Two campus police officers appeared in the doorway behind Thorne. Had he called for them? Grace couldn't remember. "Is there a problem, Dean?" one of the officers asked.
Thorne nodded toward Sidney. "He got caught," he told them.
The two officers exchanged knowing glances, nodding slightly. Grace could feel her pulse pounding throughout her entire body. Her breath came in short gasps, she was actually trembling. Caught! What did it mean, he got caught?
Sidney was hurriedly putting his shirt back on, stammering, "Mr. Thorne, please, if I can explain-"
"Save it," Thorne snapped. "You're to report to my office immediately, Professor. My secretary will be waiting for you there."
Sidney gulped. "Yes, sir," he whispered meekly. He shuffled out of the room, edging past the Dean without looking up at him, and disappeared.
Thorne looked at one of the officers, the taller one. "Well?" he said. "Follow the bastard, make sure he gets where he's going!"
The officer turned on his heel and scurried after Sidney.
Grace met the Dean's eyes, still trembling. "Mr. Thorne," she began, but he cut her off, too.
"Young lady," he said, "I'd like you to go on back to your room, if you could, and wait for my call there."
She nodded jerkily, but she was slightly taken aback by the calm, gentle tone of his voice. "I'll be glad to do that, Sir," she whispered.
"Don't you worry," said the Dean. "We're going to make this as easy on you as we can."
Her brow furrowed. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you mean, Sir."
He extended an arm to her, patting her shoulder in a very fatherly gesture. "I understand," he said. "You don't have to talk about it right now. But just so you know, there will be a counselor present, a female counselor, very nice lady, when we take your statement."
Statement? Her confusion deepened. "Sir, I -"
"Go on back up to your room now, honey," he said. "We'll call you in a few minutes." And gently, he ushered her out the door.
************
She sat on her bed, her knees against her chest, arms wrapped around her knees, rocking back and forth, holding the phone in one hand. Ben, god, please, help, call me, Ben, I need you, I'm scared, where are you? The words were looping in her head, and behind the words, the picture of Thorne's face as he had walked into Sidney's office and discovered their awkward position. Desperately trying to understand what was happening, she replayed the scene over and over again. He got caught. What the hell did it mean? And why did she need a counselor? Why had Thorne been so stern with Sidney, but so tender with Grace herself? It didn't make any fucking sense.
Unless...
No, she told herself, that's not possible, put the thought out of your mind right now!
"He got caught."
Ben!
And now Sidney was trapped in Thorne's office, held captive by the pinched-face hag of a secretary who watched and judged every move made in her territory. No doubt Thorne would inform the secretary - what was her name, anyway? We always just called her Hagzilla. And how she would look at Sidney when she was told why he was there! He would be the object of scorn and it would be her fault. Her fault, all of it her fault. And Sidney, he knew about her and Ben! He knew everything, he was there last night at the hotel! Would he tell them about Ben? Would he bury them all?
She tightened her arms around her legs and rested her forehead against her knees. A wave of nausea overtook her. Ben, please, God, Ben, I need you...
The door opened and Priya came floating into the room, crossing almost halfway before she noticed Grace balled up on the bed, rocking, wild-eyed, clutching the phone.
She rushed to Grace's side. "Oh my god," she said, "what happened?"
Tears welled up in Grace's eyes immediately. If only she could tell her! "Oh, Priya," she choked, "it's horrible!"
Priya's black eyes glittered with concern. "Honey, what is it? What's happened to you?"
"I wish I could tell you," Grace sobbed, resting her head now on her friend's shoulder. "Please, don't press me, please, I can't talk about it, I just can't..." If worse came to worse, at least her friend could honestly claim ignorance of the whole thing.
"Gracie, you're trembling!" Priya cried, wrapping her arms around Grace. "You're really shaking! Are you afraid of something?"
"I'm afraid of everything, deathly afraid..."
The phone rang then, and both girls jumped before Grace answered it.
"Grace Crawford speaking," she said shakily.
Thorne's Texan drawl crackled through the line. "Miss Crawford, I've sent a campus officer to escort you to my office. He should be there any minute now, so you just sit tight, okay?"
"Yes, sir," she said. "Thank you."
"Everything's going to be all right, darlin', you'll see." He hung up.
Grace was thoroughly puzzled. Why did he keep trying to reassure her? He wasn't going to ... expect something in return for his silence on the matter, was he?
The thought made her shudder. She realized Priya was still staring at her with a look of deep concern.
"That was Thorne, Richard Thorne, he's the... the Dean..." she stumbled along her words.
"Dean of Arts and Sciences, yes, I know who he is," Priya said. "What does he want with you? Grace, are you in trouble?"
What had Sidney said to her that day, when she'd first told him about Ben, and he'd told her he was attracted to men? I guess we all have each other by the balls, don't we? She swallowed. What had he told them?
"I might be," she answered Priya. "I don't know. There's an officer coming to escort me to the Dean's office. I'm supposed to give a statement." That was the word Thorne had used, wasn't it? A statement?
