Nope. I had never loved him any more than right now.
She nodded at him. "Thank you," she whispered. His hand came to her cheek for just a moment and then he stood again and headed towards the door.
"Where are you going?" I asked. All of a sudden, panic was coursing through me.
"Well, Charlie, I'm going to go and kick Caleb's ass."
"Well, Asher," I emphasized his name, making it evident that I didn't appreciate his tone, or the fact that he used my full name. "It kind of sounds like she already did that."
"No, she defended herself. I'm going to beat his ass so hard that tomorrow he won't even remember his name." I stood up and went after him.
"Asher, no, don't. Please." I made it to him and grabbed him by the hand. He stopped and turned towards me but I saw his eyes rolling.
"Bit, I don't have time for this. Someone has to kill him." I took his face in my hands.
"Not you, Ash, please. Let's just call the police."
"We can't call the police! This whole frat house is full of underage college kids drinking! If I call the police so many people will get in trouble. He's the only one that needs to be punished."
"Ok, so, we take Reeve home – both of us – and tomorrow we go to the campus police. We'll report it. Let the school deal with him, Asher. Please don't go to his room. I need you with me right now." I knew I was playing dirty. I knew I used his inability to walk away from me when I needed him against him, but I didn't care. I cared that if he went down to Caleb's room he could possibly get hurt. "Please," I begged softly. I saw the moment he made the right decision. His eyes softened and his shoulders lost some of their tension. He bent down so that his forehead leaned against mine.
"Fine," was all he said.
We gathered up Reeve and all three of us walked back to our dorm. I took her into the bathroom and helped her get ready for bed. She had grown quiet on the walk home and now she seemed very distant and far away. Her eyes were glazed over and she wasn't responding to me normally.
"Reeve? Are you ok?" She nodded her head, but didn't say anything. "Hey, Reeve, everything is going to be ok. We'll go to campus police tomorrow and tell them everything. He'll never mess with you again." She nodded a second time and I couldn't help but worry. I didn't want to push her. I had no idea what was going through her head, but I would give anything for her to just look me in the eye or say one word. She was breaking my heart.
I walked with her back to our room and watched as she slid into her bed and hid under the covers. Asher sat on the edge of my bed looking at me expectantly. I quickly changed into my pajamas and walked over to where Asher sat and leaned down to kiss his forehead. The care and gentleness he showed Reeve in the last hour had blown me away. I knew he was constantly irritated by her interruptions and her boy-crazy ways, but she was also his friend. We'd grown up together. Granted they were probably only friends because of me, but they were friends, nonetheless. As I leaned up from the kiss he wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed his cheek into my stomach. I slowly moved my hands through his soft hair, letting him take the comfort from me he was obviously seeking. When he finally pulled away and looked up at me, I saw a new worry in his eyes and I knew what he was thinking.
He was glad it wasn't me who was assaulted at the party and felt guilty for thinking it at all. I wrapped my hands around the back of his neck and sat on his lap straddling him, bringing my face close to his.
"Hey," I whispered quietly, hoping to not let Reeve hear me. "I'm ok. Everything is ok."
"Everything is not ok, Charlie." I could feel his hands on my back, pulling me into him as if he needed to crawl inside of me. "I never thought anything like that would really happen. At least not to someone I know. What if Caleb had tried that on you? There's nothing you could have said to keep me from killing him, Bit. You're lucky I didn't kick the shit out of him as it is."
"Asher, nothing like that is going to happen to me. Does this suck? Yes. Did Reeve deserve this? No. We are going to tell the authorities and they'll take care of him."
"I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to you," he said, looking into my eyes.
"You won't ever have to find out."
He brushed his lips against mine and the kiss was tender, controlled, and loving. Passion was always under the surface of our kissing. I could always tell how he felt about me in his kiss, but this one almost felt like he appreciated the fact I was even there; I was his and I was ok. I felt the same way and tried to convey that to him. His hands still roamed over the skin of my back under my nightshirt and when I felt his loving kiss turn into something more carnal I pulled away. Bringing my hands up to his face I whispered to him, "I think I'm going to sleep with Reeve. I don't want her to be alone."
He nodded his head in understanding.
"Will you stay? I would feel safer knowing you were here."
"Of course. Always."
Chapter Three
The following weeks were hellish. The campus police partnered with the local police and charges were filed against Caleb. He was arrested by the police and the Greek Council at the university banned him from the Greek system. We all had to attend a hearing at the school for the university to decide if he was guilty and to sentence him. Reeve, Asher, some of the brothers from the fraternity, and I all had to testify.
The school found him guilty of attempted rape, which was a violation of the student code of conduct, and he was expelled. We were all so glad when the trial was over and done with, hoping once we could move past everything Reeve's mood would improve. The whole ordeal, from that terrible night at the frat house until the day of the sentencing, took about two months. The entire time Reeve was a shell of her former self. It was terrible watching her live as a hermit, only going to class, just scraping by with her studies, sleeping all day long sometimes. She didn't want to go anywhere or do anything. She never said more than a few words to me, even though I tried daily to break her out of her trance.
Two weeks after Caleb was expelled, I was beginning to worry she was never going to come back to me. It angered me to think that one very stupid guy took my best friend away from me. He had impacted her in such a way that she wasn't even the same person anymore. It wasn't fair – not to me and, most importantly, not to her. This was college and she should be having the time of her life. As I was walked to class with Asher, I tried to explain my frustration.
"I just want my best friend back. I feel like if she doesn't get better soon, there's really nothing stopping her from dropping out and going home at semester break. I know she's unhappy." Asher squeezed my hand and smiled sweetly at me.
"Everything will work out. Just give her time. I'm sure it's hard for her to just go back to the way things were before."
"I know. I'm not expecting her to just forget what she went through, or to flip some sort of switch and snap out of it, but something needs to give. I'm afraid I'll lose her if this goes on much longer."
"I think I have an idea," he said excitedly, out of nowhere.
"You do?"
"Yeah. Be in your dorm room at seven tonight and make sure she's there with you."
"Ok... I'm a little confused. What are you going to do?"
"It's a surprise. I don't know if it will work, but it's worth a shot, right?" He kissed me quickly on the forehead, let go of my hand, and started walking quickly in the opposite direction.
"What about class?" I yelled at his retreating back. He turned back towards me, but continued walking backwards.
"This is more important," he said with a smile. I couldn't argue with him, so I just waved. He winked and turned back around, continuing on his way.
Later that night I sat nervously in my dorm room, pretending to study, but really just staring at my psychology textbook. At seven on the dot, the dorm phone rang. I didn't know if I was supposed to answer it or not, so I pretended to be so wrapped up in my homework that it forced her to get out of bed and answer it.
"Hello?" Her voice sounded strained. I knew it was because she didn't use the phone very much anymore. I watched her face as she listened to the person on the other line who I assumed was Asher. I saw her eyes dart at me and I quickly looked back down at my book. I had no idea what was going on, but I didn't want to ruin it. She was out of bed and had said a word – vast improvements over yesterday already.