“Yeah…well…would you believe me if I told you she was Greg’s date and he raped her?” Riley swallowed and flicked the butt of his cigarette into the yard below them.
“What?” Darren gasped. “I mean…I guess I could. Greg was always a jerk and a womanizer. I don’t think he was ever told no.”
“Well - he was that night,” Riley sighed.
“So…what does this have to do with me?” Darren turned to face Riley.
“My roommate is helping the girl take Greg to court over this. They’re looking for witnesses,” Riley grimaced. “I was hoping you could help.”
“Oh man…this is big. If Chris finds out what you’re doing…he’ll hold a meeting and black ball us,” Darren groaned.
“I know,” Riley murmured. “I’ve already been warned by him ‘to keep my big mouth shut’.”
“You realize that in three months we’ll be away from here and in the real world, right?” Darren bumped Riley in the shoulder.
“Yeah,” Riley nodded. “It’s people like Chris, the frat’s president, which would want to sweep this under the rug. The Neely’s are big donors to the university. We’re going to have more than Greg and his dad after us…you know that, right?”
“Yeah…I do, but it isn’t right. Aren’t we supposed to be learning about brotherhood? Supporting one another? What if it was someone we were close to? I have a little sister in high school…if she came here and that happened to her, I’d want someone to stand up for her. Someone needs to take him down a few pegs. I mean…we are probably going to lose our charter over this, but it’s the right thing to do,” Darren nodded and turned to Riley. He reached his hand out to shake Riley’s and gave a resolute nod, “I’m in…I’ll help you.”
“Are you prepared to move out of the house?” Riley cocked a brow. “Because as soon as they find out you’re in on it, they’re going to make your life a living hell.”
“Can I crash on your couch?” Darren smirked.
“Yeah,” Riley smiled as he moved toward the door. “Let’s get your stuff. You can come back with me tonight…talk to my roommate…get this started.”
ooooooooo
When Darren and Riley arrived back at the apartment, they found Justin and Grace curled up on the couch watching a movie. The lights were dimmed, and they weren’t moving. Riley silently wondered if they were asleep. Grace had to be tired. After the emotional rollercoaster that happened before he had left, that would drain anybody.
Justin heard the door click shut, and he shifted to a sitting position. He turned slightly to look over his shoulder as he watched Riley enter with a friend.
“Hey,” Riley whispered. “I brought help.”
“Help?” Justin wrinkled his forehead as he watched Riley prop a large duffle bag up against the wall.
“I’m awake guys. You don’t have to whisper,” Grace yawned as she sat up and glanced in Riley’s direction. “It’s you,” she gasped.
Darren nodded, “It’s me. I’m Darren.”
Justin looked between the two of them trying to figure out how they would have known each other. “I’m a little lost here,” he mumbled.
“He was there,” Grace murmured. “He was there that night.”
Justin nodded in understanding and wrapped Grace in a hug. He leaned over and kissed her forehead lightly as he tried to comfort her, “It’s going to be alright…I promise.”
“I’m here to help…if you’ll let me stay,” Darren gave a solemn look to Justin.
“Sure, whatever you need. You can have the couch as long as you want it,” Justin stood up and walk over to where the pair was standing. He reached out and shook Darren’s hand, “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he sighed. “I don’t think you have any idea what we’re up against.”
“Well…we’re going to put up a good fight none the less,” Justin gave a quick nod.
“Please tell me you’ve got some “big guns” backing you up on this,” Darren groaned. “Greg’s dad is powerful, and the university is not going to want this to go public. They’re going to try and make you go away.”
“I’ve got the support of the lead DA in NY. I was able to get approval last week. We have to get this together for the Grand Jury by next Friday. You’re coming in on this at just the right time,” Justin rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.
“I’m glad this is overlapping Spring Break. All hell is going to break loose as soon as this hits the papers,” Darren groaned as he moved further into the room.
“I’m sorry,” Grace began to whisper from the couch. “I’m so sorry.”
All three men’s heads snapped in her direction. “What are you sorry about?” Darren cocked his head to the side. “This wasn’t your fault.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” Riley followed. “I’m happy to be the one to help take Neely down a few pegs.”
“But you might get kicked out of your frat because of me,” Grace began to tear up. She was so frustrated at the moment. She was tired of crying. Tired of feeling the way she was feeling, and most of all…tired of apologizing to people.
“I don’t want to be part of a fraternity that would allow that to happen and do nothing about it,” Riley shook his head. “A real man doesn’t treat women like that. A woman should be treated with respect…like a treasure that deserves to be cared for and honored…not used and thrown away. I may have come to the party a little late, but you opened my eyes to more than you’ll ever know.”
Grace quickly rose to a standing position and made her way over to Riley. Before he knew it, she launched herself into his arms and squeezed him into a tight hug. “You’re a good guy, Riley.”
“I see why you love this girl so much,” Riley chuckled as he looked over at Justin. “She’s good at boosting the ego.”
“Watch what you say about my girl,” Justin shoved Riley lightly. “She’s my treasure,” he mocked Riley and grinned.
“I’m never gonna live that down am I?” he rolled his eyes. “I’m just trying to be honest.”
“I know you are,” Justin teased. “I get it, I do. I feel the same way…it’s just funny hearing it come out of your mouth.”
“Well, I’m sorry to break up this little bromance, but could you walk me home? It’s getting late,” Grace smiled sweetly up at Justin.
“Sure thing,” Justin smiled back. “Let me get my coat.” He walked across the room to grab his jacket. Even though it was well into spring at this point, it was still quite chilly in the evenings. “Be back in a few,” he called to Riley and Darren as he made his way out the door after Grace.
“We’re gonna get him,” he leaned in and kissed Grace’s cheek. “I can feel it. We’re gonna get him.”
Grace turned and hugged Justin tight as she felt his warmth seep into her. She was finally beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Things were coming together, and her life was heading in a positive direction. “I love you,” she whispered into his ear as she kissed his cheek. “I love you!”
Chapter 16
As the days crept by, Grace began to wonder how and when things would progress. She hadn’t heard from Justin in a few days, and she knew he’d been tirelessly working on her case. She and Hannah had tried to pass the time by shopping for wedding dresses. Grace really wasn’t that into it, but it helped nonetheless. Finally, when she was heading home from class on Wednesday, her phone buzzed.
SuperNerd: Come to dinner with me? I want to talk to you about something…
SoccerStar: Ok…7?
SuperNerd: I’ll pick you up at your place. See you then…
Grace smiled and then let it fall to a frown. She wasn’t sure if this evening out was a date, or business. Was Justin wanting to take her out to talk about the case or was he trying to be romantic? They’d told each other that they loved the other, but they’d never really established whether they were a couple or not. Grace thought they might be, but then she wondered if they would have gotten toge
ther if the circumstances were different. Justin said she was his “treasure”. Did he mean that she was his girlfriend? Her cheeks began to blush as she thought more about it. What did he expect from her? Did he want to be with her romantically? She didn’t think she could do that. After everything she’d been dealing with could she give herself over to him? Would he even want her that way? The more she thought about it, the more she knew she needed to talk to him. When she finally reached her apartment, she had set her resolve. She would talk to Justin tonight and find out exactly where they stood.
ooooooooo
“You ready?” Justin stood in the doorway smiling at Grace as he watching her wobble on her feet.
He couldn’t figure it out, she seemed so nervous. They’d been going out for a while, but she was acting like it was a first date.
As she reached to the side to grab a cardigan, she laughed nervously, “Sure.”
When she stepped through the door, Justin wrapped his arm around her waist and gave it a gentle squeeze. A nervous laugh bubbled up Grace’s throat as she stepped out of his embrace.
“Are you ok?” Justin glanced to the side as he reached for her hand and laced their fingers together.
“Sure, why?” Grace giggled lightly and blushed. She couldn’t put her finger on what exactly she was feeling, but a zing of awareness was rushing through her.
“You just seem different is all...” he shrugged as he pulled her along the sidewalk.
Grace blushed even more and turned away from his gaze, “Really?”
“Yeah…really, but I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” he grinned at her.
The rest of the walk to the restaurant was done in companionable silence as the pair took in their surroundings. The pale pink sundress that Grace was wearing brushed against her thighs as the spring breeze blew around them. Justin was wearing a pair of khaki shorts that Grace had never seen. She kept glancing down at his bare legs as they walked along. The toned calf muscles flexing with each step had her staring. He had mentioned at one point that he’d been a swimmer. She silently wondered if he still swam in his free time.
“If you keep staring like that I’m gonna get a complex,” he nudged her in the shoulder, bringing her out of her thoughts.
The apples of Grace’s cheeks turned a dark crimson, “Sorry.”
“You don’t have to be sorry, but if I knew you liked them so much I would’ve started to wear shorts more often,” he chuckled.
“It’s just so different, that’s all,” she fought to recover and sober her face.
“What? Me in shorts?” Justin smirked.
“You in anything other than a suit…yeah,” she smiled up at him.
“I have to wear a tie to court every day. On the off chance that I don’t go to court, I do everything I can to avoid the tie,” he smiled and laughed at the same time.
“That’s understandable,” Grace nodded.
“Besides… I wanted to have a more casual date,” he shrugged as he tugged her through the door of the restaurant, Lucy’s Steakhouse.
Grace’s eyes flashed as her mouth dropped open. This was a date. He was bringing her out on a date.
ooooooooo
Once seated at the table, Grace began to scan the place, taking in all the sights and smells. It was a nice place to eat, far better than any of the places they’d been so far. As she perused the menu, she kept glancing up, seeing Justin was staring at her. She blushed and averted her eyes as she tried to figure out what she wanted. She wasn’t really hungry, her nerves had taken care of that for her.
“Whatcha thinking about getting?” Justin smiled as he laid his menu down beside his place setting.
“Maybe just a salad. I’m not very hungry,” Grace mumbled as she continued to stare at the menu.
“I bring you to one of the best steak houses in the area and you want a salad?” Justin scoffed.
“I don’t know,” Grace’s faced paled as worry flooded her features.
Justin noticed and felt horrible for the way he had responded. “Get whatever you want,” he reassured as he reached across the table and patted her hand.
Grace nodded and glanced back down at the menu. There was a small filet listed in the steak section, maybe she could get that. Justin was right, this was the best steak house in the area. Finally deciding that she could take home whatever she didn’t eat, she ordered the steak.
“That’s my girl,” Justin nodded as she placed the order.
Grace’s eyes darted over to his as the admission flew from his mouth. Did he realize what he just said? Did he mean it? Grace placed her hands in her lap and tried to think of something to say to pass the time while they waited for their food.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” she looked up at him with concern in her eyes,
“I don’t know if this is the best place to do that,” Justin looked around nervously.
“Then why did you bring me here?” she asked with a bit of annoyance.
“I wanted to take my girl out on a date,” Justin shrugged as if it was obvious.
There it was again… “His girl.”
“What do you mean by that?” Grace prodded.
To the outsider, that would have sounded like she was fishing for compliments, but to anyone that knew what Grace had been though, they would have understood her motives. She wasn’t trying to get praise, she was trying to make sure that Justin was in it for the right reasons. That he truly wanted to be on a date with her, that he didn’t want anything in return, and that at the end of the night he would be happy with whatever way she decided to end the evening.
Justin furrowed his brow in confusion, “Exactly what I said. I wanted to bring my girlfriend out on a date.”
Grace’s eyes darted around to look at anything and everything except Justin. Her hands twisted in her lap, and she began to toe the floor. Justin noticed her nervous behavior and stood to move to the chair beside her.
“What’s wrong?” he whispered as he leaned in and grabbed one of her hands out of her lap. “We’ve been out before. This isn’t new.”
Grace sighed as she watched the look of adoration and concern cross his face. “I know,” she whispered. “It’s just…I didn’t know if we were…I mean if you wanted…”
“Wanted what?” Justin leaned in and placed a light kiss to her cheek.
“Me,” she murmured as she melted against him.
“Oh honey…I’ve wanted you for a long time. I’ve been waiting for you to be ready. I don’t want to push you in to anything that you don’t want. With everything that’s been going on, I don’t want you to feel like you owe it to me. But Grace,” he placed a finger under her chin and tilted her head toward his, “I love you.”
Without waiting, Grace leaned in, and pressed a kiss to his lips. As she pulled away, she mumbled against his mouth, “I love you too.”
Before they could continue, their server approached and placed their dinner in front of them, effectively breaking the moment. When Justin began to slide back to his original spot, Grace placed her hand on his thigh and smiled up at him, “Please stay.” Justin nodded and reached across the table to grab his silverware.
As they cut into their steaks, Grace glanced out of the corner of her eye, “So are you going to tell me or am I going to have to pry it out of you?”
“Huh?” Justin stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her. He had paused with his fork halfway to his mouth.
“Why tonight? What did you need to tell me?” Grace rolled her eyes. “Your text said you needed to talk to me,” she cocked her head to the side and reached under the table placing her hand on his upper thigh Justin swallowed. For being innocent in the ways of dating, Grace sure knew what buttons to push in order to get what she wanted. He shook the lustful thoughts he was having from his head, and turned in her direction.
“It was about your case…what I wanted to talk about,” he cleared his throat.
Grace retracted her hand and pulled away from
him slightly. She nodded and wiped her mouth with her napkin, “What about it?”
“Well…the Neely’s have looked over our evidence and the testimonials of our witnesses, and I think they’re worried about losing the case if it went to trial. Richard, that’s Greg’s father, he’s pushing for a settlement. We need to meet at the DA’s office to sign off on it if you agree, but I think it’s a good deal. Greg’s agreed to ten years plus registering as a sex offender once he’s released. I think he must have come clean to his dad, because he didn’t put up much of a fight. I was completely surprised that Richard didn’t want to go to court for his son. Richard Neely doesn’t lose cases.” Justin looked over at Grace and couldn’t quite place the expression she had on her face, “Are you ok? Should I have waited to tell you this?”
“No, it’s just…I don’t know. It almost seems like a letdown. I’ve been so hurt over all this. It’s taken so much of me over the months since it happened. Here it’s only been a few weeks, and they’re going to push it under the rug like it never happened. I’m going to be a dirty little secret,” she sighed as a tear made its way down her cheek.
“You’re never going to be a secret or anything dirty, Grace. I’m just trying to get you justice without putting you through a long trial. If you want to take this to trial and try to get more out of it, I will. I don’t think that’s your best option though. With taking this deal…you can put it behind you and never have to worry about it again.”
Fallen From Grace Page 11