Tara nodded. “We shared an apartment just off campus. Neither of us were big into parties, so sorority life wasn’t for us.”
“Yet you said she was at a party when she was attacked.”
“We were juniors, and the year was just ending. Jess let her best friend talk her into going to a fraternity bash. They were there for a couple of hours when her friend hooked up with someone, leaving Jessica alone and uncomfortable. She called me, but I was fighting a migraine, so I’d turned off my phone and gone to bed.” Tara’s voice broke as a familiar flash of guilt stabbed through her being. “The night was warm and Jessica desperately wanted to go home, so she left the party on foot.”
“What happened?” Akari persisted when Tara said nothing for a long time.
“Three drunken assholes followed her from the party. They dragged her into their skimmer and took turns hurting her.”
Akari’s jaw clenched and for a moment she just stared out over the water. Then she took a deep breath and looked at Tara. “Please tell me the assholes are rotting in prison.”
The vehemence in Akari’s tone made Tara wonder if Jon was right. Maybe Akari would be more willing to go after her attackers than Tara thought. “She reported what happened to campus security because it happened in the shuttle lot behind the football stadium.”
Akari shook her head, anger sparking in her eyes. “They were football players?”
“No, but they were well known on campus. I’m sure you know the type.”
“Then they were never charged?” Akari sounded horrified and her eyes were saucer round.
Tara shook her head and released a sigh, glad that the story was nearly through. “The assholes claimed that Jessica wasn’t just willing, but that she pursued them. Campus security said it was her word against theirs, so the police were never called. I tried to convince Jessica to go to the police directly, but she refused.”
“It’s easy to see where this is leading,” Akari blinked back tears, but she sounded angry. “Everyone called your sister a whore and the assholes went on to abuse the next girl.”
“I don’t honestly know,” Tara admitted. “Five months later Jess was dead, and I dropped out of school.”
Akari gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. “She took her own life?”
Tara nodded, barely able to speak past the lump in her throat. “We did everything we could to support her, but she shut us out.”
“Being at the mercy of others makes you feel abandoned and alone. Even the ones that love you can’t truly understand.” Akari’s voice was a tremulous whisper, and tears escaped the corners of her eyes.
Tara reached over and placed her hand on the center of Akari’s back. Akari didn’t twist away, so she said, “The ones who love you will do anything to support you. All you need to do is let them try. Shutting yourself away amplifies the pain and gives the memories more power.”
Akari impatiently brushed away her tears and inhaled shakily. “This is why you went to work at the crisis center?”
Tara nodded again and lowered her arm, more than ready to move on. The tragedy happened seven years ago, but the memories were still painful. “My sister and I had always been inseparable, so I took her death really hard. After the fiasco at the university, my parents were determined to find me the best therapist money could buy. Her name was Dr. Korstan and she was wonderful. She supervised the crisis center. That’s how I found out about it.”
“If you enjoyed working there, why did you apply to Nuevo?”
There was no accusation in her tone, but Tara didn’t want to move from one painful memory to another. “Let’s leave that story for another day. I have a question I need to ask you.”
“How does hearing about Jessica make me feel?” Akari mocked. “Or would you rather hear about my childhood?”
“Do you want them punished?”
Akari didn’t ask Tara to clarify. They both knew who she meant. “Not enough to relive it all. I can barely stay ahead of the memories as it is.”
“If there was a way to access the information without dragging you back through the memories, would you allow it?”
“Allow what?” Akari wanted to know. “What are you talking about?”
“The Shadows can access your mind while you’re sleeping, but they will not do so unless you give them permission.”
Akari looked at Tara, a combination of confusion and concern tightening her features. “I wouldn’t remember their visit in the morning?”
Tara shook her head, surprised that Akari was even considering it. “Jon said you would feel nothing.”
“Do you believe him?”
