Saving Ben (14 page)

“Doesn’t your fraternity have rules about girlfriends living in the house?” I asked.

Spotty nodded. “But there are special considerations in this situation,” he mumbled.

“What considerations?” I asked, and when he hesitated, I added, “Come clean, Spotty. This is important.”

“This isn’t easy to say, which is why I haven’t told you until now.” Spotty leaned in to me so he wouldn’t be overheard. “Ben is unstable, Kitty. Several key people have talked to him about the situation, but he won’t listen. He’s irrational when it comes to Emma. We are all walking on eggshells for fear of upsetting him.”

I blinked back tears. “Is he really that bad off?”

Spotty’s green eyes were cloudy with worry. “The worst I’ve ever seen him. He’s in it deep, drugs and all.”

Phoebe appeared suddenly and the four of us started toward the exit. I grabbed Spotty by the elbow, holding him back a couple of steps.

“I went to see one of the school’s psychiatrists,” I said, confiding in him what I hadn’t told anyone else.

“Seriously?” he asked. “I never knew anyone who actually did that.”

“Shows you how desperate I am to help my brother.”

“You can’t, though, can you? That’s what the shrink told you, isn’t it? You can’t help Ben until he’s ready to help himself.”

I nodded. “And according to Elise Withers that won’t happen until he hits rock bottom.”

Spotty grabbed my shoulder and squeezed. “And you better hang on tight, because I’m afraid it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

Ten days later I encountered Ben and Emma in a compromising situation, maybe not rock bottom but definitely a new all-time low.

It was the end of an unseasonably warm week, and with spring break on everyone’s mind, the Corner was packed. Even more so in the Island Cafe, thanks to their tropical ambience and two-for-one pitchers of draft beer. I was gathered in a booth with a group of my Tri Beta pledge sisters. We were working on our third round, enjoying a rare break from our duties at the sorority house.

“I’m going to the bathroom. Will you order a cheeseburger for me when the waitress comes back?” I asked Janie, my pledge sister sitting next to me.

I had to fight my way through the frenzied crowd to get to the restroom at the back of the tiny restaurant. There were only two stalls, one of them already occupied. As I squatted to do my business, I heard muffled giggles and the whole metal stall shook as if someone had fallen. Curious, I leaned down and looked under the partition where I saw four feet instead of two. A pair of wedged heels with pink-painted nails peeking through the toe hole, opposite two big hairy feet in Rainbow flip-flops.

I flushed the toilet, twice for effect, and got the hell out of there as soon as I could wash my hands. But instead of going back to the table, I hovered near the door and waited, out of curiosity, for the couple to exit the restroom. Several minutes later, when they finally emerged, Ben and Emma were all smiles as they adjusted their clothing. I caught my brother’s eye and glanced down at his shoes, raising an eyebrow in question. He smiled at me at first, as though happy to see me, and then it hit him. He looked down at my feet and back up at me. For a split second I saw sorrow and regret in his face, and then he winked at me, mocking me.

Ben was raised to be a gentleman. He understood he was to wait for women to be seated before he sat down at a table, and he knew to open car doors and watch his profanity in mixed company. The Ben I knew was not the kind of person to stoop so low as to have sex in the stall of a public restroom, a
women’s
public restroom no less. Emma made him do things he’d never considered before. She had complete control over him, like a psychiatrist leading her patient around in a hypnotic state, and it terrified me to think of what the doctor might have in mind for her next session with him.

“Ben promised to pay us back,” Reed said, “but I doubt we’ll ever see the money.”

“He’s broke, Kitty,” Spotty added. “His credit card was declined when he tried to buy gas on the way home.”

I shook my head. “That’s hard to believe. Dad gave us extra allowance for spring break. What did he blow it on?”

“Any and every thing Emma wanted,” Reed said. “A bikini with very little fabric comes to mind. And some jewelry. I mean, seriously? How many bracelets can a person wear at once?”

“Were they doing drugs?”

Spotty and Reed exchanged a quick look. “Probably, although they never did anything in front of us,” Spotty said. “Their relationship is not healthy. What worries us the most is the constant fighting.”

Reed shook his head in disgust. “They got kicked out of a restaurant one night for disturbing the other customers, and hotel security had to quiet them down several times.”

“Not to mention Ben almost got arrested for starting a barroom brawl,” Spotty added.

“Really?” I tucked my chin to my chest and looked at them from under my eyebrows. “What was the fight about?”

“He was jealous over the way some guy was looking at Emma,” Reed explained.

Spotty shifted in his seat so he could see my face. “Reed and I have been thinking about calling your parents, Kitty, but we wanted to talk to you first.”

“Ooh, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. For whatever reason, my mother’s crazy about Emma. I’m not sure she’d believe anything you tell her.”

“What about your dad?” Reed asked.

“My father is all about not upsetting my mother. But I’m pretty sure the two of you already know that,” I said, looking pointedly at each of them in turn. “Anyway, it’s not like Ben’s gonna break up with Emma just because my parents ask him to.”

“Do you have a better idea?” Reed asked. “We have to do something before he falls off the cliff of no return.”

I stood and began pacing back and forth along the edge of the knee wall in front of Spotty and Reed. “We need to separate them, because there’s no way we’ll get through to Ben while Emma is living in his room.” I stopped pacing and faced Reed and Spotty. “And I have an idea that just might work.”

I was optimistic when Ben responded immediately to my text and accepted my invitation to meet the following morning after our first class. When I saw him standing in line to order at Bodo’s Bagels, I hardly recognized him. He’d lost weight, his hair hung limp and greasy in his face, and his clothes were wrinkled and dirty. If I’d spotted him on a street corner, I might’ve mistaken him for a bum. Or a drug addict.

I handed him a ten-dollar bill. “There’s only one table left outside. I’ll grab it, if you’ll order a sesame bagel with strawberry cream cheese on the side for me.”

When he joined me at the table ten minutes later, the first words out of Ben’s mouth were: “Do you think you might be able to loan me some money? Since Archer’s parents always pay for everything, you gotta have some of your spring break money left.”

“Really?” I stared at my brother who’d become a stranger to me. “We haven’t spoken to one another since January and all you can do is ask to borrow money from me? Whatever happened to the brother who was so interested in helping me adjust to college life?”

He shrugged and took a bite of his bagel. “Turns out your roommate needed the help more,” he said when he finished chewing. “After all, you got the sorority bid and she didn’t. Are you going to lend me the money or not?”

“Don’t give me this bullshit, Ben. Emma would’ve gotten a bid
somewhere
if she’d turned in her card. Besides, you know as well as I do her parents would not have been able to pay the fees. Or I should say her mother, since her father’s not earning any money in jail.” He glared at me, and for spite I added, “Unless, of course, you were planning to pay for those like you pay for everything else.”

“Shh,” Ben said, glancing around at the surrounding tables. “Keep your voice down.”

“
You
are asking
me
to keep my voice down? After you nearly got kicked out of your hotel in Key West for arguing with your girlfriend.” Right away I realized I’d gone too far. I’d jeopardized the confidential conversation I’d had with Spotty and Reed.

“Who told you that?” he asked in mid chew.

“Several people, as a matter of fact. Apparently, what happens in Key West doesn’t stay in Key West.”

“Emma was right about you,” he said, his lip curled in disgust. “You
have
changed.”

My appetite suddenly gone, I threw my bagel in the basket and wadded up the waxed paper. “You should look in the mirror,” I said, biting my lip to hold back the tears.

“Okay, look. Don’t cry.” He grabbed my hand and squeezed it hard. “Have you heard anything from Abby or George?”

I shook my head. “You?”

“Nope. I’m sure you’ve seen the shrine on her Facebook page.”

I nodded. “I hope it helps her to know how much everyone cares.”

Ben stared off toward campus, his face masked with concern. But after several long minutes, his expression hardened and he returned his attention to me. “So, are you going to lend me the money or not?”

“I thought I already made that clear.” I stood to leave. “FYI—and you might want to pass this along to your girlfriend—I submitted a request for a roommate change.”

“You did what?” Ben said, raising his voice, no longer concerned whether the people around us heard our conversation. “You can’t drop a bomb like that and then leave. Sit back down.”

“Why are you so surprised?” I asked, lowering myself to the chair. “I don’t like being alone, Ben.
My
roommate is living with you, not me.”

He leaned toward me. “And just who are you planning to room with?” he asked as though no one on the planet would ever consider being my roommate.

“A friend of Carla’s who’s transferring here from Tulane.”

He pounded the table with his fist. “What about Emma? When were you planning to tell her?”

“I haven’t
seen
her to tell her, Ben. Anyway, it’s not like it makes any difference who she lives with. She doesn’t need a roommate. She just needs an address to give to her parents—or her mother, rather, in case she ever comes for a visit. I mean, Emma can’t exactly entertain her in your room at the fraternity house, now can she?”

He glared at me for a long minute, as if waiting for me to change my mind, and then he gathered his trash and walked away.

The truth is, I would’ve told Emma sooner if I thought there was any hope the transfer would go through. Campus housing was too tight for the administration to care whether I got along with my roommate or not. All I wanted to do was scare her into moving back in with me, away from Ben. And it worked perfectly, because when I returned from my bio lab late that afternoon, I found her curled up on her bed, facing the wall, her suitcase unopened on the floor beside her.

“Hey there.” I managed to sound cheerful despite the sick feeling in my stomach. I was paying the price for helping Ben by living with someone I despised.

Emma rolled over, and I could see from her swollen eyes she’d been crying, a strategy meant to summon my sympathy.

“I take it this means you’re moving back in?” I asked and she nodded. “Good. It’s lonely without a roommate.”

She sat up in her bed and swung her legs over the side. “You’re not mad at me?”

Mad?
I wanted to pull every hair out of her head and rip her nails from her hands and feet. She’d taken my brother, a kind and generous person, and turned him into a self-centered bastard. “Why would I be mad?” I asked, forcing my lips to smile.

She sniffled. “Ben said you made a request for a roommate change. Do you think it’s fair for you not to tell me?”

“About as fair as me having to live alone while you’re shacking up with my brother,” I snapped. The blonde bitch brought out the worst in me. I would have to try harder if I was going to make it work. “Seriously, Emma, this situation isn’t working for me, and I can’t see how it’s working for you either, having to share a bathroom with all those stinky boys.”

“OMG,” she said, pinching her nose. “They smell like sour milk.”

I held out my hand to her. “Listen, if we can try and work things out, maybe I won’t have to make the change.”

“I’d like that.” Taking my hand, she smiled at me, although I was mindful of the smirk playing along her lips.

“Is that yours?” I asked, nodding at the new MacBook Air on her desk.

She bobbed her head up and down. “Ben bought it for me.”

No wonder he’s broke! He must have cleaned out his savings account.
Ben was Emma’s sugar daddy. She was taking advantage of him, and he was letting her walk all over him. Silently, I vowed to put an end to it.

The weeks ahead were challenging, but I was armed and ready to defend myself against Emma’s manipulation. I learned to read her face so I could tell when she was lying, or when she wanted something, or even on the rare occasion when she was being sincere. Much to her credit, she honored her commitment by spending every night, even the weekends, in our room. According to Spotty, who was having lots of time alone with Ben, our plan was working, although we were taking painfully slow baby steps.

Literally, I bounced up and down with joy when Ben agreed to go with Spotty and Reed to Virginia Beach for the long Easter weekend. Relieved to have a few days away from Emma, I accepted a last-minute invitation to go with Archer to her family’s cottage on Smith Mountain Lake. I didn’t see Ben again until our first day back at school when I found him leaning against the wall, his head hung low, outside my chemistry class.