Caught In The Way You Got Me (Book One)

What A Wonderful Charicature Of Intimacy

Brendon:

"Dude, I mean it. That's important to her. You can't just take something like that from somebody when you've literally only known them for a few days. Especially someone like her."

"Okay. Look. Someone did exactly that to me when I was fourteen and it's not like-" I start but Davey cuts me off.

"Bee are you even listening to yourself right now? I don't care if you guys slept in the same bed that's not a fuckig invitation and you're actually pissing me off. She doesn't deserve to have that much intimacy with a stranger and what if you change your mind about her? She's going to get her memory back and she will hate you. After what happened to her, she'll make sure she never hears your name again." I've never heard Davey use this kind of tone before. Maybe he's right. Maybe I'm a little out of line.

"I'm not used to this. I don't even know if I want a relationship for sure." Davey pulls in front of my apartment building and angrily switches to park.

"Bee, fucking a week and a half ago you were telling me that that was all you wanted. What happened to that, huh? What happened to all of that talk about her changing you?"

"What if I can't change? It was so hard not to try to sleep with her. I can't have that kind of will power all the time."

"Are you even listening to yourself? Look, I get it. It's a need. And you want it. But this isn't the girl you do those kinds of things to. Okay? Her virginity matters to her."

"Why?" I don't mean to sound like an asshole when it comes out but I instantly hate myself for asking. Davey pushes his hair back and takes a deep breath.

"Bee. I need you to listen to me. Asteria is a very introverted, shy, and insecure girl. You've witnessed that. She's very strong and very spunky so it's easy to forget that. I know that. She talks to me all the time about it. She asks me when she's supposed to know if it's the time. And that was before what happened to her." I only have a vague understanding of what it is that he's referring to so I decide to try and find out.

"What exactly happened to her?" Davey looks away from me before he starts talking.

"She met this guy out here...on campus. About two years ago. And they were really close really fast. That's not something that she does. She takes a very long time to warm up to people. Consider yourself lucky. One night, they went on a date. And he..." Davey clutches the steering wheel and I'm almost positive he's about to break it. "He put something in her drink."

My heart falls to my stomach. I don't want to hear the rest but it doesn't stop Davey from finishing his story.

"She woke up in pain...and alone...and she tried calling me that night but I was...I was fucking around and..." Davey and I both start crying at the same time. "She was in so much pain because...it wasn't just him."

"How many people?" I choke out.

"From what we could tell there were three in the video." I start choking out sobs and I'm gagging in between. This is so much more than I thought and I almost hope that her memories don't come back at all just because that's something that could be forgotten. "So she called me the next morning crying. She didn't know where she was. I had to ping her phone to find her. She was alone when she woke up. She had asked me to take her clothes and I knew exactly what happened before she even said anything. I took her to the hospital. She couldnt walk."

"Davey. Please stop." I hate myself for thinking the way I was a few minutes ago. I hate myself for seeing her as a challenge when I first met her. That's what they saw her as. I'm like them. And I hate myself.

"We found out about the video because a friend of his sent it to a friend of mine. I didn't think it was him when she called. But when I found out I lost it. He was a big guy. I mean he was about my height and build. So I could only imagine how much he actually hurt her...and the entire time that I was shoving my fists into his face I kept hoping that he'd hurt worse and she'd hurt less. I got arrested." He half sobs and half laughs. "I got bailed out right away. Those fucks are in jail now. Or at least the three of them. But she was so bad, Bee..."

"Am I the first person since then?" I choke out. He nods.

"That's part of why she got so close with the homeless. They helped us catch those guys. I mean she's easy to recognize. Her hair used to look like cotton candy. It was this really bright pink color. They all knew who she was. And they're kind of. Well I mean you saw. They're all her guardian angels. She was always nice to them but now she makes sure she can help them. So you can't fuck her up, Brendon. She's happy right now. Despite all this crap. She's happy. You leave and so does that."

"I'm sorry David." We've both stopped crying and calmed down a little bit. "I'm an asshole."

Davey laughs and nods.

"Yeah man that was a pretty asshole way to act." I laugh with him. "Get your shit together and meet me back at her place."

I nod and head up to grab more changes of clothes, another pair of contacts, and a few other essentials. I get into my car and make my way back to Asteria's apartment. About five minutes into my drive, my phone rings.

"Dude you missed me after like ten minutes?" I tell Davey. He's talking so fast I have no idea what he's saying. "Whoa, Davey. Relax. What's going on?"

"She's gone! She's not in her apartment!"