All or Nothing

The house was filled with people mere minutes later. Katie and Val had come barging in, wanting to know where she was and who the bastard was. The rest of the guys had come barreling in, wanting to know what he looked like and talking all at the same time. At first, it shocked Eliza to the point where she escaped to the bathroom. Val and Katie walked in slowly to sit with her. Soon after, the police showed up.

They took prints and pictures of where Eliza said it happened, and one of the detectives walked upstairs to get a statement from her. She was sitting on the back of the tub looking out the window at the ocean with both of her legs pulled up to her chest. She didn’t speak much as the detective answered her questions, and her head turned sharply when she heard someone enter the room.

Brian watched Eliza as she gave a recollection of the event. She didn’t cry, she didn’t falter in her story at all. This was completely different from the girl he saw earlier in the bathtub. He knew she was trying to be tough for them, but really he just wanted them all to leave so he could comfort her. He didn’t dare go to her now, knowing she’d probably shrug him away while she talked to the police.

“Did you shower afterward, ma’am?”

“No, but I took a bath.”

“We’ll have to run a rape kit, but I doubt we’d be able to get and fluids now.”

“You wouldn’t have gotten any even if I hadn’t taken a bath,” Eliza said, looking out the window.

“We could have unless he wore a condom. Doing a test would be the only way we knew if he used one or not.”

“No, he used one,” Eliza said.

“How do you know?” the detective asked her.

“Eliza, I think you should let them take the test,” Katie said.

“Why would you shower? You know better with as much Law and Order as you watch,” Val said.

“Ma’am, how do you know he used a condom?” the detective asked again.

Eliza turned her head to him and placed her right leg down into the tub. From that angle, everyone could see the bright red rash that was developing on her inner left thigh. From mid-thigh down to where her leg disappeared into her pelvis was red. Everyone gasped except for the detective and Brian. He already knew how she knew. He closed his eyes and sent a silent thanks up, even though he knew it would’ve been better had the person not used one.

“I’m allergic to latex,” Eliza said and pulled her leg back to her chest.

“We’ll still need to do a rape test, though.”

“That’s fine.”

The detective thanked her for her time and turned to leave. He nodded at Brian who stood in the doorway. Katie and Val saw him, too and they stood up to leave. Brian walked over to where she was sitting but she didn’t look at him. Not really caring who was still in the house, he stepped into the bathtub to be closer to her. He sat down inside of it and sighed. Eliza turned her head to see him sitting there.

Without speaking, she turned her body and slid into the tub so she was lying between his legs and she was pressed against his side. She put her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight.

“I’m so sorry, Eliza,” he whispered.

“Brian, it’s not your fault.”

“I could’ve let Jimmy clean up his shit alone. He wanted to have the party, he could’ve cleaned. I should’ve been with you.”

“Brian, don’t beat yourself up over this. It’s going to be okay and we’ll get past it; one step at a time.”

“I know, princess, but I still feel like shit for this happening to you.”

She just sighed and pressed herself into him more. He kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arms more tightly around her.

“I just hope this rash goes away before our photoshoot,” she mumbled.

“Eliza, don’t worry about that now. Let’s worry about this.”



Two days later, Eliza felt more like herself, partly because it was her birthday and they were throwing her a party. The other part was because Brian had installed a security system on the house, swearing he would do anything it took to make sure she was alright after what had happened.

They didn’t talk about it, and Eliza liked it that way. Val and Katie didn’t mention it either and she was thankful. They were there every day with her along with the rest of the guys and Alex and Dominic. They’d come with Jimmy but she hadn’t seen them. Now, they were staying with her and Brian until they all went back to New York after Halloween.

“I’m thinking of being a Disney character,” Katie said as she flipped through a magazine.

“Which one?” Val asked.

“I have no clue, yet.”

“I think I want to be either Alice or the Mad Hatter,” Eliza said, taking the towel off of her hair and running her fingers through the wet strands.

“You should be Alice and let Brian be the Mad Hatter. That would be so cute,” Katie said.

“Brian’s already got his costume idea, though. He won’t tell me what it is, but he’s already decided what he’s going to be.”

“Well, that’s a bummer,” Katie said.

“Why can’t we go to Jimmy’s? It’s not like I don’t know you guys are throwing me a party. I know about it already, so why can’t I just go there?”

“Because it’s not time for the party yet,” Val said as she finished the last coat of black polish on her nails.

“That’s fucking stupid,” Eliza said and walked out of the room.

She came trotting back up the steps a few minutes later carrying a bottle of Crown Royal and three shot glasses.

“Oh, hell no,” Val said as soon as she saw the shot glasses.

“Val, it’s my birthday; you’ve got to do what I say,” Eliza said as she handed one of the shot glasses to her.

“Oh! I’m definitely down!” Katie said and hopped off the bed, leaving the magazine behind.

She took one of the glasses and set it down on the table. Eliza set hers down and filled both of them to the brim. Val reluctantly set hers down on the table to be filled, too. In plain fashion, they all lifted their shots, clinked them together, touched them down on the table and downed them. Each made a face as they finished the shot, but Eliza was already pouring herself another one.

After they had each had four shots, Eliza moved to the bathroom where she took a shower. Once she was out, she put some mousse in her hair before towel-drying it. She moved to her bedroom where she saw Val and Katie already dressed. She rummaged through her spray-painted graffiti drawers and found the long-sleeved black shirt she was looking for. She found a bra, pulled the shirt on and rummaged for a pair of underwear before pulling on her white shorts. She slipped on a pair of black flip flops before Katie stopped her.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“What do you mean?” Eliza asked, confused.

“Why are you wearing flip flops?”

“They’re comfortable?” Eliza said.

“That’s stupid. Wear heels,” she said, rummaging through Eliza’s closet.

“I’m going to Jimmy’s where I’m most likely going to kick them off anyway.”

“They look better.”

“I’m not trying to impress anyone, Katie. I’m engaged, and all of those guys have seen me at my worst. I think I’m okay.”

“Just wear the damn heels,” Katie said, tossing a pair of heels with ankle straps at Eliza’s feet.

“Fine,” she replied and slipped off her flip flops.

She slid the heels on and buckled up the ankle strap. She stood tall and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She had to agree with Katie that they looked better; they made her legs longer. She moved to the set of drawers where she and Brian kept their jewelry. She put her remaining two rings on, her necklaces, and fastened her bracelet around her right wrist. She turned to see Val and Katie sitting on the bed, looking at her.

“What?” she asked.

“How long were you downstairs?” Val asked.

“Long enough to get the Crown and the shot glasses… Why?”

“Just wondering,” Katie asked, and suddenly became interested in her fingernails.

“What are you guys hiding?”

“Nothing,” they both replied at the same time which triggered Eliza’s suspicion.

She gave them both a look before turning around and sprinting downstairs. She went from room to room looking for something that seemed out of place but she found nothing. She made her way into the last room she had to check: the kitchen. Looking around, and even in the cupboards and oven, she didn’t find anything out of place. She leaned against the island and chewed on the hangnail she found on her middle finger.

Her eyes suddenly lit up as she realized what she was staring at. She dropped her hand and moved to the double doors that led to the deck. Sitting outside was an exact replica of Brian’s guitar, but it was painted hot pink and black. On the neck of the guitar, written in flowing script lettering was “Mistress of Syn” and Eliza laughed.

She heard Val and Katie behind her as she lifted the guitar off the stand it was on. She plucked at the strings, loving the way it sounded. The strap connected to it was hot pink with zebra stripes all around it. At the top, on the part that is visible from the top of the guitar to her shoulder, “I love you” was written in Sharpie.

“Oh, my God, you guys!” Eliza cried.

“That’s not us, dollface,” Val said. “That’s your fiancée. We were just supposed to help you find it in case you didn’t.”

“Oh, my God,” Eliza said again and looked at the guitar again.

“Although, we did get this made for you,” Katie said and pulled out a guitar case.

It was hot pink, and had black Sharpie all over it. She set her guitar down and moved closer to see that they had all signed it and written different things on it. The entire case was covered in little notes and drawings and quotes from all the guys, plus the girls, and she even saw a few from Joel and a couple of others. She laughed when she found the boobs that the Berry twins had drawn near the bottom. She flipped it over and saw the other side was just as covered with words as the top.

She hugged both of them and set her guitar in the case and brought it inside before they locked up the house and headed to Jimmy’s house.

Music blared from the backyard and laughs broke through the music and silence. They pushed their way into the house and stopped to talk to people before pushing through the back doors to the backyard. As soon as their feet hit the steps to descend to the backyard, cheers erupted. Eliza froze as everything was looking at her, clapping and scream. She found Brian right away, and not caring who was looking, she ran to him. She jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around him.

“I love my guitar, baby,” she said and kissed his mouth.

“I thought you would,” he said and kissed her back.

“The only problem is…now I won’t need to play yours, so I won’t owe you anymore favors,” she said jokingly.

“I know. It’s a price I’m willing to pay for you to sound amazing, miss lead singer of Shades of Grey,” Brian said with a smile.

She leaned up and kissed him again before she was bombarded by the rest of the guys wanting hugs and to give her presents. She moved around the group getting hugs and well wishes. When she got back to Brian, she moved into his side as much as she could.

“You look fucking delicious,” he whispered in her ear. He moved away from her ear, and turned to the rest of the people gathered around them, raising his beer. “I want to thank all of you for coming tonight and making it a great night. I also want to thank my beautiful fiancée for allowing me to spend this birthday with her. Baby, you really are my everything and I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

He raised his beer in a salute as everyone else raised theirs and a “Happy Birthday” echoed around the backyard. Brian leaned in to press a kiss to the side of her head as she smiled at everyone.

A shiver went down her body as she felt his kiss on her ear.

As quick as the shiver started, it was run out of her body as someone bumped into her and Brian. Not having a good footing in her shoes, she started to tumble backwards, pulling Brian with her. A shriek barely escaped her lips before she and Brian were submerged entirely into the crystal blue water of Jimmy’s pool. When they came up, laughter and applause was heard throughout the backyard.

Standing on her tip-toes, she wiped her hair back behind her head and out of her eyes before joining in on the laughter. Brian shook his hair out of his eyes before he leaned in and kissed her.

“We’re not even drunk yet and we’re stumbling,” he said as he held her face and kissed her again.