Chapter Fifteen
Raven .
He's an athlete . I thought he would have better lungs, more of a fight but I suppose all that fentanyl that I slipped into his beer has something to with how quickly he accepted his fate.
That fucking melody builds to a beautiful crescendo as though I’m sitting in the middle of the front row at an orchestra right as he goes limp, body no longer twitching.
I slowly release him and pull myself up back on the dock, throw my clothes back on, and sit there, until his body floats toward me. I kick it away with a toe.
I sneak back into my dorm, avoiding all of the cameras by staying in the shadows, showering off the pond water.
Sure enough, there are small finger-size bruises on my hips and thighs.
I touch and then press into them, reliving the moment he stopped struggling and then his hands let go of me, of when his mouth went slack against my sex and my thighs released him.
Even with the adrenaline, this wasn’t like those Professor Harrington teaches. I had no sexual motive. It didn’t get me off.
I rinse off, dry myself, shove my dirty wet clothes into my washer, and then grab my oversized Def Leppard T-shirt, slip a thong over my thighs, and settle it onto my hips.
I go to the mirror, part my lips and practice making a face of horror, one with wide eyes and a silent, echoless shriek.
I practice panting as though I’m hyperventilating and lastly, before finally letting myself fall into a restful night of sleep, I practice willing tears into my eyes.
The big fat ones. The ones that say, “I’m just as sad and torn apart about this shocking death like the rest of the alumni.
Here. At Rayne-Moore University. So tragic.
He was so young. Such a bright future. I’m so… so… sad.”
I’m about to give the performance of my lifetime.
_____
I’m running back to campus, legs pumping, muscles burning, I go to the place I know I’ll find him. I fling open the doors to the dorms, run up the stairs, find room 627 and pound on the door. Hard.
Jonas opens the door wearing nothing but boxers, rubbing his eyes and I grab his hand, tugging him out into the hallway. “Fuck, Raven, hold on. What’s wrong? I gotta put some pants on. Give me a second.” He tugs on some jeans and a shirt off the floor.
I make a motion for him to bring his phone by holding my fingers to my ear.
“My phone’s in my pants.” He replies in an annoyed huff.
I’ve never been inside of his dorm room and as much as I want to get to know his space, this isn’t the right time.
Once his shoes are on, I’m tugging him outside, frantically.
We’re out of the dorms in record time. Being that it’s Saturday morning now, all the students are either off campus or sleeping off a hangover after last night’s party. I take off running.
“Raven, wait! Fuck, it’s too early for this.
” I can hear his footsteps after me as I sprint into the woods.
I halt at the edge of the dock, where my cello and a fold-up chair wait, all part of the set up.
Just a girl, coming to the pond to play her cello.
I point at the floating body, tears streaming down my face, chest heaving.
“Oh, my fucking god, CHASE!”
Chase is lying face up, blue eyes greyed over staring at the grey sky, bloated, dead.
Jonas screams and then bends over, vomit spewing out of his mouth, agonizing screams in between. Tears spill over his eyes; he grabs at his chestnut hair and then he wipes at his mouth. “Chase.” He breathes .
I make the same motion for him to use his phone to call the police.
He dials. “I’d like to report a drowning. Yeah, it’s… Rayne-Moore University Campus… At the pond… no, he’s not breathing… I’m not putting my mouth on him; I’m telling you he’s dead! Yeah… Chase Prescott. P-R-E-S-C-O-T-T.” he spells out. “Yeah, I’ll be here… Oh my god… Chase… What the fuck?”
When Jonas hangs up, he reaches for me and pulls me close.
The faint smell of puke in the air and on his breath but I don’t care.
He’s touching me. The warmth of him against me feels so good.
It feels perfect. He pulls away, putting his hands on either side of my face.
He looks into my eyes, and it feels as though everything is perfect even if there’s a corpse floating beside us.
“Raven… Raven, fuck. Fuck I’m so sorry you had to find him like this.”
I will more tears out of my eyes and I shake my head, pulling him back to me. I need him. I need him so much. I love him. I’m out of my mind. I’m sick. Purely mad. He rests his chin on the top of my head, his chest caving with each shuddering breath.
_______
“She doesn’t talk.”
RMPD and Dean Whitmore showed up twenty minutes ago and Jonas has been answering all the questions they’ve asked, which neither of us know the answer to.
I’m sitting on the grass, watching as they pull Chase’s body out of the water and onto the shore with a sickening wet, heavy SPLAT that makes me want to hurl.
I did that. I let myself shed more tears and I feel Jonas crouch down and he rubs my back.
I tear my eyes away from the scene as they zip up the body and put it on a stretcher. They didn’t have an ambulance come out. They called the coroner.
I look up at Sheriff O’Hannigan. He’s a robust man, well-built, a little older but still has an athletic build.
His uniform looks good on him. He wears aviator shades like a cliché cop, chewing gum, his strawberry blonde hair is littered with white hairs, giving away his age.
That he’s tenured. That he deserves his position on the force.
Do you sign? O’Hannigan asks with his hands.
I blink at him and shake my head once.
“She does this sometimes. Comes out to swim or plays the cello out here. She ran back to get me.”
“She’s your girlfriend?”
“Yes,” Jonas lies. But it feels so good. Me. Unworthy of him, especially now, his girlfriend . I could fly.
“And where were you last night?”
“I was with my parents after the game. We had dinner at Sebastian’s and we were there until closing time,” his eyes flick to me and his ears turn slightly pink, “then I went to her dorm room. She was already in bed. I fell asleep next to her.” Oh?
“I went back up to my room to change before she left to come here. You can check the cameras.”
I snuck into my room through the window a little after eleven-thirty. I won’t be on the cameras.
“You didn’t go to the party together?”
Jonas shakes his head. “She doesn’t go to parties because she has panic attacks around large crowds and I went out to celebrate the win with my parents.”
“She didn’t go with you?”
Jonas shakes his head. “We aren’t there yet,” he puts his hand on my waist. “It’s still new. But you can call my parents and ask them.”
“I will.” O’Hannigan replies.
“CHASE!” I turn back and through the trees, Riordan comes flying out, like a vengeful ghost. I don’t have to step behind Jonas, he pulls me behind him, protecting me even though I’m not his to protect.
“Oh god no! Please, please, please, no!” his agonized screams echo thought out the field, causing birds to fly out of the tree line.
His blue eyes pierce through me. “You!” he gags.
“Oh my god, Chase. What did you do?” Whether the question is directed at me or his dead brother- I have no idea.
He lets out a visceral scream, and lunges at Jonas, trying to get to me.
He still smells of tequila and sweat. His nails scratch at my sweatshirt and he yanks me, but my face just hits Jonas’ strong, muscular back.
Both Dean Whitmore and the sheriff pull him off.
“Not my brother.” He moans, and tears fall, pure agony on his face. “Not my brother, please .” He chokes out between sobs. “He’s all I have.”
Jonas reaches out and tugs him in his chest, crying alongside with him. I hear what he whispers to him, “She was with me last night, Riordan. All night. She didn’t do this. This is… horrible. But it was an accident. Weren’t you with him?”
“We were both so wasted last night. I didn’t… I fell asleep in the basement where it was quiet… oh god… Jonas it hurts!” he cries, clutching at his chest.
“I know, brother. I know. I’m here. I’m still here. I got you.” Jonas shushes.
“You’re Riordan Prescott?” O’Hannigan asks. Riordan turns and faces the sheriff and simply nods. “We’re going to need you to come down to the coroner’s office and… identify the body. I believe your parents are already on their way to the station.”
Riordan pukes sour tequila and bile. O’Hannigan looks like he’s about to be sick himself. The stench that comes off of Riordan is vile. “I have to… my parents… I need to change and shower. I… they can’t see me like this.”
O’Hannigan nods, seeming to understand that the elite…
well, they’re just not supposed to show emotion.
We’re to be well composed at all times. Statues.
Living, breathing statues made out of marble slabs that looks like skin.
“Go home, kid. Change. Meet me and your parents down at the station. We’ll wait for you to get there. ”
Riordan nods.
“Ri, don’t… don’t go back to the SDC house. I’ll go and get you some clothes. Go to my dorm. Shower. You can stay there if you want, until you’re ready to go back. I’ll stay with Raven, okay? You don’t have to… don’t go back there. Okay?”
Riordan nods again, in a catatonic trance.
_______
As soon as I’m back in my room, I head to the bathroom and brush my teeth .
Not even thirty minutes later, I’m sitting on my couch, my door flies open and Jonas steps through, looking even more distraught than before.
His forest eyes land on me and when I get up and step away from him, his arms open up to accept me immediately.
I go to him, my arms around his waist and he grabs my hair, yanking it back so hard my scalp burns.