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“What the hell is going on out there?” They heard Kevin shout. “Get away from here!”

“Help me! Someone help m—!” Elena’s scream was silenced by a loud crack.

“Josh? What’s going on?” Andrea said. She was standing on the stairway with Jim and Rosa. “We can hear you banging all the way downstairs, even over the music.”

“Kevin’s got Elena in there!”

Josh threw himself at the door for what must have been the twentieth time. He didn’t need to say anymore. While the girls stood wide-eyed, Jim launched into action and helped the other boys. With his added strength, the wood finally began to shudder on its hinges. A few more hits and it finally gave way. It cracked at the frame, and separated from the wall just enough for them to squeeze through one at a time. Bryan barged through the opening before Josh could blink, but he and Jim weren’t far behind.

“Get your hands off her!” Bryan screamed.

Kevin was lying on Josh’s bed with Elena pinned underneath him. His lifted his mouth away from hers at the unexpected intrusion. Elena whimpered as she tried desperately to squirm out from beneath him. Josh could see her blouse had been torn open, revealing delicate lace beneath. Kevin was attempting to do the same thing with her low-rise jeans. Luckily for Elena, they were extremely tight and Kevin was clumsily drunk, so he couldn’t maneuver them very well. He certainly wasn’t going to get the chance to finish what he started. Before he had a second to react, Josh and Bryan were on top of him, pulling him to the ground.

“I guess you think you’re a real tough guy!” Bryan gave Kevin a hard left hook. He staggered but somehow remained standing. “Let’s see how tough you are now!”

Josh followed through with another hit, and blood gushed from Kevin’s nose all over the bed.  “What did you think you were going to do to her Kevin? Huh? Were you going to try to kill her like Lily and Jazz?”

Josh kicked him in the stomach and Kevin doubled over, gasping for breath. He couldn’t answer or maybe he just didn’t want to. He looked toward Jim for support. He was watching from the corner, but Jim refused to defend his friend or take part in his beating. He stood neutral on the sidelines. Andrea and Rosa were also lurking in the doorway, looking nervous and worried. Kevin started to look scared when he realized he had no backup.

Bryan was practically seething as he stood over him. Josh wondered if he would kill Kevin. He wondered if he would let Bryan kill him. If Kevin had murdered Lily and attacked Jazz, did he deserve any less? Luckily, Josh didn’t have to make the choice, because after one last swift kick to Kevin’s ribs, Bryan forgot all about him and walked over to Elena. She was still on the bed, shaking and cowering. Her blonde hair was a tangled mess and her lip was bloodied. An ugly bruise was already beginning to spread under one her eyes—eyes that were surprisingly dry of tears. Josh realized she was probably still in shock.

“Are you all right?” Bryan asked her gently.

“He was going to rape me.” With the words came the tears. She desperately tried to hold the pieces of her ruined shirt together.

“Don’t listen to her!” Kevin cried from the floor. “She’s nothing but a whore! She wanted it just as much as I did.” Elena shook her head adamantly, but Kevin continued his verbal assault. “Do you hear me? She wanted it! She’s a slut. She wanted me to do her! She asked for it. She practically begged for it!”

“I didn’t!” Elena screamed. Her tone was almost childlike in its desperation, so unlike the queen of the school Josh had always known. “I didn’t!”

“It’s all right,” Bryan soothed. He put his arm around her shoulders. She seemed startled at first, but then she relaxed against him. “You’re safe now. We know you didn’t want this.”

“She did want it! She nothing but a . . . owwww.”

Josh silenced him with one quick kick in the ribs. He could barely breathe, let alone speak when Josh was through with him. “Shut up! Just shut up! We can tell just by looking at her that this wasn’t consensual. Look at her, Kevin!” Josh grabbed the corner of his chin, and forced him to turn and look at Elena, bruised and quivering. “Look at what you did to her!”

Kevin’s only response was to spit in Josh’s face. Josh threw him to the ground and wiped away the blood and saliva with his sleeve.

“Kevin, what’s happened to you?” Andrea whispered from the corner. “When did you turn into this monster?”

“It wasn’t my fault!” Kevin insisted. “She gets me to the point where I’m ready to explode, and then she tells me she’s sorry but we have to stop. I’m moving too fast for her? You can’t stop once it gets that far!”

“Sometimes you have to stop,” Jim said firmly. He sounded angry, but also disappointed. Yet, there wasn’t a hint of surprise in his voice. Josh wondered if Jim had seen Kevin behave this way before. “It’s called will power! If a girl tells you to stop, you stop.”

Kevin only glared at him with as much hatred as he did every other person in the room. He didn’t seem at all remorseful. Bryan returned his wicked stare with an intensity that was almost frightening. He pulled away from Elena. She clung to the security of his embrace until Rosa took his place. She wrapped her arms around the trembling girl, and Elena seemed to calm down a little.

Josh came to his senses as things settled down, but he was afraid that Bryan hadn’t. His grief over his sister’s death might send him over the edge. What if he really did try to kill Kevin? Josh couldn’t let him ruin his life for revenge. He was about to intercede, but in the end, Bryan was the calmest of them all. Though his eyes were still angry, his voice was controlled when he finally spoke.

“I have a few questions for you,” he said calmly. “Did you poison Josh? Did you slash his tires?”

Kevin actually smirked, a brave feat considering the company he was in. “As a matter of fact, I did slash his tires,” he admitted. “I came out of the showers first that day. There was no one else around, so I took out my switchblade and just did it. I was so pissed when Coach made him captain. I deserved it more. At least I show up for practice once in a while! I knew he would think it was you since you’d been fighting.”

“And the rat poison?” Andrea asked. “Please tell me you didn’t do that!”

“I had nothing to do with that, but believe me I’d like to shake the hand of whoever did. It’s just a shame they didn’t finish the job!”

Josh shook his head. He was too numb to be hurt. “Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you?”

Kevin laughed bitterly. “What do you care? I’m nothing but a rapist, right? Why does my opinion matter?”

“This is all about jealousy, isn’t it?” Bryan asked. “You were so jealous of Josh you were willing to do anything to bring him down.”

“Maybe! And why shouldn’t I want to bring him down! No matter what I do, he always comes out on top.” He turned to Josh. “You get the girl, the fancy car, and the good grades. You even got to be captain of the wrestling team. It’s just not fair that you get everything. There’s no room for anyone else because you’re so goddamn perfect.”

Josh turned away in disgust. “And you’re pathetic.”

Kevin took advantage of the reprieve and tried to slink toward the door while he thought no one was looking, but Bryan blocked his path. “I’m not done with you yet. Did you kill my sister? Did you attack Jasmine?”

“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Kevin cowered as the larger boy loomed over him. “I swear. I didn’t touch those other girls. I don’t even know them!”

“Would you please make him leave?” Elena begged. “Just get him out of here! I can’t stand to look at him anymore.”

Bryan was torn for a minute. It was understandable that he wanted to continue his questioning while he had Kevin at such an obvious disadvantage, but one look at Elena’s tear-streaked face and he relented.

“You heard the lady. Get your ass out of here.”

Kevin didn’t need to be told twice. He scampered to his feet and headed toward the exit like the coward that he was. Bryan grabbed hold of his popped collar just before he could slither out the door.

“Before you go, I have something to say to you. Not just to you, but to everyone in this room.” His eyes made one quick sweep, staring down each person in turn. “I’m going to figure out who killed my sister, and when I do, they’re going to be sorry. You can all take that as a warning.”

Everyone was silent after that announcement. For a minute, no one even dared to breathe. Finally, Bryan let go of Kevin’s polo shirt and he darted away. When he was in the safety of the doorway, he paused.  His back was to them. He didn’t have the nerve to look any of them in the eye as he spoke.

“Are you going to call the cops? I’m eighteen already. If you report this, my life will be over.”

Josh snorted and pushed him the rest of the way through the door. “I guess you’re just going to have to wait and see.”

Kevin was gone before he could blink and the room was silent except for the sound of Elena’s sniffles. The music downstairs had died down along with the party. There were only a few stranglers left. Josh couldn’t wait to throw them out.

“I can’t believe this!” Andrea said, breaking the silence. She sat down on the edge of the bed beside the other girls. “I just can’t believe Kevin could do something like this. Do you guys think he’s the killer?”

“We can’t be sure,” Bryan said after a thoughtful moment. “As far as I can tell, he didn’t even know Lily or Jasmine. He’s a pig for sure, but he seems all about self-gratification, and killing Lily and Jazz wouldn’t serve any purpose. Not to mention the fact that he’s a total moron who would have no chance of outsmarting the cops.”

“Could someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” Jim asked, clearly confused. “Who was murdered? And Josh, you were poisoned? On purpose?”

Josh realized that Jim was the only person in the room who was still in the dark about everything that had happened the past few weeks. Once they filled him in, he looked even more baffled.

“Wow,” he said. “I feel kind of guilty. I knew Kevin trashed your car. He told me a few days ago. He thought it was a big joke. I’ve been trying to decide whether or not to tell you ever since. I just didn’t want to cause any problems between you, you know. But I would have told you right away if I had any idea all this other crap was going on. I never thought Kevin might be dangerous.”

He cast a sheepish glance in Elena’s direction. Andrea looked about ready erupt with a stream of nasty comments, but she settled with just punching her boyfriend’s arm. Rosa wasn’t as inclined to remain silent.

“Idiot,” she muttered.

“You’re right. God, Elena, I’m so sorry,” Jim whispered. “I might have been able to stop this.”

“It’s not your fault,” Bryan said. “There’s no way you could have known what he was going to do.”

“He’s right,” Elena agreed. “This is on Kevin. Nobody else. He made his choice, and he’s going to pay for it.” The edge was back in her voice and Josh knew she was through being a victim. This was the Elena that Josh knew and respected, even if he didn’t always like her.

“I couldn’t agree more,” he said. “We’ll take care of Kevin as soon as we end this lame excuse for a party. Let’s go downstairs and tell whoever’s left to clear out.”

“Wait, Josh. Bryan. Can I talk to you guys for a minute?” Elena asked.

The others obliged, and went downstairs to start cleaning up. Josh felt awkward, and Bryan seemed petrified. He sat down in Josh’s desk chair, and for the first time, Josh noticed his one arm was hanging limply at his side. He grimaced as he rubbed his shoulder. He must have gotten hurt when they were trying to break into the room. Of the three of them, no one had tried harder to get to Elena. He wondered if she even realized how much he cared about her.

If she didn’t pick up on his feelings, Elena at least noticed that Bryan was injured. She stood from the bed; still holding her blouse closed, and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Is your arm all right?”

Bryan grimaced. “It’s just a bruise.” He was blushing brighter than Josh had ever seen. “Nothing to worry about. Was there something you wanted to tell us?”

“I just wanted to, you know, say thank you—to both of you, for saving me tonight. I don’t know why you bothered. I’ve never been very nice to you, Bryan. And Josh, you and I have a less than perfect history. By the way, I’m sorry about what I did downstairs. I hope Rosa didn’t get angry.”

Josh waved his hand. “Forget it. No big deal. I’ve done a few stupid things myself when I’ve been hammered.”

Elena frowned. “I sobered up right away when Kevin brought me up here.”

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Bryan asked her.

She touched her bruised face. “There’s nothing he did to me that won’t heal,” she assured him. “But if you hadn’t come in when you did, Kevin definitely would have . . . he would have hurt me a lot worse.” She took Bryan’s hand in her own. She seemed to have forgotten that Josh was in the room. “Thank you so much for coming to my rescue.”

Bryan’s face was scarlet, and he had to clear his throat before he could speak. “No problem.” His voice cracked a little and didn’t sound nearly as cool as he had intended.

“Are you sure your arm is all right?” Elena persisted. “Can you bend it?”

“It’s fine.”

“Then bend it.”

It was an order and one that Bryan obeyed without a second thought. When he did, he grimaced again, and let the arm fall back down to his side. Elena was wearing her professional candy striper face. After some consideration she said, “I don’t think it’s broken, but you might have dislocated your shoulder. You’ll have to get x-rays to be sure. Josh, will you drive us to the hospital?”