Page 81 of Hits Different

Normally a flirtatious line like that would lead to one place. But that was before. Now when I look at her, all I can see is what she did, writing words on my behalf. Words that broke Brandon’s heart. “I was surprised you showed up”.

“I thought I was meeting—“ Brandon’s name dies on my lips. “Someone else”.

“Someone else. I see. And how is Carter?” There’s an inflection on Brandon’s surname that manages to convey several different insinuations. None of them feel friendly. “Old habits die hard for you, too, apparently”.

I pull out my chair. “Good to see you, Millie. Thanks for the coffee”.

“No, wait!” Millie grabs my arm. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t kind of me. And that wasn’t why I came. Well, not the only reason”.

I remove her hand from my arm. We split about a week after we arrived at college. It was her decision. She wanted to focus on her studies. But the truth is she’d been off with me for weeks. Now I know why.

“I tried to see you in person”, Millie continues. “I went to the fraternity house, and they told me that you’d left. I thought they just meant that you’d gone home for the summer. I didn’t realise that you’d been kicked out”.

“You shouldn’t have gone there”, I can’t help a flicker of protectivity. The thought of Millie unaccompanied in the vicinity of Darwin makes my fists clench.

“I wanted to apologise. I thought it was better to talk face to face”. She pauses, “Do you know who Amanda Deloitte is?”

I shake my head.

“There was a profile of her in the college newspaper. She’s some kind of prodigy. She took the SATS when she was fourteen and earned her Bachelors before eighteen. She joined our college to do her Masters. She’s smart, obviously, but she’s also very personable. She could have gone anywhere, but she wanted an authentic college experience”. The last words are injected with a hint of distaste.

I’ve not heard of her, but Amanda sounds just like the kind of girl that Millie would want in her circle. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Three months ago, she stopped turning up to her classes. Her sister and I are friends so I didn’t find out the story until later”. Millie lowers her cup carefully to its saucer. “She was drugged at a party”.

My blood runs cold.

“Her first party, actually. And it took place at your fraternity”, Millie says. “She only remembers fragments from that night. From what her roommate tells me, it sounds like something was put in her drink, and one of your fraternity brothers was seconds away from taking her back to his room. Until someone stepped in”.

“You”, she adds.

“I don’t know what you mean”, I try, but she shakes her head firmly.

“Amanda doesn’t remember, but her friend does”. The blonde, in the red dress. “I recognised your description right away. Even if I hadn’t, jumping in to save people is kind of your thing”.

Her eyes find mine, and for the first time, I see a reflection of myself that isn’t peppered with her exasperation that I’m not the boyfriend she wishes I was. “I don’t know why you’re telling me this”.

“Because last week I asked her to come forward and tell the truth about what happened”.

“What?” I gape at her. “Why?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do. Because you don’t deserve to be punished. Because you deserve to be back in school. Because Darwin deserves what’s coming to him”, she pauses, “And because I want to make things right between us”.

“That’s a lot to unpack”, I can’t help myself, “What did she say?”

“She’s reluctant. She’s scared that she’ll be blamed. That it’ll be his word against hers, and that his family will try and discredit her. She’s incredibly intelligent, but she doesn’t come from money. Plus, she’s obviously still carrying some trauma”. Millie pauses, “But I’m going to work on her”.

A million thoughts hit me at once. Relief. Surprise. Vindication. But one bubbles to the surface. “Don’t”, I hear myself saying out loud. “I don’t want you to”.

“What?” Millie looks astounded. “Why on earth not?”

“Because she’s right”, I take a swig of water. “He’ll try and ruin her. I know, because it’s what he did to me. And she doesn’t deserve that. If she wants justice for herself then that’s one thing. But I don’t need her to go through more than she’s already been through. Not for me”.

“But Parker, if the Disciplinary Committee find out the truth, then you’ll get back in”.

“Just drop it”.

“What if he does it to somebody else?” That halts me momentarily. It’s not like I’ve not thought about it. Sometimes, lying awake at night, it’s all I can think about. But still, I can’t prove anything. Neither can Amanda. And that’s why people like him always win. “Do you ever think about that?”

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