“Hey . . . what’s up?” I smiled at him, my mood chipper. “Do I know you?”

“Name’s Jimmy.” He leaned against the kitchen island, taking up the space beside me. “We’ve got the same art history class together.”

“Ah, nice to meet you Jimmy. I’m Lorrie—err but you already knew that.” I laughed.

“You’re like the talk of the campus,” he said casually as he popped an orange cheese ball into his mouth.

“Oh. . .” I continued smiling but suddenly felt uncomfortable. “Let me guess, it’s because of Hunter?”

“Yeah, that and what happened in the news. Man that’s crazy stuff.”

The smile on my face disappeared. I stood there silent, dreading where this conversation was headed.

“Hey, you know I’ve been curious—” He chuckled. “I saw you on TV when they read the verdict. I was like ‘wow, that girl’s pretty cute’. But man, what was up with your reaction? You were like stone-faced.” He made an exaggerated blank-faced expression. “Totally emotionless.” He chuckled again. “Did you even like your mom?”

My jaw tightened. I blinked a few times, hoping the situation wasn’t real. “What?”

“You know, when you were in the courtroom and the judge was like ‘guilty’!” He pounded his fist against the island like a mallet. “I woulda jumped outta my seat and been like ‘hell yeah!’ Give that f**ker what he deserves!” He laughed.

“Stop,” I murmured softly, in a daze.

“What?” He leaned closer, tilting his ear to hear me.

My hands became cold. I remained silent as my past crawled back into my mind drowning out the ruckus of the party around me.

“Helloooo?” He smiled as he waved his hand in front of my face. “Earth to stone girl.” He chuckled again.

I slapped his hand away. “Fuck off, douchebag!” I yelled.

He took a step back. The chattering around us halted; I could feel everyone’s gaze on me. My pulse pounded and my ears roared.

“Whoa, chill out. What the hell’s your problem?”

“You,” I shot back, too angry to care about the onlookers.

He looked around at the people staring at us. His jovial expression became serious. “I was just trying to be nice and talk to you. Then you act like a stupid loner, bitch,” he spat. “No wonder you don’t have any friends.”

“She’s got one right here,” Hunter snarled coming up behind Jimmy. He grabbed the Jimmy by the shirt and shoved him, making him stumble out the back door and tumble across the backyard lawn. Hunter followed him and I followed Hunter. Everyone else in the kitchen followed as well.

“Jesus, dude. What the f**k’s your problem?” Jimmy barked at Hunter, getting back on his feet.

“Don’t f**k with Lorrie,” Hunter warned, his tone serious and cold.

“I wasn’t doing shit to your girlfriend. That bitch is the one who started it!” He pointed an accusing finger at me.

“You better watch that mouth of yours,” Hunter threatened. “Apologize to her.”

Jimmy looked at all the people watching the spectacle. “What? Hell no! You think I’m scared of you, you stupid musclehead. I didn’t do anything wrong! She’s the one who should be apologizing to me!” He gestured to his sleeve that had been torn from tumbling across the ground. “Look you ripped my f**kin shirt, bro! That’s NOT cool!”

Hunter was approaching Jimmy, his hands balled into tight fists and I ran over to stop him. “Hunter!” I cried trying to keep my voice controlled despite feeling frantic. “Come on, let’s get out of here, I don’t want to be here anymore . . .”

As I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him tightly, Hunter seemed to cool off, vibrating rage pacifying. He turned to me and his gaze softened. “Okay, Lorrie. Let’s get outta here . . .” His arm protectively around my shoulder, we began to walk back into the kitchen.

Behind us, Jimmy scoffed. “That’s right, get the f**k outta here. Neanderthal and his stupid stone-faced bitch.” I heard Jimmy laugh and a few people around us gasped.

My arms around Hunter’s waist, I could feel every muscle in his core tighten. I tried restraining him even as I felt him turn around to face Jimmy. “No, Hunter! Don’t!”

He broke from my grasp, stomped over to Jimmy—who was now scared shitless—and lifted him a foot into the air by his shirt collar. “Don’t you ever f**kin talk about Lorrie like that!” Hunter tossed Jimmy backward like a ragdoll, making him crash through a wooden fence. Broken splinters flew across the grass. A few onlookers cried “Holy shit!” as Hunter approached Jimmy who was dazed and trying to recover.

“Hunter!” I cried desperately, panic taking hold.

Hunter picked Jimmy up and socked him across the jaw. Jimmy crumbled to the ground, out cold. Hunter was about to mount him but I ran over and grabbed Hunter and screamed into his ear, “Stop! Stop! Hunter!” Tears streamed down my face.

He turned to me, his expression changing from anger to a mixture of confusion and concern. “Lorrie . . . I’m sorry . . . I . . . Let’s get outta here.” He put his arm around my shoulder and guided me through the house. We asked Daniela to leave with us but she suggested she would stay behind to assess the fallout.

Most of the people in the Tau Beta Pi house were still bumping and grinding to the music, sipping liberally on their drinks as if nothing had happened in the backyard. But for Hunter and me, the party had ended.

After ten minutes of walking with Hunter’s arm around my shoulder and us looking out for campus police, we arrived at Hunter’s apartment.

“Lorrie, it’s okay. We’re at my place, we’re safe now.” He pulled my coat from my shoulders and hung it up on the rack along with his own.

“I’m sorry I got you involved in this,” I said, hugging him tightly. “This is all my fault.”

“No, you have nothing to be sorry about. It’s not your fault,” he consoled me.

“Yes it is. It’s because of my past, Hunter. . .” I began to cry into his chest, emotions newly resurfaced since the party getting the best of me.

“What are you talking about?” His voice was soft and filled with concern.

I took a step back and looked into his eyes with uncertainty. “Haven’t you heard about me by now? About Lorrie Burnham?”

He furrowed his brows. “I haven’t heard anything other than what you’ve told me.”

“. . . I’m messed up, Hunter.” I exhaled deeply as a tear rolled down my cheek. “I told you my parents are divorced and dead but I didn’t tell you how it happened.”

He paused. “. . . How did it happen?” he asked softly.

My throat tightened and I had to swallow a few times before speaking. “My mom . . . she . . . oh god—”

A tear fell down my cheek as I recalled the details of her death and Hunter quietly consoled me. “Shh, you don’t have to tell me, Lorrie. Nothing’s gonna change the way I feel about you.” He kissed my forehead and rubbed my shoulders.

“You deserve to know, Hunter,” I said, feeling strengthened by his words. “My mom . . . after her and my dad got divorced she married this guy and he . . . he murdered her a year and a half ago.” Another tear rolled down my face. “. . . Then my dad took his own life a few months ago. The story was in the news. All of it was . . .”