Lust and Lies 04 - Pretty Maids in a Row

there was enough marijuana smoke in the game room to give anyone a buzz." She took a sip of the coffee April had poured for her then made a face as she set the cup back on its saucer.
    "The music was ear-splitting and I was embarrassed by what some of the couples were doing right in front of everyone else. I was about to leave when a boy I knew from one of my classes asked me to dance. His name was Billy O'Day and I had always thought he was kind of nice for a big, empty-headed jock. After a few dances, he yelled in my ear that he wanted to talk and motioned for me to follow him upstairs, away from the stereo speakers. It never occurred to me to be wary.
    "He led me to his room, but I still didn't worry. Billy seemed like a gentleman to me."
    Rachel's gaze was fixed on the cup in front of her, but Holly was certain she was seeing something else entirely. No one else spoke, so Holly remained quiet as well, and waited until Rachel was ready to finish her account.
    "Three of his brothers were waiting for us there. My mistake was that I fought them. They hadn't expected that and it really pissed them off. I've always been tall and strong, and I had taken some judo classes. They managed to rip my clothes off, but I got in a few good licks while they were doing it. Unfortunately, so did they. The harder I fought, the rougher they got. I don't remember being raped, because a couple hard kicks to my head knocked me out before they got what they wanted.
    "I regained consciousness in the college infirmary eight hours later. A nurse told me that sometime during the night, I had been dumped in front of the door, naked and bloody. Written across my stomach were the Greek letters of another fraternity and a happy face. I had stopped hemorrhaging, but I had sustained internal injuries and was warned to take it easy because of the concussion. The only thing that wouldn't heal was the membrane one of the bastards had broken when he took my virginity."
    Holly's shock held her immobilized. She had had her virginity stolen as well, but at least she knew the name of the thief.
    "The nurse was sympathetic and called the police for me. They gave her the same runaround Cheryl got."
    "But you had visible injuries," Holly protested.
    Rachel snorted. "Sure, but how did I get them? It was the precious football players' words against mine. No one at the party heard any screams, and no one remembered seeing me go upstairs with Billy. When it got around campus that I was trying to file assault charges, my fellow students harassed me until I gave it up. You see, I was there on scholarship and couldn't afford the luxury of transferring to another school or taking a year off until my attackers graduated."
    Holly always knew how fortunate she had been to have that option. She steeled herself to ask, "Will you tell me who the others were?"
    "Of course. One thing you'll discover is that our fearless leader doesn't permit any secrets. Do you, April?"
    April's expression was a mixture of concern and mild rebuke. "No one in this group is ever forced or coerced to tell more than they need to."
    "Aah, but there's the rub. You always manage to convince us that we need to bare our souls... for our own good." She stopped and massaged her temples. "Sorry. My mouth seems to be on overdrive today." Rising, her body swayed for a second before she found her equilibrium. "If you'll excuse me, I need to wash my hands."
    As soon as she had walked into the bedroom and closed the door, Erica Donner sighed aloud. "Gawd! If Ah'd known she was drinkin' again, Ah would never have told her we were meetin'."
    Her melodious accent so contradicted her continental appearance, Holly wondered if her ears had played a trick on her.
    "That's not fair," Bobbi said in a confident, husky voice that was just as wrong for her image. She removed her wire-rimmed glasses and leaned forward. "We've all had to deal with addictions of some sort. What about you, Holly? Any problems with alcohol or drugs?"
    Holly was caught off guard by the swift change in Bobbi's demeanor from painfully shy to aggressive. She shook her head. "No, I've never liked the feeling of being out of control."
    Bobbi's soft gaze became a narrow-eyed stare that seemed to pin Holly in place for her inspection. "What about food? Or sex?"
    The question disturbed her as much as Bobbi's superior attitude. "Food. For a while... it wasn't like I was truly bulimic, but..." She couldn't finish.
    "Relax, Holly," April said softly.