Page 56 of Heartbreak Kings
“Good.” I almost pitied the maladjusted bastard, now that it was over. But he would have killed me had he been able to get away with it, and God knew what else. And so my gratitude toward the Gentlemen went way beyond their making me feel safer. “You really think it’s over now?” I murmured. I knew it had to be, but I still wanted the reassurance.
“Chances are, yes.” Nathaniel moved past me to put my mom’s photograph back up on its hook. “Once this story breaks wide, the cost of trying to harm you will be apparent to anyone left who might consider making trouble.”
“Yeah, if there’s even anyone left who does.” Jude sounded confident. “Most of the guys on Carmody’s little mailing list have already told him to fuck off and blocked him.”
“And if they should try something,” Daniel promised, nursing a few scrapes on his fist, “we’ll be here.”
“That makes me feel a lot better,” I confided. “Let me get my coat.” I kissed Jude on the cheek and murmured, “Rain check for tonight,” in his ear. He grinned at me.
I was practically gloating while tucking in my shirt.
Fuck you, Carmody.
You lose.
I win.
We win.
“So, where are we going?” I asked, pulling on my coat. “I’m absolutely starved.”
Chapter 22
Sabine
“Well,everyone, I’m gearing up for my first round of college finals. And as I mentioned last time, the weather has been wild.” I turned the camera out the window, tilting it down to show a parking lot blanketed with at least two feet of fresh powder. More was coming down.
“If this is any sign, the rest of winter is going to be wild too. But I’m doing just fine. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support during this crazy semester. I didn’t start this blog to showcase a lot of drama, but unfortunately, some guys around here turned out to be total drama queens.I’m happy to say that since the big mess two months ago, things have been nice and quiet. I’ve even been able to study in peace. What a difference multiple arrests make, huh?” I smiled.
“I can’t talk much about the ongoing case against my stalker and his friends. But you’ll be happy to know that he’s awaiting trial without bail, and they have expelled the four guys who helped him try to burn down my dorm. Pretty much everyone else has moved on from giving me any problems. There is a lawsuit against the administration for deciding to make the school co-ed without providing the students with any official grievance process. Which I support, because say what you want about the need for more integrated campuses, it doesn’t mean that the administration should get away with just ignoring student concerns like that.” I paused.“Anyway, the lawsuit doesn’t target me or my four-year scholarship. So next semester, I should be able to focus a lot more on my studies and the better parts of life here on campus. Those who have come here for the drama, I hope you won’t be too disappointed.” I winked. “But then again, I’ll have two or three court cases to follow, both the campus lawsuit and the charges against Carmody. So hey, stay tuned!”
I turned off the camera, satisfied with the filmed introduction.
I didn’t have time for much more before Blake picked me up for breakfast. I had been eating my meals over at the fraternity house even more now that Carmody and his people were no longer there.
My presence bothered no one at the house, nor did the fact that I was apparently dating one Gentleman. Sometimes I heard the other members or pledges guessing at which one. They didn’t know it was all of them. I was still working out how to explain that to Mom. She knew that I was dating and that I was careful not to let it interfere with my studies. But she had no clue I was dating five men who all knew about one another.
It was a week before finals started, and I had absolutely nothing out of the ordinary to report on my blog. At least, nothing out of the ordinary that was anyone’s business but mine.
The Gentlemen’s lawsuit against the school was going to drag on for a long while, but that was fine. Half their reason for doing it was to shed light on poor administration-student relations, hoping to get the policies behind them changed. Whether the campus returned to being single-sex after I left or not, the administration would have to stop pretending as if student concerns didn’t matter.
Meanwhile, my search for justice had gotten a lot more fruitful.
Carmody was in jail, awaiting trial. The list of charges was as long as my arm. Marcus had pressed charges for his assault after the school had asked him to cooperate with their case. Three of the boys who had attacked him had turned out to be underage and were now in juvenile detention. They banned the rest from campus, and they would face worse legal troubles. The campus was charging Carmody and his buddies for the arson and assorted acts of vandalism on top of the rest of the things they’d done.
Four others, the three freshmen who had tried to break down my door and the one who had come after me with scissors, were facing charges from the campus as well, and most of them were going down for the arson and assault too. The investigation was ongoing. I had already answered endless police questions. When they asked if I would testify, I told them I was looking forward to it.
I really was.
Courtroom drama was nothing compared to what I had already gone through, and I wouldn’t have to face it alone.
But Carmody?He was about as alone in the world now as a guy could get.
Carmody’s father had never contacted me, and I didn’t expect him to. His mother hadn’t either, aside from a fancy card sent to my dorm room with a short apology note. I didn’t know if she sympathized with me, or if she had realized that her baby had doomed himself. I didn’t care which. And I would not let a perfunctory apology impede my pressing charges, if that was her expectation.Very little about her, her husband’s, or her son’s actions made any sense to me at all.
She and her husband had spoiled, coddled, and protected that woman-hating monster when they should have been disciplining him and getting him into therapy. They had used their clout to let him make a nuisance of himself on campus and among the Alpha Omega. When he had tried to burn down a building, they had bailed him out within minutes of his being jailed. They had made their choices. They would have to deal with the consequences, along with their scumbag son. They deserved it.
Now, I could move on and think about things besides the danger caused by one asshole.
