Page 33 of Wallflower No More

“Either is fine.” She takes a deep breath and begins. “Jenson was in my English 1102 class last fall. He was sweet and attentive, always flirting, but never asked me for a date. Then, the weekend before the big Halloween party, he did. I was on cloud nine because he had finally noticed me.” Tears trickle down her face. My own eyes are watering in response. “He picked me up early and we even had a couple of themed costumes. He was the Joker, and I was Harley Quinn. His cousin Brody McDougall rode with us.” The mention of Brody made the hairs on my neck stand up. “He had just broken up with Melanie, and Jenson didn't want him to be alone, so I didn't mind. Brody's always been so nice to me. We made it to the party around ten or so, then we started drinking, and I was having a good time. A couple of hours later, my head began pounding, and I asked Jenson to please take me home. He refused, so I ask Brody to call me an Uber. Jenson was pissed but was able to reign it in quickly. He quickly turned sweet and then took me upstairs so that I could lie down. I fell asleep almost instantly. The remainder of the night, I only saw bits and pieces of what happened, but I told him no several times. There was one other person in the room besides Jenson. The other person never touched me, just watched.”

Her voice becomes thick with emotion. The horror she must be reliving telling this story is almost too much for her, but she pulls all her strength together and continues. “The asshole violated me, Scarlett. He violated my body, and I couldn't stop him. I begged, cried, and even pleaded. When my mind and mouth worked, it was almost like my body was paralyzed. After the assault, they took me home, and Jenson called me a whore while Brody laughed. Then they discarded me like trash.”

London starts crying, and all I can do is hold her. She's as fragile as delicate glass in my arms, the whites of her eyes a crimson red. It's not right that popular rich guys like him are allowed to do shit like this and then walk away without consequences. I've never liked Jenson, and I always thought he was a douchebag with too much money. My mind is reeling though at the mention of Brody. “London, I will do everything I can to help you. I don't know what that looks like right now. Is there anybody that can corroborate your story?”

London sniffles into the tissue that I gave her. “People saw us together that night, but nobody will go up against Jenson. My roommate saw him drop me off, but that's another dead end because I don't want her involved.”

There has to be something that ties them to her. “Are there cameras in the baseball house?”

“I don't know.” She answers quietly.

“Is it okay if I bring in Brad? He's my tech wizard, and he'll be able to find out if there's any type of surveillance there.” Fingers crossed that she agrees.

“Honestly, my days of keeping my mouth closed are over with. I will speak my truth, and to hell with whoever doesn't like that.” The spark in her eyes has returned.

“Do you know of anybody else that would want to get in contact with me, maybe another victim? I can't imagine he hasn't done this before.” Or maybe I'm grasping at straws, but I want to help.

“I haven't heard about anyone else, but this is the first time I've approached another student. Only the Dean and the baseball coach know. Nobody else, not my friends, not my parents, only the three of you and of course, the asshole Jenson and the other guy in the room.” She shivers as she gets lost in her turbulent thoughts.

I bite my cheek because I don't want to ask this next question, but it needs to be asked anyway. “London, do you think the other guy was Brody?”

“I've gone back and forth on that Scarlet, but the more I think about it, the more confused I get. They wore masks, but Jenson took his off at the end. That's how I know without a shadow of a doubt that he was the one that raped me.” Her doe-like eyes look at me with hope.

I contemplate this new information. Until tonight, Brody's been nothing but lovely to me. Gentle even. Could he be capable of such malice? I don't know. “What kind of masks did they wear?”

London swallows hard. “Jenson wore a Thor mask, and the other guy had on a Loki one.”

Chills run up and down my spine. Jenson's nickname is Thor because he hits so many home runs, and it's said to sound like thunder coming down from the sky when he does. That is creepy as hell. “You were obviously drugged, London. In the bits and pieces that you remember, did the other figure talk? Did Jenson say anything?”

She nods her head. “Jenson never said a word during the act. But afterward, he said only three words to me as he caressed my cheek. 'Our whore forever'.”

Well, damn. Just when I didn't think it could get creepier. “Because of your warning to me at the beginning, I think it's safe to assume that you've been threatened. How so?”

She sighs. “Jenson rides up and down my street every day. He's parked behind my car so that I can't move before also. Brody is even with him sometimes, and I don't know if Brody was the other person or not, but he sure as hell knows what happened to me. I believe that. Why else would he ride with him down my street?”

London has a point. She opens up her book bag and starts taking out papers. “I have no proof, but I believe that Jenson has put these on my car. Death threats for if I tell anybody else.”

I comb through all the papers. They are letters, and each one starts with our little whore. They aren't very long and only about a paragraph or so in length, but each one has a threat of what he'll do to her if she tells anybody else. There are even a couple of pictures of her sleeping in bed, one from the night of the party. “They are sick son of a bitches. Who handed you your drinks that night?”

She gives me the names without any contemplation. “Brody and Jenson.” My mind is so done in with all this evidence and information. I asked her if it was possible for me to keep all the letters so that I could go through them more thoroughly later. She agrees, and when she stands to leave, I hug her as she walks out the door. Her rapist may never be brought to justice, but hopefully, she knows that I'll do everything in my power to help. At least we can make his life a living hell. London has someone in her corner now. A person who believes her, and she won't ever have to go through this alone again.

Axel walks out with a disgusted look on his face. “Say the word, Scarlett, and Jenson won't ever be heard from again.”

I shutter. Axel doesn't make idle threats. I believe he would do what he says but my lips stay silent.

Chapter 20

I knew my feelings for Scarlett were strong, but after tonight, I've realized that they are even deeper than I'm willing to admit right now. The plan was always to keep her, not fall in love with her. -Axel

Axel

I listen to London's story through the vent of Brad's office. It takes all my strength and energy not to throw up in the trashcan beside me. Who the fuck does something like this? Jenson isn't a friend, and I've never cared for him and his friends, but I just thought he was a cocky son of a bitch, not a sick twisted one. When London leaves, I walk out, and my heart races when my eyes land on Scarlett's beautiful face. She's going through the mess of papers that London gave her. It's on the tip of my tongue to tell Scarlett that I don't want her looking into Jenson, but my mouth won't ever say those words. London deserves justice, but what will I do if my Wallflower gets hurt? Probably go to fucking jail. For life. That's why I'm inserting myself into the investigation. All Scarlett has to do is say the word. I know people, and all it would take is one little cash transfer into an untraceable banking account. And I agree, this can't be the first time he's done this, and if it is, it won't be his last.

Grabbing Scarlet, I hold her in my arms and show her how much my heart cares for her without uttering the words. “I know you are going to investigate this, Scarlett, but please don't keep me in the dark, and let me help. You don't need Brad. I can hack into anything. Please trust me, and don't ever lie to me.”

Scarlett looks up into my eyes. Hers are filled with concern. “I can't promise to tell you everything, Axel. You're too possessive, and while I love that about you, you don't need to interfere with what needs to happen here. You can definitely help me, though, and I need to ask Toby some questions. He may know if there are video cameras inside the baseball house. If there are, do you think you could hack into their surveillance footage?”

I sigh deeply. “Yes, if there are cameras, I can hack the system. I may need to be at the location, though it just depends on what kind of security features they have.”