***
Rhett and I strolled through the colorful fall leaves down a well-worn trail behind the house and in the direction of Berry Creek. The weather was typical for Texas that time of year: crisp, cool, perfect for a walk. We made good conversation—he was charming and witty—and I soon forgot the ugly encounter with Dev.
Still, at moments, I wondered. Why wouldn’t he want Rhett to know me? Am I that much of an embarrassment to him?
When we got closer to the creek, the trail became uneven. I struggled over a large rock and lost my footing. Rhett caught me before I fell.
“Why don’t you hold my hand…just in case,” he offered.
I accepted his offer with a slight blush. His hand was warm and strong. I liked touching him. Still my thoughts defaulted to Dev.
He could learn a thing or two from Rhett.
Finally, we made it down to a secluded area near the rushing water. Tall oak trees framed the bank and lush grasses made a perfect spot for us to rest a moment.
After we sat down, he immediately leaned in. It was a little too close for me.
“It was nice of you to take me out here…to release some pressure,” he whispered in my ear as he stroked my hair. I moved away out of reflex. What was he getting at? I tried to diffuse the heady atmosphere.
“Um, sure, no problem. Hey, we should go look at the water. We might see some trout.”
I started to get up, but he leaned over me before I could stand up and pressed his weight against my chest. My mind raced.
Is this really happening?
“Rhett, please move…”
I pushed his chest away, but it was like pushing on a brick wall.
“Don’t play coy with me, Miss Scarlett. You know you want this,” he said in an exaggerated Southern drawl, centimeters from my face. I could smell alcohol on his breath, and then I could taste it when he kissed me full on the mouth—a sloppy, frantic kiss. Not at all like the one in my dream…with Dev.
I turned my face away and realized I need to end this—now.
“Stop! Get off of me!” I yelled, hoping someone would hear. Nothing but crickets chirped in reply.
With his free hand, he grabbed at the buttons on my blouse. I realized in that moment, he was going to rape me.
I screamed this time. “Noooo!”
His hand found my breast, freed from my bra. He pinched my nipple and then moved his mouth toward it…his other hand now between my legs. My eyes filled with tears. This was not how I wanted my first time to be.
I was going to be statistic. A victim of rape. The white trash girl who asked for it. Who deserved it.
I pleaded through my tears, “Please don’t do this…”
And then, just like that, he was off of me. Free of his weight, I instinctively rolled over to protect myself.
I looked up to see where he had gone.
Dev was there.
Dev was here.
He had Rhett in a choke hold. I had never seen him so enraged. The two men struggled with each other, but Dev had the clear advantage with his height…and sobriety. Rhett was able to break free for just a moment before Dev punched him square in the face. He fell to the ground in a pathetic, unconscious pile.
I scrambled to my feet and took several steps away. My heart was racing and I had to force myself to breathe for fear of passing out.
“Oh god…” I choked out, in shock.
In a second, Dev was next to me. He put his arm around my shoulder protectively, as a big brother or a father would. I turned to him and fell against his chest. Weirdly, it was the only place I wanted to be at that moment.
I don’t know how much time passed, but I stayed in his embrace until I heard police sirens. I only vaguely remembered when he called them from his cell phone. Perhaps I was blocking out everything except the reassuring feeling of him against me.
The police took our statements and arrested Dev’s college friend for attempted rape—the college friend with the rich and powerful father who would probably not give Dev a job after this. The father who probably had the power to ruin his career in banking if he were so inclined.
It occurred to me that Dev never expressed the tiniest concern about any of that as we stood by the creek. He could have handled it a hundred different ways that might have preserved his relationship with Rhett…and preserved his chances of having a career at Franklin Bank. But he acted honorably. And decent. And good. He made me feel important and worth protecting.
At once, my childhood disdain for him started to fade.
It was dark out when Dev drove me home. He had given me his sweater to wear since my blouse was ripped. I glanced at him in his white dress shirt. He was stoic, deep in thought. I wondered, would he regret his decision to defend my honor and have his friend—and all the connections that went along with him—smashed to a pulp?
We didn’t speak at all during the short drive. And when we got home, no one seemed to realize we had been gone for several hours.
Dev walked behind me up the stairs to my room, like a protective shadow, while the remainder of the guests cheered over another soccer game in the family room, and children laughed and romped around in front of a Pixar movie under Annika’s watchful eye on the other side of the house.
Maybe I deserved what happened for betraying her in order to prove something to Dev. I was an idiot.
I’m sorry, Annika.
When we made it to my door, I faced him. Once the shock had worn off, my mind had started working. I had questions.
“Dev, how did you know that would happen?”
He looked distressed. Tortured.
“I didn’t know. I never would have invited him here had I known…what he was capable of,” he answered, quietly.
“Then why did you ask me not to go with him?”
He paused before answering, as if trying to find the right words.
“I don’t know. I just knew he had bad intentions. I can’t explain it. It was the way he looked at you. Like he wanted to eat you alive.”
Dev’s eyes locked onto mine. That feeling in my stomach returned. It was as if he wanted to eat me alive.
After a moment, I broke the spell.
“What are you going to tell your parents? Oh god, I hate that I’ll have to tell them!”
He shifted his weight, folded his left arm across his chest, and rubbed his chin with right hand, like he always did when he was thinking.
“Don’t worry about it, Scarlett. I’ll handle everything so you won’t have to think about it ever again.”
“Thanks.”
I tugged at his sweater. “Let me give this back to you,” I offered.
“No. You keep it.”
He turned to go.
“Goodnight, Scarlett.”
“Goodnight.”
I think that was the first time in all the years I knew Dev that we had said “goodnight” to each other. I shut my bedroom door and wrapped my arms around my chest, breathing in Dev’s scent…and reliving the memory of his strong embrace.