Campus King | 18+

Chapter Forty-Nine

Hannah

My heart stopped as his words registered in my brain.

"What?" I whispered, breathless.

Drugged him? Tried to rape him? Shock blasted through my system, and my heart rate began to pick up again. I tried to twist around to face him, but his grip wouldn't let me. Instead, he lay next to me, staring up at the roof of the tent.

He cleared his throat. "There was this girl who followed me around for a couple of months — to parties, classes, the football house. And to all my games. And then she started messaging me. A lot, all the time, no matter how much I blocked her. At first, I thought she was just an over-enthusiastic fan."

"She's the one who stalked you?"

I didn't need his confirmation. His voice stayed even as he continued. "It got worse when I made the mistake of kissing her while I was drunk at a party, and she took that as way more than it was. Started threatening the girls I hooked up with, telling everyone she was my girlfriend, sending me weird packages with hair, letters, all kinds of creepy shit in them. Enough to freak me and those around me out."

A sick feeling pooled in my stomach as he kept talking. I didn't want to know where this was going, even as I suspected that I already knew. It had crossed my mind when I'd voiced everything before, but because I couldn't imagine it, I'd dismissed the thought immediately. He was just so Tristan — it seemed like no one could touch him, much less hurt him like that.

"I got a restraining order. Felt stupid about it, but my parents insisted. And the cops weren't going to do a thing except warn her unless something serious happened. But I wasn't worried. She seemed like this small, harmless girl. What could she really do to me?"

The cops didn't do anything? Even though he was Tristan Beckett? Was it because they thought he could handle himself? That because he was a guy, nothing could happen to him?

"We were having a party during rush week. It was late, and I was already nearing blackout drunk when she dosed my drink. The last thing I remember is making out with some other girl. Apparently, I passed out and some of my buddies carried me up to my room. That's where she found me — on my bed and dead to the world."

I chose to stay quiet, letting him finish.

"I woke up with her on top of me, naked. She was trying to unzip my pants. I think I made a noise because she realized I was awake, and started talking to me. I couldn't really make out any of the other stuff, but she kept apologizing over and over again — the whole time."

It was sickening to think she had remorse but still went through with it. That meant she knew what she was doing was wrong, but chose to ignore it, chose to violate another human being in one of the worst ways possible.

"Did she...?" Acid rose in the back of my throat.

"No." His voice was flat, empty. "I couldn't get hard. She tried, but nothing worked. And I don't think she just wanted to fuck me — she wanted to trap me and tie us together forever. Probably thought she could get pregnant and that would be it."