Chapter 29

Becka

“Becka,” Ethan’s voice was breathless. “I watched the news, then I just drove by your place. Are you okay?”

“You drove by? Did they see you?” The last thing I needed was for Ethan to be seen anywhere near my apartment.

“No, I had a hoodie on and a cap. I look like I belong in a prison, but no one recognized me.”

“But, your car,” I protested.

“Becka, give me some credit. I borrowed someone else’s.”

“Borrowed? Stole? Like you stole my research?” It was a feeler, nothing more, nothing less. Ethan seemed the more likely person to steal it; it was his personality. But, he hadn’t had the opportunity; Oliver had.

His voice softened. “I didn’t steal your research, Becka. I’ve tried to tell you over and over again that I’m not responsible for any of this mess, not like Oliver has been saying I have been. And my name is in this just as deep as yours.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Think about it. I’m Oliver’s brother. How long do you think it’s going to take for the news to get bored of the girlfriend angle and start investigating Oliver’s family, including his estranged, revenge-seeking brother who used to be half owner of Neurotova? I mean, I can’t believe they started with you, quite frankly.”

I sat down in the kitchen. Lisa looked at me and I mouthed “Ethan” to her. She crossed her eyes and made a cutting motion across her throat, telling me to hang up on him. I waved her away.

Ethan was still talking. “Honey, Oliver isn’t who you thought he was. I’ve tried to tell you that time and time again. He stole your research. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he called the news himself to take the attention off of him and what he’s doing at Neurotova, which, I don’t need to point out to you is fact, the animal experimentation, you found that out yourself.”

“I know,” I interrupted, “but--”

“Of course, he needed your research, but he’ll use it to twist the truth to match his version of the facts. He’s going to use you as a scapegoat. Does that sound like someone who loves you?”

I paused, a feeling of pure acid beginning to burn in my stomach. I put my head on the table.

“No,” I said quietly.

“I want to see you,” he said. “I know that you need to be with someone you can trust right now.”

I snorted. “Good luck. The media has this place canvassed. They’re crawling through the vents like mice. They’ve been knocking down the door for the last hour. I’m half expecting a drone to start poking at the window any minute now.”

“Can you get to your roof?” he asked.

“I doubt it,” I said.

“Can you try?”

“To what end? Anywhere we go, I’ll be recognized. And that will give the news something to really focus on. It was dangerous enough for you to come anywhere near my place. It’s probably a terrible idea for us to be on the phone!” I immediately thought of the possibility that my phone could be bugged. I looked around the room. Was that possible? Were there cameras? People watching?

I breathed. I knew I was being paranoid… the question was, was the paranoia justifiable?

“I’m not leaving the house, Ethan, because, quite frankly, I don’t trust you much either. I don’t have to point out to you that things between Oliver and me were going along just fine until you showed up in my class and started to try to shake things up.”

“I was trying to get you to see the truth!” he said.

“Were you? Or were you just using me to ruin Oliver?”

“You keep accusing me of things, Becka, but nothing ever turns out to be true.”

“No, but my boyfriend disappears,”

“Which he explained,” Ethan interrupted, “and it had nothing to do with me.”

“My research gets stolen—”

“By your boyfriend!”

“And now there are journalists crawling all the way up my ass!”

“Which he called!” Ethan finally exploded. “I mean, Becka, pull your head out and pay attention to who’s actually on your side here.”

“You say Oliver stole my research, but there’s one problem: Oliver would never do that. Oliver loves me. He gave me full access to his databases and to basically his entire system so that I could incorporate the research into my dissertation, so that I would have the backing I needed to pursue the invention of Protame and get a name for myself in the industry. Everything he’s done has been to help me. You, on the other hand, every time you show up, things turn to shit!”

“You really are stupid, aren’t you?” Ethan’s voice turned venomous. “How about if you take two seconds and remember that you’re a scientist. Look at the facts in front of you rather than making things up. Facts, not fantasy. What are the facts here? Fact: Oliver runs a company that has participated in animal experimentation.

Fact: Oliver stole research from your home office after earning your trust. Fact: Oliver ran out on you without telling you where he was going or how long he would be gone. How does any of that suggest that he loves you? That he’s going to help you?”

“I’m done with you,” I said coldly. “Don’t call me again. Don’t show up here. Don’t talk to the media, don’t drive by my apartment, and, if you see me on the street, assuming I’m ever able to leave my apartment again, I don’t want you to even acknowledge that you know me. Leave me alone.”

I hung up on him, and I closed my eyes. I was breathing heavily and my heart was pounding. I had to remind myself over and over what a practiced, skilled liar Ethan was. The truth was, everything he’d said sounded plausible. I thought with alarm how I may have reacted if I’d been with him in person instead of on the phone. If we had been in physical contact… would I have believed him?

My phone rang and I rolled my eyes. “Fucker doesn’t know when to quit!”

I picked it up and looked at the screen, then swallowed hard. It was my college advisor, Dr. Evans.

“Hi,” I said weakly.

“Becka, what the hell is going on?” Her voice was furious. I’d never heard her so angry in my life.

“I… you mean about the news?” I honestly didn’t know which part to address first. The college knew I was under investigation, of course, but I hadn’t heard anything about it from the college’s end since Dr. Evans had first told me that I needed to be aware of it a few weeks back.

“I mean, about everything! You’re in a lot of trouble here, Becka. The college has said that they will no longer be affiliated with Neurotova. They returned Dr. Weeks’ donation. That means all of the funding for Protame has been pulled once again.”

“What?” I gasped. “Can they do that?”

“They did it, and it’s in large part due to you, so don’t act so shocked.”

“You’re not blaming me…” I began, but Dr. Evans wasn’t listening.

“The college issued a statement to the press saying that it has no affiliation with Neurotova, and that you are no longer a student at the college. As of today, you’re suspended until further notice.”

I felt like I was going to faint. I heard a rushing in my ears and I heard the phone drop to the floor.

“What is it?” Lisa asked, rushing into the room. “What’s wrong?”

I stared at the phone on the floor. Dr. Evans had disconnected.

“I’m suspended from school,” I whispered. “The college has dropped any of its association with Oliver or with Neurotova.”

“Oh Becka,” Lisa said, sitting down next to me. She put her arms around me and, for the first time, I started to cry.

I could hear the chanting of the press outside our window; it sounded like they were after blood. And, they had it. I was flayed open, dying. My boyfriend had stolen my research. It didn’t need saying that I no longer had a job at Neurotova. And, my college had suspended me, which meant that, even if I could get my research back, my dissertation was over. When I woke up this morning, sure, life wasn’t perfect, but now… now my life was over.

I looked at Lisa. “I want to get out of here,” I said. “I want to get out of here right now.”

“We’ll go anywhere you want to go,” she said firmly.

“I want to go to Vegas.”

“Vegas?” she said, arching her eyebrows. “I was thinking more…” she shook her head. “Never mind what I was thinking. You want to go to Vegas, that’s where we’ll go. Do you have your passport?”

I nodded.

“Then let’s pack and go.”

“No packing,” I said. “We need to disguise ourselves, and we can’t leave the building with luggage; that will draw attention. We can buy everything we need when we get there.”

“I won’t ask where the money is coming from to do this,” she said.

I smiled, for the first time in what seemed like ages. “I have the credit card to Oliver’s expense account in my purse. It’s the least he can do.”

Lisa grinned. “Indeed. It is the very least.” She grabbed my hand and we went to our rooms. Fortunately, Lisa had a rather extensive wig collection. I picked one that looked the opposite of my personality. It was a spiky, neon green, long in the front and short in the back. I put it on, then put black eyeliner on my lips and my eyes, dressed in fluorescent pink, and put fingerless gloves that ran the full length of my arms.

“Jesus,” Lisa said when she saw me.

“The best way to be ignored is to get them all to look at me, right?”

“That way, I can get the car out of the garage. Smart.” She nodded.

“I’ll scoot down to the end of the block and you can get me there.”

The plan actually worked, though I nearly froze when I walked out the front door of my building. The view from above was nothing compared to being at eye level with the more than a hundred people standing around all looking for me.

Fortunately for me, the majority of them were looking up. The ones that weren’t were looking for a geeky, mousy scientist type who was most likely trying to sneak out… not a bold as can be, confident goth chick strolling out the door like she owned the place.

Lisa got the car out of the garage and drove it around the block; I got in and we laughed, a matching pair of goths on the run.