Page 79 of Cheap Shot

“It wasn’t me. It was Jay, the guy that drugged her at the party.”

How could he even think I would hurt her? I had to blame adrenaline and stupidity.

“I’m sorry.” His body deflated, and he shifted to his sister’s side, putting an arm around her shoulders.

“Hello? Did someone call for campus security?” a deep voice came from the hall.

“In here,” I replied, and Ethan slid off the table to step out into the hall.

“Right here.”

He came back with a man and woman in uniform. They surveyed the room before focusing on the gentle cries of the woman in my arms.

“Miss, I’m Officer Walsh, and this is my partner Officer Manning,” the man said, gesturing to the woman at his side. “Can you tell us what happened?”

His demeanor was so much softer than I’d expected. I appreciated he was being calm and not demanding anything from her.

I tried to pull back from Haley, but her arms tightened around me. I kissed the top of her head and started with the information I had.

“A few weeks ago, she attended a party at the Alpha Gamma Nu house where a guy she met slipped a roofie into her drink. She was able to recognize the symptoms and got to a bathroom where she called me to come get her. She reported that incident. The next week he cornered her at a cafe on campus, but she was able to get away from him again.” I sighed and rubbed my hand over her hair. “I was still inside so I’m not sure exactly what happened tonight, but I caught her when she ran inside and she told me that the same guy assaulted her.”

Ethan’s breath caught, and he shifted closer to his sister.

“And who are you?” the woman asked him.

“I’m her brother.”

She nodded and looked at me. “And you?”

Well, wasn’t that a complicated answer? “I’m her friend, as well as his roommate.” I nodded toward Ethan.

She jotted down some notes. “And what is the name of the man that drugged and assaulted her?”

“Jay,” I supplied. “I’m not sure of his last name, but he lives in Granger Hall.”

She added that to her notes and looked at Haley. “Can you give us a physical description of him?”

She sucked in a breath before answering. “He’s taller than me. Probably five-ten and fairly muscular. He has thick blond hair that he wears parted to the side.” She closed her eyes. “Brown eyes and smells like sandalwood and musk cologne.”

The officers asked more questions and took pictures of all of Haley’s injuries. Listening to her tell them what he’d done to her just yards away from me filled me with rage.

She’d been waiting for me. I should have left sooner. I should have been there for her, but Ethan and I were letting drama and crap get between us.

All I could do was comfort her now and let her know I was there for her. I held her hand as she went through the details of him pressing her against the building and holding her down. How he said she was waiting for him. The man was clearly deranged. A danger to so much more than just Haley.

“I’m sorry for what you went through,” Officer Manning said as she and her partner straightened from where they’d been leaning against the counter. “With the information you told us, the report you filed before, and the physical evidence he left behind, it won’t be hard to detain him. Once we have him, we’ll pass this off to the city police department. They can press criminal charges against him while we can only suspend him or suggest expulsion, which we will do as soon as evidence is gathered.”

Haley nodded, appearing exhausted from the ordeal. “Thank you.”

The officers shook my hand and Ethan’s before leaving. We stared at each other, silently communicating the things we should have said before this. We were sorry. The past didn’t matter. The only thing that did was Haley.

“Do you want me to take you back to your room, or do you want to stay with us?” Ethan asked her.

They locked eyes for several moments, and I knew they were having their own silent conversation. Then he turned to me. “Do you think you could stay with one of the guys tonight?”

I hadn’t been expecting that. If anything, I thought she would ask him to give us space, but I nodded.

This was probably for the best.