[A/N. This is the second last chapter. YAY! For awhile there I was thinking
I probably would never get it done, but now it looks as though I am going
to!]
TWENTY.
The bar was pretty crowded but it didn't take me long to spot Eric and Daniel. They were both drinking beers and looked as though they were having a great time. I took a deep breath- for all I knew I was barking up the wrong tree, but if I was right, and this was the person who had scarred Mandy for life I wasn't going to let him get away with it.
I approached the two of them and Eric noticed me. "Hey Pony, you changed your mind." He said. "Get a beer and join us."
"Sure," I said. "I think I will."
I got my beer and then joined them back at the small table where they were sitting.
"So did you find Mandy?" Eric asked.
"Nah, she's studying but I've got no idea where." I replied, taking a sip of my beer and glancing at Daniel out the corner of my eye.
"Hey, did she tell you she made the cheerleading squad?" Eric asked suddenly.
I frowned. "No."
"The lists were posted early and I checked them out. She's on the squad." Eric explained to me.
"Mandy from the cheerleading squad?" Daniel asked slowly.
"Yeah, do you know her?" I asked as casually as I could possibly manage.
"Not exactly no." Daniel said. "Excuse me for a moment guys- anyone else ready for another beer?"
"No, I'm right." Eric said, and I nodded my agreement.
Daniel walked off and I sighed and leant against the table thoughtfully. "Eric- do you know Daniel well?" I asked.
"Well enough." Eric replied. "I've told you about us."
"Yeah," I said. "Just out of curiosity, what was it that he actually took the blame for?"
Eric made a face. "I didn't think it was too much of a big time at the deal, but of course my parents did. I stole some things and Daniel took the blame for me because I'd helped him out before at a summer camp we used to go to. Of course that wasn't his fault either- the girl was asking for it."
I almost choked on my beer. 'The girl was asking for it?' Did Eric know it was Mandy who Daniel had raped? "Asking for it hey?" I asked, trying to seem as though I was completely and utterly in control.
"Yeah, she was following him round everywhere, wouldn't leave him alone. So really she only got what she wanted all along." Eric said.
"What she wanted.." I muttered. "What was her name?"
"Her name?" Eric looked confused. "God, why would you want to know that? I think it was Amanda or something like that. A posh little thing she was- but then we all were at that camp. It was like our parents sent us there to keep us out of their hair for the summer."
And now I knew for sure: Amanda was Mandy, and Daniel was the one who had raped her. I didn't think Eric had made the connection though or he would have said something which would have given him away. I took a deep breath. My first instinct was to go over to Daniel and smack him, but I thought better of it. After all he was pretty popular on the campus, and there were probably quite a few people in the bar who would jump to his defence. But it sure explained how come Mandy had been acting strange since we got to college- I knew what she had said it was but she was getting stranger as the time went on. I drained the last of my beer.
"Sorry Eric, but I've just realised there's something I've got to do." I said standing up.
"Sure, but are you all right Pony?" Eric asked. "You look kind of pale."
"Pale?" I repeated. "No I'm not pale. I'm fine. I've got to go."
And I hurried out of the bar and towards Mandy's dorm. I wondered why I hadn't made the connection before, and further why Mandy hadn't told me who it was who had hurt her so badly. And I also made up my mind that I was going to have to leave the frat house as soon as possible- there was no way that I was staying in the same place as that animal. Mandy's roommate Christy was the one who answered the door.
"Is Mandy there?" I asked.
"No." She said slowly, looking at me thoughtfully. "Look Pony, I don't think I should be telling you this, but you're a nice enough kid- a little rough around the edges, but your hearts in the right place..."
"Telling me what?" I demanded, my heart in my throat.
"Oh nevermind. You can find Mandy in Brian's room. It's number 89 in Risby." Christy said, and she closed the door in my face.
I turned and started down the hallway- Brian was the one from the bar, the one who Mandy had been working on a history project with, so she must still be studying with him, but it seemed strange to me that she had been studying all day. She knew I was back, so why hadn't she made the effort to come and see me? I decided I would ask her that, as well as why she hadn't told me who Daniel really was! What was a relationship without trust, I thought as I walked down the steps of her dorm and started towards Brian's. And then I had another thought: I had been unfaithful to Mandy. It was me who was flouting the trust thing, not just Mandy. Maybe, I thought as I walked, this wasn't the perfect relationship I'd always thought it was. But then I pushed that thought away as I reached the dorm where Mandy was studying. It was the perfect relationship, we were just going to have to have a good, long talk.
TWENTY.
The bar was pretty crowded but it didn't take me long to spot Eric and Daniel. They were both drinking beers and looked as though they were having a great time. I took a deep breath- for all I knew I was barking up the wrong tree, but if I was right, and this was the person who had scarred Mandy for life I wasn't going to let him get away with it.
I approached the two of them and Eric noticed me. "Hey Pony, you changed your mind." He said. "Get a beer and join us."
"Sure," I said. "I think I will."
I got my beer and then joined them back at the small table where they were sitting.
"So did you find Mandy?" Eric asked.
"Nah, she's studying but I've got no idea where." I replied, taking a sip of my beer and glancing at Daniel out the corner of my eye.
"Hey, did she tell you she made the cheerleading squad?" Eric asked suddenly.
I frowned. "No."
"The lists were posted early and I checked them out. She's on the squad." Eric explained to me.
"Mandy from the cheerleading squad?" Daniel asked slowly.
"Yeah, do you know her?" I asked as casually as I could possibly manage.
"Not exactly no." Daniel said. "Excuse me for a moment guys- anyone else ready for another beer?"
"No, I'm right." Eric said, and I nodded my agreement.
Daniel walked off and I sighed and leant against the table thoughtfully. "Eric- do you know Daniel well?" I asked.
"Well enough." Eric replied. "I've told you about us."
"Yeah," I said. "Just out of curiosity, what was it that he actually took the blame for?"
Eric made a face. "I didn't think it was too much of a big time at the deal, but of course my parents did. I stole some things and Daniel took the blame for me because I'd helped him out before at a summer camp we used to go to. Of course that wasn't his fault either- the girl was asking for it."
I almost choked on my beer. 'The girl was asking for it?' Did Eric know it was Mandy who Daniel had raped? "Asking for it hey?" I asked, trying to seem as though I was completely and utterly in control.
"Yeah, she was following him round everywhere, wouldn't leave him alone. So really she only got what she wanted all along." Eric said.
"What she wanted.." I muttered. "What was her name?"
"Her name?" Eric looked confused. "God, why would you want to know that? I think it was Amanda or something like that. A posh little thing she was- but then we all were at that camp. It was like our parents sent us there to keep us out of their hair for the summer."
And now I knew for sure: Amanda was Mandy, and Daniel was the one who had raped her. I didn't think Eric had made the connection though or he would have said something which would have given him away. I took a deep breath. My first instinct was to go over to Daniel and smack him, but I thought better of it. After all he was pretty popular on the campus, and there were probably quite a few people in the bar who would jump to his defence. But it sure explained how come Mandy had been acting strange since we got to college- I knew what she had said it was but she was getting stranger as the time went on. I drained the last of my beer.
"Sorry Eric, but I've just realised there's something I've got to do." I said standing up.
"Sure, but are you all right Pony?" Eric asked. "You look kind of pale."
"Pale?" I repeated. "No I'm not pale. I'm fine. I've got to go."
And I hurried out of the bar and towards Mandy's dorm. I wondered why I hadn't made the connection before, and further why Mandy hadn't told me who it was who had hurt her so badly. And I also made up my mind that I was going to have to leave the frat house as soon as possible- there was no way that I was staying in the same place as that animal. Mandy's roommate Christy was the one who answered the door.
"Is Mandy there?" I asked.
"No." She said slowly, looking at me thoughtfully. "Look Pony, I don't think I should be telling you this, but you're a nice enough kid- a little rough around the edges, but your hearts in the right place..."
"Telling me what?" I demanded, my heart in my throat.
"Oh nevermind. You can find Mandy in Brian's room. It's number 89 in Risby." Christy said, and she closed the door in my face.
I turned and started down the hallway- Brian was the one from the bar, the one who Mandy had been working on a history project with, so she must still be studying with him, but it seemed strange to me that she had been studying all day. She knew I was back, so why hadn't she made the effort to come and see me? I decided I would ask her that, as well as why she hadn't told me who Daniel really was! What was a relationship without trust, I thought as I walked down the steps of her dorm and started towards Brian's. And then I had another thought: I had been unfaithful to Mandy. It was me who was flouting the trust thing, not just Mandy. Maybe, I thought as I walked, this wasn't the perfect relationship I'd always thought it was. But then I pushed that thought away as I reached the dorm where Mandy was studying. It was the perfect relationship, we were just going to have to have a good, long talk.