"Well, Blaine -- or both of them -- have put the video out there now. Soon, I'll be the talk of campus and graduate studies, if anyone finds out."
"I'll contact Pete Moran and see what he can do about it."
I made a face, not wanting anyone else to see the video, but we needed to find a way to take the video down.
"Should we call police about it?"
"We'll see what Pete says," Luke said. "That's evidence of assault. Police will probably want it so they can lay charges against Blaine for harassment and who knows what else."
"Okay," I said, reluctant to have to speak with any police about what happened years ago. I'd tried to put the experience behind me, but it never was. Not completely. Often, I'd have nightmares, remembering him stalking me and waiting to abduct me when I had my guard down after a late night on campus back in Oregon. How he wouldn't let me leave his apartment after an argument, how he'd threatened me, hit me, and then forced me.
Raped me.
I tried not to remember it, so seeing those video images, seeing the abuse happening live, made me feel sick in a completely different way than I felt with morning sickness.
Luke was already on his cell calling Pete.
"Hey, I have a question and a problem," he said and took my hand. "When Alexa broke it off with a previous boyfriend, he didn't take it well and raped her, videotaping it. I think he released the video to one of those gossip columns, Tatters, that likes to trash the reputation of wealthy celebrities and socialites. Is there anything we can do about it?"
Luke listened for a moment. "I thought so. Do you want me to call or can you on our behalf?"
Luke listened and nodded. "Sounds good. Let me know."
He ended the call. "He'll contact the ADA, who is an old college friend and see what's up. One way or another, we'll get that video taken down from Tatters, and we'll do what we can. Pete will let me know. We’ll likely get a call from the police, but it all depends on whether they think they can prosecute. The least will be a police report, depending."
"Okay," I said and sighed. "I'll leave the matter in Pete's good hands. I don't ever want to see anything to do with Blaine or my past with him again, if I can help it."
"I know," Luke said and leaned forward, kissing me. "I'm so sorry about this. Let me take care of this."
"Thanks."
He stood up and went to the door. "I'll send the crew back in for another visit, if you're up for it."
"Yes, please," I replied. "I need a diversion."
He nodded and then left the room, leaving the door open behind him.
In a few moments, the girls arrived back and entered the bedroom, plopping down on the bed beside me.
"So, tell us," Mara said, her eyes wide. "What's happening with the video? Are the police going to get involved?"
I shrugged. "Luke called his lawyer and he'll contact someone in the Assistant District Attorney's office to see what the protocol is. As far as I'm concerned, I just want it to be gone. As if I don't have enough to worry about with a crazy mother-in-law, a crazy sociopathic ex-boyfriend and a prejudiced PhD professor. I just want to hide away from the world. I wish I could drink so I could get drunk, but I can't even do that," I said with a rueful laugh.
"You'll have to be satisfied with your besties consoling you, and helping you through this," Jan said. She lay beside me, her head propped up on one hand. "I could start a website that trashes Blaine's reputation. I could write blog posts about him, detailing everything he did, how he went to jail, how he's on probation, how he's a degenerate who raped his ex, the whole story."
Candace shook her head. "That might feel good, but it would likely just start a war and incite Blaine to even worse things. Besides, it would hurt Alexa as well. It would put the story out there and right now, there's only a few hundred people at most who know about this. If you go viral, there could be millions of views of any video and that wouldn't be good for Alexa and Luke."
"No, please, I appreciate the sentiment, but I think it's best to lay low," I said, agreeing with Candace. "As much as I'd like to see the son of a bitch back in jail and shamed publicly, it could send him over the deep end. He could come after me to kill me. He tried to kill Candace already."
We all looked at Candace, who was still recovering from her fall.
"Of course, you're right," Jan said. "I didn't think of it that way. What a bastard. I hope the police find him and soon. He's a menace to you.
"To all of us," I said. "Anyone close to me is at risk, if he goes even further off the deep end. Sad to say, but you guys might be wise to avoid me at all costs."
"Never," Mara said and put her fist in the center of the four of us, arranged around me on the bed. "All for one and one for all, right?"
"Right," Jan said and put her fist up to Mara's. Candace followed suit but I didn't.