Page 29 of Seth (Life in the Brohouse 5)

“Rachel?” I hear Charlie ask me, see her hand waving in front, but I’m unable to look away.

My gaze drops to the hand he’s holding. He’s standing next to a girl. Not just any girl.

“Oh, fuck,” Charlie breathes. “Is that really—”

“Josh,” I finish for her.

“And Lauren,” Charlie adds, her tone filled with horror. “Wait! Are they holding hands? Tell me I’m fucking seeing things.” Out of the corner of my eye, Charlie rubs her eyes. “This can’t be happening.”

Lauren and Josh turn toward us, looking smug. If I didn’t know any better, I would think they actually suited each other with their similar black apparel and their dark hair. Lauren’s brown eyes narrowed on me while Josh tilted his head toward her, whispering something in her ear. They chuckle, tossing back their heads and reminding me of some kind of evil high school couple—one that I would see in a rom-com in the theater.

My stomach twists as I realize they’re walking toward us. I look around, wondering if there’s anywhere to run and hide to. Someone grabs my hand, squeezing it tight. I turn and see it’s Charlie holding on to me, offering me her support. I give her a soft smile that doesn’t last long.

“Charlie,” says Lauren in an overly cheerful tone. “I didn’t know you were taking this class.”

“Of course, not,” says Charlie with a bitter smirk. “You haven’t spoken to me in months. How would you know?”

Lauren bristles, but she decides to ignore Charlie’s cold remark and turns toward me, her gaze darkening. She leans into Josh’s touch. His arm comes around her shoulders, pulling her close. “I’m surprised to see you here,” she says. I take note of the fact she’s not even using my name, as if somehow I’m completely beneath her. Lauren was never like this before. I don’t know why she’s acting like this now. Sure, Josh probably told her some lies about me, but she’s her own person. Maybe she’s always disliked me deep down inside.

I try not to let that thought hurt, but it does. It hurts too much than it should. Deciding not to stoop to her level, I force a smile and ask, “How was France? I’m sure you have tons of pictures and stories.”

Lauren giggles. The sound makes me want to vomit. It sounds so girly and not like Lauren at all. She smiles at Josh briefly. “You can say that. Josh and I had fun in our French classes, didn’t we?”

“We sure did,” Josh says, placing a quick kiss on Lauren’s cheek.

Ugh. Gag me with a spoon. This all sounds so fake, like something I would see in a movie. And honestly, I can’t even feel happy for them. All I can see as I look at them, is Josh tackling me to the ground and trying to force himself on me. What if he tries the same thing with Lauren? Or worse?

It’s not your problem. You’ve already warned her countless times and she refuses to listen to you.

“I guess it’s a good thing you left when you did,” Lauren continues, her tone haughty as she flicks her hair over her shoulder. “You would have probably gotten in the way with your lies.”

“You must be fucking—” Charlie begins, but Lauren drowns her out.

“We should take our seats,” Lauren interrupts. “I want to sit in the front to make a good impression.”

I don’t even realize my mouth is gaping open until Charlie reaches over, pressing her fingers against my chin and forcibly shutting my jaw. I shake my head I stifle a groan. “How can this be happening?” I murmur.

“I know, right?” Charlie whispers, leaning toward me. “I don’t know whether to say anything to her or not. Will she even listen?”

“Most likely not,” I say, hating the worry in my voice. I can feel guilt punching me in my gut. There’s probably something I can do, but I don’t know what. And should I even do something? “Why is he here?” I find myself asking as I watch Lauren and Josh. “I thought he was expelled.”

I watch Josh nudge Lauren and show her something on his phone. His face looks flushed, as if he’s excited or nervous about something. They remind me of two teenagers in love and enjoying life together. They don’t look toxic at all.

But he still pinned me down. He still injured me. I can feel his hands slamming mine against the carpet, can still hear the jingling of his belt buckle being undone. A shiver ripples down my spine, like spiders crawling on my skin. A wave of nausea hits me and I swallow the bile beginning to rise.

“I guess the board let it go,” says Charlie, her voice sounding distant. “Sometimes these things happen.” She sighs and runs a hand through her hair. “Maybe there wasn’t enough evidence, but you did the right thing, Rachel. Reporting him. It’ll be on his record.”

I grimace. “I feel like I’ve done nothing.”

Charlie squeezes my hand. “You did the right thing,” she repeats, her gaze stern as she holds mine. “Don’t ever question that. If he ever attacks another girl again, they will see he has a history of it. Maybe you weren’t able to put him behind bars, but the next girl can.”

That doesn’t make me feel better at all.

It’s difficult for me to pay attention to class. I’ve been looking forward to Drawing 202 the whole winter vacation, only for everything to go up in flames in the matter of five minutes. It’s hard for me to focus with Lauren and Josh sitting in front of me, smiling at each other, passing notes back and forth while the instructor rattles on and on. Part of me wonders if I should dump this class for something else, but it might be too late to find anything interesting to join. I can’t join another photography and drawing class. There might be an art history class I can take last minute, but this is my only chance to be with Charlie.

I hardly notice we’ve been dismissed until Charlie calls my name.

“Huh?” I mumble, turning toward her and watching her pick up her purse like the others around me.

---