking age, and the thrill of being close to finishing school and entering adulthood tends to be celebrated by drinking copious amounts of cheap alcohol and having lots of sex. From what I understand, anyway. Again, I missed out on all the fun.

Fraser shifts in his chair, clearly agitated. “You know what Dad was like about alcohol,” he says. “So Elora wasn’t used to drinking.”

“At the party, her ‘friends’,” and Joel puts air quotes around the word, “thought it would be fun to get the bookish wallflower to drink this punch they’d made. In the end, under peer pressure, she said she’d have one glass. But she didn’t know someone had spiked it.”

My heart feels like it’s shuddered to a stop. Holy fuck. I knew something had happened to her. But I didn’t realize it was this.

“They found a shitload of Flunitrazepam in her system afterward,” Fraser says flatly.

“Rohypnol?” I confirm, and they both nod. “Fucking hell. Ahhh…” I run a hand through my hair. I don’t know if I can bear to hear the details.

“She wasn’t the only girl involved,” Joel says. “At least three others drank the punch. Some of the guys took them upstairs. Luckily, a couple of others weren’t happy with the situation, and they eventually called the police. It was chaos, apparently. They arrested a whole bunch of guys.”

“Was she…” I swallow hard. It’s ridiculous. I can’t even say the fucking word.

“Yeah,” Joel says.

I close my eyes. My chest hurts. I feel as if someone has grabbed my heart and is squeezing it with all their strength.

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