Page 103 of Interference
Stepping into the shower, I let the water wash away my tears and the fragments of my heart left shattered.
There are two things I know to be true:
I love Brett with everything I have.
I have no idea how I’m going to survive without him.
Seeing Emery so broken snapped something inside of me.
I have no idea what Ashley did to me, but she will pay for it. I went to the hospital and got the blood drawn. They even called a police officer so I could create a report. Now with the video, I know I have proof she did something to me. I need to prove it now.
I’m not mad at Emery. I can’t blame her for believing the video. It’s a damn good one. Sounds just like me, even if I never said those things. Even in a drugged and drunken state, I would never speak about Emery that way. I love the girl too much.
Flying into the house with tears still in my eyes, I scream, “Code Red. House Meeting. NOW.”
Within seconds, doors fly open and footsteps sound on the stairs. Then Kellan, Wyatt, and Colson come into his view.
Wyatt sees my tears and walks over to hug me to his chest.
“What did she do?” Wyatt asks.
“Who?” Colson asks.
“Ashley,” Wyatt answers, pulling me back. “Tell us everything.”
I pull up the video that I sent to myself from Emery’s phone.
“She sent this video to Emery. It sounds just like me, man, but it’s not. I would never,” I say, unable to keep my emotions in check.
“Of course you wouldn’t,” Kellan says as he and Colson move closer.
“How could she have done this? I was there. I saw the kiss, which is when I dragged her naked ass out of the house, but she hadn’t fucked you. I’m sorry, bro, but I checked. You were flaccid as fuck with no indication that she had even touched you,” Wyatt tells me.
That brings me some sort of relief. It had started to bother me that I couldn’t remember anything from last night.
“Thanks, man. You’re a true friend,” I tell him. “I called the testing center. They are rushing the orders with a big donation from me. I should know what she used to drug me in a few hours, but I need to figure out how she altered the video.”
“AI,” Colson says.
“What?” Kellan asks.
“AI. You can make anything. You would need to know what you are doing, but it can be done. Let me go get my laptop, and I’ll see what I can figure out.”
He runs into the other room as the other two guys stand with me.
“What can we do?” Kellan asks.
“Get the girls to check in on her. Tell them not to mention me. She needs their support. I’m also worried she won’t eat. Have food delivered to her. I’ll cover the costs. I can’t be involved, though. I don’t want to hurt her any more than she already has been, and right now seeing me will do that. I just need to know she’s okay,” I tell them.
“Done. I’ll go call Cora and get her and the girls on it,” Kellan says, lifting his phone to his ear as he walks away.
“I’m on food duty. Give me a list of what she likes, and I’ll make sure she has it. I’ll check on her every single day. I won’t ever say a word about you, but I will find out if she’s doing okay. We have her,” Wyatt promises me.
I shake my head. “I don’t deserve any of you.”
He laughs. “You’re the glue that holds us together. I saw it within my first ten minutes of meeting you guys my freshman year. Trust me, this group needs you. She needs you. She will come around when she finds out the truth. Right now, I can tell you that she loves you, so she doesn’t want to believe what she saw, but it’s hard when the video is that damn good. Let us work on it and figure it out.”
“What if she never forgives me? I mean, this could have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. She’s never been totally sure about me. What if this is what she needs to buy into those insecurities and push me away forever?” I ask him.
