Chapter 16: All These Things That I’ve Said

Sunday March 13

The day I dreaded was finally here. I had to tell my two ex-best friends the truth of what had happened to them that caused our friendships to fall apart. Looking back, a lot of it was my fault. I’d brought Brandon into our midst. I’d trusted my lawyers when they recommended him to be my PA and help with recruiting. I’d been too trusting and not looked into why he’d left Harvard.

Since then I’d requested that Caryn make sure everyone had a background check. I even made them check into people and organizations we donated money to. I had a better understanding of Teddy Wesleyan now. As yet I wasn’t paranoid that everyone was out to get money from me, but I wasn’t far from it. Before I went off the deep end, I was sure someone would give me a reality check.

I rolled over in my bed and heard a tail thumping. I looked down and saw Duke was next to my bed. I shook my head. Mom had bought him a fancy bed for his crate, and he’d rather lie on the bare floor.

I got up and looked out the window. I could see it was snowing, which made it easy to skip running today. Flee, my quarterback friend from Miami, had posted on Facebook that it was in the mid-80s yesterday.

I went to the living room, stretched, and then did my forms to get my blood pumping. I felt good as I went to take my shower. I was ready to face whatever was to come.

Dad must have gone to Granny’s, because there were two platters of cinnamon rolls. She’d introduced a maple-cream cheese frosting with pecans. Half the rolls had that on it. I would have to thoroughly test both to see which was better. From the smell coming from the oven, there was some kind of breakfast casserole warming up. Peggy came downstairs with Little David and handed him to me so I could say good morning.

She made herself a cup of coffee and got me a glass of orange juice.

“I hear you had quite the crowd for your game. They interviewed Mr. Hicks, and he said they may move your games to State to accommodate the number of people interested in seeing you play.”

“Surely he didn’t say it was just for me. Eve sang and the Washington boosters had a fundraiser.”

“I’m afraid so,” she said.

I didn’t get a chance to quiz Peggy any longer because the back door opened and Uncle John came in. Mom and Dad came down and we had coffee.

“Shouldn’t we at least have a cinnamon roll?” I suggested.

“You can wait until everyone gets here,” Mom scolded.

It wasn’t long before everyone showed up. Mom and Dad had talked to both Alan’s parents and Tami’s mom. Everyone seemed to agree I was the one that needed to tell them. As far as they knew, we were all here for breakfast. Mom had told Tami she was tired of us not being close friends and that I was ready to make that happen. Of course Tami told Alan.

Everyone filled up their plates except for me. I would wait until I was done talking. We’d arranged it so Tami was at the head of the table and I was to her right with Alan on her left. Uncle John said psychologically Tami sitting at the head of the table would give her more control. I thought he was crazy, but I wasn’t about to argue. With them seated like this I could look at both of them at the same time.

“I wanted to talk to you both about all these things that I’ve said over the last few months. There are things that were hurtful and drove you both away from me. In my defense, I assumed some things that I’ve recently discovered to be untrue. You both know what I’m talking about,” I said, and then tilted my head to indicate that we weren’t alone. “I think we’ll leave it at that.”

Tami looked me in the eyes, I felt her reading my soul, and then her eyes narrowed.

“What was untrue?” she asked.

For once Alan sat quietly as he tried to figure it out.

“Tami, you were raped,” I barely got out.

Alan’s eyes went wide.

“I didn’t do anything!” he yelled.

I held up my hands.

“I didn’t say you did it,” I said, and then hurried on before they began to question me. “Brandon drugged you both, raped Tami, and then staged you both to deceive me.”

“You’re saying this was done to get at you,” Tami said, getting mad.

“Partly. Partly, Brandon’s a serial rapist. Before you kill me, let me explain,” I said.

Tami rocked back in her seat and crossed her arms. Her body language didn’t look good. Alan was just stunned. I looked around the table, and everyone had a grim expression on their face. I wondered if I’d messed this up.

“Rigby, Thompson and Associates were told I needed a PA and someone to handle my recruiting. They introduced me to Brandon Rigby, Don Rigby’s nephew, and told me he was available. They told me he’d decided to quit Harvard and take time off to travel Europe. His dad was said to have given him an ultimatum to either get a job or go back to school. They thought being my PA would be good experience for him, since Kendal had done so well. It helped her transition into her role as an entertainment agent.

“Brandon said he’d also been a top-150 football recruit in high school, so he knew what I would face in the recruiting process,” I said, and then got out of my chair to pace.

“Over the fall and into the winter I talked to both of you enough to start to have some suspicions about what happened that night. But I just couldn’t get past what I’d seen,” I said, and licked my lips.

Suddenly I had cottonmouth and had to get a drink. I rubbed my hands together and then powered on.

“When I came back from LA, Caryn was put in charge of running my businesses day-to-day. We needed office space and to hire her some help. One of the hires was Megan. She’d been in charge of the financials at Rigby, Thompson and Associates, and took care of their computers.

“When we met to look at the strip mall we bought, she told me about Brandon. She told me that she’d overheard Brandon bragging about what he’d done that weekend to one of his fraternity buddies who worked at the firm,” I said.

“Wait a minute, how long ago was that?” Tami asked.

I took a deep breath.

“Just let me finish this and I’ll answer all your questions,” I said, knowing if we got off track this would turn into a bigger mess.

Tami just nodded. Alan started to ask a question, but Tami gave him a look. At least she hadn’t hit his forehead.

“Before you worry, none of my family knew anything about this until a week or so ago. I didn’t want them to know, because I was afraid they’d tell you before I could take care of it.”

I could read Tami’s mind. She thought I was an idiot for trying to be the white knight and fixing everything. I was on a short rope before she hanged me.

“I talked to my security head, Fritz, about what Megan had told me. He confirmed that my initial impulse to make Brandon disappear wasn’t a good idea. I’ve held that plan in the back of my mind from the start, and if things don’t work out so that he’s punished, it still may happen,” I admitted.

“David!” Tami and my mom both said at the same time.

“Sorry, but it’s a fact. I’ll make sure he’s never able to do this again,” I said, looking at the two of them. “Fritz turned out to be a good person to go to. He has experience in security matters and friends who know how to get things done. He and they helped me get background on Brandon.

“Brandon didn’t leave Harvard voluntarily. Two women with connections accused him of rape. They didn’t have enough proof to get him arrested, but had enough pull to get him removed. I think the university didn’t want the scandal.

“We turned up other instances where Brandon was involved in rapes. No one had connected the dots to see he was a person of interest in multiple cases. In a handful of cases, they collected rape kits, but they never processed them. If they had, his DNA would have shown up and they would have discovered they had a serial rapist,” I said.

“Why weren’t they processed? Rape is a serious crime,” Alan said.

“Rape is considered a violent crime. Even the police think that. The rape kits didn’t get processed for various reasons. With these girls, they each voluntarily went to a party. At the party, they got drunk, and some took drugs. They woke up and found they’d had sex. Being drunk means no consent, but if that were the rule then half of all college hookups would be questionable,” I said.

“That sounds familiar,” Tami said.

“Brandon, at some point, figured it out and started to use drugs to get the results he wanted. Serial rapists are responsible for the majority of rapes on college campuses,” I said, and then sat back down.

“Once I had the police reports, I went to Bev Mass, Harper’s mom. She’s the Cook County State’s Attorney. Once I convinced her that Brandon was a possible serial rapist, she contacted her counterpart in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, where Harvard is located. Her counterpart had the Cambridge police look into it.

“I paid to have the rape kits processed to speed things up. I don’t think they took me seriously until the same DNA from two or three men showed up consistently,” I said.

“Did they take his DNA to compare it?” Tami asked.

“Not at first. I figured it should be easy: drag his ass in and take a sample. Unfortunately, it seems even criminals have rights. The good news was that the police started to investigate and run down leads. Bev explained that they needed to do that so that Brandon couldn’t point the finger at anyone else.

“Honestly, I got tired of waiting. I talked to Bev to see how we could get Brandon’s DNA. I even offered to let him bleed on my shirt, but she told me that wouldn’t work. They didn’t want him getting off on a technicality, and she told me that chain of custody was important.

“That’s when I went to Detective Kitchens to see if he could help. He contacted Bev and the people out east and offered his assistance. He collected Brandon’s garbage and they found matching DNA. That must have been enough for them to issue arrest and search warrants. Brandon is currently in jail awaiting extradition to Massachusetts.

“During their search they found twenty journals detailing his activities. I understand he outlined what he did to the two of you in one of them,” I said.

“So, why are you finally telling us this now?” Alan asked.

“Because the press will know he’s arrested and it’ll be in tomorrow’s news. I wanted to tell you before you saw it and put it together,” I said, and then went quiet.

Uncle John took over from there. He was a trained child psychologist. Dad, Peggy and I were sent to my apartment. I made myself a plate of food, grabbed a platter of cinnamon rolls and left so everyone could talk. Tami was quietly crying as she began to realize what Brandon had done to her. Alan was strangely quiet.

When we got upstairs, Peggy turned my coffee table into a regular table so I could eat. I heated water for a pot of tea and found plates for the rolls.

“You’re going to have to be patient with them. They’re going to be angry and want to lash out. You’re an easy target right now,” Dad said.

“It doesn’t help with all the things that I’ve said to both of them. I have a few things to atone for,” I admitted.

“I would hope they realize how much you care after what you did to get him arrested,” Peggy said.

“You would think, but don’t count on it for now,” Dad said.

After I’d eaten and had a cup of tea, I needed to do something.

“I want to go to church,” I said.

“I’ll go with you,” Dad said, just about flooring me.

That’s what we did. We were a couple of minutes late, so we snuck into the back. I was impressed that Dad didn’t fall asleep.

When I came home, Tami wanted to talk to me. I was led to my apartment, and I expected I would have to finally answer for how I’d treated her. I wondered where Alan had gone.

“This was all my fault,” Tami said once we were seated on the couch.

“Uh...” I stammered.

“No. Let me talk,” she said.

“I forced my way onto your recruiting trips. I’ve had a lot of time to think since then, and I owe you an apology. I messed up in August. If I had it to do over again, I would have accepted your promise ring,” she said as she reached over and placed her hand on my knee.

I felt my gut tighten. Only Tami could make me this uneasy. We’d been best friends since the first grade, and I felt it had grown into more over the summer. She was the only person I would’ve let break my heart so many times and forgive. It wasn’t a logical thing or something I could help. Sometimes you found that one person that got under your skin and you couldn’t let go. From the outside, I was sure people thought that I was a complete wuss. But sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants.

I could probably go on and on about how we’d grown up closer than siblings; how I’d let her run my life, which made her happy. Like I said, from the outside it made no sense. Here I was the big badass alpha male, according to my uncle, and Miss Tami Glade led me around like a puppy. The thing was, if she was the one, it didn’t matter to me. Tami had always had my best interest at heart, or so I believed.

After she rejected me last summer, I’d tried to convince myself that I’d moved on. I knew that it was what I needed to do if I ever wanted to be happy. Her leaving for the UK had started me on the path to becoming my own man. When she gave me the ‘someday’ bullshit, in my heart I wanted to believe it. My brain knew better.

My weakness was my heart. I was too trusting and wanted to be loved. My worldview was of settling down with a woman I could give all my heart to and raising a family. When I found Tami and Alan in bed together, the dream of Tami and I had died. Over time I wasn’t even sure they’d had sex, but the image of them together was what finally did it.

Whatever hold Tami had over me had died that day. That didn’t mean that I didn’t still care; I did. There was too much history. I would equate it to a couple that gets a divorce after years of marriage: even though you couldn’t live together anymore, and you’d hurt each other, there would always be something that you remembered of the good times. There had to have been something that brought you together in the first place, which meant they still had a piece of your heart. Tami still had a piece of mine, but at this point, we’d lost that ‘someday’ that fateful day—at least for me.

“You weren’t ready. It would have been a mistake. You saved us both from what would have eventually torn us both up. I would eventually have realized I’d forced you to commit to me. You’d told me enough times that you wanted to go to school and have a chance to enjoy high school like every other girl. You wanted to date and have your heart broken. You didn’t want to be tied down to me,” I said.

“You make it sound like I wouldn’t have enjoyed it.”

“I’m sure you would have, but in the back of your mind there would always have been doubts. You would’ve missed your chance to grow into your own person. I honestly think you did me a favor. I went through a lot in the last few months, and I can tell it has changed me, though in some ways not for the best. For the most part, though, I needed to focus on me,” I admitted.

“David, I never meant to hurt you. I saw that what Alan and I did ... supposedly did ... devastated you. I also didn’t mean to come between you and your mom. I see now that my actions over the last two years have been nothing but self-centered. I always thought you would do what I wanted and would be there in the end. I think I’ve lost that,” she said, as a tear rolled down her cheek.

“I know we’ve talked about this, and I think you’re right. I don’t see us as more than friends, but that doesn’t mean that’s a bad thing. I need a best friend,” I said.

“What about Tracy?” Tami asked.

How did she do it? How had she read my mind? I’d just begun to think of Tracy as my best friend.

“What about her?” I said, to play dumb.

“Don’t even try it. Tracy and I talk, and I’ve watched the two of you since you started dating our freshman year. Once she quit being a ‘stupid girl’ and got out of her head, she’s quietly worked to be your friend. She’s always there to step in and support you when you need it. You could have pushed her away after she broke your heart twice, but you were there when she faced her demons. You were there when she fell into depression. You and Pam were the only two that visited her when she was in the facility.”

“I think Pam is her best friend,” I said to deflect.

“David, you can have more than one best friend.”

“Then why are you asking about Tracy?” I asked.

She smiled.

“Because you needed to know that she’s what I want to be for now. I bet you don’t believe in my ‘someday’ line of thought, but I do. I realize what I lost now. Talking to Tracy has brought that home in spades. She also knows what she’s lost, and has made the best of the situation. I plan to do the same.”

“I still need to make amends for what I said.”

“I talked to your mom. She told me how you reacted when you found out Brandon was behind what happened. She also made me see your point of view, and even though I knew nothing happened, I know what you saw.

“I also talked to your uncle, and he helped me realize that without you, Brandon would be free and there would be nothing we could do about it,” she said.

“What about you? I can’t imagine what it is like to find out you were ... uh ... you know,” I faltered.

“Right now I’m okay. I have no memory of it happening, so it’s like it happened to someone else. Your uncle told me not to expect that feeling to last. He plans to get me in touch with a rape counselor near Wesleyan. I think I’m still in shock at the news, to be honest.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said.

“Stop that! Brandon’s to blame,” she said, and then took a moment to get her emotions under control. “You can’t take responsibility for everything that goes wrong. Yes, if you’d done a background check you might have uncovered it, but more than likely not. You don’t think that the deal he cut with the university was available to the public, do you?”

I thought about it and slumped in my chair. I wanted to believe I could fix anything; I was a guy. It sucked when the women in my life pointed out that I really couldn’t.

“Look, David, we need to get past this. If we play that ‘what if’ game, we’ll all find things we should have done differently. All we’ll do is beat up on each other and ourselves and this will ruin our lives. I personally don’t want Brandon to win. His goal was to ruin three almost lifelong friendships. After today, I want to look forward, not back. Can you help me do that?” she asked.

That sounded like my uncle. I just nodded.

“Good. We need to go talk to Alan,” she said, standing up.

“Why?” I asked.

“He’s a mess. He thinks you hate him,” Tami said with a hint of a smile.

“I do hate him,” I said smiling back.

“Good, be sure to tell him.”

“David, I’m so sorry. This was all my fault,” Alan said as I walked into the kitchen.

“I hate you,” I said, which shocked everyone except Alan and Tami.

Tami began to giggle. This was so like us. We had each thought the whole thing was on each of us individually. If we’d just done x, y or z, then none of this would have happened. I could tell that Uncle John and Alan’s parents had been trying to dissuade him from his feelings of responsibility. Brandon had caused the whole thing. Tami was right, we had to stop the ‘what ifs’ if we were ever to get to the part where we became best friends again.

“I hate you more,” Alan said, like we were seven again.

“I hate you both to infinity,” Tami said, which was what Jeff had always told us when Alan and I fought.

“I think we’ve all beaten ourselves up enough about this. It’s time we start the work to mend fences,” I said.

“I know how we can start. David has to take us to Monical’s and buy us pizza,” Tami said.

“Hey, why am I buying?” I asked.

“Because you didn’t believe your two best friends,” Alan said, and then saw the shocked look on my face. “Too soon?”

Tami gave me a hug.

“No. He needs to understand that he has to believe everything we tell him from now on. He also needs to know that since he’s rich now, he has to buy us stuff,” Tami said with a smirk.

She was pushing it, but I was all for a trip to Monical’s.

This didn’t quite turn out like I thought it would. I’d assumed that just Tami, Alan and I were going to Monical’s. Seems I was mistaken. The three of us did get a booth together. Everyone else sat together when our server pulled a couple of tables together. Dad made sure that they knew I was buying. Damned sunglasses money!

Tami was quizzing me about what was going on in my life, while Alan wanted to know all about Star Wars. The subject of baseball came up, and I mentioned that we played Wesleyan next Saturday, which led to a discussion about Mike and his transfer.

“When did he become such a dick?” Tami asked.

“What do you mean?” Alan asked.

“He walked in like he was already the Big Man on Campus. I admit, he is cute,” Tami said.

“And has a nice butt,” I mumbled.

She got a faraway dreamy look and sighed, to tease me.

“Wait, where was I?” she asked, and then gave me an evil grin.

“Mike being a jerk,” Alan prompted.

“He used to be a good guy, but it’s like he plans to sleep with all the girls at Wesleyan. The problem is he acts like he expects them to just fall at his feet. He also seems to be looking to get revenge on you.”

“What makes you say that?” I asked.

Tami contemplated what she’d just said. I suddenly had a good idea of how he would do it.

“Did he try to force you?” I asked.

Alan’s head snapped around, and he had a worried look. Mike had gotten a reputation for not caring who he went after or what the consequences would be. I wouldn’t put it past him to target my friends to sleep with them as a ‘fuck you’ to me.

“No, but he has hit on me several times. I told him that if he kept it up, I’d tell you. I think that’s exactly what he wanted. I’ve warned the rest of them to be careful around him,” Tami said.

“The rest of who?” Alan asked.

“Girls who’re friends of mine,” I said to Alan, and then turned to Tami. “Jim almost killed him when Mike hit on Jim’s girlfriend. If Mike isn’t careful, he’ll piss people off there, too.”

Tami looked down and then up at me.

“I think Harper’s gone out with him,” she said, and braced herself for the blowup.

I just laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Alan asked.

“Of all my friends at Wesleyan, Harper’s the one that bothers me the least. Maybe he should go after Jennie Wesleyan next,” I suggested.

I’d have to think about this. I was glad to hear that Tami and my other friends hadn’t fallen for his charms. I admit, Mike is a good-looking guy. Tami even admitted at one point that she’d found him attractive. Now that he was out from under my shadow, it sounded like he planned to assert himself. I wished him luck. Wesleyan was nothing like Lincoln High. Girls like Jennie Wesleyan would use him, but he would never be a serious boyfriend. There were too many moms like Jennie’s who would never allow a scholarship boy to interfere in their plans for their daughters.

What Mike didn’t know was that it was a tight-knit group. If he caused too many problems, Teddy Wesleyan would jerk his scholarship, no matter how much Mike helped improve their football team.

“How’s Damion doing?” I asked.

Tami had a genuine smile when I mentioned his name. Damion Roth was the Randy Moss-clone wide receiver whom I’d met at both Elite 11 and Elite camps. I’d introduced him to Teddy Wesleyan and then somewhat regretted it. Damion had been involved in an incident with Candy and Flee at Elite Camp in Houston. Bo had tried to help him, but caught him with the daughter of the woman Bo was spending some time with. Damion had been sent home after his second incident with girls he really shouldn’t have been spending time with.