Page 14 of Trusting Trey
“Settle down, you’re fine. We’ll take care of you. If you behave like a lady, you’ll be home before anyone even misses you. What’s your chapter house?” he asked and I shook my head trying to clear my brain.
“Chapter house?” I asked unable to follow his train of thought.
“You are a sorority girl, right?” he asked and I nodded, the fuzziness clearing a little.
“Yeah, Gamma Sigma,” I said and he whistled.
“Well well, it looks like our rookie just scored himself some extra points. He got us a sorority grunt and a highfalutin one at that.” He rubbed his hands together and I swallowed hard.
“I’m not a grunt. I’ve been in the sorority for three years; I’m a senior.” I twisted, trying to sit up and this time he let me. I kept my hands crossed over my chest the best I could with them tied in front of me.
The look on his face was a dead giveaway. He wasn’t happy to hear that I was a senior. “No way, I don’t believe you. You’re way too small.”
I sighed, my size once again was causing a problem for me, only this time, I might not find my way out of it. “I’m short, okay?” I struggled against the ropes binding my wrists. “Let me go, you’ve got no right to keep me here. Hazing and initiations are against the law now.”
He laughed, even though I could hear a little bit of doubt creep into his voice. “If no one finds out then it didn’t happen.”
“You really are a meathead! I’ll be screaming bloody murder as soon as I get out of here,” I assured him and he shrugged.
“I doubt that; we have plans. I’m pretty sure you’re going to enjoy this, just sit back and relax.” He waggled his eyebrows at me and reached his hand out to touch my breast.
I kicked up with my knee and caught him in the chin. He tipped backward and I was on my feet. I ran to the door, my tied hands making it a little more difficult to turn the doorknob, but when it finally opened I ran out, looking for anything that was familiar. Instead, I stopped cold and a shiver ran through me. I was in the basement of the Lambda Sigma Omega fraternity house. The banners on the wall shouted their name and values for all to see. Honest. Trustworthy. Hardworking. Community oriented.
The words made me want to be sick when I saw the group of them in chairs, obviously waiting for me to wake up. They began to clap and I looked down, my nude body glaringly white in the harsh lights of the basement. The room had wall-to-wall carpet and up front, a pedestal where several of the guys stood.
“Gentleman, we have a lady in our midst, be on your best behavior,” the guy in the front of the room said. He stood there in a pair of jeans and sorority sweater. I knew him in passing. He was the top dog of the house, Sam. I couldn’t stand him and I felt my lip curl in defiance. His eyes twitched to a young kid who stood to his left. The kid looked petrified and he nearly fell into a chair when he stumbled on his way down the aisle.
All the guys laughed like maniacs, clapping and hooting as he righted himself and came to stand in front of me. The guy who had been in the room with me stumbled out, rubbing his jaw and calling me names I was sure his mother wouldn’t be proud to hear.
“What’s the matter, Micah? Did that little thing get the better of you?” Sam called from the front and Micah flipped him the bird, plunking down into one of the chairs.
I looked back and the young kid stood in front of me. He was shaking like a leaf and he took my arm, walking me up the aisle as if I was his bride. While the guys hooted and sang the fraternity song, he leaned in close to me.
“I’m sorry about your head. I tried not to hit you too hard,” he hissed and I rolled my eyes, not even caring that the Greeks considered it ruder than swearing.
When we were in front of Sam, he stepped back and motioned to the pedestal, with a set of steps. “Help her up the steps, Jake.”
The kid held my arm as I walked up the steps, convinced that trying to run was futile. There was one of me and at least thirteen of them. I concentrated on faces and names because if there was one thing I knew about these hazing events, they always let the girl go. This time, they made a big mistake. I’d sit here and listen to their taunts, but as soon as I was back on the street, I would take them down.
My entire body screamed in agony when I tried to move. I moaned trying to figure out where I was. All I saw on both sides of me was tall, dead, straw-like grass. I could be anywhere for all I knew. I could be ten feet from my house or ten miles from my house and I wouldn’t know. I stared up at the night sky, the clouds from earlier had pushed off and the stars twinkled in the sky above me. Wasn’t there something about stars twinkling? Didn’t they say by the time we saw them twinkling they were already dead? I felt like I might be already dead, too. If I wasn’t dead, I knew it was a real possibility this would be the last time I saw the night sky before I joined the stars. My back hurt when I tried to move and I cried out, breaking into sobs when I realized I couldn’t feel my legs. No, no, no, this has to be a dream. I concentrated on forcing my legs to bend, but nothing happened. I tested out my arms, thrilled when I could move them. I rubbed at something warm and sticky trickling down my forehead. I held my hand to my eyes and the smell alone told me it was blood. What happened? Think, Allie. That name. I remembered Trey calling me Allie at dinner. Maybe he could help me. He said he would always find me if I called to him.
My right hand was near my coat pocket and I was able to get my phone out of the sticky material. Every movement made my whole body shiver in pain and I bit my tongue as I tried to see the phone icon, so I could call him. I had no idea where I was, but it had to be somewhere close to the sorority house, right? I hit the button and the screen illuminated. I hit the first number on the list, praying it was Trey. I waited through three long rings before he answered.
“Allie?” asked the voice on the other end. He was like an angel, and at the same time, I didn’t want him to see me like this.
“I, I need help,” I said, trying to bite back the tears, but failing. “I’m hurt. I need help,” I sobbed.
“Allie, where are you?” he asked and I could hear him breathing heavily as though he was running.
My chin trembled as I looked up at the sky. “I – I don’t know. All I see is sky, but I’m hurt. My back hurts and I can’t move.”
I heard him swear softly and then what sounded like a car starting as he spoke to me. “I’m coming to find you and then we’ll get you help, okay. Can you turn your head or does your neck hurt? If it hurts, don’t turn your head.”
I tested it, carefully turning to the right. It was stiff, but I had no pain. Suddenly what I saw through the tall grass was something I hadn’t seen earlier. Could I trust it? “I can look to my right. I think I see some of the bigger sorority houses about a street distance away from where I’m lying.”
“Can you see any of the markings on the houses?” he asked and I started to cry.
“No, I can’t. It’s dark and I’m cold. My back hurts, Trey, and I can’t feel my legs,” I cried. “Someone hurt me, you have to help me.”
