She gave me a weak smile and took me to the office. She brought it up and played it. It was absolutely savage. I had blood all over my face. When we went toe-to-toe, we each took probably ten shots that should have put us down. We were still throwing punches when Jim ended it. I was amazed his punch didn’t kill Bill. The video finally ended with shots of me throwing up and Tracy gasping for breath. I felt physically ill after seeing that.
Angie took me into her arms to comfort me. It scared me to see how brutal I could be. I also realized that I’d almost lost a friend to that bastard. How could anyone be that sick to do something like that? Angie and I didn’t say anything.
Dad called us to dinner. Everyone noticed that I was upset, so Angie told them that she had shown me the video. Apparently, they’d all seen it, which caused dinner to be quiet. Mom and Dad took me back to my apartment.
Dad gave me a hug, which caused me to wince.
“I’m proud of you, son. You did what you had to. Tracy is lucky you were there.”
“I hope I never have to do that again.”
Mom snorted.
“Honey, we pray for that, too. It’s over now, so don’t let it get you down. Your father and I support you. Tom called and said that Bill’s out of the hospital and now in custody. The police are looking at what you did as self-defense,” Mom said.
I was tired, so they let me lie down. I was out before they hit the bottom of the stairs.
Chapter 17 – Tracy Tells Her Story
Saturday March 1
THE LAST WEEK HAD GONE pretty much as expected. Everyone had seen the video. No one knew what to make of me, so they avoided me. I talked to Kendal and we put modeling on hold until my stitches came out. The swelling had gone down, but I was still bruised. I had visited the plastic surgeon again and she was happy with my progress. She told me that if there was scarring, she would use a laser to smooth the skin out.
I hadn’t played seven-on-seven football today. Mike had stepped up and run the offense and they had won one game but lost the second. This matched what the varsity had done. That tournament wrapped up the short season because baseball was starting this week.
Tracy came home and was expected to be in school Monday. Tom had pushed until Bill was taken into custody after being released from the hospital. This time Tracy wasn’t backing down, and Bill’s parole was revoked while he prepared for trial.
I’d been questioned and my story matched the video, so they weren’t looking to charge me with anything. We had known that the night of the fight, but it was good to hear it from the police.
Tom called me on Friday and said that Tracy wanted to talk to me. He’d invited me to dinner tonight.
Jim and Cassidy weren’t happy because that meant I had to cancel our Saturday-night double date. They were going to go to Cassidy’s house for dinner instead. I promised I would call if I was done early and they could pick me up. Jim even agreed that Suzanne could be my date. Suzanne had teased him all week about us making out in the back seat. I think he was halfway relieved that I had to change the plans.
I WAS SURPRISED WHEN Dr. Hebert, Tracy’s psychiatrist, answered the door.
“It’s good to see you,” she greeted me warmly. “Please come in.”
She guided me into the living room where Tom and Mary were sitting. I noticed that Tracy wasn’t in the room. Mary got me a Coke and I sat in one of the big wingback chairs.
“Tracy’s at a critical juncture in her recovery. I’ve been meeting with her one-on-one all week, and frankly, I’ve had some anxiety that she might hurt herself. Thursday, we had a breakthrough. She finally shared with me what happened to her,” Dr. Hebert stated.
She paused to make sure she had our undivided attention.
“Excuse me, but what’s going on? All I heard was that Tracy wanted to talk to me,” I said, feeling a little deceived.
“Once she told me, she decided she owed it to the people closest to her to tell them what had happened to her. What she’s going to share with you will be hard for you to hear. The absolute wrong reaction will be to get mad. You’ll destroy her if you even think of blaming her for what happened,” she said, trying to keep her feelings under control. “Bill Rogers needs to rot in hell!”
I felt my stomach knot up. Dr. Hebert had turned her hands into fists, struggling to keep control, and Mary was quietly crying. Tom had a stony face that did not bode well. I stood up and paced, trying to get my own feelings under control. I could only imagine what had happened to her to cause all the craziness. Tom got up and made himself a scotch. We all took a moment to collect ourselves.
I noticed that Tom didn’t drink his scotch but set it down on the end table next to him.
“Sorry, that was unprofessional of me,” Dr. Hebert continued. “When Tracy is telling you what happened, please don’t interrupt her. It will be hard enough for her to get it out. Let her talk herself out, and remember your love for her, and that we’re here for Tracy.”
She waited until we all agreed, and then went and got Tracy. When she came into the room, I stood up. She still had a bandage on the spot on her neck where they did surgery. I could see the bruising where Bill had tried to strangle her. She slowly came to me, and when I put my arms out she rushed into them and started to cry.
“I was afraid you’d hate me after what happened. I’ve been so mean to you. I don’t deserve you being my friend. I’m sorry you got hurt helping me,” all came out in a rush.
I just held her as she cried. Mary had a hard time watching her daughter in pain, and Dr. Hebert kept a professional expression on her face. I felt my heart break for the young woman that I had loved. All the while, another part of me wanted to run out of the room and go far away.
The logical side of me wanted nothing to do with her. Every time I opened my heart, she hurt me. I still couldn’t fathom why she’d been so deliberate about it and taken it to such an extreme. A simple ‘I want to break up’ would have sufficed.
As she cried, the memories raced through my brain. The first time was at the band fundraiser where we had the Bachelor Auction. We’d agreed that she would put in the minimum bid. I remember being physically ill when I realized that she wasn’t going to bid on me. She’d bid on Jim instead. I found out later that she’d slept with him just hours after we broke up.
I wanted to scream when she finally told me why she did it. A stupid newspaper caption had identified her as my girlfriend. Hindsight being 20/20, I should have run as far away from Tracy as I could. She’d embarrassed me in front of hundreds of my classmates because of something I had no control over.
The emotional side of me eventually took over, and I forgave her. We made a point to take it slow and build a strong relationship. By the time we went on the trip to Amelia Island, I was the happiest I’d ever been. Tracy and I were doing great. Then her dad talked her into breaking up with me again.
I really didn’t care why Tom did it; he said it was to protect Tracy. What really had upset me was that she just walked away. We had made promises to communicate with each other and had long discussions on how to handle problems. I thought we could tell each other anything and work it out.
I thought she loved me, but actions sure spoke louder than words. She sent me a text to call her. When I did, she had her mother tell me that she was out on a date with Luke—a date that she initiated. Again, she had jumped into bed with a guy just hours after our breakup. She knew that was the way to hurt me the most. We’d talked about the one absolute deal-breaker for me, and that was her sleeping with another guy.
That act alone made me never want to see her again, much less date her. It was done to inflict maximum hurt. She also picked the one guy that I couldn’t stand and threw away any chance of us ever being together again.