Fraternity Alpha Series, Chapter 12: Corner Me

When Joann came home from class, Amy still hadn’t turned the lights on. She was sitting on the living room couch with an empty tissue box on the coffee table and a full trash can on the floor before her.

Joann took one look at her and dropped her bag. “Oh no. What’s wrong?”

“Everything,” Amy said.

“How can I help?”

“The CVS on the corner should still be open,” Amy said. “Can you get me tissues? Boxes. Multiple.”

“I’ll be right back,” said Joann.

A half hour later, Joann had not only bought five boxes of tissues but had heated up a can of chicken soup for Amy. The hot soup went a long way towards unblocking Amy’s sinuses.

“Can you tell me about it?” asked Joann. “I mean, you don’t have to.”

“It’s Xavi,” Amy said.

“What happened?”

“Someone leaked photos of him on the internet,” Amy said.

“W…what kind of photos?”

“Bad ones. Joann, Xavi is a sex worker.”

Joann sat down next to Amy. “I mean. You knew?”

“Yes.”

“Then I don’t see what the problem is.”

What was the problem? Good question.

“Because whoever leaked those photos shamed him,” Amy said. “The photos were private. Someone allowed them to get out, and now he can’t trust anyone.”

For all Xavi knew, Amy realized, she took the prints he’d given her last year, scanned them and placed them on the internet. He hadn’t known her for as long as the other members of his found...