One in Five Read online

  One In Five

  A Selena Bailey Novella

  H.K. Christie

  Also by H.K. Christie

  The Selena Bailey Novella Series

  If you like thrilling twists, dark tension, and smart and driven women, then you’ll love the suspenseful Selena Bailey series.

  Not Like Her, Book 1

  One In Five, Book 2

  On The Rise, Book 3

  The Unbreakable Series

  The Unbreakable Series is a heart-warming women's fiction series, inspired by true events. If you like journeys of self-discovery, wounded heroines, and laugh-or-cry moments, you'll love the Unbreakable series.

  We Can’t Be Broken, Book 0

  Where I’m Supposed To Be, Book 1

  Change of Plans, Book 2

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 by H.K. Christie

  Cover design by Suzana Stankovic

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  If you would like to use material from this book, prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at:

  www.authorhkchristie.com

  First edition: December 2019

  For Emily Paige

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  A note from H.K. Christie

  Thank you!

  Also by H.K. Christie

  Join H.K. Christie’s Reader Club

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  1

  The End. At last, Selena was finished writing the umpteenth paper for her freshman English class. The assignment was to write an essay about a life-changing experience. She’d been concerned that if she wrote her real story her professor would be horrified, so she’d taken a bit of a creative license by attributing her mother’s death to a lost battle with cancer instead of the more accurate account of her mother’s long illness with alcohol followed by being murdered by her scumbag boyfriend. Details. Either way, it had been profound. It led Selena into the arms of her very own deranged psychopath and eventually to a reunion with her father. She’d omitted the deranged psycho boyfriend bit. That would be for her next essay—she was running out of topics for the class and she still had two months left before the winter break.

  The sound of a key turning in the lock caused her body to react. She sat up, grabbed for her baton from under her pillow, and prepared herself for an attack. It was more than likely just her roommate, but she had been in self-defense and weapons training with her stepmother, Martina, for the last nine months. Martina had drilled into her that, as a smaller female, she’d have to always be prepared for a potential threat. Martina insisted that at her size, weapons and being on high alert would be her only saving grace if she were to be assaulted. Initially, Selena had taken offense at the smaller female remark. At five foot three inches, she wasn’t too vertically challenged—but considering she could still shop in the kids section, she’d promised to be vigilant.

  The door opened and in strolled her roommate, Dee Hankel, a Chemistry major and fellow freshman at San Francisco University, who Selena was sure was never referred to as a small female and likely hadn’t shopped for children’s clothing since she was, well, a child. Dee was her polar opposite. A tall, blond ex-volleyball player that spent as much time partying as she did studying. Dee was a work hard, play hard type. Selena was a work hard type—end of sentence. She relaxed her body and stuffed her weapon back under her pillow. “Hey, Dee.”

  Dee slurred a, “S’up, girl. You studying?”

  Considering it was Saturday at eleven, it wasn’t shocking Dee had already hit her first party of the night. Selena nodded. “Yep. More essays. Super fun.”

  “You need to get out more. C’mon, there’s a party down the hall. That totes cutie who was eyeing you is there. Whass’ss name. Brandon? Brando? Brendon? Whatever. He asked about you.”

  Heat filled her cheeks. “Pass.” Not that Brendon wasn’t cute or smart, she just wasn’t going to go there. She was officially off men for, um, let me think, oh right, life. Considering her last boyfriend, the deranged psychopath, kidnapped her and then tried to shoot her in the head, a break from men was definitely in order. Even if he was cute. No need to kidnap and torture this gal twice. Lesson learned.

  Dee stumbled onto the bed across from Selena’s and laid on her stomach, with her head on her pillow. She turned toward Selena. “Oh, c’mon. It’s just down the hall. You need to have some fun. All work and no play is no bueno. You’ll burn out and jump off the top floor. Seriously, girl. I worry about you. College is about fun and new experiences!” She rolled off the bed and then kneeled down in front of Selena. “Please! Pretty please! Come out with me!”

  Selena was sure she’d had all the coed fun she’d ever need, but she supposed she could use a break. “Fine. I’ll go. Give me a sec to change.”

  Dee popped up and clapped her hands enthusiastically. “Yeah! Selena’s getting her groove back!”

  Selena slid off the bed and headed to the dresser. She pulled out a pair of black skinny jeans and a white cable-knit sweater with a plaid scarf for warmth as well as a splash of color. She wasn’t sure there was a groove to get back, but she’d at least look presentable. She slipped on the new digs and made her way to the bathroom to brush out her hair. In front of the mirror she undid the messy bun and brushed her long chestnut locks before applying a red shimmery lip gloss and adding mascara to her long lashes.

  She returned to the common area where Dee was furiously texting on her phone. Selena said, “I’m ready.”

  Dee glanced up. “Damn. You clean up. You look like a Disney princess—that one that has a friend who was a genie … you know the one.”

  Dee was blitzed. Selena shook her head. “You mean Jasmine?” It wasn’t the first time someone had made the correlation.

  Dee’s aqua blue eyes went wide. “Yes! That’s it! You should dress up as Jasmine for Halloween!”

  Selena didn’t dress up for Halloween, and she certainly didn’t dress up as a scantily clad princess. “Let’s not get carried away. You ready?”

  “Oh, come on! Halloween is next week, I heard the parties are epic.”

  Hand on hip, Selena asked, “You ready?”

  “Yes, Jeez. Let’s go.”

  As Selena followed Dee out the door and down the hall, Selena had a feeling she would be regretting this decision. The sounds of Bruno Mars’s latest hit could be heard as soon as they stepped out of their room. They strolled until Dee stopped in front of the first open door, which was obviously the source of the blaring music. She said, “You ready for some fun?”

  “Sure.”

  Dee giggled and grabbed Selena’s hand, dragging her inside the dorm room. Selena assessed the party. There were about twenty people with red Solo cups in hand in a space that comfortably held about half of that. Before Selena c
ould react, someone shoved a cup in her hand. She sniffed the cheap beer and glanced up. Her eyes locked with Brendon’s big brown eyes. A fellow freshman, originally from the central valley, majoring in Political Science. Medium height. Medium cute. One hundred percent not interested. She handed the cup back to him. “I don’t drink.”

  His face fell. “Oh, sorry. Seriously? I didn’t know.” He took it back.

  His sincerity almost made her feel sorry for him. “It’s fine. I just don’t like it.” Like, I don’t like the idea of becoming an alcoholic like my deceased mother.

  “Oh, okay. Um. How are you?”

  Selena gave him the side eye. “I’m good. You?” This was going to be painful. She should just go back to her dorm room.

  “I’m alright. I just finished my midterm for English. Ugh, if I have to write one more paper, I’m not sure what I’ll do.”

  Selena cracked a grin. “I hear you. I just finished mine too. I’m so tired of essays. I want to get into my major classes, you know?”

  He ran his hand over his floppy brown hair. “Criminal Justice, right?”

  He remembered. Poor guy, he does have a crush. “Yep.”

  “What do you want to do with your degree?”

  That is a good question. “I’m not sure. Maybe become a police officer or investigator or something. Right now, I work at my stepmother’s security and investigations firm. She’s a total bad ass. She’s teaching me about the business and how to conduct investigations. It’s fascinating.”

  “That’s really cool. Have you worked any cases yet?”

  Selena frowned. “Not really. Martina insists being an investigator is dangerous and she’s making me do a bunch of weapons and self-defense training before she’ll let me go into the field, but I have learned how to review oodles and oodles of records and video footage. It’s not exactly fun.”

  His eyes sparkled. “Wow. That is really cool. I think more women should know self-defense. Before I left for college, I made sure my sister, she’s a sophomore in high school, knew how to defend herself. We used to practice together.”

  Huh. I did not expect that. Still. No. No, boyfriends. School. Career. Staying alive. “That’s smart and cool that you look out for your sister. What do you plan to do with a degree in Political Science?”

  He set down his beer on the counter behind him before turning to face her again. “I want to become a lawyer and then enter politics. Our justice system is so whacked, I want to make real changes, you know? I think the only way to do that is to know the law and then get into a position to be able to implement changes.”

  He was cute …

  No. No. No boyfriends. Selena, don’t be fooled by a bright smile and noble future plans. “That’s great. Who knows—maybe our future-career-selves will cross paths one day—” Selena lost her train of thought at the sound of vomiting followed by a room full of “eww.” She turned to her left and saw the long blond hair. Of course. She eyed Brendon and said, “Looks like duty calls. Sorry. It was nice talking to you,” before hurrying over to Dee to usher her back to their dorm room. It had been nice talking to him.

  No, Selena. No boyfriends.

  2

  A few weeks later, Selena stood in front of the refrigerator with the door open contemplating what to have for a midnight snack. Cereal? A turkey sandwich? Yes. She pulled out a loaf of whole wheat bread and set it on the counter of her kitchenette and then went back to fish out the rest of the condiments. She hummed along to the radio while she lathered the bread with mayo and spicy mustard before topping it with sliced turkey, pickles, Monterey Jack, and tomatoes. Martina had drilled into her the importance of a healthy diet while in training—but c’mon, she was eighteen. Wasn’t this the time in her life to eat pizza and cookies for dinner? Not that there were many healthy options in the cafeteria, except for the salad bar. It was one of the reasons Martina and Dad had recommended she apply to get into the Towers, where the dorms were more like apartments equipped with a kitchenette, dining table, and living room so that her diet and lifestyle could keep in check. She still ate pizza and cookies, just not for every meal.

  She grabbed a bag of bbq chips from the cupboard and set them and the sandwich down at the dining table next to her laptop and Statistics book. She tore open the bag, pulled out a chip, and crunched down on the sweet and spicy goodness. She polished off the bag before eating her deluxe turkey sammy. Martina wouldn’t have approved of the chips, but what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her, right?

  Selena munched on her sandwich as she reviewed the details of a case that Martina sent for her to review before going into the office the next day. More video surveillance to sift through—fun. More call logs—double fun. Was Martina trying to bore her out of going into the field of private investigations? Selena was eager to take on a real case. Where she’d go out on a stakeout and help take down the bad guys, find missing persons, or provide security for people in danger. The exciting stuff. Despite being paid, Selena felt more like an intern than a member of the investigative team. Grunt work. Martina insisted that patience was a virtue and that it was an invaluable skill in her world. Selena polished off her sandwich and shut her laptop lid.

  She pulled her notebook and Statistics book in front of her. Ten more problems left before she could call it a night. She didn’t really mind. She loved college life. The freedom to come and go as she pleased. The apartment. The classes. The interesting people. People. Person. Brendon. No, Selena, don’t go there. You know better.

  Brendon Vale lived only a few doors down, and they’d often run into each other in the hall. She’d been sucked into more than a few conversations with him over the last few weeks. She knew she was developing a crush on him but was attempting to bury it deep down into a place that couldn’t be accessed by anyone. She couldn’t trust him, no matter how nice, sweet, funny, cute, or smart he seemed. She allowed herself one more thought of his bright smile before returning her focus to the math problems.

  Selena yawned and stretched her arms out. Last problem done. She was about to shut the book and head to bed when the door lock jingled. Selena’s body went rigid and ready for a fight. She’d eased up on grabbing for a weapon each time she heard a noise due to the fact she’d startled Dee on enough occasions that it had warranted a difficult conversation between the two of them. Selena had agreed to chill out a little bit in exchange for Dee not complaining to the Resident Advisor.

  Dee pushed the door open in her usual drunken fashion with a curtain of blond hair covering her face. Selena had lived with Dee for just over two months and she still didn’t understand how Dee managed to ace her science classes and party several times a week. Not that Selena struggled with her grades; the opposite, really. She thought her classes were far too easy. She couldn’t wait to start taking more challenging courses. “Hey, Dee. How was the party?”

  Dee glanced up. Her faced was wet and smeared with black mascara. Her once-peach colored sweater had dirt smudged on the front and was torn at the shoulder.

  Selena’s mouth dropped open and she jumped out of her chair. “Oh my god, are you okay? What happened?”

  Dee buried her face into her hands and broke down into sobs.

  Selena rushed to put her arms around her roommate. “It’s okay. What happened? Let’s sit over on the couch, okay?” Selena guided Dee to sit down and face her. Selena’s heart pounded as she waited for Dee to explain.

  Dee wiped her cheeks with the back of her hands. “I was at the party at the Delta Kappa Alpha house and, and then this guy I was talking to offered to walk me back but then as soon as we were outside he started kissing me and then pushed me down onto the ground and he pinned me down while he put on a condom and then he—you know and I didn’t know him and I tried to get up and then he pushed me over onto my stomach and …” Dee fell back into a fit of sobs.

  Rage filled Selena. This is why you can’t trust men. They think they can have and do whatever they want. She put her hand on Dee’s shoulder. She
didn’t know what to say. She knew there wasn’t anything she could say to make her feel better in that moment. Dee pushed her hair out of her face and stared at Selena. “Why did he do that? I told him I didn’t want to. I told him.”

  Selena shook her head. “Cause he’s a scumbag asshole monster. Let me get you a towel okay?”

  Dee nodded.

  Selena ran across the room to the bathroom and jetted back with a box of tissues and a moistened hand towel. Selena said, “Here,” and handed the items to Dee.

  “Thanks.” Dee blew her nose and then scrubbed her face with the towel.

  Selena watched Dee. She could tell she was still tipsy. “You said you didn’t know the guy?”

  “No, not really. I talked to him and he’d given me a drink and then we were outside. I don’t remember his name.”

  “When did it happen?”

  “Not long ago. Just now. After he was done. He left me there in the grass by the frat. He didn’t even say anything, he just left. I put my clothes on and walked back here.”

  “You haven’t gone to the police? Or the hospital?”

  Dee cocked her head. “The police?”

  “He raped you. You should report it to the police.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know if I can. They probably won’t believe me. There wasn’t anyone else around.”

  “It doesn’t matter. He assaulted you. If you don’t tell anyone, he’ll do it to someone else. The monsters don’t stop until someone stops them.” Selena’s body shook at the memory of her own experience with her ex-now-dead-boyfriend, Zeek. She’d never told Dee about the experience. She hadn’t told anyone at school. She was too ashamed for allowing it to happen to her, despite what her therapist continued to tell her. That it wasn’t her fault. That she couldn’t have known. She still felt stupid for not seeing it sooner. She knew it wasn’t her fault, yet the shame remained. Maybe one day she’d be in a place where she could talk about it, but today wasn’t that day.