I'd been to about five parties throughout my four years of high school. My best friend Lea loved being the life and light of everything. She had always been more on the popular side, everyone knew her and either admired her or befriended her. She was gorgeous. She definitely favored the Korean side of her family, with her long raven black hair and perfect, acute features, it was always a surprise to everyone that her mother was Cuban. While Jesse had succeeded for the most part keeping me excluded from literally every party he was invited to, Lea made sure to drag me along as her plus one.

As I stared hard at my reflection in the mirror now, I wanted to call my best friend and have her come pep talk me into this Frat party while fixing the minor hiccups in my makeup. I looked beautiful on the outside, but inside I felt as though I was one word from completely collapsing into a mental breakdown.

I had curled the ends of my blonde hair so they cascaded along my shoulders, a great contrast to the short, tight black dress that hugged my body so tight I felt my breasts and butt would pop out any second. My moss eyes were striking staring back at me, the vibrancy of the pink eye shadow a backdrop for them. But deep within those beautiful eyes was the little girl stretched out in her brother's bed next to him during a thunderstorm, fearful it'd hurt her with every loud clap and lightning strike.

"You ready yet?" Adam asked, rapping softly on the door, afraid to startle me probably.

I shoved all my makeup back into my bag and threw the door open, nodding. "Sorry. Was getting too much in my feelings."

I expected him to stare me up and down, and possibly even make a dumb innuendo, but he only looked me from head to toe once and shook his head, walking away.

"What?" I trailed along after him, confused. "Is there something wrong with the dress?"

"Yeah. It's way too short." It wasn't Adam who responded, but Logan. He was lounged in kitchen chair, a cheeseburger he must have grabbed after our talk outside in one hand, and his phone in the other. "Where the hell are you going dressed like that?"

Collin strode into the room in a sheer white v neck that clung to every inch of his body, revealing just how nice of a body he had underneath. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that my brother had walked into a Gym and scoured it for the best looking and most athletic guys around his age and asked them to live with him.

"We are going to Alex's party." Collin answered for us, his smile growing when he saw the sneer that forced its way on to Logan's face.

"Have fun." Logan grumbled, starting to lower his gaze back to his phone. His eyes met mine halfway down, darkening and masking the little bit of emotion that had been in them. "Just watch your back and get your own drinks. Doubt either of these idiots will stick around you long enough to make sure you're good once you get there."

*

I shouldn't have been surprised that both boys dissipated upon entering the overcrowded house. It was a miracle I'd been able to keep at Collin's side for as long as I did considering the entire yard was a large mass of drunk young adults that could care less about the noise pollution they were causing. I had stepped on used condom halfway up the stone pathway winding until it reached the front porch. I cringed, threw up a little in my mouth, then glanced up to find I'd been left in the dust. How the two roommates expected me to fend for myself at a college party with enough people to fill at least half a football stadium, I had absolutely no idea.

The fact they'd done exactly as Logan had warned pissed me off even more.

I stepped into the house on guard, my mind drifting to the hundreds self-defense techniques Jesse had taught me over the years. They were a mess of blurry images that I couldn't quite grasp and mentally cursed myself for not imprinting in my head as I promised I would.

Wandering around aimlessly and pushing away red solo cups as warm greetings, I was caught off guard when a hand cuffed my wrist. I spun and clenched my hand into a fist halfway, gasping when it met the man's nose. He staggered back in shock, touching his nose as blood slowly trickled from it.

He was one of the few men here that looked sober enough to walk in a straight line. His dark blonde hair shaved on either side and a slicked back mass of locks on top. Thick, dark lashes were casting a shadow against his pale complexion and shielding his wide green eyes from my view for half a second before they focused on me.

"What the hell?" he threw his hands up in frustration, then brushed his fingertips back against his nostril. I hurried over to the kitchen and grabbed a paper towel, offering it in both hands as I would a gift. He took the peace offering, eying me skeptically, before bunching it up and sticking it in his nose.

"I'm really sorry." I scratched at the back of my neck as warmth spread throughout it.

He dropped his gaze. "You've got a nice right hook there, sweetheart."

"Thanks."

"I didn't say it was a good thing." a hint of a smile lit his face. "I'm Alex by the way."

I stared blankly at his outstretched hand, a few drops of blood drying on the knuckle of his index finger. I returned the gesture with a small smile. "Emily Mayer."

A strange look seeped into his eyes at the mention of my name. "Mayer? Shit, you're Jesse's sister aren't you?"

I opened my mouth, contemplating on how I should answer when the words died in my mouth entirely. A conflicted look had crossed his face; one I'd seen on every male's face when I mentioned my last name and they made the connection to Jess. If it weren't for Logan's annoying trait of being able to twist everything around so I was made to feel guilty, I wouldn't be giving anyone the satisfaction of connection me to Jesse at all. I'd keep my last name to myself and nobody would have to know I was related to him.

Being a drifter for much of high school, it was a little strange to find that Jesse had such a reputation here-one of which seemed to leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth. He'd never been popular, most people didn't pay much attention to the quiet boy in the hoodie in the back of the classroom, and if they did, it was safe to say he'd come home in desperate need of a first-aid kit unless Logan was at his side.

"Emily!" Collin's frantic cry stirred me from my daze. "I thought you were right behind us. Why the hell didn't you call me or something? I was-"

Collin's expression and words fell flat when he caught sight of Alex, big, full lips curling a fraction in distaste. "What do you want, Henley?"

Alex held his hands up in surrender. "Didn't know she came with anyone, sorry bro."

"I didn't come with anyone." I stated.

"She did and she doesn't need assholes like you taking advantage of her and trying to get between her legs."

The men appeared as if they'd forgotten that I was only a couple feet away from them both, heading whipping back and forth between the two as they spoke, tension heightening by each second they remained in the others presence.

"She's Jesse's little sister," Alex cracked a knuckle with a sneer. "I highly doubt she needs pathetic low life hood rat riding her ass all the time."

Collin shoved Alex so hard, the shorter boy stumbled back and nearly tripped over his own foot and hit the ground.

"Hood rat?" Collin laughed. "At least I can get a girl in bed without waving a wad of cash in her face because my dick is about a quarter of the size of my ego. Why don't you take your money and shove it up your rich fucking ass, you prick."

I gaped at the tall boy a few feet away. I hadn't really gotten to know Collin too well, but this was a side of no man I wanted to see.

He didn't release the squirming man, but grabbed his jaw roughly and forced him to look my way. "And if I as much as see you within a hundred feet of her, I'll kill you before you can even look in her direction."

Collin then dropped Alex and gave him a rough kick start toward the other side of the room, breaking the crowd of admirers that had gathered in hopes of a fight. Alex flipped Collin his favorite finger before turning his back to us and disappearing down the crowded hallway.

I waited until people lost interest in the scene Collin had created and began to dissemble to shake my head angrily.

"Why can't you just mind your own business?" I snapped.

He turned his attention to me. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." I crossed my arms. "I'm nineteen and you sure as hell aren't my boyfriend, so please stay out of my business if it doesn't concern you."

"I'm only trying to look out for you, Emily." he whispered, averting his eyes in every direction to keep from meeting mine directly.

Rather than waste my time trying to argue with him, or deal with another horny young male, I ducked back outside and started down the sidewalk to the main campus building.

*

Logan didn't budge from where he sat stretched out across the old, burgundy couch. His head lifted for a millisecond when the door opened and I walked in, but he quickly laid his head back down on the throw pillow under him, uninterested in my entrance.

"That was quicker than I expected." He said quietly, and even though I couldn't see him from the other side of the couch, I could hear the smile in his voice. "What happened?"

"I punched one of the Frat boys." I muttered, taking a few steps forward toward the hall.

Logan sat upright so fast I cringed, knowing very well I would have tweaked something if I'd done it. "You what?"

"I mean, that's not why I left." I defended. "But I punched one of the Frat boys because he scared the crap out of me and I was alone. All those self defense techniques Jesse taught me kinda came to mind once the fight or flight in me kicked in."

Logan stared at me for a long time, a serious expression on his face. Once he came to the conclusion I wasn't making it up, he busted out laughing. I crossed my arms, feeling my cheeks flush.

"Why does everyone look at me in disgust when I tell them my last name?" I asked, trying to brush off his obnoxious laughter. My questioned calmed him a bit and he muted the TV, eyes still trained to the action movie playing.

"Jesse had a rep here." Logan responded shortly.

I leaned into the closet door behind me. "I came to that conclusion. But why? What did he do?"

Logan sighed. "Look, Emily, I don't think I should tell you that. It may burst your little bubble."

"Burst my bubble? What bubble?" I responded, starting to get defensive. "The one time I want you to open your mouth, you keep it shut."

"Because I don't want to ruin the image you have of Jess. I'm an asshole sure, but that's a line I don't feel comfortable crossing. He's gone and you're holding on to all the good your remember of him. Why would I destroy that?"

I made a gesture toward the door with my arm. "I'll find out one way or another, Logan. Clearly he isn't very liked around here, and he's disliked enough that it's made him popular."

"Jesse had a good heart, you know that, I know that. But he was pushed down for a long time in high school. I was popular-ish and you were just a drifter, nobody liked or disliked you. But everyone had a problem with Jess. He was weird, he was the freak, he was the loner. I got asked constantly why I wasted my time with a nobody." Logan stood, completely shutting the TV off so the only light in the room was the moonlight breaking through the curtains.

"I'm aware." I mumbled, watching intently as Logan looked toward the room he'd once shared with my brother with a deep regret.

"Well he brought that anger and bitterness here, to Syracuse, and did some really fucked up shit. Freshman year he decided he wanted to see if he could try football. When all those dicks did was push him around, he resorted to more than just fighting back. He started sleeping with their girlfriend's. With the Frat's when the rejected him trying to join, he did the same and then some. He would find some way to course these girls into sleeping with him, record it, then send it to the men. Collin, Adam, and I would always have to play middle man and it would always reflect bad on us."

I opened my mouth, starting to feel guilt creeping up on me. "Collin. That's why he told the guy I punched to stay away from me."

Logan rubbed his eyes tiredly with the heel of his hands, then buried them both in his hair and walked into his room as he answered.

"Yes, Emily. Even if Jesse is dead, all those guys he pissed off, all those girls he caused drama with, they want closure, revenge even. And you're the perfect target."

***AN****

*Unedited*

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