One Wicked Night (18 page)

Nick shook his head. “Don’t fucking apologize, Kaelin,” he growled. “It wasn’t your fault. Tracy was kind of…psycho. If only we’d known that before. We were young and stupid and horny, what can I say. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“Really?” She searched his face. “Did it really seem like a good idea, Nick?” Remembered hurt pulsed inside her.

Shame crossed over Nick’s face and he dropped his gaze for a moment. “I’m sorry, Kaelin.”

She nodded stiffly.

“Anyway, she went running home and I guess she was so paranoid that you were going to tell people what happened, she told her parents that…” Nick paused. Swallowed. “She told her parents we’d raped her.”

Kaelin’s jaw nearly smacked the counter she fell against. “What!”

He nodded, swiped a hand over his eyes. “She told them we’d tied her up and took turns having sex with her. It was a fucking nightmare. Her parents called both our parents. Thank Christ they didn’t call the cops, although they wanted to.”

“But you said nothing happened after that.”

“Nothing did. We’d barely touched her and we for sure hadn’t had sex at that point. Other than a little making out.”

“Well, you
should
have called the cops! If nothing happened, they would have proved it.”

“Oh, Kaelin, think about what you just said. We’re talking Dr. and Mrs. Wirth here.”

“Oh lord.” She rubbed her mouth. They would not have wanted the police involved, and they sure wouldn’t have wanted the entire city to know about it. “What happened?”

“Dr. Wirth paid off Tracy’s family to keep quiet about it. I don’t know how much he gave them, but it was a lot. My folks didn’t have that kind of money, but they had a whole different attitude. I told them nothing happened and they believed me. We could have gone to the police and they would have supported me, even though it would have been a helluva mess.”

She nodded, hand still to her mouth, her stomach boiling, head spinning. “I gather Tyler’s parents weren’t quite so supportive.”

Nick snorted. “The stupid asshole didn’t even try to explain what happened. They were so furious they kicked him out of the house.”

Kaelin slumped against the counter. This was unbelievable. Her eyes stung and she blinked rapidly. “They did? He was only seventeen.”

“Almost eighteen, but yeah. We were leaving for college in the fall anyway. It was all arranged, except Tyler’s parents refused to pay, other than the tuition they’d already paid. They basically kicked him out and cut him off, for what he’d done.”

“He didn’t do anything!”

“You believe it,” Nick said slowly.

“Of course I believe it! You two would never rape someone!”

“Sshh.”

She hadn’t even realized her voice was rising. She took a breath, tried to calm down.

“What did he do? I know he went to college.”

“He lived with me, remember?”

Yeah, she remembered that. But…

“I had a little apartment off campus. My parents helped out, as much as they could. Tyler worked two part-time jobs while he was going to school. Didn’t sleep much. Worked all summer, every year. He did it on his own.”

She pressed a hand to her stomach, all tight and quivery, turned her gaze to him. “You love him, don’t you?”

He held her gaze, eyes steady as usual. “Yeah. I do.”

She nodded her head several times, hand still pressed to her stomach. “I was with you Friday night,” she said. “Yes, you tied me up, but only because I asked you to. And Tyler said I had to be untied before we…”

Nick nodded. “Yeah. That’s his thing. He’ll never take a chance on that again. A chance that someone could accuse him of forcing her.”

“I don’t believe he would ever do that,” she said fiercely. “Or you. God! His parents are—” She glanced at the den, where the voices were getting louder. “Is that what he’s talking to them about?”

“Yeah. Probably finally trying to tell them nothing happened that night.”

“I know she was there of her own free will!” Kaelin cried. “I was there! I saw it!”

“Well, you didn’t see much…”

“I saw more than you realize,” she said grimly. “Oh god, Nick. Why is he doing this?”

“Because he has to get past this somehow. Last night, his parents thought history was repeating itself. When they heard that rumor, they believed Tyler and I had done the same thing, lured some helpless girl to our room and took advantage of her. That’s why they were so furious. They let him come home for the wedding…”

“
Let him come home!
” she cried, almost beside herself. “Dear god!” All these years she’d blamed him for never coming home to visit.

“And then he does the same thing again.”

“This is insane!” Then she focused on Nick. “Why didn’t you ever tell me this? My god, Nick!”

“He asked me not to.” He held her gaze steadily. “Just like you asked me not to tell him we’d kept in touch.”

She looked wildly around. Tyler was in there trying to tell his parents he wasn’t the devil in disguise they thought he was. The raised voices told her it wasn’t going well. It was going to kill him if they didn’t believe him. Sure, he put on that act of being all tough and cool and not giving a shit about anything, but she’d seen inside him. Now she knew more about it and about him, she knew this was going to devastate him.

Surely his parents would believe him. They loved him; they had to. He was their son. Yeah, they’d had some problems. Tyler hadn’t made his teenage years easy, she’d admit that, but even so, didn’t parents love their children unconditionally? She knew hers had. And apparently Nick’s.

She strained her ears to hear what was being said.

“Why the hell would you wait…” she heard Dr. Wirth say.

She chewed on her bottom lip and looked at Nick.

She could tell them.

There wasn’t much else she could do to make this right, but Dr. and Mrs. Wirth liked her and respected her and if she told them the truth, they’d probably believe her. She covered her eyes. Telling them she was there that night ten years ago wasn’t that bad. So she’d walked in on something she shouldn’t have. That bad burning feeling inside her intensified and sweat popped out on her forehead. She’d have to admit she’d stood there and watched. To Tyler. And to his parents.

She swiped her forehead and leaned her elbows on the counter. Her hair fell forward as she bent her head. Nick’s hand landed on her back and rubbed in slow, warm circles. “Hey,” he whispered. She didn’t move.

But worse than that was admitting
she
was the girl they’d taken up to their hotel room Friday night. A wave of seasick panic washed over her and she gasped for air.

Oh for— It wasn’t that bad. So she went up to their room. After she’d kissed both of them. She could have gone up there for one drink and left. They didn’t have to know all the details.

Except…she could tell them she knew Tyler and Nick would never do that to a woman, because of how they’d treated her.

Her stomach turned over again and she fought to get oxygen into her lungs.

What was really important here? So what if Dr. and Mrs. Wirth thought she was a tramp? So what if they told the whole town? Did that really matter when Tyler was being crushed by his parents, the parents he’d always wanted love and respect from, the parents who’d never given it to him even though she knew now he deserved it. He always had. Maybe he’d gotten in a few scrapes, but it’s not as if he did drugs or stole cars or joined a gang and killed people, for god’s sake.

If she’d learned nothing else from the tragedy that had happened to her father, it was that she shouldn’t worry about what people thought of them. Her dad couldn’t help the way he was. He’d still been a good person. And so was she.

She sucked in a big breath, straightened and turned to Nick. “I have to do something.”

Chapter Thirteen

Tyler sat on the chair in the den. Tiger Woods was teeing off silently on the television, the sound muted. His parents kept asking him questions that seemed as if they were basically calling him a liar and a depraved pervert. He tried to tell himself it didn’t matter.

He tried to tell himself he didn’t feel anything, not the burning in his stomach, the stabbing feeling in his chest, the pounding in his head. It didn’t matter.

“Why the hell would you wait this long to try to tell us that?” his father demanded. “Don’t you think it would have carried a lot more weight ten years ago? When it happened?”

“Would it?” Tyler slouched in the chair. “Would it have carried more weight? You were always ready to believe the worst of me.” He shrugged. “It was just easier to let you.”

“Ken.” Mom shot a glare at his dad. “He’s talking to us. Would you just listen, for once?”

Tyler blinked at her.
Whoa, Mom.

“If you’re trying to tell us nothing happened the other night,” Dad said harshly, apparently ignoring her. “Forget it! Why would Les Pearson make that up?”

“Who the hell is Les Pearson?” Tyler asked.

“He works at the front desk of the hotel,” Mom said, shooting Dad another glance loaded with annoyance. “He’s the one who saw you. He saw you. You and Nick both…” She stopped.

“I’m not trying to tell you nothing happened that night,” Tyler said. “I’m trying to tell you that what did happen was completely consensual, all of us adults, and frankly, none of your business.”

“He’s right.”

Tyler’s head snapped around and he looked at Kaelin standing in the door. His jaw went slack. His parents, too, gaped at her.

“Kaelin, dear. What are you doing here? Were we…” Mom looked like she was in agony. “Were we making too much noise?” The idea that the family was making a scene was clearly horrifying to her. God forbid someone might hear their family argument. Another set of French doors, closed, led to the living room where Avery and Scott hosted a few friends and relatives.

“No,” Kaelin said. “You weren’t.”

He looked at her standing there, slender, dressed in her usual knee-length skirt, today white cotton, with a flowery top. Her brown hair hung in soft waves over her shoulders and her full bottom lip trembled ever so slightly. Her fingers were curled into her palms.

“I know what you’re talking about,” Kaelin said, advancing into the den. She pressed her lips together briefly. “And I want you to know the truth.”

She knew…wait. What?

Nick followed behind her, and Tyler’s eyes shot to Nick’s face. Tyler’s eyebrows lifted in a question. He jumped to his feet. “Did you tell her?”

Nick nodded somberly.

“Jesus fucking Christ.” Tyler lifted a hand to his forehead and turned away. He’d never wanted Kaelin to know about that. Never, ever. Had sworn his family, Nick and especially Avery to secrecy, to never tell her what he’d been accused of doing that night. He did not want her to know. His throat tightened. Shit.

He looked at Kaelin, expecting to see hatred and anger and who knew what else.

Instead he saw warmth and love and concern. His chest constricted.

She turned to his parents. “There are some things you need to know,” she said quietly. “That night ten years ago—I was there.”

Mom gasped. Dad’s mouth fell open.

“I wasn’t supposed to be,” she said. “They didn’t know I was coming over.” Tyler’s heart tightened even more and he clenched his hands into fists and closed his eyes. “When I saw Tyler and Nick and Tracy, I was shocked.” She didn’t look at him. “But I…I was…” She bent her head, her hair obscuring her face. She was what?

“I watched them,” she said, so quietly Tyler could barely hear. “For about ten minutes.”

Tyler had to sit down. His legs pretty much gave out on him, and he collapsed onto the chair he’d been sitting in. He stared at Kaelin. What was she saying? Did she know who she was saying this to? If this had been any other time, he’d wonder if she was drunk. But no. She was not drunk.

She’d watched them for ten minutes?

Oh Christ. He covered his eyes with his hand. He never knew that. Oh Christ.

“Tracy was definitely there of her own free will, Mrs. Wirth,” she continued. “I can attest to that. She wanted everything that was happening. She was begging for it.”

Mom’s mouth opened and closed like a fish, her eyes buggy, her face scarlet. His dad didn’t look much different, running a finger around the inside of the collar of his Ralph Lauren polo shirt.

“I interrupted them,” Kaelin said. “They were all shocked to see me there, including Tracy. I ran out as soon as they saw me, but Nick told me nothing more happened after that. Tracy changed her mind and they took her home. And I believe them.”

“You don’t know for sure nothing happened after that,” Dad snapped. “She said—”

“You’d rather believe a stranger over your son?” Kaelin asked slowly, her eyebrows drawn down. “Really? Because I believe Tyler and Nick. I believe them because…” She drew in another long breath. “Because it was me at the hotel with them Friday night.”

Jesus Christ. All Tyler could think was a string of shocking curse words. What the fuck was she doing?

His mom was choking. Was she having a heart attack?

His dad reached for her and drew her down to the couch beside him. “Are you okay, Margot?” he asked.

She shoved his hands away with a glare. “Yes. I mean, no. I mean…Kaelin, dear…”

“Kaelin.” Tyler spoke up. “Stop this. Now.”

She faced him. “No. I’m not stopping. I want them to know the truth. About you.”

“But what about you, for Chrissake?”

“I don’t care about me. I don’t care if they know the truth about me. I am who I am.” She held his gaze steadily.

Now
he
was the one having a heart attack, the pain in his chest so severe it took his breath away. She had no fucking intention of leaving this damn town and she was standing there trashing her reputation in front of the two people to whom reputation meant the most. Meant more, apparently, than he did.

“I was with them Friday night. That whole thing was my idea. I was the one who wanted to do it. Don’t blame Tyler. And…I can assure you that based on my experience, there is no way either of those men would ever force a woman to have sex.” Her voice started quavering despite the way her jaw was lifted. “I won’t be so crass as to share details with you, as I’m sure you don’t want to hear it, but I want you to know that.”