Chapter Twelve continued...

"James roofied Ari at the party last week. I want her to know before she's alone with him.".

"What?" Katie says incredulously.

Her expression says it all. She thinks I'm crazy.

"Whatever. I didn't ask you to believe me." I say and head for the exit. I needed to find somewhere quiet to call or text Ari.

"Wait." Katie leaps in front of me.

Why were people always getting in my way?

"How do you know this?" She asks.

I try to step past her but she persists and steps in front of me again.

"Tell me." She demands.

"Cameron, alright!"

I don't mean to shout it but this entire interaction with her is annoying me. Kris moves to stand in front of me as well.

"Cameron?" Kris asks.

"Yes!" I huff. "Now please move! This is all my fault. I have to fix it."

"We will. You sound like a crazy person. We'll help you fix whatever you think you've done. Just explain." Kris says calmly.

I close my eyes and try to push down the rising panic. I take a deep breath and open them. "Cameron is here. He said James roofied Ari at the party." I feel the familiar tingle in my eyes and try to push back the tears. The guilt is sitting in my stomach like a heavy stone. "I was angry and jealous. I blamed her for what those creeps did to her. I have to help her."

"I understand," Katie says.

I shake my head. How could she understand?

"No, believe me. I do." She sucks in a deep breath.

And then I remember. They'd been best friends and Katie had betrayed Ari. But my betrayal was far worse, I didn't deserve to be forgiven.

"Listen to me." Katie starts. "You need to be absolutely sure you've got your information straight."

I roll my eyes. What did Katie of all people know or care about getting facts correct? She lived on gossip and fake news. The Dirty was her favorite source of entertainment. I pull up Ari's contact information on her phone and I start writing her a text.

Katie places a manicured hand over my screen. I scowl and pull my phone out of her reach. She circles around to face me but she doesn't put her hand near my phone again.

"I know I'm the worst person to hear this from. But this is a huge accusation and your source isn't exactly reliable. This is serious James could go to jail."

She wasn't concerned about Ari. She was concerned for James, her crush. Her words make me madder than a pack of wild dogs on a three-legged cat. I didn't care what happened to James, he deserved it. My text was taking longer than it should, but I was angry and having a hard time getting my thoughts straight. I wanted to compose a message to get her away from James.

"Katie's, right. What if you're wrong. What if Cameron made this all up?" Kris asks.

I'm about to press send but stop. They had a point.

Kris begins again knowing he has my attention. "Or what if he roofied Ari and not James. He could be lying to clear his name."

"I..." I start to protest but stop.

I hadn't stopped to think about it but had jumped into action. I think back to my conversation with Cameron in the halls. Was he lying to try to get back with me? And I didn't know what he was capable of anymore. I'm having a hard time reconciling this new Cameron with the old one.

The Cameron I loved never would have done any of this. He was sweet and caring. My knight in shining armor. He'd never have sexually assaulted an incapacitated girl. He just wouldn't. And he'd never drug her, right? Perhaps it was easier for me to believe James was the villain instead of my prince charming. My ex-prince charming.

This time Katies speaks up cautiously. "And do you really think James would hurt Aurora like that. Everyone knows he's in love with her. Plus, I've never seen him so much as litter?"

I mentally deflate. They were right. I didn't know anything about what had happened. I was going off the word of a guy who'd cheated and lied.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't try to help. But maybe you should try to find some proof first." Katie says.

"But if James did and he is alone with her now. And there you know..." I pause. I couldn't say it. "Shouldn't I try to do something?" I ask.

"Sweetie, it's a little late to try and keep them from being...alone." Kris wraps an arm around my shoulder. "Aurora and James have been a couple since her party."

They'd been together for almost a week? I hadn't known. I feel sick to the stomach. A week? Again I was too late.

"There is nothing you can do tonight. Kris and I promise to help you figure this all out. But you can't be rash." Katie says.

I look at the unsent message in my hand. I press the delete key and erase half of the message. I edit it to simply ask her if she is okay and if we can talk. I briefly look at Kris and Katie and then press send. They stare at me curiously.

I reassure them. "I only asked her if she was alright."

Am I doing the right thing? Or should I be alerting the authorities and calling all her friends for their whereabouts? I'd been ready to only minutes ago. Now it sounded a little unhinged. I don't know how to deal. No one had ever taught me what to do in this situation.

"Everyone is waiting outside. Why don't you come with us? There's nothing you can do tonight." Katie's words pull me from my thoughts. "We're going to IHOP for the midnight breakfast. We're a bunch of crazy party animals."

"No. I'm headed home." I couldn't imagine eating stacks of sugary pancakes and pretending everything is okay. My night is thoroughly ruined. Everything is ruined.

Kris and Katie nod their heads in understanding. I hadn't been planning to hang out with them even before this incident. It's why I'd driven my own car to prom. I'd parked the car on the far west wing of the school.

"Could one of you do me a favor and walk me to my car."

I think I'm going to have to clarify but they don't ask. They both agree. They stand to either side of me and loop their elbows around mine. We walk out of the gym with a large group of prom-goers. Sure enough, the reason I'd ask them to accompany me is leaning on the lockers. Waiting for me. It's not as intimidating the halls are no longer empty. Students chat and linger nearby.

Cameron hurriedly shuffles towards us. "I was worried. Did you find them?"

I shake my head.

He looks between the three of us. "You didn't? I can help. He deserves to be punished for this."

I look at the floor and attempt to find the courage needed to say what needed to be said.

I sternly look into his eyes and say, "Cameron you need to go home."

He looks at me as if he doesn't understand.

"Back to college. You need to leave." I say to clarify. "This. Whatever we had is over for good."

"I told you it wasn't my fault." He moves forward to get closer, possibly to touch me.

Kris let's go of my arm and steps out in front of us.

"You heard her. She said it's over."

He crosses his arms in front of his chest and stands like an unmoving wall. Kris is way shorter than Cameron, but he is an imposing figure. He is squared shouldered and has boulder arms are visible even through his suit jacket. He's built like a tank. I'd never thought of Kris as a protector. His personality is sweet and bubbly. I'd always thought of him as more of a teddy bear than grizzly. I realize how wrong I'd been.

Cameron eyes Kris up down as if evaluating the threat level. It must be sufficient to keep him from trying to get closer. He looks over at me from behind Kris's shoulder.

"Please, I love you. How can you break up with me over a kiss? A mistake." He pleads. "We're meant to be together. I know you feel it too."

His bittersweet words tear open the wound in my heart. There would be nothing left by the end of the night. I had believed we were meant to be. I'd been ready to give him everything. I had given him everything. He's right about another thing too. If it had only been a drunken kiss, I could've gotten past it. It's why I'd never officially ended thing with him. A part of me had wanted him to make it better, to win me over. But we couldn't make this better. We couldn't go back in time.

What he'd done was beyond a simple kiss it was sexual assault. And worse it was to someone I love. There is no way I could ever be with him again. Not without darkly twisting a piece of myself. I couldn't leave any more doors open for us. It was over for good.

"I don't love you anymore, Cameron," I say it with as much conviction as I can muster, though it tears me apart. There could be no room for interpretation. He had to know I meant it.

He continues to stare wordlessly. I can still see a flicker of disbelief in his gaze.

I place a hand on Kris's shoulder and step from behind him. I stand in front of Cameron and look up into his eyes.

"I'm breaking up with you," I say.

His face crumples in anguish. I hadn't wanted to be cruel, but it had to be a clean break this time. No room for misinterpretation. I hope he's hearing me. I don't know If I have it in me to do this again.

"I can't forgive you for this. It's over." I pause.

He looks pained, on the verge of tears, but he finally nods his head. Even though I'm furious with him, I still don't like to see him hurting. I want to believe the best in him.  That he hadn't known what had gone on that night, but I just don't know. And to be honest I didn't care. He'd hurt Ari whether he'd known or not.

"Don't come back again." I take a step back.

Kris and Katie stand to each side of me and together we walk away. Halfway down the hall, I turn back to look at Cameron. There are students coming out of the gym but the place where he'd stood is empty. It's for the best. Had he still been standing there, the tears I'm stubbornly holding in would've escaped. Tears wouldn't help me now. They wouldn't help me find her or find the right words to say to her when I did.

The stare she'd given me before I left the gym is haunting me. I'm sure it had been for me now. The desperation in Ari's eyes is all I can think about. I need to see her, not want to see to her, but must. As in there was no other conceivable option.

TBC...

Thanks for reading and voting, Lovelies.