Then, SLAP! A sharp sound, and the entire house went dead silent.
Tyson's voice dropped low, almost growling. "Didn't you say she's a little freak, ready to do anything once you get her going? She just slapped me, man. You're not telling me this was all bullshit, are you?"
Alex jumped in quick. "No way! The week before we came here, we were hooking up almost every day. Sometimes she'd even crash at my place."
Kimmi, voice heavy with shame, shot back, "That's not true! You forced me, threatened to tell my boyfriend to scare me."
Alex scoffed. "Oh, really? A few months ago, who came crying to me after Jason took your virginity and messed you around? Who lied to your current boyfriend, saying he was your first, then felt guilty about it? Who was there comforting you? And when you started getting more open about sex, feeling confused and anxious, who stuck by you? You were too scared to tell your boyfriend because you thought he'd judge you, so you used me as your emotional dumping ground, spilling everything. Did you really think guys and girls can just be 'friends' like that?"
Kimmi's voice was weak, trembling. "I really saw you as my best friend. I told you everything. I kept saying we shouldn't do that stuff, and every time you'd claim it was a 'moment of weakness' and beg me to forgive you."
Alex let out a cold laugh. "Did you ever really push me away? Weren't you the one grabbing my hand first?"
Kimmi tried to explain. "That was at a concert, it was packed, and I only held your hand so you wouldn't get lost. Then you hugged me from behind, and I knew it wasn't right. I made it clear after the concert—I only love my boyfriend."
Alex kept pressing. "Fine, I never laid it all out before, but let's clear this up now. I told you I only saw you as a friend, that I'm just more 'open' and you were overreacting. That was me giving you an out. Truth is, you loved it."
Kimmi denied it. "No, I didn't."
Alex wasn't done. "Oh yeah? What about after? When we were alone, I'd hold your hand, and you didn't pull away. That time you woke up crying from a nightmare about 'what Jason did,' you told me everything. That's when I knew you were a little freak."
Kimmi, choking back tears, said, "Stop it… I was just confused. That thing with Jason was like a knife in my heart. I felt ashamed every day. I only told you because you saw through me."
Alex turned to Tyson. "Guess what happened next? I told her it was just loneliness and unmet needs making her feel that way. I encouraged her to masturbate daily to deal with it. One night, we talked so late we fell asleep in my bed, holding each other till morning. The next day, I had morning wood, my dick pressing against her pussy. I couldn't help it—I went crazy kissing and touching her. She pushed me away eventually…"
He swung back to Kimmi. "…but the next week, you still came to my place to drink. Did you really not know what would happen?"
Kimmi's voice was barely audible. "I struggled with it for so long. I only went because you were crying, saying you'd just been dumped. You looked so pitiful. At first, you were apologizing for what happened before, so I let my guard down."
Alex smirked. "Sure, the drunken hookup was a 'mistake.' But the next day?"
Their conversation dragged up memories, puzzle pieces clicking into place. A week earlier, Kimmi didn't call me one night. At 10 p.m., she texted, saying a female friend was heartbroken, so she'd stay at her dorm. Then she went radio silent. The next day, she didn't reach out until evening, claiming she got drunk and crashed with friends at that girl's dorm. Thinking back, were they together that whole time?
Kimmi, crying now, said, "Stop it, please. I'm sorry, I hurt you, but I only love my boyfriend."
Alex snorted. "Yeah? That next day, you were screaming to leave, but I begged you to stay. You gave in faster than the first time. We hooked up three times that day, didn't we? That whole week, you were loving it, thinking your busy boyfriend would never find out. Am I wrong?"
Standing behind the door, my mind replayed every clue. There was that one night Kimmi sounded off on the phone, saying her face mask was making her speech weird. Thinking back, her heavy breathing sounded more like she was… in the middle of something. At the airport, I'd glimpsed a message on her phone from someone labeled "Z" saying, "Miss you." She deleted it quick, then told me some classmate was chasing her, but she'd shut him down, claiming she barely knew his name. I didn't think much of it then—hell, I was proud my girlfriend was wanted. But now, hearing Alex's tone and Kimmi's hesitant responses, it hit me: none of this was a coincidence.
Kimmi sobbed. "I really love my boyfriend. It was a mistake with you. I told you clearly yesterday. You said you wanted to join me and Amy in Singapore, and I turned you down. You kept pushing, and I couldn't say no. I planned to set things straight when we got back, but you followed me here. Did Joe tell you I was in this room?"
Thinking back, Kimmi recently downplayed her campus life, especially anything about Alex, brushing him off as "just a friend." But her words always carried this nervous edge. My heart ached, but that strange excitement was still there, making it hard to stay calm. I was this close to bursting through the door to see it all, but I knew—once that door opened, everything would get way more complicated.