It was hot and stifling, but no one else seemed to mind. She had forgotten the atmosphere of college parties. Bodies swayed with the throbbing music. Skin rubbed skin. The scent of sweat and alcohol filled the fraternity house. A few girls in brightly colored bikini tops and shorts that barely covered their butts danced on top of the coffee table in the living room. The kitchen was filled with people taking body shots, and loud noises came from the upstairs rooms. Her sister was in the back hall flirting and drinking with a tall guy who wore a tight, grey shirt designed to cling to his muscular frame. She tried to slip past, but her sister caught sight of her and motioned for her to join them.

"Hey, you wanna come with us? We're going to play pool upstairs."

"No thanks," she waved back. "I need some air. I'll come up later."

"Okay."

Tossing her short blonde hair back, her sister took the guy's hand and led him up the stairs. She watched her go and shook her head.

"I knew this was going happen," she sighed.

Pushing open the screen door, she walked out to the backyard. There were only three people sitting on the back porch. They were sharing a joint, exhaling slowly. She walked farther into the yard to avoid the smoke. The air was much clearer outside. Taking a deep breath, she looked up. Silver dots sparkled against the night sky. The pounding music faded behind her as she crossed over to the hammock tied between two trees in the corner of the yard.

"I'm getting too old for this," she murmured, sinking onto the netting.

"Too old for what?"

Startled, she turned around. A college student with unruly, blonde hair was standing behind her. His pale blue eyes stood out from his sun-burned face. He was young; he had to be an underclassman, but he was well-built with toned arms and legs.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

She smiled at him.

"I'm fine."

*****

"Come on."

"Lela, I'm no fun at things like this."

"You would be if you'd just loosen up some."

Lela jumped on the bed behind her sister. Leaning her head on her sister's shoulder, she pouted out her bottom lip.

"Please? Pretty please?"

"Can't we just stay at home instead and watch a TV show? The new season of The Blacklist is on Netflix now."

"Ugh, you're such an old woman." Lela wrinkled her nose. "Don't you want to take a break? You work full time. It's time to cut loose and live a little, girl."

"I've already had like four shots and champagne. Isn't that enough without partying every night?"

"Seriously? It's just one party." Lela rolled her eyes. "I thought you said that you wanted to spend time with me. I'm only home for this night before I have to go back to campus."

"I do, but I meant time for just the two of us. Not with a bunch of immature kids. Why don't you go party another night?"

"I have to go to this one. It's a Kappa Alpha party, and I promised Travis that I'd be there."

"What? He's not even your boyfriend anymore!"

Lela shrugged and walked into the bathroom. Pulling out her lipstick, she spread the dark cherry shade over her mouth.

"Please tell me you're not going to this party just to make Travis jealous."

Lela glanced over as her sister came into the bathroom and jumped up onto the counter.

"I'm not. Travis and I are friends. I'm just going to have fun."

"And pick up boys?"

Lela brushed silvery grey eyeshadow on her eyelids and frowned in concentration. She loved her sister, but she just didn't understand. It could be hard being the younger sibling of a practically perfect sister. Ever since high-school, her sister was top of her class with a steady boyfriend. Lela, on the other hand, was a mediocre student at best and hadn't kept a boyfriend for longer than six months. She knew that her parents wanted her to follow her sister's footsteps, but there would be time for that later. Now, Lela just wanted to have fun and get her sister to see what she was missing.

"Look, you don't have to come if you don't want to, but it'll be a lot of fun," Lela said, finishing her makeup.

Turning to her sister, she raised her eyebrows and waited. Lela could see that she was thinking.

"You can bring Peter along too," Lela suggested.

"He's gone this weekend. He's got an interview in Boston for a job."

"Peter would probably tell you to go anyway."

Lela's sister ran her fingers through her long, black hair. Finally, she exhaled and threw her arms up.

"Okay, I'll go! Might as well. Why not?"

"Really?" Lela looked up.

"Sure, you're right. I should take some time and relax. Go out and embarrass my little sister. It'll be fun."

"Yay!" Lela squealed and clapped her hands. "Go change, and we can leave in like fifteen minutes."

"What?" Lela's sister held up her arms and looked down at her baggy yoga pants, faded purple t-shirt, and bare feet. "Isn't this good enough?"

"Go!" Playfully, Lela smacked her sister on the shoulder. "Penny's going to be here soon. Mom's giving us all a ride there, and Charlie's taking us back, so we don't have to worry about drinking and driving."

"Okay, fine."

As her sister left the bathroom, Lela plugged in her straightener. Her short blonde hair didn't take long to arrange. Reaching into her wooden jewelry box, she pulled out her silver earrings with dangling butterflies.

"Do I please your majesty now?"

Lela turned around. Her sister had changed into a tight black dress and tall brown boots with her hair pulled back in a high ponytail.

"Here, wear this." Lela handed her sister a gold necklace with a colorful feather pendant and watched as she fastened it around her neck. "That's perfect. You look great."

"Yeah, but it's kind of cold." Lela's sister rummaged through her suitcase. "Is it okay if I borrow your grey sweater?"

"Sure, if you want to look like a librarian," Lela teased.

"I'm fine with that. Might help keep those little boys away. Do they still have braces and pimples?"

Lela laughed. Before she could retort, her phone went off.

"Oh, Pen's waiting outside, and Mom's already in the car. You ready?"

"Let's go! Girls night out!"

Lela linked arms with her sister as they walked out the door.

*****

Readjusting her hat, she stepped into the squad car.

"What's the call?"

"Sounds like sexual assault or rape at a college campus."

"All right, let's get going. Hit the lights."

Officer Irina Setter buckled her seatbelt as her partner started the car and turned on the sirens and lights.

"We're just a few minutes out."

Irina nodded to Officer Davenant. She could see the lights of incoming ambulances in the rearview mirror. As they pulled into the parking lot where the call had come, Irina could see a woman lying on the ground in a fetal position. The man standing next to her ran towards the police car.

"This doesn't look good," Irina murmured.

"Yeah, let's go," Davenant agreed.

The two officers hastily stepped out of their car and met the man.

"Please, follow me," the man called out. "We can't get her to wake up."

Jogging behind the man, Irina glanced backwards over her shoulder. The ambulance was getting closer. Only a few minutes out now. As they approached the unconscious girl, Irina's stomach sank, and she swallowed hard several times. The girl couldn't be more than five years younger than her. She was filthy, and her dress had been forced well above her waist. Her white underwear with black polka dots had been tossed aside, and the exposure of her body made Irina feel nauseous. Kneeling down next to the girl, Irina felt for a pulse in her neck.

"Her pulse is weak, but still here," she said.

The sound of sirens grew louder as the ambulance pulled into the parking lot. The EMTs raced over with a gurney already prepared.

"How is she?"

"Stable but unresponsive," Irina answered.

The two police officers stepped back as the EMTs began to treat the girl. While Officer Davenant called in for backup, Irina turned to the man who had been standing to the side.

"Do you know what happened?" she asked.

He pointed to a group of men about fifty yards away. "He's over there."

"Who? What are you talking about?"

"It's the guy who did this." The man gestured to the unconscious girl. "They said that they caught him."

"Setter, what's going on?"

Turning around, Irina saw Officer Madlon walking towards them.

"Madlon, we need you to stay with the girl while Davenant and I go check out what's happening over there."

Officer Madlon nodded as Irina and Davenant sprinted over to the group of men. When they drew nearer, Irina saw that there was one guy pinned to the ground by four other men.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Officer Davenant greeted the men. "We received a call about a possible sexual assault or rape over here."

"Yes sir, officer. I made the telephone call," one of the guys replied with a thick foreign accent. "My friend and I were riding our bicycles, and we saw this man on top of that girl. She was not moving. We asked him what he was doing, and he tried to run, so we stopped him."

"All right, can you please get off so I can cuff him?" Davenant asked.

The group of four men stood up and pulled back. Irina could see the young man they had been holding. He was wearing a white hoodie streaked with dirt and looked around wildly. The strong smell of alcohol came from his clothing and breath. As Officer Davenant began cuffing the man, he looked at Irina.

"I'll put him in the car and take pictures. You get witness statements."

Irina nodded. Turning back to the men, she pulled out her notebook and pen.

"Okay, I need you to tell me one at a time what happened from the very beginning. I'm going to take you separately over there. Please don't talk to each other until after I've spoken to each of you individually."

After she finished scribbling down the last account, Irina took all of their contact information.

"Thank you very much. I'm sure you will be called in soon for more questioning. Please make sure to check your messages."

Crossing over to the ambulance which was almost ready to depart, Irina tapped one of the EMTs on the shoulder.

"How is she?"

The EMT shook his head.

"She's conscious, but not coherent. You probably won't be able to question her for a while."

"Understood, we'll contact her later."

"Okay, we've got to get her out of here now."

Irina nodded at the EMT as he jumped in the back of the ambulance. Closing the doors behind him, Irina tapped on the back of the vehicle, and the ambulance sped away. Slowly, the police officer walked back to the squad car where Davenant was waiting.

"You ready to take him to booking? I've already told him he's being arrested on charges of rape. We'll read him his rights at the Annex."

"Yeah, let's go."

"How's she going to be?" Davenant jerked his head in the direction of the departing ambulance.

Irina shook her head, and Davenant's mouth tightened. The two had been partners for so long that words were unnecessary. As Irina stepped into the car, she looked back at the guy cuffed in the back.

"I doubt this is how he planned his evening to go," Davenant remarked.

"I doubt this is how she planned on her evening going either," Irina returned.

Officer Davenant murmured in agreement. Turning the key in the ignition, he drove out of the parking lot. Irina looked out of the window as they passed the dumpsters where the girl had been found.

"It's going to be a long night," Davenant said.

Irina sighed and leaned her head back. It was going to be an even longer night for the girl in the ambulance.