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Chapter 2-1

Campbell Stevens“I’m Alec,” the hot guy tells me as he hands me a drink. “What’s your name, gorgeous?”

“I’m Campbell.” I say, taking the offer. The drink is served in a plastic fish bowl, once again. Yet, this time the sweet concoction has an almost iridescent, green glow.

“All right. Come on, Campbell. Let me introduce you to my friends.” Alec takes my free hand and leads me over to a large group of guys sitting along the bench seats in the corner of the club. “Hey, guys. I want to introduce you to Campbell.”

I am greeted with waves from a handful of guys before they go back to their conversations.

“Where are you guys from?” I ask Alec.

“Los Angeles. A whole group of us from UCLA came here to party for the weekend. What about you?”

“Florida. I came with my best friend for spring break.”

“Spring break, huh? What college do you go to?”

I giggle, the sound is full of nervous energy, even to my own ears. “Well, it’s more like high school. I’m a senior.”

“No way! I figured you were a college chick. Damn.” He laughs. “Well, you’re about to graduate, right? I’d say that’s close enough.” He winks and my heart does an unusual skip.

His wink, so mischievous and cute, sends flutters through my belly. “True,” I say, smiling. “I’m eighteen, too.” My voice is now excited.

“Oh, then you are in the clear.” He smiles before taking a drink of the Corona he’s holding.

In the clear for what? Drinking? Being allowed in this club? Being cool enough to hang with a college-age guy?

I’m not exactly sure what his comment meant, but to be honest, I don’t care. This is fun, and with each exchange of words, I feel a renewed sense of confidence.

Alec’s natural disposition makes him easy to talk to, and there aren’t any uncomfortable silences between us as our conversation goes on. He keeps replacing my drinks, and I have lost count of how many I had. My head feels fuzzy, and my body heavy. I have never been drunk before, but I think I am now. My incessant giggling at everything Alec says is just another sign of my inebriated state.

I don’t care. This is fun! I deserve to experience being drunk. I’m eighteen and almost done with high school, after all. I can see what Lexi and Jules find so appealing about drinking. Although, as their consistent and trusty designated driver, I can honestly say that most of the time they sound like complete idiots after they drink or get high. Oh well. I’m sure I’m not acting as idiotic as they do. Hey, I’m just partaking in a few drinks with my new gorgeous friend Alec, who was a complete stranger to me three hours ago. I feel like the complete rebel.

I even dance with Alec a few times. Lexi is going to be so proud of me! I know I’m proud of myself, that’s for sure. I never imagined myself being so bold and independent. But look at me. I’m totally rocking it. Yay me!

I giggle at my self-assessment, a hiccup escaping my lips. I grab onto Alec’s bicep to steady myself as the room starts to spin.

I didn’t know the club had a spinning floor! How cool! Wait—it doesn’t have a spinning floor. Does it?

Oh, wow! The bar is swaying to the music, too!

How much have I had to drink again? Oh, look! Alec…he’s so handsome.

I tilt my head to the side to admire him. He’s so pretty.

Alec stands in front of me, concentrating on my face with a wide smile. “Hey, beautiful. We have a big hotel suite and everyone’s going back there for an after-party. Lots of cool people will be there. It’s gonna be kick-a*s. Wanna come?”

Oh, do I! Is my first thought, but I know that wouldn’t be the best idea.

Right?

“I don’t think so. I should probably get back to my hotel. It was nice”—I hiccup loudly and cover my mouth in embarrassment. I try to make sure no more hiccups are set to explode from my lips before removing my hand as I giggle again—”meeting you though, Alec. Thank you for keeping me company, since my best friend ditched me. She’s not always a bad friend. Really, I love her very much. She is my best friend.” Am I rambling? What are we talking about? Oh, yes—Alec, hotel room, bad idea.

I raise my gaze up to his amazingly sexy face and smile. He’s really cute. Oh, look, he has a dimple. That’s totally hot.

He wrinkles his brow. “Not so fast there, sweetie. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

He grins warmly, and it sends a torrent of goose bumps up my arms.

“Come on, Campbell. It’ll be fun! It’s still early and I get the feeling you don’t want to head back to an empty room. Come hang out with us. I promise, you’ll have a great time. I’ll call you a cab as soon as you want to leave.”

He’s right. I don’t want to go back to the hotel yet. I am having too much fun. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to hang out at a party for a while. I don’t know if it’s the alcohol in my system or what, but I’m really coming out of my shell tonight and don’t want to stop, not just yet.

I. Am. Awesome!

“Okay,” I agree with a wide grin.

He nods in acknowledgment of my response, and his eyes darken as he threads his fingers through mine before we turn to leave.

Alec holds my hand as we make our way to his hotel in the cab. I’m feeling a little off balance. All the lights from the buildings are making me nauseous as the cab driver speeds down the street.

Seriously, does he have to hit every pothole? I think he’s swerving to hit every one on purpose.

When I close my eyes, I feel even worse. The motion of the car is making everything spin. I end up just focusing on the skin surrounding my kneecap the entire ride to keep the nausea at bay.

Maybe I had one too many fruity fish bowls?

Finally, the car pulls to the side of the road and I feel Alec lean over to open the door. Once my feet are safely planted on the paved sidewalk, he wraps his arm around my waist, steadying me, as we walk into the hotel. I’ve never been to an after-party before. This has been a night of firsts, for sure.

The second we walk into his suite, I get an ominous feeling in the pit of my stomach totally unlike the sensation of how I felt in the cab. Taking stock of my surroundings, I look around the empty room, which is the same size as my hotel room. It’s definitely not a suite. Two of his friends walk in behind me and close the door before turning the deadbolt. I blink a few times, trying to make sense of my new environment.

With my mind suddenly clearer than it has been in a while, I turn to Alec. “Where is everyone?”

“Change of plans, beautiful,” he says, his mouth breaking into a smile. The expression on his face makes me shiver but not in a pleasing way. Red flag. Red flag. Yeah, I’m outta here.

I say hurriedly, “Uh…I gotta go, Alec. It’s later than I thought. Plus, I’m not feeling that well. It was nice meeting you.” I turn toward the door, My escape already completed in my head.

I feel his tight grasp on my arm, and an involuntary whimper escapes from my lips.

“No, I don’t think you have to go, baby.” He whispers in my ear as he pushes me up against the door, running his hand down my arms.

Tears automatically fill my eyes as my body begins to tremble. I know where this is going, and I need to get out of here—now. I feel sick, and not from the alcohol. The beat of my heart rings in my ears, echoing the bass from the club.

“I don’t want this, Alec. I just want to go. I’m tired. Please let me go,” I whisper, suddenly full of crippling fear.

My head spins and the amount of alcohol that I drank tonight ping-pongs around my skull in a taunting rhythm. I exhale a shaky breath, willing myself not to fall into drunken incoherency. Nausea paralyzes me, and I swallow down the impeding lump in my throat like earlier, but this one out of abject fear, not attraction.

He laughs and levels a gaze full of pure evil at me. “Oh, Campbell, baby, beautiful girl. Do you really think I bought you drinks all night, danced with you, and kept you company for nothing? I think you know better.”

His words are cold and detached, and his once attractive eyes are appalling, now void of any emotion.

I gasp, inhaling the air I’ve been too afraid to take. “No, A-a-lec! No! P-p-please!” I’m crying openly now. “I have to go!”

I wipe the burning tears from my eyes, unable to focus. The tears, alcohol, and fear are teaming up against me, forcing my descent into a pool of helplessness.

Alec grabs hold of my shoulders and starts pushing me toward the bed.

Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! No! No! No! This can’t be happening!

Instincts kick in, and I fight. I struggle to get away, pushing him with all the force I have. I don’t know if he’s that much stronger than me, or if the alcohol has left me incredibly weak, but my attempts to shove him away don’t even cause him a moment’s pause.

The second I feel the bed behind my legs, I lose control and start hitting him with everything I have. Tears stream down my face as I scream. “No! No! No! I said, no! Please stop! Let me go!”

It seems with every blow I am thrusting toward him, Alec’s hand is there to stop it, blocking me no matter how hard I try to fight. I give the fight all my energy, willing more power to come, but it doesn’t. My hands in fists, I pound his chest repeatedly. The sides of my hands throb from the forceful contact I’m making with his chest, but his smile remains the same—resolved, amused and cold.

I attempt to scratch him, only to have my hands effortlessly swiped away by his stronger ones. None of it is making any difference. The raw determination in his eyes sends a paralyzing terror through me. I’m so tired now, and I no longer am able to release my arms from his grasp to hit him. My body aches from exhaustion—my arms like jelly.

I turn then to see Alec’s two friends, their eyes intense on the scene before them, and I scream.

“Please help me! Help me!”

They only chuckle dryly, smirking at each other. They’re viewing this exchange as it’s just commonplace, a source of entertainment.

This cannot be happening!

I hear a loud, sharp wail like a wounded and fearful animal. The screaming sends cold chills through my center, and it takes a second for me to realize the horrible shriek is coming from my mouth. I cry out as Alec pushes me on the bed and rips off my underwear with one hand before letting it fall to the floor.

“Stop! Please!” I have never felt so terrified, so alone, knowing what is to come.

“Oh, baby. So beautiful,” he says in a detached, labored tone.

His voice is no longer sexy. Instead, it is terrifying and horrifies me.

I sob, still attempting to hit him, but I might as well be lying completely still with how weak my slaps are. I look directly into his eyes. In a choked sob, I beg, “Please don’t do this. Please? Why are you doing this to me?”

My pleas go unanswered. He lifts my dress and spreads my legs with his knees as he slides us farther back on the bed.

Alec’s eyes are cold, frozen with horrid l**t. “Oh, stop all the crying, baby. You know you want this. You don’t have to play hard to get with me.”

I blink through my tears and wonder what I ever found attractive about him. The jovial college boy from the club has now been replaced by the man of my newfound nightmares.

“I don’t, Alec. Please! I don’t! I don’t. I don’t. Stop! I’m begging you!” There is a pause, as quick as the flutter of a humming bird’s wing, before I realize that there is nothing, nothing I can do to change what is about to happen.

I scream as he enters me with so much force that it knocks the wind out of me, leaving me struggling to breathe. The t*****e invades me as pain overruns my senses. It’s too much to bear. I gasp, raising my head and turn it to the side as vomit explodes from my mouth, falling over the side of the bed and onto the floor.