Pure Vengeance

Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Noah

I leave the art building later and check out my surroundings. A few of the frat brothers are sitting on the grass out front. I join them in person, but I don’t talk much. They know that I’m not the chatty type. We hang out there until the last class, then we move as one back to the frat house.

I’m supposed to be meeting Abigail for a ‘tryst’, but when I get to the house, she’s not there. I message her, but she doesn’t respond. Confused, I push it out of my mind. I have to finish my last piece for this month for my portfolio or I’ll fall behind. I spend the evening painting, going to bed in the early hours of the morning.

I don’t have class, so when someone bangs on my door, I’m grumpy.

“Noah,” Richard calls. “There’s a problem.”

I get up and open the door. “What?”

He thrusts a paper into my hands. I look at it for a moment before I realize it’s a photo of me in the art studio. The heading is clear in thick bold font.

Legacy Student Blackmails Girls For Sex

My eyes widen.

That fucker Adrian did it. He spilled the beans and got me into shit. His feelings were bullshit. I read the story in horror. It paints me out as some sort of sex addict, as a pervert. The newspaper is calling for a boycott and an investigation against me. This is going to ruin my university career.

I push the paper into Richard’s hands and grab clothes, getting dressed.

My phone rings, and I freeze. That ringtone belongs to one person only.

My father.

And he never calls.

I pick it up and answer. “Father.”

“Why is your university contacting me about a story about you and some girls you’re blackmailing? They’re threatening to expel you. The dean has only contacted me because of my donation to their football team. He considers it a favor.” My father sounds like he’s raging, and I don’t blame him. This doesn’t just ruin my name, it ruins his legacy. It was bad enough I didn’t do sports and that I wanted to study for an art degree. Now my name is smeared across campus. His name is smeared.

“Father, I can explain...” I say.

“You’re going to get your ass home, and you’re going to explain yourself. Don’t speak to any media. Don’t make any comments. You’re in big trouble, Noah, I mean it.” He hangs up.

I pocket my phone and head out my room. Richard grabs my arm. “There are journalists outside, from the campus newspaper. They want to talk to you.”

“I’ll go out back,” I say quietly. “I need to speak to my brother. He did this.”

“What an asshole,” Richard says. “Just be careful.”

I nod and walk out the back.

“Noah? Noah? We’ve got some questions for you.” A woman comes around back. “We thought you might come out this way. We just want to know if you can confirm the allegations against you.”

“No comment,” I say, walking past her, but she follows me, continuing to ask questions.

“How many girls have you blackmailed?”

“How long has this been going on?”

“Someone said you’ve been doing this since high school, can you confirm that?”

And on and on she goes, the whole way to my brother’s fraternity house where I storm in, leaving her outside.

The president of their house comes out from the living room and glares at me. “You’re not welcome in here.”

“I don’t care,” I spit, pissed off beyond comprehension. “Where is Adrian? Adrian!” I shout his name. “Adrian! You asshole!”

I go upstairs and see his name scribbled on a little white board on a door. I slam the door open, walk in, and slam it closed behind me. Adrian startles awake and looks at me. “Noah?”

“The one and fucking only,” I hiss. “How fucking could you? I knew you were a dickhead, but how could you pretend to confess your feelings to me and then run your mouth to the campus newspaper, of all things.”

Adrian looks confused, and I pull the article up on my phone, tossing it onto his bed. “It’s everywhere. It’s gone viral on social media by now.” I pace the room. “I can’t believe you. Did you do this just to impress your frat brothers?”

“Says the girl came forward to break her silence,” he says.

I look at him. “What?”

“Yeah, Abigail Storm came forward with the allegations after being silent about it for too long.”

I grab the phone from him and read through the new post. I hadn’t seen that in the printed edition. That fucking bitch. She betrayed me.

“I accept your apology, by the way,” Adrian says, getting up and getting dressed. “What’s the fallout?”

“Dad phoned, he’s pissed. Wants me home straight away so he can deal with me.” I run a hand through my mop of hair. “He’s going to kill me. Why would she betray me? I always paid her on time.”

“Maybe she wanted more,” he says, sitting at his desk. “Maybe she really liked you and wanted a relationship.”

I look at him in disbelief. “I’m fucking gay. How can she not tell that?”

“It’s not obvious. I didn’t know until... we kissed.” It’s a good point. I wear a straight mask very well.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“You’re going to leave it to me to sort out. Don’t go home yet, just go back to the frat house and hide out there away from the media.” Adrian gets up. “I will sort out the rest.”

I look at him skeptically. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I care about you,” he says. “I meant what I said. I’ll sort everything out. I’ll deal with the media. You don’t need to worry.”

“If you fuck this up any more...” I say.

“You can kill me.” He cuts me off. “You can do whatever you like to me. But I promise, by midday today, they’ll have forgotten about you.”

I haven’t seen this level of confidence in a long time in Adrian, and it instills a belief in him I didn’t think I had. I nod and move to leave. “Adrian, I don’t want anyone to know I’m gay.”

“They won’t. Don’t worry.” He gets up. “Go out back. I’ll distract the media in front.”

We both go downstairs, ignoring his president who protests my being there.

Adrian walks out the front, and I can hear him promising an exclusive to the reporter while I walk out back. I don’t even care if the frat brothers jump me at this point. I just need to get out and away. They don’t, though. They seem to sense something bigger is afoot. I sneak down two houses before I get back on the road and hightail it to my frat house.

There’s a broadcaster setting up outside. I go around back, avoiding them. When I get inside, all my frat brothers are downstairs. I look around and hold my hands up. “I wasn’t blackmailing them into having sex with me, okay?”

Richard looks at me. “You swear it?”

“I swear it,” I say. “On my life.”

Richard nods. “Then we’ll protect you. This is some bullshit your brother pulled...”

“It wasn’t him,” I say quickly. “It was the girl... she seems to have a bee in her bonnet.”

“If you weren’t blackmailing them for sex, what were you doing?” Richard asks.

“It’s complicated,” I say calmly. “But I promise this will be sorted out by midday today. Adrian is on it.”

“You think it’s wise to trust him?” Richard asks. “He could make it worse.”

“I trust him. This time. I know we’ve got our differences, and we’re enemies, but if anyone knows what’s at stake here, it’s him.”

At least, I hope he knows what’s at stake, and I pray he knows what the fuck he’s doing. He won’t be able to charm this away with his good looks.