Page 32 of Beware of Dog

It took less than half an hour for the student body to figure out why Sig had been arrested, and who had accused him of such a crime. Cass managed to get Jamie back to their dorm, but then…

“You stupid slut!” a female voice called through the door, and then the pounding started again. “He didn’t touch you! You’re lying!”

Jamie was sitting at the head of her bed, a quilt wrapped around her shoulders, cowering and shivering like a struck dog. “Who is that?” she asked, voice tremulous.

By Cass’s count, no less than fifteen of their fellow dorm residents had come by to pound on the door, shout at them, and, in one case, slide a threatening note under the door. Sig waspopular, and the ladies of NYU werenothappy about his charges.

“I don’t know,” she said, distractedly, “some bitch.” She stalked over to the door and pounded back on her side of it. “Stick it in your hole!” she shouted.

The girl on the other side called her a name and stormed off, heels clacking loudly over the tiles.

Cass turned around and put her back to the door.

Jamie sniffled and wiped her nose with a corner of her quilt, and Cass knew they couldn’t stay here all night. Jamie had already confessed that she hadn’t yet told her parents about the rape, and that she didn’t want to upset them, so that ruled out Brooklyn. Likewise, Raven and Toly’s flat wasn’t the place to take a hyperventilating rape victim in bad need of a Valium.

Speaking of drugs…

Decision made, Cass fired off a quick text, then went to drag her overnight bag out from under her bed.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Packing. We’re getting out of here, so you should pack, too.”

“But…”

The door rattled on its hinges.

Cass tipped her head toward it. “You want to listen to that all night?”

Jamie was silent a beat, then the quilt rustled as she uncocooned herself and found her own bag.

When they were both ready, Jamie looked at her with red-rimmed eyes and a deathly pale face. “How are we going to get out of here?”

“We’re going to walk out the door,” Cass said, “and I’m going to deck anyone who tries to stop us.” She fished into her bag and came out with a small keychain cannister of pepper spray. “Also, I have this.”

“Oh my God.”

“I’m not going touse it.” Unless she needed to. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Cass,” Jamie said, pleading.

“Stay behind me. Don’t respond to anyone.” Cass positioned herself in front of the door, Jamie at her back, pepper spray in her right hand, left on the doorknob. “Ready?”

Jamie whimpered.

“Good enough.”

Cass didn’t open the door—shesnatchedit open. Two girls—her fellow students, fellow dorm residents—stumbled and nearly fell into her, clutching at the door frame to keep from face-planting. Their eyes and mouths sprang open in shock.

“Hello, girls.” Cass brandished her pepper spray. “We were just leaving, and you weren’t going to cause us any trouble, were you?”

They looked at one another, then at the spray cannister.

“N-no,” one of them stammered.

Cass smiled at them. “Good. I thought not.”

Ten

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