Chapter 37
Newsflash. I won’t be your dirty little secret anymore
“You guys are the best.” Jules hugged us one after the other, joy radiating from her.
“I can’t believe how successful Home Alive Driving Buddies has been so far.
We’re fully booked every night, and with all the end-of-semester parties happening before the winter break, I’m sure we won’t be able to serve everyone.
The university said it has exceeded all expectations. ”
“I’m so proud of you.” I hugged her again. “So, tell us exactly how it works so we can get going.”
Cassidy, Donovan, and I were volunteering for HADB tonight, ready to get the lowdown on how this whole thing worked, amongst a bunch of other students about to escort drunk drivers back home for the next four hours.
Jules stepped to the front of the room and started explaining how HADB worked and what we should expect. When she wrapped up her speech, we broke into groups of three.
“You guys are ready?” Jules asked, nearing us as we zipped our jackets and slipped the official HADB T-shirt over them. Winter in Michigan meant we sometimes had to wear our layers of clothes in a different order; otherwise, our shirts wouldn’t be visible.
“Yes.”
“Car number two should arrive within the next minute. Who’s driving?”
“I am.” I waved my hand. “Donovan will drive the customers’ cars. Cassie is in charge of the logistics and of managing our schedule.”
“Awesome. Cassie, you gotta ride with Don at all times. There can never be just one of you in the customers' cars, both for safety and insurance reasons. Intoxicated people can't be trusted to act right.”
My roommate nodded twice. “Noted.”
“I’ll leave you to it. Call me or HQ if you have questions. And mostly, have fun.”
“Absolutely.” Cassidy adjusted her hat. Once Jules left, she turned to face me. “I’m happy to do this, but why can’t this T-shirt be like black instead of bright teal?”
I linked my arm with hers, chuckling. “You’ll survive, Cassie. I swear, you can do this.”
Donovan looped his arm through her free one. “You, girl, rock that shirt. It makes your eyes pop.”
She poked her tongue out at him and shrugged away from his grip before pushing him back with a flat palm against his chest. “Ugh. Black makes my eyes pop, not this too-cheerful color. Maybe you need glasses, Don. Very powerful glasses because clearly, you’re blind.
I think it could be a serious disease. One that could be deadly. ”
He watched her with amusement flickering across his face.
“Ever thought about getting a makeover? You could go platinum blonde and add a few color strands, dress in bright pink and yellow, and wear sneakers or flip-flops. Imagine the party. Your toes would enjoy the freedom and sunshine. Oh, and we’d add hair extensions, coral-pink lipstick, a little blush.
I even offer my services to braid your hair. What do you say?”
“Gosh, Don. Keep going and I’ll throw up, and your team will be missing a member. Pink is so not my color, I swear.”
“I maddde out with threee girls tonight,” the first guy we picked up slurred as soon as his ass hit the backseat of his car. “At the sammme time.”
“Good for you,” Cassidy said in a sarcastic tone.
The guy shut the door, cutting his bragging short, and my roommate rolled her eyes before mouthing, This night will be long.
I grinned big. “Nah, it will be interesting. See it as a social experiment for your psychology degree. Lots of people to psychoanalyze. Good stuff for your term paper.”
“When you say it like that.”
I shrugged and smirked in a You know I’m right and you can’t deny it manner.
She sighed. “Okay, fine, you win.”
For the next four hours, we collected tipsy people and drove them back to their places.
They voluntarily shared stories with us that they would have probably withheld if sober, and it was quite entertaining.
Sometimes, I wished I was riding in the other car, to hear their drunk confidences firsthand instead of my friends’ retellings.
Some teams told us they had to deal with customers throwing up and having a fit or getting undressed.
So far, the only awkward thing we’d witnessed was a couple full-on making out on the backseat as Donovan and Cassidy drove them, moaning at the top of their lungs, and a girl stripping out of her shirt, her upper body only covered by a sheer white bra, snapping pictures of her armpits. Go figure.
“Is it already eleven?” Donovan asked as we waited for our next customers to meet with us by the back door of a small bar a few minutes outside of campus, while we sipped the to-go coffees we’d grabbed on our way here.
The night was cold, and fog wafted from our mouths each time we spoke.
“We have twenty minutes left, and it feels like we’ve only been doing this for thirty minutes. ”
“I was wrong thinking this would be boring.” Cassidy blew on the steam rising from the gap in her cup's lid. “It’s better than any reality TV show I’ve ever watched.
Can you imagine if all these people had been driving their cars tonight?
At least these are the smart ones who chose to call HADB.
I hope the university will run the service all year long and not just during the holidays. ”
“I think—”
Evan Nichols stumbled out of the door, his jacket ripped at the sleeve, his hair in disarray, and a shiner starting to form around his left eye. Oh no. Was he our last customer of the night? I prayed he wasn’t, but my gut told me I’d soon be proved wrong.
“Whoa, what happened to you?” Donovan asked. “Do you need us to drive you to the ER?”
“Nopppe.” He brought his fingers to the corner of his mouth, and only then did I notice the bruise and the cut along his lower lip. “I’m fuckkking fine.” He gestured to the length of him with a wave of his hand. “All fuckkking good.”
He made a set of keys appear from his pocket and pressed a button. A car alarm echoed from the far end of the parking lot.
Before my friends could follow him, a guy I’d seen hanging out with the football team a couple of times at Lola’s stormed out of the bar.
His hair was just as much of a mess as Nichols’s, and a cut split his left eyebrow.
When he joined us under the parking lot light, I could see his bloodshot eyes and the rips in his clothes.
The guy’s attention was solely focused on Nichols. “Ev, you can’t leave like that.”
Nichols spun to face him, shooting him a murderous gaze. “Shut uppp, Gabe. Don’t say another worrrd or I swear—”
Gabe closed in on him. “You swear what? That you’ll be honest with me and yourself from now on? That you won’t act like a prick and flirt with chicks just so you can prove to daddy-dearest you’re exactly who he expects you to be? Aren’t you tired of lying to everyone all the time?”
Nichols fisted his hands at his sides, his face turning an alarming shade of red. “Shut the fuckkk up, man. I swear I-I’ll punch you if youuu don’t stop talking.”
“You’ll punch me? Because I care about you? Because I-I love you? What happened in your childhood that caused you not to trust anyone?”
“You…you don’t know whattt you’re talking about.”
Gabe snorted. “Yeah, right. Because shagging a bunch of random girls in dirty restrooms of random bars makes you less gay.”
Nichols’s face reddened even more, and I didn’t think it was possible. “Don’t ever call meee gay again, Gabe. I’m…I’m warning youuu. You’re gonna get yourself beaten up a lottt more if youuu don’t let it go.”
Gabe threw his arms above his head, resignation entering his expression.
“You know what? Screw you, Ev. I’m done.
You don’t wanna be with me because those guys in there called you names, and you’re too chickenshit to take a stand?
Well, I’m done trying. Don’t call me when you sober up and realize you’ve made a huge mistake.
I’m no one’s doormat. You want us to be together?
Newsflash. I won’t be your dirty little secret anymore. ”
Nichols’s face fell. His eyes filled with moisture, and he blinked a few times.
With a quick spin, Gabe turned until his back was to us and pulled at his hair, his shoulders heaving.
Beside me, Nichols cast a glance down, and I bet he was trying to conceal his tears from us.
For a long moment, nobody dared to say anything.
Even though I despised the guy, this breakup scene felt oddly personal. And complicated.
Not sure what we should do next, I touched Nichols’s arm, keeping my tone low. “Hey, still want that ride home?”
It finally dawned on him who I was, and he recoiled.
“Y-you again?” He transformed right before my eyes.
Gone was the broken guy I’d witnessed seconds ago, and back was the cocky jock I’d met at the beginning of the semester and the bully who had cornered and tormented me at Lola’s a few times.
“Is youuur job to humiliate me annnd stumble upon things youuu were never meant to see? Is this a setuppp? Why are youuu even here? You say one word abouuut tonight to anyone, and I don’t care whose dick you suck, you’ll…
you’ll go downnn.” He pointed an accusing finger at my friends. “You too.”
Frozen by his comment, I stayed glued to the pavement. I had tried to be nice and supportive, and he’d snapped at me like I was the one who’d wronged him. This guy was a piece of work. And a straight-up lunatic.
Nichols continued his rant. “You hear meee? Stay out of my…my business. Youuu better—”
Donovan slipped between us and shoved him with both hands until Nichols was forced to step back.
“Don’t ever talk to her like that again.
You hear me? I don’t care who you are or whose dick you suck, but I’ll make sure everyone knows your dirty little secret if you don’t shut your stupid mouth.
Crestwood isn’t that big of a town. I’m sure a lot of people would love to know we play on the same team, you and me. Are we clear?”
I blinked, still unable to move. I had no idea my friend had it in him to bully the bully back.
“I know…I know people in high places. You can’t talllk to me like thaaat.”
“Like what?” Donovan asked. “The same way you talk to us?”
“I-I don’t care who you guys think youuu are, but I’ve seen enough of your ugly mugs for a lifetime.
” He fidgeted with his keychain, stumbling and bracing himself against a car to keep his balance.
“I-I’m done with all youuur stupid asses.
Leave me the fuckkk alone.” He fished a small packet out of his pocket, and using one of his keys, he brought a line of white powder to his nose and snorted it.
He inhaled twice before running a finger under his nostrils.
What a shitshow.
He closed his eyes, and Cassidy used the distraction to snatch his keys from his grip. “Listen to me, dickhead. I don’t care who you are, who you know, and what you do, but there’s no way you’re driving yourself tonight.” She crossed her arms over her chest, tipping her hip forward.
Nichols lunged at her, trying to grab his keys back, but she sidestepped, and Donovan stopped him with a firm hand. “Don’t touch her.” Geez, he really knew how to look threatening when he wanted to. There was no humor in his expression, and his eyes were darker than usual, almost lethal.
“Y-you can’t holddd my car hostage against myyy will.”
“No, but we can call the cops on you if you get behind that wheel. They’ll be more than happy to slap you with a DUI for both booze and drugs. I’m sure your coach and the university will be thrilled to have you on their football team once they hear about your little extracurricular activities.”
“All of youuu, go to hell,” he screamed, pointing an accusing finger at us, before scurrying off, tripping over his own feet in his haste.
“What do we do with his car keys?” Cassidy asked.
I opened my palm. “Give them to me. I’ll ask Mase to return them in the morning.” I secured them in my pocket.
“Is he the guy who’s been intimidating you?” she asked.
“Yep.”
“What are you talking about?” Donovan asked.
“I caught him having sex in the library once, and he’s been confronting me ever since to make sure I’d keep it to myself.”
“Fuck.”
“Tell me about it. He’s the one who sent these guys to corner you at the gym. I’m sorry I didn’t explain anything sooner. He threatened me he would hurt you guys if I told anyone. What now?”
Cassidy lifted a finger and walked toward Gabe, who was sitting on the concrete steps by the dumpsters, looking deflated, staring into the distance. “Want a ride? We were here with HADB to pick up your…huh…friend…but we can drive you home instead if you wish.”
“I don’t have a car.”
“It’s all right. It’s our last run of the night. Come on.” My friend extended her hand, and Gabe grabbed it as she helped him to his feet.
“Thanks,” he muttered. “I really don’t wanna go to my place. Evan lives there too, and he’s the last person I wanna see right now.”
“You should get that cut looked at. I think you might need stitches.” Donovan gestured at his split eyebrow. “You can come to my place if you want. I’ve got a first aid kit and can clean it up for you, then we can assess the damage.”
“You sure?” Gabe looked like he had no fight left in him.
“Yep. I live at Morton Steward Hall.”
“Me too. Eighth floor. I share a room with two other guys. Plus Evan.”
“I’m on the sixth floor. My roommate already left. You can have his bed until he returns in January.”
Gabe nodded, his head hanging low. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it. If I go back in there”—he turned his head in the direction of the bar—“I’ll get another beating.
I’ve had enough for a night. I tried to defend Nichols when someone used homophobic slurs against him, and he threw me under the bus to save face.
I can’t believe I fell for him and all his lies. ”
Cassidy opened the car’s back door for him to slide inside. “We all do stupid shit in the name of love. Don’t worry, you’ll get over him.”
“You sure it’s a good idea to let him move in?” I asked Donovan, pulling him aside.
“Nichols is a jerk. I have a spare bed, and I can be his friend if he needs one. Mel, you and I, we’ve been through some tough stuff ourselves, so you know how lonely it feels when everyone turns their back on you…or you feel like they did.”
“I know. Promise me you’ll be careful, though. Don’t get tangled up in this mess. Nichols is bad news. You saw him tonight. Stay far away from him.”
“I will.”
Why didn’t I believe him entirely right now?