Sense of Rumor (Mount Faith Series: Book 6) (14 page)

Chapter Twelve

It was shaping up to be an extremely wet September. It had been two days since Arnella had her interview with Natasha, and she was finding it hard not to blame herself for her current misfortune. In her session with Taj, he had told her that she was a victim and wasn't to be blamed, but she couldn't help but playing what-if-games in her head.

What if she hadn't worn that revealing bikini? What if she hadn’t tried to show off for Alric? What if she wasn't trying to be the life of the party? She would have been okay now. She wouldn't have been sexually assaulted and had a video of her in the hands of grimy pervs. God forbid that it starts floating around in cyberspace.

Arnella stepped into the Business Center. She had to eat some lunch. Her appetite had been playing hide and seek with her. She looked around the courtyard. Students were seated in little pockets around the indoor palm trees, talking and laughing. They looked so carefree and untouched by melancholy. That's exactly how she pictured that university students should look anyway, not burdened down with a million and one problems.

Then she saw a head moving up and down in laughter and she realized that it was Cory Livingston.
One of the criminals,
she thought snarkily. He was in a green shirt and was sitting with a group of his friends. One girl had her hand around his neck in a possessive manner.

So he found something funny, she thought resentfully. He could laugh and carry on with his life while she was miserable. She clenched her fists in anger. She wanted to do to Cory the same thing that she did to David, but she couldn't. Not here. Not now. She would surely be arrested for assault, and that would not make her life any easier. She wondered if Natasha had interviewed them yet. Then she thought not. He wouldn't be there, acting all carefree, if he knew that she had reported him to the police.

She walked to the cafeteria section feeling anger and guilt erupting inside her. Then she stopped at the doorway. Maybe she wasn't hungry after all. She had no appetite and she didn't want to run into Cory because she would attack him in anger, and it would not be pretty. She would surely overreact; she knew it.

She was turning around to leave the cafe area when she saw Alric turning around from the counter with a tray in hand.

"Hey," he called to her. "What's going on?"

Arnella smiled half-heartedly. "Nothing much."

There was a girl standing beside him. She was in a white lab coat. Her hair was caught up in a high ponytail, and she had on braces. She had slanted eyes that indicated some kind of Asian descent. She grinned when she saw Arnella.

"Want to have lunch with us?" Alric asked her.

Arnella shook her head.

"Come on," the girl said. "I want to have lunch with a non-medical."

"A non-medical?" Arnella asked.

"Yup, someone who is not into medicine and isn't likely to talk about it. I want to hear about what is going on in regular school."

"This is Kim Lee," Alric said to Arnella. "She is going to be the youngest graduate from med school in recent history."

"Uh," Kim said, "we are going to go sit over there. Go get something to eat and come join us."

Arnella made a face. "Not hungry. I'll just come join you."

They headed to the other side of the courtyard to where Cory was. Arnella sat with her back toward him, across from Kim and Alric.

Alric had a worried expression on his face. "I don't understand. You aren't eating again."

Kim's eyes perked up. "Are you sick? Should we diagnose her?"

Alric glanced at Kim. "Okay, shoot."

"Well," Kim looked at Arnella assessingly. "She looks a bit underweight to me. I would guess anorexia or maybe bulimia."

"But there are no telltale signs around her lips." Alric said, looking at Arnella. "They look pink and soft, not cracked at all and..."

"Can we change the subject?" Arnella said quickly, "I am neither bulimic nor anorexic, and I thought you said you wanted to talk to a non-medical."

Kim laughed. "I know right. It always comes back to medicine for me. I hope you aren't sick though and all this concern is just from an overly sensitive med school boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend," Arnella said quickly.

Kim laughed and looked at Alric's crestfallen expression.

"He'd like to be though."

Arnella drummed her fingers on the table impatiently. If she were really honest, she'd like to be his girlfriend. Somewhere along the line, her perspective on Alric had shifted. She had gone from seeing him as a stuck up snob to seeing him as a guy she would have loved to date, but he wouldn't want to be her boyfriend if he knew what she was facing now. Alric didn't seem as if he would want somebody like her. He was better off with Tracy's type: circumspect in all her ways, ambitious, good family background.

She sighed involuntarily. Alric looked up from his food, frowning. Kim looked at Arnella at the same time. "So tell me about life outside of the medical building."

Arnella looked away from Alric. "I have no idea. I am here under duress so I just go to class and then home to work on my paintings."

"Interesting," Kim said, "I hear a lot of people say they are forced by their parents to come here. Not me, I couldn't wait to get out of high school."

"Which she did when she was just fourteen," Alric said admiringly. "Kim here is a genius."

"But," Kim said, "I am hopelessly underdeveloped socially. Just this morning I heard some girls talking to each other about a sex tape going around. I heard it had something to do with the president. If you ask me, I am not interested in seeing the president of this university in a lewd position."

Arnella felt her blood run cold. Her mouth fell open and she struggled to breathe. Sex tape. It must be the one with her!

"That's only a rumor," Alric said, "and since I have become friends with Arnella, I am counseling myself to stop listening to rumors. These things are whack. No truth to them. Right Arnella?"

Arnella wanted to run from the building, all the way down the hill to the plains of Santa Cruz and into her house, and lock the door and never talk to anyone again. "Right," she answered Alric faintly. "I think I am coming down with something."

Kim raised her eyebrows. "I hope it's not the flu. I can't afford to catch anything now."

Arnella shook her head. "I hope not; gotta run."

She got up and headed to the courtyard exit. She hadn't even realized that Alric was at her heels; he grabbed her hand and spun her around when they were away from the Business Center.

"What's wrong?"

Arnella's eyes watered. "Nothing." She cleared her throat. "Nothing."

Alric nodded. "I don't believe you. You were clearly upset when you heard about a sex tape involving your uncle. Don't worry about it; they have rumors flying around the campus all the time."

"They do?" Arnella asked calming down enough to think about it. Maybe she had overreacted because the words sex tape was a hot button issue for her. Maybe there really was a coincidental rumor about a tape going around. She breathed out. She was super sensitive these days.

"Yup." Alric grinned. "There was a time when there was this rumor going around that the old president was murdered by his gay lover. They even said your uncle did it."

Arnella smiled. "I heard that one."

"Then there was this rumor that Micah was the rapist around campus a couple of years ago. Of course, that proved to be untrue and then there was a rumor that your cousin Adrian was hiding Cathy from that druggist guy. What's his name again? Nanjo."

Arnella inhaled and then exhaled in a huff. "Okay. I see where this is going; my family is a target for the rumor mill."

"You know I never knew that you felt this way about rumors," Alric said ruefully, "You always seemed so unaffected by them. Listen, Arnella," he said, holding her hand, "I am sorry I listened to all the crap I heard about you and believed them."

Arnella chuckled. "Does this mean that you don't think I am morally bankrupt anymore?"

Alric frowned. "I decided to forget what I saw and judge you on what I know now. Okay?"

"'Kay." Arnella felt a raindrop land on her forehead, and she looked up at the sky. "Another downpour is coming. What are you going to do now?"

Alric grinned a lopsided grin that showed off his left dimple. "I am going to interpret that question as you wanting to spend time with me. As a matter of fact, I planned to go to my apartment and continue studying for the infamous Multiple Mini Interview."

"What's that?" Arnella asked, suddenly not wanting to be alone and wanting to hang with him a bit longer.

"That's when they ask you questions based on your whole medical career in a circuit interview setting. You can't graduate med school without this dreaded interview cycle."

"So you will be finished this year?"

"Yes," Alric nodded, "from med school. Then it's internship at the Medical Center and then three years residency. By that time, I'll be twenty-seven. Do you think you can handle having an intern doctor friend for three years?"

The rain started pouring down in earnest, but Arnella couldn't move. Was he asking her to be his girlfriend? Was this his backhanded way of asking?

They stared at each other while the rain came down harder. Little rivulets of water were winding their way down his smooth nutmeg skin to his lips. Arnella watched them fascinatedly then finally shook her head. "Of course. I'll be your friend, if that's what you want."

Alric smiled slowly. "That's a start. You're wet."

"So are you," Arnella said shyly.

"Want to come to my apartment and dry off?" Alric asked.

Arnella thought about it for so long that Alric folded his arms and shook his head, "I promise; I will behave myself."

Arnella wondered if she could trust him. She had just come from a situation where she was finding it difficult to trust men. She finally nodded.

"Good," Alric said playfully, "because I am getting soaked here."

The air felt freezing as they walked together toward the Blue Palm Apartments.

"I have always wanted to do this," Arnella said, laughing up at Alric. "I have never in my whole life walked in the rain before, not caring about my hair or if I step into puddles… just walking."

Alric deliberately stepped in a puddle and said, "Stepping in puddles is the best way to do this."

Arnella giggled and stepped in one too. "This is liberating."

Alric laughed. "I have never done this either, so it's a first for us."

Arnella nodded brushing off the dark cloud that hung over her head when he said that. There was no space for dark clouds here. She thought ironically, looking up at the gray skies. She pushed out her tongue and tried to catch raindrops.

Alric laughed and did the same.

*****

Tracy had just driven home from her Business Law class, the last class of the day. She had two classes on Friday morning and then she had the weekend free. It was going to be a wet weekend. She wished she had someone to spend the weekend with, not just someone, but Alric.

She smiled to herself and turned into the Blue Palm Apartment parking lot. Several times she had gone to visit Alric and knocked on his door, but there was no response. At least he was working hard and not feeling concerned for Arnella, she thought resentfully. She had had to nip that softening of his attitude toward Arnella in the bud. Her methods were not right, but she was learning to live with it. She hoped that he did not tell Arnella what she told him, but from the disgust he show toward her the last time, she seriously doubted that he would be telling Arnella anything.

She got out of the car, struggling with her flimsy umbrella and her bag of books. She headed for Block C then thought about going to Block F instead, where Alric lived. She had never tried knocking on his door at three in the evening. She smiled to herself.

She had no idea what the inside of his apartment looked like, but she knew there was a standard kitchenette, living room, bedroom, and bathroom. Students usually gave it their own touch, as she did hers with her pink and white accessories. Maybe she could invite herself to decorate for him. She walked briskly to Block D, the rain was pouring down harder, and even though she was walking on the corridor, it was blowing in her direction.

She counted the numbers as she walked by. Alric was on F3. She knocked on the door briskly, looking around; not wanting anybody to see that she was once again loitering outside his door. She was surprised when she heard movement in the apartment and a pleased smile stretched across her lips when the door opened slowly. Her smile quickly fell when Arnella, her hair damp and a towel in one hand, opened the door. She was dressed in one of Alric's sweatshirts, which reached her almost to her knees. Arnella smirked when she saw Tracy.

Tracy was dumbstruck. She could not formulate a word when she saw her.

Arnella kept on rubbing her hair. "Yes?" she enquired snarkily.

"I came to see Alric," Tracy said, swallowing the bile that was rising to her throat.