A Drop In The Lake

call the police

***Reader discretion advised***

____________________________________

Cameron

My lungs fill with fire as the next breath rushes out of me. Alessa steps back into me, the heat of her back waking me up from my rage filled state.

As if realizing what she did, she steps back from me and pleads, "Did-- did you know?"

My throat stretches with discomfort as I respond, "No. nonono. I had no idea. I mean I knew he was a dick, but this. I I don't-- I don't know what to say."

My eyes flick to Brooklyn, asking her for confirmation of what she just said. She gives me a nod and looks at Alessa.

"Ale, he didn't know, none of you did. I'm still struggling to understand what happened so I can't expect you guys to, I just wanted to tell you guys because," Brooklyn abruptly stops, swallowing the weight of her confession. "He told me to tell Alessa he says hi."

Her last words tumble out in a mix of confidence and fear. Her hands shake and as the wind rushes out of me, I instinctively move forwards to comfort her.

Brooklyn and I may have had a rough coming together, but at this point we need each other. There is no I or Her any more.

"I have an idea." I sputter, shocking myself and everyone else in the room.

"What?" Mumbles Brook, her nickname tumbling around in my head, feeling right.

Just say it.

"But I'm gonna need your word."

Brook eyes me wearily before she replies, "You know I'd do anything to get rid of him and go back to how things were."

"Then promise me you'll hear me out." I warn, looking around to everyone.

"Yeah." Replies Brook.

"Of course." Adds Alessa.

Anthony gives me a head nod, and with that I'm off.

"We need to call the police. Brook, you need to press charges, take him down. I'd say he'd get ten to fifteen years in jail, given his age. Absinthe and my dad are suing him for defamation, which won't end in a jail sentence, but will drain him of his money. Right now he's living off his father's money, but the second he gets taken in for questioning, his dad will want to be here, and he's no joke. It should all go smoothly if you testify and we have the kit as evidence, my parents can also hire a PI and have him dig up more evidence. The only thing we'll need to watch out for is Max's father trying to make under-the-table plea deals, they may seem enticing, but trust me, there's always a legal loophole." I rattle the words off so quickly, not taking a breath, and the moment I do Brook's eyes light up with... gratitude?

"Holy shit. Cam I-- I don't know what to say, but, thank you. I'm in." Confirms Brook, looking to Alessa and Anthony for confirmation.

"Well shit. I can't say no to that." Answers Anthony.

"Count me in." Adds Alessa.

With that, we all disperse. Alessa returns to her dorm to shower and get ready for dinner. Anthony books it to the dining hall. And, Brook, she stays where she is.

I'm about to leave when Brook grabs at my shorts, "Thank you Cam. I mean it."

I reply with a smile and then leave, a sense of urgency rushing my system.

I pull out my phone and call my dad to update him on my idea. Since I promised to tell him everything concerning Max, I've kept up my end of the bargain, and while I hate to admit it, so has Absinthe. Her ability to erase the story of Alessa's part in Rhea's death from the press is scary good. While the story is still simmering in some smaller publications, Rhea's name has been completely removed from the presses vocabulary after Rhea' parents went on to sue a bunch of the publications that discussed the story.

"Cameron. How are things going?" Echoes my father's voice through the phone.

"Um. Different." I reply meekly.

"What do you mean Cam?"
"Well, you know how I got the message to go to the Health Center during practice to see Brook?" I ask, hesitant on the way to deliver my next bit of information.

"Yes."

"Well, it turns out it wasn't Anthony that touched her, it was Max." My words hang on the line and my father is silent. "He did it to send a message to Alessa, but when Brook told me I said I'd talk to you about taking legal action and that he could end up in jail for what he did."

"Cameron." My dad sighs.

"Yes?"

"First, thank you for telling me. Second, she would need to take legal action. If she wants to, I'm sure we could get some of our lawyers on her case so that we can keep up with it, but in order for us to actually get involved, we first need to settle our defamation charges against him." He finishes.

"I get that. I told her that we would help in any way possible, and that we were happy to help in any way possible. The main reason I called you was to ask if there was any way to expedite the defamation charges and shift our lawyers' attention to Brook's case." I huff, walking up to the entrance of my dorm.

"Cameron. I will get on it, trust me, but the only thing we can do right now is call the police. Did she?" He asks.

"Yes."

"Okay. I'll talk to Absinthe and let you know where we can go from there, but for now I want to lay low. Don't try to go after Max, don't get into any fights, just go to class, do your work and all of this will be a lot easier to move through. Got it?" He checks.

"Got it." I affirm.

"Good. I love you Cam, and I'll call you with an update in a few days."
"Love you too."

_________________________

Hey, so today's chapter is the setup for the end, and as such I will be taking a bit of a break from uploading so that I can do more research on the material that I will be covering in the final few chapters.

With that said, I will resume uploads on the 28th of November.

SO, while I'm gone, I want to ask you guys what kind of story you want to see next? A short story, collection of pieces, full fledged book, etc.? Let me know : )

See you on the 28th! : )