It was nearly nine in the evening when Beca left the radio station, and the sky was pitch dark. She put on her headphones and immediately headed towards the campus, not wanting to linger outside at this time. The walk to her dorm was roughly fifteen minutes. She walked quickly, purposely staying in the light to avoid any unpleasant surprise. Her latest mix was pounding in her ears and she was so absorbed in it that she nearly didn't hear the faint sound of a whistle blowing in the night. Beca slowed down and looked around her, startled. Just as she was starting to think she had just imagined it, the shrill noise echoed again. She stopped in her tracks and took off her headphones, searching for the source of the sound. She couldn't see anything for her surroundings were dark. However, Beca could hear faint noises coming from somewhere on the lawn. She walked carefully towards the voices; they were unpleasant rough male voices. It sounded as if they were struggling.
'Stop it- please!' Someone protested.
It was a female voice and Beca was quite familiar with it. However, she wasn't used to hearing it tinted with such fear and vulnerability. She practically ran towards it, lighting her path with her phone screen. The halo was feeble but enough to guide her to the source of the noise. She lifted her hand to have a better view of the scene.
'Aubrey?!' Beca gasped at the sight of her friend tackled on the ground by a male student and two other guys. 'Oh my god-'
When she spoke, the three boys turned their heads towards her, realizing they had been caught in the act. The one who had been straddling Aubrey quickly got up and ran away with his friends before Beca could see their faces. She got on her knees in the grass next to the blonde woman and helped her to sit up. Aubrey was shaking as she put her skirt down and tried to cover her body, very exposed under her torn blouse. She and Beca weren't really close but their relation had improved a lot since she had handed her the pitch pipe. Both women had actually become friends, even if some things were still awkward between them.
'You okay?' Beca asked, taking off her jacket to put it over Aubrey's shoulders. 'Did he actually- ?'
The blonde shook her head no and threw herself in Beca's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Beca stiffened at Aubrey's unusual and unexpected display of feelings towards her and patted her back, trying to soothe her.
'N-no but he was about to!' She cried, burying her face into Beca's shoulder.
'Shh it's okay, you're okay. Can you stand up?' Aubrey nodded and Beca pulled her to her feet gently. 'I'll walk you back to your apartment; Chloe must be waiting for you now.'
She crouched down to collect her laptop and the books that were scattered on the ground around her. She put them back into her bag before picking up her rape whistle which had probably been thrown aside by one of the boys that had assaulted her.
Both girls headed towards the small apartment Aubrey shared with Chloe, which was only a block away. On the way, they spoke very little, both shuddering in the cool evening air. Aubrey composed herself; Beca knew she was trying to regain control of her emotions, after all, that spontaneous tight hug had seemed very out-of-character. After a ten-minute walk, they found themselves at the door. Beca was about to knock but Aubrey opened it at once –of course, she wasn't going to knock at her own door. Beca followed her inside. The living-room was empty but Chloe burst out of the kitchen the minute they came in, with a book in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other.
'Aubrey! Where have you been? I left you like four messages, you got me worried-'
The redhead stopped talking when she saw Aubrey's tattered top and her eyes drifted towards Beca with a look of concern mixed with incomprehension in her bright blue eyes. Under the neon light, Beca could finally see her friend's face which sported a few bruises and a bleeding lower lip. Her thighs bore several scratch marks as well.
'What the hell? Guys, what happened?!' She hurried towards them, taking Aubrey's hand and pulling her into the couch. Beca and her sat by her side and listened to the blonde woman recalling her night's events.
'You know I was studying at the library and when I decided to come home, I crossed the campus and there was this bunch of jerks from our year –' She turned to Chloe who nodded, an upset look etched on her usually relaxed features. 'And when I walked by they just started making sex jokes but I ignored them, and next thing I knew they were trying to push me onto the ground.'
Her voice was getting shaky again. Beca was still not used to this side of Aubrey's personality: more fragile, less cold. She gingerly put her hand on the other woman's shoulder, squeezing gently to provide comfort. Coming from her, this meant a lot. Beca was not a very tactile person and Aubrey knew it; she responded with a slight smile.
'So this guy he- he came over me and ripped my blouse and he started touching me while his friends were cheering and laughing. He lifted my skirt and started p-pulling down my underwear-'
Aubrey's breathing was hitched. Chloe pulled her into a hug before she could continue and rubbed her back soothingly.
'Bree… I'm so sorry. But what about your rape whistle? You always carry that thing around everywhere you go-'
'I used it' Aubrey replied. 'That's when Beca found me, luckily before he could go any further.' She shuddered at the thought.
'Aubrey, I think you should go to the police tomorrow.' Beca said.
'Yeah, I'll go with you if you want me to, but you need to report this. It can't happen again, it was a chance that Beca was there to stop it!'
Aubrey nodded in approval. She seemed deep in thoughts; her determined self was finally back, and this reassured Beca in some way. She stood up and picked up her purse before turning to her friends.
'Okay guys, I'm glad that we sorted this out. I should probably go back to my dorm now; I have a history class at eight tomorrow morning and it's getting l-'
Chloe cut her straight before she could finish her sentence.
'You are not going anywhere Becs, it's half past ten and you live on the other side of the campus. You know it's not safe for you to walk alone after what just happened.'
Beca tried to protest but Aubrey spoke before her.
'Yes she's right. You can stay here tonight and you'll go back to your dorm tomorrow. We can all sleep in my room so that none of us is on their own.'
'Um, okay…' Beca gave in. 'But what about my stuff? I haven't got any clothes with me.'
'You can wash your clothes in the sink and let them dry so that you can wear them tomorrow. And I'll give you one of my pajamas.' Chloe replied with an excited smile before dashing off to her room.
The idea of an improvised girls' night seemed to delight her, even despite the circumstances. Beca shrugged and followed her. She gave her a green tank top and matching shorts for the night and Beca stripped from her day's clothes. Once she had washed them, she joined Chloe and Aubrey in Aubrey's room. The latter was curled up on her bed and looked thoughtful. She had cleaned her face from the blood but the blue and purple bruises remained, and her milky-white legs still sported various light scratch marks. These struck Beca more now that the blonde was wearing shorts that showed more of her thighs.
'You okay Aubrey?' Beca asked to break the silence.
The older girl nodded with a slight smile.
'Yeah, I just wanted to thank you for coming to my help tonight. If it weren't for you, it would have ended badly.' She said.
Beca could read sincerity in her eyes. She blushed, but was still very grateful for Aubrey to say this. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Chloe watching the scene with affection.
'You would've done the same for me. I'm glad I found you because I care for you, Bree.'
Beca wasn't one to share her feelings but she had to admit that she did care for Aubrey more than she ever did. And she was glad that the older girl admitted it too; they both had very strong temperaments and they had struggled with accepting each other for a long time. But tonight was probably another step forward on their way towards a bonding friendship.
