Page 47 of Someone Like You

When I woke up,I was alone. And still naked. Although the covers had been pulled up over me, and I wasn’t sticky with cum or lube, so there was that. Heat crawled through my body as the events of earlier started to come back to me, and I was still feeling a little boneless. Brody had taken the time to clean me up after I’d passed out, and an excess of tender gratification poured through me.

Despite not wanting to, I sat up and then slid out of the bed. Rummaged through my bags and put some clothes on. My eyes landed on my phone that was sitting on Brody’s dresser, still plugged in to the charger, and I figured I needed to give Jordan a call. And then I really had to get caught up with my class work.

The phone rang and rang, and then Jordan came on the line. “Well hello boo boo bear.”

“Good god, no. Next.”

“Dim sum dumpling muffin baby?”

“Next.”

“Precious prim platypus?”

“Ugh. Next.”

“Radiant regal river otter?”

“Acceptable.”

“Thank god. How are you, Isaac?”

I sighed. “Better. Thanks for taking care of me, Jordan. I know it wasn’t easy.”

“Ah, but I’m used to you being difficult. It’s your default mode.”

I snorted at that. “So, uh…how’s—how’s the house? Sorry for ruining the barbecue.”

It was Jordan’s turn to sigh. “You didn’t ruin anything, the guys made do. The atmosphere has been a bit tense, honestly. And I’m not sure if you were able to digest what I told you the other day, but Sam doesn’t speak to his brother. He’s nothing like him. In fact, there’s…well, there’s something you should know.”

Unease prickled under my skin. “What should I know?”

“Sam wanted to talk to you about it face-to-face, but I told him I wasn’t sure if you’d be up for that, so he’s letting me tell you.” There was a long, long pause, a sharp inhale, and then he said, “Ethan’s facing charges for sexual assault.”

The world felt like it completely dropped away, and a ringing started in my ears. “What?” I whispered.

“Sam was the one who called the police. He walked in on him…uh…forcing himself on another guy. And it was very obvious that the guy hadn’t consented to any of it. So. Yeah. Ethan’s probably gonna go to jail, Sam said it’s looking like it’ll be in the favor of the prosecution and that a few other people came forward with a similar story when the news got out. Ethan is a disgusting serial predator and he’s finally getting his fucking due.”

The ringing intensified, and I sat down heavily on the bed. “W-when did this happen? Why haven’t I heard anything about it?”

“Sam said it happened a few months ago, when he was home for winter break. I think their family has been trying to keep it hush hush. They’re loaded, so they’re probably paying off journalists and news sites, but locally it’s everywhere. Everyone knows back in Shepherdsville.”

I hadn’t been back to my hometown since I’d left for school, and I didn’t pay much attention to the news, so it wasn’t surprising this was my first time hearing about it. That had been extremely brave of Sam, to report his own brother, no matter it being the right thing to do. He’d probably ostracized himself from his family, because if they were paying off papers to bury the story, then they were on the wrong brother’s side.

“Isaac? You okay?”

“Yeah, sorry. Jesus, I can’t believe…I mean, that poor fucking guy. Is he okay? Do you know?”

“I think Sam said he was going through intensive therapy and that he was taking time off from school this semester. Sam literally had to beat his brother off him, and then he drove him to the hospital himself. It all really fucked with him, but he said he’s been trying to keep tabs on how the victim is doing. I think he feels a lot of guilt, like he should’ve known or something. So yeah—oh and Sam wanted me to tell you he’s really fucking sorry for what happened to you, and he’s also sorry for looking like his brother and triggering you like that. Even though that’s not something he can control, and if you ask me, he’s carrying way too much guilt when he didn’t even do anything wrong. He’s practically a hero. Anyway, he’s been trying to find another place to live but there’snowhere?—”

“Can you tell him that it’s okay if he stays?” I said. It wasn’t fair to him, at this point, and it’s not like I spent a lot of time in the common areas anyway. Plus, I should probably commend him for going to the cops. For doing what I never could.

“Oh. Well, yeah. I think everyone just wants you to feel safe in your own home, so?—”

“I think I will,” I said. “It was just the—the shock of seeing his face. He looks so much like him. But after everything you just told me, I think…I think it’ll be fine.”

Brody walked in to stand in the open doorway right at that moment, his eyes taking in every part of me. He filled the space as he leaned against one side, staring at me, and I sat up a little straighter.

“Okay, they’ll be excited about that. So what are the chances they cancel class for the next week? Cam and I have a bet going,” Jordan said, segueing into a lighter topic.

---