Her face pales, her eyes widening in horror. “Oh,” she says, her gaze shifting toward Orlando’s before settling back on mine. “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to exclude you. That certainly wasn’t my intention. Would you like to come? I’m sure we can arrange another room, or perhaps a suite.” She glances at Jensen, her face beaming. “Perhaps it can be a family trip. Jensen? Would you care for a trip to Paris? The four of us away as a family for the first time. It would be a dream.”
My gaze flicks across the room toward Jensen and the look of horror on his face probably mirrors the one on mine. I couldn’t think of anything worse. “No offense,” Jensen says. “But been there and done that with the last two girlfriends who wanted a family trip.”
“You know what, Mom?” I say, before she gets the chance to think about that too much. “Why don’t you and Orlando enjoy this trip together? Jensen and I wouldn’t want to cramp your style. Besides, you guys are in the honeymoon stage, and I’m sure you’re going to want time to yourselves.”
“Are you sure?” she asks, the look in her eyes suggesting that this is what she wanted anyway. “It’s no hassle.”
“No, I’m fine,” I say a little firmer. “But this isn’t why I came down here. I …” I pause, glancing at Orlando and Jensen, hating the way they’re listening in on our conversation, but it’s not like I can get her alone lately. “I wanted to ask you about Colby.”
“Colby?” she questions. “What of him?”
“Colby Jacobs?” Orlando questions, sitting up straighter on the couch, his head whipping toward me.
“Umm, yes,” I say, confused. “Do you know him?”
“I think the better question is, how do you know him?” he demands, standing.
Mom stands at his side and places a hand on his wrist as though silently asking him to back off. “Everybody from Hope Falls knows Colby Jacobs. He’s the captain of their football team, a bit of a town celebrity. However, Brielle was dating him over the summer and the few months before. Such a cute couple,” she adds, glancing toward me. “It’s a shame you had to breakup.”
I gape at her. “He was cheating on me and was on drugs. Is that really what you want for me?”
“Oh, don’t be silly. He’s on the football team, he can’t afford to be doing drugs, otherwise he’d lose his position. He has a scholarship to think about.”
I scoff and the look on Orlando’s face suggests that he knows all about Colby’s drug use. “You were really dating the boy?” he questions, looking at me through a narrowed, calculating stare.
I nod, feeling uneasy. “Yes.”
“And were you there the night the girl was attacked and raped?”
I hesitate, unsure where this is going, but Mom has no qualms. “Yes, she was,” she says, gripping onto Orlando’s side. “It was such a terrible night. The whole town heard of it. I was terrified for my little girl. Can you believe such a horrid crime was taking place in the very next room while she was dancing with her friend? It could have so easily been her. I think of that every night and am just so blessed to know that my little girl is safe and sound.”
Orlando doesn’t take his eyes off me, and with every word Mom says, I see his eyes sparkling more, whatever bullshit circling his mind falling right into place.
“Why are you asking?”
“Are you aware that Colby has been falsely accused of hurting that poor girl?” Mom gasps, her hand covering her mouth as I nod, refusing to take my eyes off him, not liking where this is going. “I’m sure it would not come as a surprise to you to learn that the Jacobs family has hired me to represent their son.”
“Of course they have,” Mom says, moving closer to his side and looking up at him as though he holds all the answers to the world’s greatest problems. “This is such a trying time. I am sure they’re relieved to have the best in the business.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I question, not here for Mom’s blatant desperation or the way she tries to blow smoke up the man’s ass.
“Do you still care for the boy?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Okay,” he says thoughtfully. “Well, what are your views on keeping an innocent man out of prison?”
“If the person in question was actually innocent, then I would do my part to help where necessary.”
“Excellent,” he says. “How would you feel about writing a statement that said Colby was with you the whole night, specifically during the time the attack was taking place and vouch for his character.”
Mom rushes in. “Of course she would,” she says, glancing at me. “Wouldn’t you? Anything to help.”
I shake my head, my brows furrowed. “But I wasn’t with him all night. When the girl was hurt, I was dancing with Erica. I have no idea what or who Colby was doing, plus I had been drinking heavily, and anyone at that party would be able to vouch for that. I’m not about to falsify an alibi for the guy just so you can win a case. Besides, I know I haven’t been to law school or anything like that, but I know enough to know that’s illegal.”
He shakes his head, shrugging it off. “Technicalities,” he says, realizing I’m not about to play ball.
I watch him a little closer, understanding dawning and making me feel sick. “Why would he need me to submit an alibi?” I ask. “Why can’t he just get the person he was with to supply one? If he’s innocent, he shouldn’t have any issues with proving he had an alibi. There were heaps of people there that night, someone would have seen him. Unless … he doesn’t have an alibi. Did he …” I suck in a gasp, my eyes going wide. “He did it, didn’t he? It was Colby, and you want me to lie and let him walk free just so you can claim another winning case.”
“Brielle,” Mom snaps, her eyes wide with horror and embarrassment. “Apologize right this instant. How dare you accuse Orlando of such practices. I am appalled by your behavior lately. I don’t understand why you keep acting out like this.”
I scoff, ignoring her as I step closer to Orlando. “If Colby Jacobs walks because you do something to falsify information, I will make sure the whole world knows about it.”
With that, I turn on my heel and storm out of the room, my stomach clenching with the realization that for the past six months, I was dating a man who could potentially be a rapist. I’ve slept in his bed, defended him, and tried my best to love him. I partied with him, let him use my body, all while blissfully unaware of the real man hidden behind the mask.
Breaking through my bedroom door, I rush through to my bathroom, getting there just in time to drop to my knees in front of the toilet and hurl into the bowl.
My head hangs as I violently throw up, not knowing what to do.
What if it’s true? What if I got so drunk that I don’t remember Colby slipping away that night? What if I’ve been blind to it just as Tanner had suggested, and because of my inability to know what’s going on around me, his sister was attacked, drugged, raped, and left for dead?
Fuck.