Saving Ben (9 page)

When I waved her away, Abby followed my lead. Normally I would’ve accepted, but I didn’t want to encourage my anorexic friend to put any unhealthy substances into her feeble body.

“Where’d Emma go?” I asked Abby, five minutes into the second half when I realized Emma was no longer beside Abby. We scanned the crowd until we saw her making her way toward Ben like a torpedo searching through the waters for its target. She wedged herself between Reed and Spotty, who were sitting directly in front of Ben. Pulling her flask out of her bag again, she offered it first to Reed and Spotty before turning around to Ben, as if realizing for the first time that he was there.

I rolled my eyes at Abby. “She’s a smooth one, isn’t she?”

Abby nodded. “She’s trying to make Ben jealous. Just like on Labor Day weekend. What’s going on between the two of them?”

I explained to Abby about how Emma had manipulated Ben for a date to the Monster Bash. “Poor Maddie doesn’t stand a chance against my roommate. If Emma wants Ben, she’ll find a way to have him.” Sure enough, halfway through the fourth quarter, Maddie got up and stormed off.

After the game, in an effort to avoid Ben and Emma, I guided Abby out the opposite end of the stadium from the crowd. Temperatures had risen quite a bit during the day, leaving us with a mild and pleasant evening. We took our time in wandering down to the Corner. Abby’s parents had made me promise to take her to the College Inn for a burger—one of their favorite hangouts when they were students at UVA twenty-five years ago. Abby settled into our booth as though she’d been there many times. When our burgers came, I gobbled mine down, but she only nibbled on hers, pinching tiny pieces off her bun without touching the meat.

“Are you just gonna pick at that?” I asked her. “Go ahead. Take a bite. It’s really good.”

She wiped her mouth with her napkin and then balled it up and threw it on her plate. “Please don’t start, Kitty. I already catch enough grief at home.”

I’d been trying since Labor Day, via texts and e-mails, to get Abby to open up to me about her problems. So far I’d been unsuccessful. Time for a more direct approach. “Tell me what’s bothering you, Abby. Explain to me why it’s so hard for you to eat.”

“It’s just—” she started, but then lowered her head and began picking at a hangnail. “I’m just not hungry. That’s all. I ate a big lunch with Mom and Dad on the way here.”

“That was hours ago.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “Come on, Yabba. You’re talking to me Kitty.”

“I promise I’ll tell you everything, but not now. Not here.” She looked back up at me, her gray eyes desperate. “Tonight, I want to have some fun for a change. You’ve been begging me to come for a visit, so here I am. Show me the college life.”

“Fine. I’ll drop the subject. For now.” I reached for my wallet to pay the check. “What part of college life do you want to see?”

“Greek life,” she said without hesitation. “I want to go to a fraternity party.”

Which was my worst nightmare. How could I take my friend who weighed less than a hundred pounds and had barely eaten any dinner to a keg party?

“Okay, so I know I promised I’d drop the subject, but—”

She held her hand up. “Don’t say it. Please. I hear it all the time from George. No food, no drink.”

“Then we’ll go see Ben at the KO house.” I knew I could count on Mr. Overprotective to help me watch out for Abby. That is
if
he could drag himself away from Emma.

We made our way up University Avenue and climbed the brick steps to the KO house. “I smell weed,” Abby said, sniffing. “Everyone is smoking these days. I just don’t see the attraction.”

I linked arms with her. “Nor do I, Yabba. Nor do I.”

As we started up the sidewalk, Ben and Emma stepped out of the bushes and blocked our path. “Kitty, whatzup?” Ben stared at Abigail, confused. “Shit. I may be high, but you look exactly like my friend Abby.”

She play-punched him in the arm. “I
am
Abby, silly.”

“Yeah,
silly
,” I said, punching him in the other arm. “Since when did you start smoking weed, Mr. Serious Athlete-that-you-are?”

Ben pointed at Emma. “Since she gave me this humongous bud.” He laughed hysterically until he realized he was the only one laughing. Straightening himself, he asked me, “Why didn’t you tell me Abby was here?”

“We sent you a text to come sit with us at the game,” Abby explained. “Didn’t you get it?”

Ben whipped out his cell phone and began scrolling through his texts. “Damnit. I totally missed it.”

“Wait a minute,” I said to Emma. “You didn’t tell him Abby was here?”

“Seriously?” Ben stumbled toward Emma. “
You
knew about this?”

Emma caught Ben and pushed him off of her. “I guess it just slipped my mind.” She glared at me. “What’re you doing here, anyway? Your friend doesn’t exactly strike me as the fraternity-party type.”

“My friend?” I said to Emma. “You spent the weekend with her over Labor Day, and you went to the game today on her fifty-yard-line ticket. I would think by now you know her well enough to call her by name.”

Emma placed her hand on her hip. “A-BI-GAIL,” she said, emphasizing every syllable in Abby’s name for emphasis, “doesn’t seem like the fraternity-party type to me.”

“According to who? You?” I asked. “Didn’t someone ever tell you it’s politically incorrect to social profile?”

“I’m sure she’s smart enough to get into UVA. But look at her.” Emma held her hands out toward Abigail. “She’s not sorority material. She’s earthy. I’d pick her for one of the clubs. Science or Marine Biology maybe.”

Ben and I both looked over at Abigail in time to see her eyes fill with tears.

“That’s enough, Emma,” Ben said, his voice sober. “I’m with Kitty on this. You don’t know Abby well enough to make that assumption.” He wrapped his arm around Abby’s shoulders and pulled her to him. “Come inside. I want you to meet some of my friends.”

Abigail took a deep breath and smiled up at him. “That’s okay, Ben. We weren’t planning to stay here long, anyway.”

I moved a little closer to Abby. “We just ran into Honey on the Corner. She invited us to go for ice cream with some of her friends. Emma may not think Abby is sorority material, but Honey sure does,” I said, enjoying the hell out of the look of envy on Emma’s face.

“Come on, Ben. Let’s go.” Emma grabbed him by the elbow and began dragging him up the sidewalk toward the fraternity house.

I took Abigail’s hand and led her in the opposite direction, across University and through the maze of sidewalks to the heart of campus. We walked in silence, composing ourselves, Abigail fighting back the tears while I tried to calm the rage. In less than four hours, Emma had ruined Ben’s relationship with Maddie, convinced him to smoke weed after all these years of standing firm against it, and made a game out of tearing Abby’s confidence to shreds. I’d never known Emma to be so blatantly cruel to anyone before. Whether she was showing off for Ben or whether she felt threatened by my relationship with Abby. Who knows? Maybe she was just being mean because she could.

Lucky me!
I’d just signed a contract to room with her for another year.

“So, this is the Academical Village?” Abby asked when we were standing in the center of the grassy expanse known as the Lawn.

“Isn’t it amazing? And to think Thomas Jefferson designed it himself all those years ago. The Rotunda is the focal point at that end.” I pointed north toward the enormous domed structure. “And these buildings on either side of the grassy area are known as the Lawn rooms. Can you believe it’s considered a privilege to live here? Only fourth-year students can apply, the smartest of the class, and these people stand in line to live in a room with no air conditioning or heat.”

“What do you mean there’s no heat?” Abigail asked.

“I mean there’s no heat. Each room has its own fireplace. Notice the wood stacked alongside the walkways?”

“Okay. That’s pretty cool. I’ve been to Charlottesville several times with my parents for football games, but to think I might one day be a student here puts everything in a different perspective.”

Lost in our own thoughts, we made a couple of laps around the Lawn and then stopped at the Rotunda where we took a seat on the cold granite steps, leaning back-to-back like we used to do when we were kids.

“Funny thing, Abby. I can totally see you living here, on the Lawn, wilderness woman that you are, building your fires at night and hiking it over to the outhouse to use the facilities.”

“Ha. You must have me confused with someone else.”

“Come on. As smart as you are? Don’t sell yourself short.”

“I’m glad you think so—because according to your roommate, I’m not even fit to be in a sorority.”

“Believe me, Emma is no expert on Greek life. You, Abby, have a much better chance of getting into a sorority than she does.” Sitting back-to-back, I couldn’t see her face, but I could tell by Abby’s breathing pattern—catch, hold for several seconds, release—she was paying close attention to everything I said. “Not only are you a legacy, your parents have plenty of connections with women who’d be thrilled to write letters for whichever sorority you choose.” I knew Abby’s parents well enough to know they’d do anything to make her happy, to get her to start eating again.

I shifted on the step so I could see her face. “No matter where you decide to go, what school you attend, you’re going to have a blast. Trust me on this. You know I wanted to go to Chapel Hill, but I’m having the best time ever, even with a bitch for a roommate.”

Her eyes lit up with hope and I knew she desperately wanted to believe me.

“If you decide you want to rush a sorority, the process is fair and you’ll find the right house for you.”

“Sounds like you’ve already made your decision about sororities.”

“Me? No way. I’m taking Ben’s advice and keeping an open mind until I go through rush.”

“But what about this Honey person? Sounds like the two of you are tight.”

I looked away from her, ashamed of myself for being dishonest with my closest friend. “I’m sorry, Abby. I shouldn’t have lied earlier. I was just trying to get back at Emma. She’s convinced Chi Delta is perfect for her. Funny thing is, Honey, their president, keeps blowing her off.”

“What would your mother say if you decided to pledge a sorority other than Chi Delta?”

“I hope she’d be supportive. Wishful thinking, huh?” I leaned against Abigail, pushing on her until she toppled over. Stretched out on the steps, we stared out across the lawn and up at the stars. “I’m feeling all mushy and sentimental right now, but I can think of at least ten corny clichés that describe how I feel. The world is our oyster, Yabba. Life is what we make of it.
If
you come to UVA and
if
you decide pledging a sorority is not for you, there are over seven hundred clubs to choose from. Besides, who’s to say you can’t do it all?”

“
What
clubs?” she asked. “Science and Marine Biology?”

“If that’s something you’re interested in, then yes. But they also have a group that goes hiking on the Blue Ridge Parkway every weekend,” I said, hoping to appeal to her sense of adventure.

“Now, that’s way cool. Tell me more.”

I moved closer to her, and we snuggled together like we were six again and camping out in our sleeping bags on the porch at the river. We talked for a long time about all the opportunities available to students at UVA and about college in general.

“I know you don’t want to talk about what’s going on in your life, but believe it or not, I understand a little about how you feel. I had my own issues in high school, and I couldn’t wait to get away from them. Hang on Yabba. College is liberating, and you’re almost there. Just stay focused on the process of applying to schools and try to block out all the other bad stuff.”

I reached for her hand, and wishing I could channel some courage through my touch, I squeezed it. Despite the sick feeling in my gut that suggested otherwise, I wanted to believe the things I’d said might offer her some encouragement, enough to make a difference.

As if one polite conversation could erase the past six years.

“Katherine, it’s so good to see you,” Ann Patton said, kissing the air beside my cheek. “I met your roommate a few minutes ago, outside on the patio beside the keg. She seems like a great girl. Y’all must be having so much fun at UVA.”

I leaned into her. “And we’re not the only ones. I saw your father at the football game a few weeks ago,” I lied. “Funny thing, though. He was
not
with your mother. How does the saying go? Once a cheater, always a cheater?”

Archer, who was standing next to me at the time, burst into laughter, and she was still laughing three hours later when she pulled her Jeep into our driveway alongside Spotty’s 4Runner.

“Come on, Arch,” I said to her. “It’s not
that
funny.”

“It’s hilarious, but more than that, it’s about damn time. I’m proud of you, Kitty.”

I unbuckled my seatbelt. “Then come inside with me, and I’ll let you be the one to tell Ben and Spotty what happened.”