Jem felt so out of place as stood awkwardly beside Nat, who was laughing and talking to some kids Jem hardly knew.
She shouldn't have come; she should have stayed with Case.
Case. She so hoped he never learned about this.
He would probably think she had lied about it being a fundraiser. And if she could make him believe the truth he would more than likely never want her to go out with Natalie again.
Although, with the way she was feeling right now, that probably would not be a bad idea.
"Hey. Alcohol, Nat?" Chad, a cute boy she hardly knew from American government class and the host of the party, walked up to them with two cups of beer in his hands.
"Want some alcohol?" He repeated, smiling towards Nat, who gave him a seductive smile back.
Jem's head jerked back in shock when Nat accepted the offer. What was up with her friend, why was she acting so out of character? And did she really know her at all?
Nat took a sip, giggled, and then drained the cup. It must have been more than she could handle because she sputtered and some of the booze landed on Jem's shirt.
Oh God. Case would smell that. She was so dead.
The bathroom. She could try to do some damage control.
"How bout you Jem? Want some?" Chad offered.
Jem shook her head no and asked, "Could I please use your bathroom though?"
He grinned a perfect smile and said, "Sure. Up the stairs, third door on the left."
She thanked him and headed up the stairs.
.............................................................................................
Case was so mad he could spit.
Only halfway to get Jem, and he was having a hard time not flooring it the rest of the way.
A beer party. She had lied to him.
It was a hard fact to swallow.
He had trusted Jem to be honest with him. Sweet, innocent Jem hadn't seemed the type to lie. Or to do things like drink.
Did he really know her at all?
...................................................................................................
Jem looked at herself in the mirror.
Hopefully she would play a convincing act with Case.
An act. In other words, a lie.
She didnt want to lie to him.
Damn Nat for putting her in this position.
No, damn herself for not calling Case right away and asking him to come get her.She was in deeper than what she could handle right now.
Maybe if she had had a normal childhood she would be into things like drinking and partying and defying her parents. She hadn't had a normal childhood, and she was not the typical teenager.
She left the bathroom and headed down the hallway, lost in thought.
"Hey, gorgeous." A drunken voice slurred. She felt two hands on her shouders and chills of fear went down her spine.
She jerked around, preparing to scream when the hands suddenly left her body.
She saw a teenaged boy, very drunk and disheveled, smiling crookedly down at her.
"What do you want?" She asked him.
"You, darlin. Did you come up here looking for some fun?"
.......................................................................
Case tore into the drive, got out and ran for the front door.
And took in the sight of a full-fledged beer party going on. He needed to find Jem. Quickly.
He hurried in through the front door and was immediately noticed by a redhead that before Jem he would have called sexy.
Now she was just another face in the crowd.
"Well hello, handsome." The redhead purred, actually having the nerve to wrap herself around him.
"Want to have some fun?"
She must be drunk, he decided. He disentangled himself, annoyed and disinterested.
He didn't want any woman touching him but Jem.
"Sorry, I'm not single. Do you know a Jem, by any chance?"
The redhead's green eyes narrowed. "Yes. From school. But she is dull and boring. A total good girl, absolutely no fun at all."
Of course, a whore like you would have that opinion of a sweet girl like Jem, he thought, but carefully masked his expression to not show his opinion.
"Really? Well, I really need to talk to Jem. It is urgent."
The redhead sighed.
She pointed to a tall brunette with a drink in her hand standing beside a teenage boy.
"That is Jem's friend Natalie. She would probably know where Jem is. Those two stick together like glue."
Case said a polite thank you and headed in the direction of the brunette.
......................................................................
"No, actually." Jem answered the boy, starting to panic, "I just needed to use the bathroom. I'll be going now...."
The boy grabbed her and put his lips over her mouth before she could run or scream. She kicked and beat at him, but she was no match for his stength.
He covered her mouth with his palm and drunkenly leered, "Feisty. I like that..." before his disgusting mouth was over hers again and she was left fighting and kicking, to no avail.
She needed Case. Or someone, anyone, to rescue her.
She was helpless as he pinned her to the wall and shoved his tongue down her throat. She was going to be raped.
Defiled. Have something that should have been hers to give to Case brutally taken away from her.
The thought made her fight all the more.
.........................................................................
Case glared at Nat, not wasting any words.
"Where is Jem?"
Her jaw dropped when she saw him but then she seemed to regain her composure.
"She went upstairs to go to the bathroom. Actually, she should have been back by now...."
He sprinted for the stairs, dodging bodies, without having taken the time to say anything further to Natalie.
He got to the top of the stairs and saw Jem.
Pinned to the wall against a boy, scratching and biting and kicking at him.
His body had the boy off of Jem and his fist had made contact with the boy before his mind had time to catch up with his own actions.
That slime had been touching what was his.
He looked at Jem, saw the tears rolling down her face, and knew that she had wanted no part of what the boy had been doing to her.
She had been assaulted, and if he hadn't arrived when he did she might have been raped.
He saw red and lunged towards the boy who was just then picking himself up from the floor.
