Higher Education Ch 04 1

Thank you ZB for editing this story.

Kaitlyn settled in beside Drew to watch the sports predictions; their playful debate over who deserved to be ranked #1 in the preseason polls was interrupted by Drew's cell phone. Kaitlyn tried not to listen in on his call but from his expression it was obvious something was wrong.

As he talked, Drew went to his closet and slipped on a shirt and shorts. "I'm going to have to take a rain check on our morning swim."

"Is everything okay?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Scott's got cold feet and wants to call off the wedding."

Kaitlyn looked at him in disbelief. "How are you going to convince him to go through with it when you think he's making a mistake?"

"I'll figure that out on the ride over," Drew answered as he kissed her cheek. "Be back as soon as I can," he promised as he left.

Kaitlyn looked around Drew's room. Unlike Alexis' room which was cluttered with photos and memorabilia, Drew's lacked personal touches. Then the computer caught her attention. His inbox was displayed and the last message was from Mallory. As she walked toward the monitor she knew she shouldn't, but couldn't help herself. As soon as Kaitlyn read it, she wished she hadn't. She no longer felt like snooping and went back to Alexis' room.

Drew returned to the house later that afternoon expecting Kaitlyn and Alexis to be getting ready for the wedding, instead he found Kaitlyn floating on a raft in the pool.

"Hey, you'd better get ready. We're leaving in an hour." Drew yelled out the back door.

"I'm not going," Kaitlyn answered.

Drew stepped outside and walked to the edge of the pool. "I really want you to come with me."

"If I do, Mallory's going to throw a fit just like last night. It's not fair to Mary Ashley."

Drew sat down, slipped off his shoes and dangled his feet into the water. "I don't think her day can get much worse. Scott had already called her before I got there. I don't know if he's just nervous about the commitment or if it's because he's not sure she's the one. But Mallory drove Mary Ashley over and I guess they worked it out."

Kaitlyn could tell Drew was upset and slowly maneuvered the raft to the side of the pool. "You okay?" she asked as she patted his foot.

"Yeah."

"Have anything to do with Mallory?"

He hesitated. "I got an email from her this morning, same old stuff. I had to make it clear that we're not getting back together but I don't really want to talk about it, okay?

"You look like you could use a hug, but I'd get you all wet."

Drew gave her a mischievous grin; he was planning on taking a shower anyway. He lunged forward and landed on top of her, the raft shifted and flipped them both into the water.

"Damn you," Kaitlyn sputtered as she surfaced.

"I want my hug," Drew insisted as he pulled her toward him.

It was hard to stay mad at him, especially since he'd been honest about Mallory. "You did the right thing, at least now she can move on."

"So can I," Drew whispered as he cupped her face in his hands and leaned forward to kiss her.

Kaitlyn panicked and pulled away, saved by the sound of the patio door opening. Mr. Brantley stepped outside. "Drew, your Mama and I are leaving in a few minutes. Scott's pretty nervous and we thought he'd feel better if we were there with him. Alexis says she's going to ride with you."

"Yes sir, we'll be on time," he answered as he climbed from the pool and went inside to get ready for the wedding.

Kaitlyn soon followed, deciding to check on Alexis. She found her standing in front of her bathroom mirror looking at her reflection in disdain.

"Have you ever seen anything this ugly?" she whined.

Kaitlyn tried hard not to laugh. "At least you only have to wear it once" she offered.

Alexis wasn't amused. "And look at this," she complained as she held out a bright peach sun hat. "The paper's going to have a field day with this wedding." Alexis looked over at Kaitlyn hoping to find sympathy and realized she wasn't paying attention. "What have you been up to?" she questioned.

"Just relaxing in the pool," Kaitlyn answered truthfully. "And your brother tried to kiss me," she added with a smile.

Alexis frowned, no longer sure she approved of the match. "Kaitlyn, I love my brother and I know how charming he can be, but be careful," she warned.

"Careful of what?"

"He says he is, but I don't know if he's really over Mallory. I'd like to think he wouldn't use one of my friends to make her jealous, but I don't know."

Drew knocked on the door. "Lexi, you ready?" he called. "We need to leave or we'll be late."

Across town, Scott waited at the altar of the crowded church as the bridesmaids solemnly walked down the aisle and took their places, mirroring the formation of the groomsmen. Finally the music cued and Mary Ashley's father escorted her down the candlelit aisle in a gown fit for a princess. They walked past smiling guests in pews decorated with colorful flowers and white satin ribbons, just as she'd always imagined. To most of the guests, the ceremony was the perfect fairytale ending. Only a handful knew the truth, that the groom swayed from Jack Daniels and the brides puffy eyes were from hours of sobbing.

The reception was held at the Country Club and no expense had been spared. In the elaborately decorated reception hall a band played softly as guests filed in and waiters scurried around ready to serve dinner. The beautiful backdrop did little to appease Alexis, she couldn't stand family and friends congratulating the "happy" couple and then wishing her and Drew equal happiness when they married. She stepped outside to get some fresh air, Drew soon followed.

"So I hear Daddy interrupted a little something in the pool," Alexis questioned.

Drew looked at her sheepishly. "After tonight, I might be able to forget all about you sneaking out to see Rob."

"Whatever you've got planned, I don't think it's a good idea. I think you should know about Adam." She led them to an out of the way table. "I know you think they broke up because she caught him cheating, and he was, but there's more to it."

"Okay," Drew answered, suddenly worried.

"A couple months after they started dating I started to notice some changes in Kaitlyn. First she quit going out with us and then she started dressing really conservative. Then when we'd go anywhere she started asking me to drive. I found out if she drove too many miles in a day she had to explain to Adam where she'd gone. He was really controlling." Alexis paused and looked over at Drew, knowing what she was about to say would infuriate him. "Then I started to notice bruises. She'd try and make up excuses but we all knew. It just became a cycle, he was always sorry afterwards and she'd forgive him. But then after a week or so he'd do it again."

Drew ground his fist against his palm, trying to control his anger.

"I don't want to see either of you get hurt. I think it's going to take her awhile to get over him."

Drew shook his head in disbelief. "What am I supposed to do? Tell her I just want to be friends?"

"It'd be best," Alexis answered quietly.

~*~*~*~*~

Kaitlyn sat in the living room, flipping through some of the text books she'd just bought. The two weeks since their return from Charleston had passed slowly as she nervously awaited Drew's arrival. She needed to know if he'd intentionally avoided her their last few days together, or just been busy getting ready for the move.

The door to the apartment flew open and Alexis stormed in, she didn't even bother to shut the door. She threw her purse on the table and dug around until she pulled out her cell phone. She angrily dialed the numbers and waited for an answer. Kaitlyn listened to Alexis, trying to figure out what was wrong.

"What do you think you're doing? Don't play dumb with me, of all the apartment complexes in town you choose mine? Stop laughing. I just pulled in and saw Daddy's car, is he here? No! What apartment are you in? Don't fuck with me, which one are you in?" she snapped the phone closed and stormed across the room.

Kaitlyn bit her lower lip, trying hard not to smile because she knew it would only upset Alexis.

"I drove by and spotted Daddy's new car in the parking lot; Drew just moved into C3."

"Really?" Kaitlyn asked, trying not to sound too excited. "I might go by and say hello."

"You know I don't think it's a good idea," Alexis warned.

Kaitlyn hurried across the parking lot to building C and knocked on Drew's door. The doors lacked peepholes and Drew opened the door very slowly, expecting Alexis. When he saw Kaitlyn he swung the door open. "I swear I didn't know. I tried a few other places first but they didn't have any two bedrooms available."

"You really didn't know?"

"Honestly, I had no idea."

"I doubt you've been to the grocery store so I came by to see if you were hungry. We could go out or you could come over for dinner."

"Eating out sounds good."

From tone in his voice she knew he wasn't talking about food, but with the way they'd parted she wasn't ready to play along. "There's a fabulous Italian restaurant that just opened. Or how about Mexican? I could show you the best margaritas in town."

Drew grabbed his keys and led her to the car. "Mexican it is."

Several hours later Drew helped Kaitlyn into her apartment. Alexis was on the couch talking to Rob but hung up when she saw Kaitlyn swaying and stumbling. "Oh my God, you got her drunk!" Alexis shrieked.

Drew shrugged his shoulders. "She had a good time."

"Be nice Lexi," Kaitlyn slurred, "your brother took good care of me."

"I don't believe this; she never gets this drunk. You're going to have to help me get her to bed."

Drew carried Kaitlyn into her room as she giggled and protested. "Hold still and let me take off your shoes," Drew demanded as he tried to unbuckle her sandals.

"That tickles," Kaitlyn giggled as she fumbled with her clothing. "I can't get the buttons. Will you help?"

Drew reached for the two buttons at her waist and she raised her shirt slightly so he could see them better. "When'd you do that?"

She looked down at her stomach. "Oh, Rebecca and I did it the day I got back to town. You like it?"

He slowly slid her shorts down her hips, letting his thumbs graze along her bare skin. "Yeah, I think belly button rings are sexy."

Alexis cleared her throat beside him. "She can get if from here."

"I need help getting my contacts out."

"You're going to have to do that yourself," Alexis scolded, unused to their role reversal.

Drew watched as Kaitlyn stumbled to the bathroom, her shirt did little to hide the lacy red panties she wore.

"Your first night here and you take her out? You agreed to back off," Alexis confronted.

"First of all, dinner was her idea. And she's all I've thought about these past couple weeks.

"If you really cared, you'd give her some space."

Drew angrily walked to the door. "Is this really about Kaitlyn, because I can handle whatever issues she's dealing with. Or do you have a problem with me dating one of your friends?" He slammed the door without waiting for her response.

Kaitlyn saw very little of Drew after that night. At first she thought he was probably busy getting settled but as the days passed she ran out of excuses for why he hadn't stopped by. She finally decided he and Mallory must have reconciled, just as Alexis had predicted.

Late one Thursday night Kaitlyn came home from work and hurried to her room to change clothes. "There's a big fraternity party tonight. I'm going with Rebecca and Lori, you want to come with us?" Kaitlyn yelled down the hall.

"No. My computer's acting up and I've got a paper due tomorrow."

"Don't lie to me; you're waiting around for Rob to call." Kaitlyn called out as she dug around in the drawer looking for her red thong, it wasn't there. She thought that was odd but decided she'd wear one of the black ones. They weren't there either. As she looked more, she realized several other pairs were gone.

"Hey Lexi, has anyone been in my room?" Kaitlyn shouted.

"No why?" Alexis asked stepping into the hall.

"Some things are missing from my room."

"Oh," Alexis gasped "I'm so sorry, I borrowed them and forgot to put them back."

Kaitlyn laughed out loud, knowing they weren't talking about the same thing. Alexis returned from her room and held out a pair of earrings. Kaitlyn shook her head. "No, I'm missing some panties."

"Panties?" Alexis asked surprised. "Did you leave them somewhere?" She thought for a moment. "Who'd you spend the night with last week? Maybe you left them at his place."

Before Kaitlyn could answer, Drew appeared in Alexis' doorway. "I'm not going to fix your computer if I have to listen to this crap."

Kaitlyn turned red, embarrassed at what Drew had just overheard. "I didn't know you were here," she apologized.

Drew let out a sigh. "For someone who isn't ready to date you seem to go out an awful lot," he answered, the hurt evident in his voice.

Kaitlyn stared at him, confused. "You knew where to find me," she snapped. "Lexi, if you change your mind just call me."

After Kaitlyn left Drew went back to the computer. "Does she ever talk about me?" he finally asked.

"Not really."

Drew fixed the computer, and since Alexis wasn't being very talkative he decided to head back to his apartment. The next day he sat in the back row trying to pay attention to the professor. His cell phone began to vibrate; it was a text from Alexis. 'My apartment ASAP.' Drew doubted the importance of her dilemma but slipped from his seat, he wasn't listening anyway. He drove home in no particular hurry but his heart began to race as he pulled into the parking lot and saw several police cars parked in front of Alexis' building. Drew ran toward the apartment but was stopped by a pot bellied officer just outside her door.

"You can't come in here son."

Alexis heard the commotion and went to the door. "He's my brother. I called him."

The officer relented and Drew walked past and entered the apartment. Several officers were talking in the kitchen but he couldn't make out what they were saying. As he walked toward the living room he could tell the majority of the activity was in Kaitlyn's room. He watched as two officers removed her sheets and placed them in an evidence bag. His mind began to reel, and he reached out for the wall to steady himself.

"Drew?" Alexis called.

"Where's Kaitlyn?" Drew stammered.

"She's in my room, Ian's..." she let her words trail off.

Drew rushed to Alexis' room, not sure what he'd find. "Baby are you okay?" he blurted out as he opened the door and saw her.

Kaitlyn was surprised to see him; she was even more surprised by what he'd called her. "I'm fine," she answered, trying to sound convincing.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Ian hugged Kaitlyn and stood. "I'm going to leave you two alone." He gave Drew an encouraging nod before leaving. "Take care of her for me."

Drew sat down on the bed beside Kaitlyn, she looked so scared. He wanted to put his arm around her to comfort her, but wasn't sure she'd let him. "What happened?"

She stared at the floor, afraid if she looked into his frightened eyes she'd start crying again.

"Baby, please tell me."

"My British Lit class got cancelled so I got home early. When I got out of my car, our neighbor was outside smoking and teased me about our apartment falling apart." She took several deep breaths before continuing, "I asked him what he was talking about and he told me the maintenance guy had just gone in and that he'd seen him here a lot lately." Kaitlyn stopped talking for a moment, her eyes stared unseeing at the wall. "Last week I came home and Larry was coming out of my bedroom. He said the apartment upstairs had a leaky shower and he was making sure the water hadn't damaged my ceiling. I didn't think much of it, until today."

"I don't understand?" Drew asked confused.

Kaitlyn looked over at him, wishing he'd connect the dots. "We never called him over to do any maintenance work, and I realized he was probably the one who'd taken my underwear."

The realization brought Drew some relief, but he still didn't understand. "Why are there so many police here? And why are they taking the sheets off your bed?"

She focused on a small stain on the carpet, trying not to visualize. "When the police went in they found him in my bed. He was jacking off with a pair of my panties," she finished with a whisper.

Drew wrapped his arms protectively around her as she began to sob. Alexis stood in the doorway watching. "Um, Officer Roberts wants to know if we can find someplace to stay for the night. They want to sweep the apartment for recording devices. And Larry's admitted to tampering with some of the appliances so we'd have to call him over; they want to verify his statement."

Kaitlyn wiped her eyes. "I'm sure Ian would let us spend the night."

Drew suddenly felt jealous that Kaitlyn thought of turning to Ian for help and not him. "You two can stay at my place. If the police need to ask you anything you'll be right here."

"That'd probably be a good idea," Kaitlyn reasoned. "I'll go pack a few things. I just want to get out of here."

As she stepped into the hall Officer Roberts approached. "Miss, I just got a call from the station, looks like the suspect was out on parole."

Drew and Alexis had come up behind Kaitlyn, wanting to hear any news. "What was he in jail for?" Drew asked.

"He was paroled back in April after serving on a rape conviction. He wasn't supposed to leave the state, and he hasn't been in contact with his Parole Officer. He's also wanted on an unrelated offense so we're going to extradite him to face Kentucky's charges first. Right now we don't have a lot to charge him with, but we'll see what the investigation uncovers. We're also going to check with other residents and see if there were additional victims."

"Okay," Kaitlyn nodded numbly. Her stomach churned at hearing he'd been in jail for rape. Tears began to fall again as she thought about what might have happened if she hadn't run into their neighbor in the parking lot, if she'd gone into the apartment. Drew reached for her hand and held it firmly; his touch pulled her back from the dark recesses of her mind.

"Sir," Alexis intervened, "If you need us we're going to spend the night in C3, it's right across the parking lot. Just give us a few minutes and we'll get out of y'alls way."

Drew put his hand on Kaitlyn's back and led her toward her room, not wanting her to go in alone. She moved around quickly, dumping out her backpack and throwing clothes into it. Kaitlyn walked into the bathroom to grab some things and Drew scanned the room, his eyes settled on the picture on her nightstand, it was of them. Drew picked up the frame and carried it to Alexis' room. When Alexis saw him holding the photo she froze. "I want you to explain this," Drew barked, holding the picture just inches from her face.

Alexis began to cry, but didn't answer.

"Tell me," Drew demanded. "Why does she keep this picture from rehearsal dinner beside her bed?" He glared at Alexis. "It doesn't make any sense, not unless you've been lying to me."

Drew had been staring so intently at Alexis that he hadn't noticed Kaitlyn slip into the room. "Lexi?" her voice quivered.

Tears streamed down Alexis' cheeks. "I'm sorry," she sobbed.

Drew shook his head in disbelief. "You knew how much I wanted to be with her and you lied over and over. Told me she needed her space, told me..." Kaitlyn sadly shook her head no, asking him to stop. "Well, you'd better find someplace else to stay tonight because I don't want anything to do with you," he finished.

Alexis looked pitifully at Kaitlyn. "Please say something."