Page 26 of Away Game

Looking down, I realized once again that I was still naked. I could feel the heat of my humiliation at Fin being so close and seeing me in this degrading state.

I didn’t want to take another slap to my pride, but I knew I needed to. I couldn’t live with myself if, by doing nothing, someone else was taken advantage of.

“Ford looked up what they might have used on you, and there was conflicting information. If you wait too long, it might not be in your system, and then they get off. Don’t let that happen.” The last was said as more of a demand, but I didn’t let it phase me.

Rolling my head back and forth along the wall, I stared up at the ceiling. “I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but thank you for saving me last night. You didn’t have to, and I appreciate it.”

“You’re right. I don’t want to hear it.” He jumped lithely to his feet and hovered, looking down at me with fierce, determined eyes. “You can repay me by getting off your ass and not letting them win.” His tone was angry, but, on this occasion, I knew it wasn’t directed toward me.

“Give me half an hour. I need… I just need time to… It’s a lot to process. For me, it doesn’t seem real. The few times I’ve come into contact with Alpha Mu, they seemed perfectly nice.”

“That’s what they do. They can’t lure you in by being an asshole.” He smirked.

I wondered if he was thinking about how it didn’t seem to make a difference how Fin treated me, I couldn’t help but be attracted to him no matter how much guilt or shame it made me feel. Finley Huntington was under my skin, and each time we had one of these encounters, he dug himself a little bit deeper.

After today, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to get rid of him.

13

Fin

All five ofus trudged up the stairs, with me bringing up the rear. Oz, Ford, and Riley’s heads hung low, but West’s body seemed to barely have the energy to drag him up the stairs. What we thought would be a simple trip to the student clinic turned into hours of us giving our statements individually and then all together. No stone was left unturned. Alpha Mu would be investigated for beatings, drugs, and sexual assault.

I was in the room when he told the doctor at the clinic what happened and when we had to go in front of the Dean, along with Coach Kyle, and explain what transpired last night. If we thought we’d ever get to go out again during the season, that was null and void now. I watched as Coach’s face turned red with fury with each passing word that slipped from our mouths. If it was possible, steam would have poured out his ears.

When Oz, Ford, and Ridley turned on the third floor, they stopped and silently waited until West met them on their floor.

“Thanks for everything, guys. It meant a lot you were there for me today,” West quietly said as he passed them and moved on to our floor.

Ford and Ridley moved on, but Oz waited for me. He started talking in hushed whispers the moment I was close enough to hear him. “What do you think is going to happen?”

“Who the fuck knows? If I was those guys, I would have gotten rid of the evidence, but who knows if they are a smart enough to do that or if they’re too cocky to think we’d breathe a word of it or they’d get in trouble,” I answered as I kept my eyes on West as he finished going up the last flight of stairs.

“This is going to get ugly, and I have no idea if it’s going to go in our favor or not.” Oz’s entire face was one of worry as he stood there fidgeting. This wasn’t my friend. He rarely let anything bother him, and if this did, I knew I needed to keep on my guard about it.

“We’ll make it go in our favor. How can it not? I don’t give a shit if they are the most powerful fraternity on campus. Once word gets out what they did, what they might try to do to any unsuspecting person who attends their parties or, hell, even be in their presence, they’ll go down, and we’ll be right there to make sure of it,” I growled the last.

“Bro,” Oz shook his head. “We’ve talked about this. We can’t afford to get into trouble here. Our parents can’t get us out of trouble like in Santa Lucia.”

“With enough money, you can always get out of trouble,” I gritted out while Oz looked at me like I was living in a fantasy world, which I was if I thought there was a chance in hell my dad would be willing to pay. Being in Willow Bay, we were far enough away that word wouldn’t travel to our hometown. The only way my old man would help me was if there was any chance word would get back to the people he cared about most and their opinions about him.

Oz looked down the hall and then back to me before he said under his breath. “We’ve got to be smart about what we do and make sure it can’t be traced back to us.”

Agreed.

“I won’t make any rash decisions,” I lied. I couldn’t promise anything.

“Do you think I should go check on him and see if he needs anything? He could barely make it up the stairs.”

“Nah, I’ll check in on him before I hit my room.” I moved to head up the rest of the way when Oz’s hand on my arm stopped me. I glared down at his hand before I shrugged it off.

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch, Fin.” He stood a little taller. “Just be nice.”

I raised a brow at that. “Haven’t I been?”

“Surprisingly yes, but fuck man,” Oz looked over my shoulder and then looked me in the eyes. “He’s fragile right now, and one wrong word from you could crumble him.”

Stepping up, I bumped my chest into his and knocked him back a step. “You don’t need to tell me. I was there every step of the way.”

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