Two campus police officers appeared in the doorway behind Thorne. Had he called for them? Grace couldn't remember. "Is there a problem, Dean?" one of the officers asked.
Thorne nodded toward Sidney. "He got caught," he told them.
The two officers exchanged knowing glances, nodding slightly. Grace could feel her pulse pounding throughout her entire body. Her breath came in short gasps, she was actually trembling. Caught! What did it mean, he got caught?
Sidney was hurriedly putting his shirt back on, stammering, "Mr. Thorne, please, if I can explain-"
"Save it," Thorne snapped. "You're to report to my office immediately, Professor. My secretary will be waiting for you there."
Sidney gulped. "Yes, sir," he whispered meekly. He shuffled out of the room, edging past the Dean without looking up at him, and disappeared.
Thorne looked at one of the officers, the taller one. "Well?" he said. "Follow the bastard, make sure he gets where he's going!"
The officer turned on his heel and scurried after Sidney.
Grace met the Dean's eyes, still trembling. "Mr. Thorne," she began, but he cut her off, too.
"Young lady," he said, "I'd like you to go on back to your room, if you could, and wait for my call there."
She nodded jerkily, but she was slightly taken aback by the calm, gentle tone of his voice. "I'll be glad to do that, Sir," she whispered.
"Don't you worry," said the Dean. "We're going to make this as easy on you as we can."
Her brow furrowed. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you mean, Sir."
He extended an arm to her, patting her shoulder in a very fatherly gesture. "I understand," he said. "You don't have to talk about it right now. But just so you know, there will be a counselor present, a female counselor, very nice lady, when we take your statement."
Statement? Her confusion deepened. "Sir, I -"
"Go on back up to your room now, honey," he said. "We'll call you in a few minutes." And gently, he ushered her out the door.
************
She sat on her bed, her knees against her chest, arms wrapped around her knees, rocking back and forth, holding the phone in one hand. Ben, god, please, help, call me, Ben, I need you, I'm scared, where are you? The words were looping in her head, and behind the words, the picture of Thorne's face as he had walked into Sidney's office and discovered their awkward position. Desperately trying to understand what was happening, she replayed the scene over and over again. He got caught. What the hell did it mean? And why did she need a counselor? Why had Thorne been so stern with Sidney, but so tender with Grace herself? It didn't make any fucking sense.
Unless...
No, she told herself, that's not possible, put the thought out of your mind right now!
"He got caught."
Ben!
And now Sidney was trapped in Thorne's office, held captive by the pinched-face hag of a secretary who watched and judged every move made in her territory. No doubt Thorne would inform the secretary - what was her name, anyway? We always just called her Hagzilla. And how she would look at Sidney when she was told why he was there! He would be the object of scorn and it would be her fault. Her fault, all of it her fault. And Sidney, he knew about her and Ben! He knew everything, he was there last night at the hotel! Would he tell them about Ben? Would he bury them all?
She tightened her arms around her legs and rested her forehead against her knees. A wave of nausea overtook her. Ben, please, God, Ben, I need you...
The door opened and Priya came floating into the room, crossing almost halfway before she noticed Grace balled up on the bed, rocking, wild-eyed, clutching the phone.
She rushed to Grace's side. "Oh my god," she said, "what happened?"
Tears welled up in Grace's eyes immediately. If only she could tell her! "Oh, Priya," she choked, "it's horrible!"
Priya's black eyes glittered with concern. "Honey, what is it? What's happened to you?"
"I wish I could tell you," Grace sobbed, resting her head now on her friend's shoulder. "Please, don't press me, please, I can't talk about it, I just can't..." If worse came to worse, at least her friend could honestly claim ignorance of the whole thing.
"Gracie, you're trembling!" Priya cried, wrapping her arms around Grace. "You're really shaking! Are you afraid of something?"
"I'm afraid of everything, deathly afraid..."
The phone rang then, and both girls jumped before Grace answered it.
"Grace Crawford speaking," she said shakily.
Thorne's Texan drawl crackled through the line. "Miss Crawford, I've sent a campus officer to escort you to my office. He should be there any minute now, so you just sit tight, okay?"
"Yes, sir," she said. "Thank you."
"Everything's going to be all right, darlin', you'll see." He hung up.
Grace was thoroughly puzzled. Why did he keep trying to reassure her? He wasn't going to ... expect something in return for his silence on the matter, was he?
The thought made her shudder. She realized Priya was still staring at her with a look of deep concern.
"That was Thorne, Richard Thorne, he's the... the Dean..." she stumbled along her words.
"Dean of Arts and Sciences, yes, I know who he is," Priya said. "What does he want with you? Grace, are you in trouble?"
What had Sidney said to her that day, when she'd first told him about Ben, and he'd told her he was attracted to men? I guess we all have each other by the balls, don't we? She swallowed. What had he told them?
"I might be," she answered Priya. "I don't know. There's an officer coming to escort me to the Dean's office. I'm supposed to give a statement." That was the word Thorne had used, wasn't it? A statement?
"What kind of statement?"
The knock at the door made Priya jump again. But Grace was prepared for it. "That must be the officer," she said softly. "I'd better go."
She opened the door to reveal the officer standing with a warm, concerned smile. Why are they all being so nice to me? she thought with a bitter annoyance.
"If you'll please follow me, Miss Crawford," the officer said gently.
She looked back at Priya and said, "If I don't get to come back, you need to know I love you."
Tears welled up in Priya's eyes. "Ganesh be with you, Grace," she said. "I love you, too."
Grace followed the officer down the hallway. She had been living with Priya long enough to know that Ganesh was the Hindu god of wisdom, and he was also known for removing obstacles from one's life. Wisdom and clarity, two things she desperately needed right now. She smiled in spite of herself, thinking that Priya always knew just what to say.
Once they left the dorm building, her momentary serenity melted away as she carefully scanned the open territory lying between herself and her destination. She fell back from the officer about five paces, trying to make it look like she was merely strolling, and the officer happened to be strolling, too. Only a few stray students lolled about, paying no attention to their surroundings, focused only on their destinations. She was glad of that. She looked at her feet as she walked, doing her best to be inconspicuous.
A wave of relief overtook her as they entered the administration building, the officer holding the door open for her and smiling warmly again. The smile was meant to relax her, she was sure, but it served only to set her nerves on edge again. She could feel her heart pounding in her throat, and a strange coldness settled in her stomach. She took a deep breath as she entered the Dean's office, where the officer finally left her.
The office had an institutional feel to it, with its clean white walls and safe, unoffensive floral artwork, the fake potted tree and Richard Thorne's framed credentials. Hagzilla - dammit, what was her name? - tapped away on the computer's keyboard, intently filing some sort of report, her dyed red hair in a perfect librarian's bun on the crown of her head, her bright pink lipstick shining like a neon light against her face. Her head snapped up when she heard Grace enter the room.
"Are you Grace Crawford?" she asked shrilly.
"Yes, ma'am."
"The Dean is waiting for you in the conference room. Come on, hurry up, I'll show you the way." And she unwound her bony frame to stand, motioning for Grace to follow.
They reached the door of the conference room and just before opening it, Hagzilla's face softened and she said, "I'm glad they caught that man, but I'm so sorry it had to happen to a good girl like you." Then the softness vanished, and she opened the door and ushered Grace in.
Grace was dumbfounded. Her confusion deepened as she surveyed the room - not only was Sidney not here, but a woman who looked like the counselor was here, along with three other girls and one boy, all of whom Grace recognized as fellow classmates! The boy, as a matter of fact, was just a freshman, and had only just turned eighteen a week before the semester started. Richard Thorne sat at the end of the table, facing Grace, his ankle resting on his knee. The counselor, a slender blonde woman with big, overstyled hair and a crisp navy blue suit, stood up to greet her.
"Grace," she said warmly, "we're so glad you came."
Grace looked at her suspiciously. "What choice did I have?" she asked darkly.
The woman's blue eyes were kind, her smile bright and genuine. She ignored Grace's comment and said, "Please, honey, won't you sit down? We're here to support you. I'm Janine Starr, but please call me Janine." She took Grace's elbow and gently led her to a chair.
"Please," Grace said, settling into her seat, "if someone could please tell me what this is all about, I'm so confused..."
Janine looked sidelong at the Dean. "Denial," she said confidentially. "It happens to all of them."
The Dean nodded knowingly.
