Lydia texted me and told me that Rafael was finally going to the bathroom so I downed the rest of my drink that was sitting next to me on the sticky wooden bar and wiped my hands on my jeans.
My hands were slick with sweat. I was nervous, of course I was nervous. This guy had taken almost everything away from me. If it hadn't been for Marnie though...
I cared about her, that was for sure. Which was why I had respected her wishes and not filed a police report against him on her behalf.
It was finally time for him to pay for what he'd done, though.
I blocked out the laughter and excited screaming from the drunk twenty-one year olds and the pounding of club music in the background. I spotted Rafael, and I needed to corner him. Walk in the bathroom while his fly was down so he couldn't get away so easily.
I set my phone to record and placed it gently in my front jeans pocket with the speaker facing out so it would catch the audio quality better.
Then I took it out, double checked that the battery wasn't close to dying and made sure for a second, third, and fourth time that it was really recording.
Then once that bathroom door swung closed, I made my move.
The bathroom was much quieter as the sounds from the lively bar were muffled by the white concrete walls surrounding the small room.
There were piss stains on the floor and walls beside the urinals, but that was to be expected from a men's room.
I'd seen worse.
Rafael didn't look up as I entered, which was usually customary.
"Rafael. I know what you did."
He looked up then, and when his eyes met mine, he didn't flinch. His face was a mask of anger and outright resentment for me, but I didn't let it bother me. He could hate me all he wanted, I was doing this for Marnie, and for Lydia.
"Oh, you caught me. I'm using that little roommate of yours to get back at you, wow. Shocker there. She really is more naive than I gave her credit for though. I thought for sure you would have told her all kinds of horror stories about me to keep me out of her life for good, but you screwed that up somehow too."
He finished peeing and zipped up his pants.
"That wasn't what I was referring to. I know what you did to Marnie you sick son of a bitch. Just admit it. Admit that you drugged her and you raped her!"
"I raped her? Is that what she said? I may have given her a little courage in the form of some happy pills in her drink but trust me, she was moaning my name all night long-"
I punched him.
I lost it, and I punched him.
My knuckles were the first thing to resister in my mind, the pain from them stemming out into my wrist.
I just couldn't stand there listening to him brag about abusing a woman, a woman that no matter how many terrible things she ever did to me, still mattered to me. Because she was a human life, because she was someone's daughter, someone's sister, someone's granddaughter...
She mattered, and Rafael did not in that moment.
He spat out blood from the corner of his mouth as an evil smirk stretched his face into an ugly sneer.
"What are you smiling about? I just knocked one of your teeth out."
Rafael looked down at the floor in panic to check and see if I had really punched his tooth out of his mouth and I used that distraction to pull my phone out of my pocket and save the recording, making sure that I sent it to Lydia before I said anything to Rafael.
"I'm smiling because you think you're so much better than me, like if you weren't as rich as me that you would do whatever you wanted, take whatever you wanted. It's all yours, if you join the team. Come to my team, Scott. I could show you how to live like a king. You'll be making millions-"
"No. Never in a million years would I ever want to be on your team. I just got your confession of date-raping Marnie, and do you know what I'm going to do with it? I'm going to send it in to the authorities and I'm going to put you in jail for a very long time, where you'll be without your money and the ability to 'take whatever you want'."
Rage bloomed in his eyes before he zeroed in on my phone in my hand. He lunged for it but I stepped out of the way and he ran into a hand dryer.
"And it wouldn't matter if you destroyed this phone. I already sent it to half a dozen people that are working on this with me. And Lydia? She's not naive. She's here with me, to take you down once and for all, so you can't hurt any innocent woman ever again."
And with that I escaped the dirty bathroom and went to go find Lydia on the dance floor.
I was wringing my hands in nervousness but also manic excitement. If Emmett had really done it, then it would be one of the biggest victories I'd ever accomplished. Then I'd only have one more thing, or person, holding me here before I left for Harvard.
Nate.
But I'd get to him later.
A text on my phone pulled me out of my thoughts and I looked down and saw a voice memo from Emmett.
I smiled ear to ear as I pressed play and put the speaker of my phone to my ear, listening to Rafael confess to pretty much everything in full clear detail.
There it was, clear as day. My victory. Our victory.
Amalia finished the rest of her drink and started gulping down the other one in her hand.
"What are you doing?" I asked her, putting my phone down.
"Marilyn is over there, I'm going to go say hi."
"Okay, but don't try and seem too desperate. Seem unaffected by her, aloof. Make it known that you don't appreciate being ditched."
"Okay, yeah you're right."
She finished off her other drink.
"Here I go, wish me luck."
And so I did, because at least one of us deserved to be getting laid that night. I still wasn't there with Emmett emotionally, but maybe it was because I was letting this revenge fantasy plot get in the way of anything romantic between us, almost like it was a roadblock and once we were through it, then all would come flooding towards me.
Marilyn and Amalia danced together for a while and downed a few shots before Emmett finally approached me at the table.
"I can't believe you really did it. Where is he?"
"Who knows. But this calls for celebration."
"Yes, it does. But...not here."
"Agreed."
I was going to flag down Amalia but she was pretty wrapped up in Marilyn, their tongues effectively shoved down each other's throats. I had to give her credit, when Amalia wants something, she sure does go in for the kill.
"I'll just text her that we're leaving. I have her location services turned on for her in my phone so if she stops answering I can activate the emergency signal, and she knows to use her app if she feels like she's in danger."
"Okay, should we order them an Uber right now then? Just in case?"
If I were her, I wouldn't want to be interrupted.
"No, they look like they could use their alone time."
We laughed together as they continued to dance and make out, their passion igniting something inside of me that I thought had gone almost dormant.
With Nate there was no heat, only warm pleasure. I knew it could be so much more, otherwise what was everyone always singing and writing about?
Passion. I wanted it, and I craved it like an addict needed their drug of choice. Mine just so happened to be Emmett Scott, and I was going to indulge myself that night, I had been denying it all along and it was time that I did something about it.
"Is the house empty tonight?"
"Uh yeah, Lucas left to go to Reed's library bar when we left."
"Good."
Emmett noticed my dark smile and his eyes widened in surprise. He took my hand and immediately led us outside to his awaiting car.
The hum of the engine did little to quell my rampant urge to escape, to get back home as fast as the car could take us.
My leg was bouncing the entire car ride over, Emmett sneaking little peeks at me every few seconds. I bit my lip as I realized that the wait was slow agony and finally he parked on the curb of the rent house.
I allowed him to come to my side of the car and he opened my door for me. My hand grasped his and our fingers entwined.
It was a painfully slow walk to the door. My heart was thrumming faster than a hummingbird's wings behind my ribcage and a need pulsed through me that I hadn't felt before...ever.
The door was barely closed before I pulled his face down to meet mine and then I lost myself to a flood of sensations and delicious temptations.