Betrayed (5 page)

She looked down at her feet for a moment, and a sinking feeling appeared in my stomach again. It was obvious there was something else bothering her. She composed herself before looking up at me again.

“I have something I need to tell you, too,” she said.

Something was off about the way she phrased it; about the way she put the emphasis on her words.
 

“Ethan and I dated for a while, too,” she said.

And, just like that, my world came crashing down around me.

“I’m sorry?” I prompted.

She smiled at me, softly. Her eyes were hollow, but understanding.

“When I took his class a few semesters ago, we started seeing each other.” Her words hung heavy in the air, and my mind raced to make sense of everything. “It only lasted for a few weeks. Then the bastard had the nerve to call the whole thing off.” She shook her head, her cheeks tinging red with anger. “As soon as things began getting serious. No, that’s not right. As soon as I
slept
with him, the bastard up and dropped me.”

“You slept with him?” I said.

Her eyes locked on mine. Hard. “I didn’t want to,” she said. “Not at first, anyways. But then he kept pressuring me; kept telling me to grow up. He told me I wasn’t a kid in high school anymore - that sex is how adults show their affection.” She shook her head again. “I never should have told you to ask about the extra credit. I didn’t he’d be so stupid to try to seduce another one of his students.”

Tears welled in my eyes and my heart raced.

“That doesn’t sound like him,” I said. “He’s always so nice.”

“That’s how he lures you in,” she said. “I bet it just started as something innocent - maybe some flirting in his office. Then, the next thing you know, he’s inviting you over to his place. Then, the next thing you know, you’re naked in his bed.”

Tears ran freely down my face now. That was
exactly
how it had happened with me.

“I pursued him more than he pursued me,” I said. “I forced myself on him.”

Dana’s mouth twisted to the side, and she walked up to me. Her hands were soft on my shoulder, and she pushed aside my hair.

“Kayla, he’s smart. That’s what he
wanted
you to think,” she said. “He’s a manipulative bastard.”

She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me in tight. I buried my head in her shoulder and let the tears continue to flow. She cooed at me softly as she patted the back of my head, assuring me everything was going to be alright.

“I need to talk to him,” I said, pulling away from her. “I need to clear all of this up.”

“You need to never talk to him again,” she said. “He doesn’t even deserve a proper breakup. Did he ever tell you he dated his students before?” I shook my head. “Sounds like something he maybe should have mentioned, don’t you think?” I nodded. She looked at me softly, again. Her eyes drank all of me in and a comforting smile touched the corners of her mouth. “You have enough on your plate, already,” she said. “You don’t need to give him another second’s thought.”

“Maybe you’re right,” I said.

My gut wrenched inside itself at the thought of not seeing Ethan. It wrenched even harder at the thought of seeing him.

I sobbed again.

“Can you… I just need to be alone for a bit,” I said.

Dana nodded at me. “I’ll be at home studying for finals,” she said. “If you need me for any reason I can be here in minutes.”

“Thanks,” I said.

Dana hugged me tightly and gave me a light kiss on the cheek before she left. I stared at the door for a full minute after it clicked shut, and then collapsed on my bed and sobbed uncontrollably for the next hour.

* * * * *

It was late morning before Ethan pulled himself out of bed. He had fallen back asleep after Kayla left - still exhausted from the night’s activities. His thoughts wandered back to Dana and the message she had left on his cell phone weeks ago. He had thought that issue had gone away; he had thought that he might have a chance with Kayla. But he wasn’t that lucky.

Dana and Kayla were friends. From the looks of how they talked, he guessed that they were
good
friends. How was it possible that she had never mentioned the name before? He would have picked up on that, and he would have put two and two together. He knew how girls were, though. They told each other everything. That’s how Dana had found out about him in the first place.

Why, then, had Dana not followed through on her threat? Was it possible that Kayla had talked her out of it? But that meant that Kayla also knew about him and Dana being together. And that didn’t feel quite right. He couldn’t imagine her not bringing that up before, if she knew about it.

Ethan took a long shower to try and wake himself up. The hot water soothed his nerves, and he made up lies that everything was going to be alright. He would talk Kayla that night. He needed to clear the air - he needed to put everything in its right place. He needed to make everything right between himself and Kayla.

They hadn’t gone into detail about their past dating lives, but he knew that she needed to know about he and Dana. It wasn’t like there was anything serious to tell - but he couldn’t risk her finding out the wrong way and being upset.

Kayla wasn’t just some fling. He felt a connection with her that he had never felt with anyone else before. She was his first thought in the morning when he woke up, and his last before he went to bed at night. He didn’t want to take any chances on losing her, and he wanted to be completely open and honest with her about everything.

Ethan dressed quickly and made his way to campus. Dead Day was the perfect day to get a lot done. And Ethan had a lot that needed doing.

The University of Texas had a phenomenal accounting program. Ethan knew one of the professors there and had recently been asked to assist on a research project. It was a great opportunity for his career, and he was in charge of putting together the grant proposal. The proposal was what would be used by both his University, and the University of Texas, to apply for grant funding along with other additional fundings as necessary. Basically, it had to include a summary of the project as a whole, of all the work done to date, and a detailed outline of how much money was necessary along with how it would be spent. The economy was tight, and everyone was feeling the pinch; including academia.

Ethan worked in his office most of the day. He struggled to keep his thoughts focused and not wondering how he was going to break the news to Kayla that night. He was confident that everything was going to turn out for the best, but he hated the idea that he might hurt her in the process. That was the last thing he wanted.

His phone buzzed on the table in the mid-afternoon. He glanced over, and saw that it was a message from Kayla. He checked the time on his computer - worried that he had spent the entire afternoon working without realizing it.

Three o’clock. Still early. He breathed a short sigh of relief - but the relief was short lived.

NEED TO TALK. MEET ME AT YOUR PLACE.

He frowned at the message, and his heart began to race. They already had plans to meet that night, so why was she suddenly wanting to meet earlier?

He suppressed the momentary panic. Kayla was probably stressed out about finals, or something. He had more work to do - but he never missed an opportunity to see her. The word was important - but it could wait a bit longer.

ON MY WAY, SEE YOU THERE.

He punched out the response quickly and began shutting down his computer. That was when there was a knock at the door. Jerry Sandberg, Ethan’s boss, poked his head into the office.

“Thought I might find you here,” Jerry said.

“You just caught me. I’m actually on my way out,” Ethan said.

Jerry was the vice chair of the Finance department, and more importantly he mentored the untenured professors. He was the equivalent of an academic advisor for new professors and helped them to work toward achieving the lofty status of achieving tenure. It wasn’t something the college gave out freely - it required that a professor show an ability to not only teach students and perform research, but also be able to bring in funding and be a positive force in both the University, and the community.

Jerry was a wiry guy with a big head and small chin. He was more gangly than tall, and he had silver rectangular glasses.

“How’s the proposal coming along?” he asked.

“It’ll be ready by the end of next week. Just dotting my ‘i’s and crossing my ’t’s.”

“Glad to hear it, this could be the big one for you, you know.”

Ethan grinned and nodded his head. Obtaining his tenure was the next big milestone in his career. It’s what would finally afford him the freedom to really dig into the topics that he wanted to explore. With tenure came a lot of responsibility, but it also afforded more autonomy.

“You’ll be the first person to review the proposal,” he said.

“Good. I don’t have to remind you how important this is. Your five years is almost up, and the senior committee is getting nervous.” He managed to look down at Ethan over his glasses despite the fact that he was the shorter by a full four inches.

Ethan winced. “I still have a year and a half,” he said. Ethan studied him for a long moment. “What’s with the hostility? You know that my work speaks for itself.”

Jerry frowned and shut the door behind him. His tone darkened.

“You know that the University is struggling with the budget cuts. Even the athletics department is under fire for the amount of money it spends. There’s a new landscape out there.”

Ethan shrugged.

“This is nothing new,” Ethan said. “It’s politics.”

Jerry’s face twitched.

“We’re getting scrutinized from all angles. The business college is coming under fire from the President of the University; and she’s out to make a name for herself.”

“We’re a top twenty business school on a national level. That’s no small feat for a public school.”

Jerry’s voice grew quieter; all but a whisper.

“We’re doing cutbacks,” he breathed out. “Soon.”

Ethan fell back into his chair, the wind suddenly knocked from his chest. His mind raced as he considered what Jerry was telling him; as he considered why Jerry was telling him. This wasn’t news that the head of a department handed out lightly. It meant something.

Ethan did the math quickly in his head. He knew what Jerry was saying.

“How long do I have?” he asked.

Jerry raised his hands to ease him, but Ethan was calm and collected.

“You need this project to come through. I don’t see any other way - the department
must
see some money flowing in.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Ethan said. “I know my salary is outside of the normal ranges given my pedigree. I know I’ve got to get some money flowing in the door.”

Jerry nodded tightly. They were on the same page, and Ethan knew that everything was riding on his pending research project. If it wasn’t funded for some reason, or if anything fell through for any reason, he was done. He could kiss his academic career goodbye.

It wouldn’t be the worst thing that happened in his life, but he had never failed in anything before. The thought of being cast out of the University like some bastard child didn’t appeal to him. He wasn’t about to go out without giving it all he had.

“I won’t let you down,” he said.

Jerry nodded once more and left without saying another word. The door clicked as it shut, and Ethan was left alone in silence. He bit his lip nervously as he replayed everything in his head. He cursed and shoved some of the papers away from himself. There would be no getting any work done the rest of the night. He was annoyed that he had his back up against the wall - but he knew that he could perform well under pressure. He’d done it for years on Wall Street. If anything, he was more annoyed that he had let himself get stuck in that situation in the first place.

Ethan sighed and looked at his phone again. He reread the message from Kayla and checked the time. Fifteen minutes had passed already, and she was probably at his house waiting on him. He knew it was going to be a tough discussion - but perhaps a night with his girlfriend was just what the doctored ordered. Maybe it would help clear his head and get him on the right track.

Girlfriend.

That was the first time he’d ever thought of Kayla in that light. Maybe he would mention it to her when they were together.

* * * * *

Ethan raced through the streets of Tucson on his way home. The traffic was light at that hour, and he didn’t want to keep Kayla waiting any longer. He veered around an old Chevelle parked on the street as he pulled into the driveway, and he was happy to see that Kayla’s car wasn’t there. He had beat her home, and that meant he had a bit of time to unwind before she arrived.

Ethan parked in the garage and shut off the car. As the purr of the engine died down, another noise took its place. He could hear the rhythmic beat of music coming rom somewhere. His brow pinched together when he realized it was coming from inside the house.

“What the hell?
” he thought to himself.

As he cracked open the door to the house from the garage, the sound of AC/DC erupted from within. He glanced back out at the driveway and confirmed that Kayla’s car wasn’t there - but he knew she wouldn’t be listening to music that loudly in the first place.

Ethan’s hands started shaking. Someone was in his house; and apparently they were making themselves feel quite at home.

He slipped through the laundry room and beyond into the kitchen. His eyes swiveled back and forth, taking in as much of the house as he could. There was no movement; nothing out of place. He grabbed a butcher’s knife from the counter and flipped it around, holding it outright in front of him. It was no use against a gun, but maybe he could scare someone off with it.

The noise was coming from somewhere deeper in the house. He guessed someone had turned up the volume on the entertainment system in the living room. He padded along as quietly as possible. No one could hear anything over the booming bass and the crying guitars, he was sure of that.