Chapter 79

Ruby

They emerge from the dancing crowd, sweat clinging to their foreheads and their faces rosy from the alcohol.

Earl holds Beck’s hand as he pulls her behind him. He’s headed for the back rooms.

They don’t see me as I quietly follow behind, keeping a safe distance. Beck stumbles a bit, but Earl catches her and holds her tightly around her waist as he weaves through the throng of people to take her somewhere secluded. As I watch her head loll over onto his shoulder, I know that he’s already given her the drug that he’s going to use to take advantage of her.

In a way, as I follow them, I feel as though I’m following myself from that night during the student council party when Donna and Earl drugged me and took lewd photographs of me. I had nearly forgotten about it now that so much has happened since then, but now it all comes flooding back like a nightmare, and sobers me.

Earl guides Beck past a group of people who are having a rowdy drinking contest, then down a narrow hallway.

“Hey, watch it!” a drunk girl says to me as she stumbles out of the bathroom and bumps into me, blocking my view of Earl and Beck as they disappear down the hallway.

“Sorry,” I mumble, squeezing past the girl to try and catch up. I just barely catch a glimpse of Earl’s shoe disappearing around a corner, which allows me to keep track of him again.

I rush down the hall and peek around the corner to see Earl and Beck pressed up against the wall, kissing fervently. Earl reaches up Beck’s skirt to grope her briefly, then looks in my direction. I just manage to hide behind the corner before he sees me, my heart pounding.

The sound of a door creaking open echoes through the hallway. I peek around the corner again to see Earl push Beck into a dark room.

“Hey, wait!” Beck says as he pushes her, her speech slurred. Earl shoves in after her and shuts the door behind him before I can catch up.

By the time I get there, the door is locked.

“Open the door, Earl!” I shout over the music, pounding my fist on the door. “I know what you did!”

But there’s no answer. I can faintly hear gasping and muffled yelps from inside the room.

“Break down the door,” my wolf says inside of me.

With a nod, I gather all of my strength and back up against the wall across from the door. Then, I charge at the door and slam my full bodyweight against it.

Somehow, I’m assuming with a little help from my wolf, I manage to break through the door and into the room.

Beck is laying on a bed, face down, with her skirt pulled up and her panties down around her ankles. Earl is on top of her, forcing himself onto her. He turns around and glares at me with a surprised expression on his face, quickly removing himself from her and zipping up his pants while she writhes in agony.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” I scream, charging him.

He must not expect my sudden outburst, because he doesn’t resist as I swing my fist and connect it with his jaw, sending him to the floor.

“Help!” I scream at the top of my lungs as I help Beck pull up her panties and smooth her skirt down. She rolls over onto her back, crying hysterically. I scream for help again as I slip my arm under her and help her to her feet, wrapping her arm around my shoulder to support her as I half-carry her from the room.

After everything that’s happened, Beck feels so small and helpless now in my arms. She leans her full weight on me, mumbling gibberish and crying as I lead her down the hall.

Two guys emerge from the bathroom, having heard my screams. They both look concerned, and once they see Beck they look even more concerned.

“What happened?” one guy says.

“It’s Earl,” I say breathlessly, holding Beck tightly to shield her from view and protect her dignity. “He drugged Beck. He was hurting her.”

One of the guy’s eyes flicker down to Beck’s legs, where a trickle of blood has run down. Upon seeing this, his face distorts into pure rage. He slaps the other guy on the shoulder and nods his head toward the room where Earl is hiding.

They both push their sleeves up as they march into the room. The last thing I hear before rushing Beck into the bathroom is the sound of fists meeting flesh and Earl’s screams.

“Come on,” I say gently as I guide Beck over to the sink. She leans against it, sobbing as I wet a paper towel and clean the blood from her legs.

“Ruby?” Nancy’s voice says from behind me. “I heard screams… Oh my god!” She runs over to us and wraps her arms around Beck, who leans into her and wails even louder.

“H-He put something in my drink,” she cries. “I-I was a virgin!”

“Shh,” Nancy says, smoothing Beck’s hair as she sobs into her shoulder. “Your virginity is yours to give away, not be taken.”

Nancy looks at me with wide eyes over Beck’s shoulder and nods her head toward the door to motion for us to leave. I nod and we both take one side, letting Beck rest her full weight on us as we leave the bathroom.

“We’re taking you home,” I say, to which Beck merely nods and whimpers more.

As we emerge from the bathroom, people are already crowded around, looking confused. We push through the crowd, shielding Beck from being seen.

The music stops as we cross the dance floor. Students make way for us, each looking more confused and concerned than the last.

“What happened?” a girl nearby quietly says to her friend.

I pause, gritting my teeth as the anger bubbles up inside of me.

“Ruby, c’mon,” Nancy says. “Let’s go.”

I nod and keep going, but stop again and turn to face the crowd.

“Earl is a filthy, disgusting pervert!” I shout.

First there is a long silence, but then another girl speaks up.

“Yeah, he is,” she says. She steps out of the crowd. I recognize her as Millie Parks, a sweet girl with glasses and mousey brown hair who sits behind me in calculus class. “He violated me last year.”

Another girl steps out of the crowd, nodding. Then another, and another. Soon, there are nearly a dozen girls standing in the middle of the quiet dance floor, trembling with hurt and anger. All of these girls have been hurt by Earl at one point or another.

Nancy and I look at each other and nod solemnly before leading Beck away and up the stairs.

As we leave, the outrage begins. The last thing we hear before emerging into the cold outside are the sounds of an angry mob descending on Earl.

We gently place Beck in the back of Nancy’s car. At this point, Nancy insists that the events have sobered her enough to drive and that she didn’t even finish her first drink, so I agree to let her drive while I sit in the back with Beck.

The drive back to the castle is silent. Beck seems to fall asleep at one point, so that when we arrive, I have to gently slip out from under her and quietly get out of the car so as not to wake her.

“I’m gonna take her back to my place for the night,” Nancy says through the rolled-down window. “My parents will take care of her and report Earl for what he did.”

I nod grimly, then head back to the castle.

The castle is dark when I get back. I quietly sneak in through the garage, carrying my shoes so as not to make sound on the marble floors as I head back to my room.

When I enter and flick on the light, however, it seems that there is an intruder in my room.

It’s Edith.