If Only She'd Loved Him

Chapter 51

Saturday 11:30 am

"What do you mean you're not coming to security with us?" Jean demanded of Paul.

"Just what I said, Jeanie, you're a big girl. Well, you've got a big mouth anyway," he couldn't resist adding. "You can handle this on your own, and," he shrugged, "I've got practice today. I don't have time for this."

"You don't have time for this!"

"What's with you?" Matt asked. "You act like you don't even care about your own girlfriend."

Paul uncrossed his legs, got out of his chair. "I'm not completely convinced Megan's in a jam. She did date this guy you know," he pointed out. "We could be way off base here."

"What! You know the girl's in trouble. Why don't you want to talk to the cops?" Matt threw his hands up. "I don't understand this. First, Jean wouldn't go, and now that we've finally got her convinced, you won't come. What the heck is going on? Didn't you watch those same 'The nice policeman is your very best friend' movies?"

Clearing his throat, Paul made his way towards the door. For a moment, chivalry fought with self-preservation; self-preservation won without breaking a sweat. "Look Matt, you cleared my name, thanks. I'm glad you figured out that cell phone thing. This way I don't have to listen to Jeanie yell at me until Megan shows back up. As for Megan, maybe she's in trouble, but I doubt it. We're not talking Son of Sam here," he added scornfully. "We're talking about someone from our class. Jeanie is too busy going postal to think about this rationally. Kidnapping is a felony, for God's sake. No girl's worth ten to twenty. Besides, if I go to the police with this cock and bull story, people will talk. That's something I don't need. I've got a reputation to protect. It's not just for me; it's for the school." Paul's pseudo-noble tone threw Jean into a frenzy. She ran to the front door and threw it open with a bang.

"Get out!"

"Try to stop me." He paused at the door, towering over her. "Whatever you do, keep me out of this," he warned. "You can tell the cops what happened that night, but don't go bringing up my name, or any past shit, understood."

"No," she snapped back. "The only thing I understand is that I was right about you from the beginning!"

"Oh yeah," Paul sneered, "that's why you fucked me that night."

Jean kicked the door shut, ready to explode. Matt had missed the exchange between Paul and Jean, but he heard the door slam. He could see how tight Jean's shoulders were from across the room. Getting up, he laid his hands on those knots. "Hey, you ready to go?" he asked, peering down at her flushed face.

"Yes." Jean bit out, then changed her mind. Her fists were clenching and unclenching at her sides. Her jaw was ready to snap at the joints. "No, No, No, I am not ready. Your roommate is a certified asshole."

Matt's tongue felt the roof of his mouth as he frowned. They'd been through this before, but the door hadn't just slammed shut on its own, and Paul had been acting even more self-centered than usual. "Look, you want to take a break for a while?" he asked. "Maybe just get away for an hour, and then see the cops later?"

"No," she replied, "but will you walk me over there?"

"Sure."

"Let me just get my sweater. It's getting cold out."

"Yeah, it is."

School security was across campus and down the street. Matt didn't know what to think as he kept pace next to Jean. Silence seemed best, so he stuffed his hands into his pockets and just looked around as he walked. It was all too unbelievable what they were about to tell. Would they even be believed? What was going to happen? Worse still, Paul's words had made Matt feel different about the whole story. Given what he knew about Megan now, was it so inconceivable that she had planned this whole thing? She obviously loved games. Even her journal was a bunch of puzzle pieces. Plus, her grades were slipping. Was this just her weird way of getting out? Running away? She had gone with this guy willingly after all. Was this really any of their business? Maybe Paul had the right idea, and he should just stay out of it, after all he barely knew the girl. But Jean believed something was wrong, and there was a lot of evidence pointing that way too. The guy had been back on campus, asking questions about Megan, and he did have a key to their place. None of this was cut and dried. Together he and Jean entered the building.