That was the last time you saw Maisie

You wake up extremely sore. From the sunlight coming through the window, it seems like it is pretty late in the morning. You realize your wrists are still bound behind your back and you're still naked. Looking over at the bed, you see that Brad is sleeping there alone.

You don't wake him up or try to get up. You just sit there, dejected, thinking about everything that happened last night and how Maisie treated you. Was she right about that being you deepest desire? It was certainy a powerful experience.

There's a groan from the bed. Brad rolls over and wakes up. He rubs his eyes and turns to see you. "Shit, dude, are you still tied up? Fuck, I'm sorry about that." He sounds groggy but sincere. His voice is a little raspy and his chest is covered in scratches. He gets up and pulls on some boxers very quickly, then comes over to your chair. "Turn around and I'll get you out of that." As he's pulling on the duct tape at your wrists and getting it to tear, he says, "By the way, I didn't mean anything I said last night. She told me to play along and, fuck, you know how hard it is to resist Maisie."

When the tape is off your wrists, you reach up and pull the last piece off your mouth. You nod at Brad and mumble, "Thanks." You're still naked, and chances are everyone will see your walk of shame back to your bedroom. You sit there as Brad gets dressed, but then he tosses you a pair of his shorts and a T-shirt. You say, "thanks" again and put them on.

When you're done Brad claps you on the back and says, "Come on, let's get some food."

You follow him into the main room, where you see that it's actually noon and everyone is seated at the big table eating lunch. Everyone except Maisie. The group chatter dies when the group sees the two of you, but they immediately start talking again as if nothing happened. You and Brad make some sandwiches and sit down.

After a couple of minutes there's a pause in the conversation. Todd looks over at Brad and says, "So, you all had an eventful time last night."

Jayda snort laughs and almost chokes on her food. "Sorry! Sorry! It's just that y'all were especially loud last night. Well, you and Maisie were." She glances at you, but there's no scorn in her smile.

"Yeah," says Brad with a slightly embarrassed smile. "Last night was... weird."

Mark says, "Do you still think you're going to marry that girl?"

They all laugh at that, even Brad. Then he says, "No, I think last night broke the spell. Where is Maisie? Did she go into town?"

The girls all look at each other. Ari says, "She called her mom a few hours ago, then went into the bathroom for an hour to talk. When she came out she asked me to take her to the bus station. I drove her there, and I guess she's on her way home by now. She wouldn't say what the emergency was, but she seemed really sad when she hugged me goodbye."

Everyone agrees to change the subject. You try not to think about Maisie leaving without saying anything.

There's only a day left on the trip, but it's a very different day from all the others. Everyone makes an effort to include you. Jayda doesn't even hang out with the Clemson guy, instead she and Brad make sure you've got someone with you for anything that requires a partner like minigolf or darts at the bar. You talk to the others more the last day than the rest of the trip combined.

When you go to school on Monday, Maisie isn't there. Brad waves you over at lunch time and you eat with him and his friends. After a couple more days without Maisie coming to school, you go to her house.Maisie's mom answers the door. She looks at you sadly. "Hey. I thought you might come by."

"Hi. Is Maisie home?"

"No, she's not, and she isn't going to be. We had a long talk the other day, and she's going to finish senior year at another school. She's staying with some family out of state. Before you ask, no, I can't tell you where, and I can't pass along any messages."

"Oh," you say. It's not clear what's more devastating, the fact that the last time you saw her was utterly humiliating, the fact that you enjoyed the humiliation, the loss of your crush, or the loss of your oldest friend.

"I'm really sorry," says Maisie's mom. "You were always a good friend to her, and I know you didn't mean for things to get out of control. She was really sad about this, and if it helps, she was more sad about losing you than anyone else. I know it hurts, but her moving is for the best."

You thank her for explaining and leave. The rest of the day is pretty rough.

Brad keeps inviting you to lunch. His friends all accept you fairly easily. Eventually Brad starts encouraging you to think about other girls, maybe even to talk to one. It's hard at first, but life goes back to normal and everything gets easier over time.