Fireworks
Previously: Jeannie & Paco locate some evidence in Alexa’s bedroom.
1:13 PM - Monday, November 3, 2014
US Park Police Office, Ft Winfield Scott, The Presidio
July 6, 2014
Statement of Alexa Thomas on the events of July 4, 2014 at the Hartman residence, Lake Tahoe, California.
On Friday, July 4th, 2014 I left San Francisco with my boyfriend Sebastian Podesta to go to a party hosted by Tripp Hartman at his family’s home at Lake Tahoe. We left early, around 8am, and after stopping in a town called Auburn for a hamburger lunch, we arrived at the house around 12:45 or 1pm-ish. I don’t know Lake Tahoe, but Sebastian drove us though Tahoe City so I could see it, and then doubled back again and turned left to go south. I guess it was about 20-30 minutes later that we arrived at the Hartman’s house which is right on the lake. Sebastian kept talking about Meeks Bay being nearby and a fun place to spend the day. He suggested that we may all go there the next day.
We arrived at the Hartman’s house and parked in the big circular driveway. Tripp’s vintage Mustang was already there, as was Vin Parisi’s Jetta. The house is really big with a big lawn that has a volleyball net up, corn hole, horseshoes, and a bocce court too. A big deck wraps around from the driveway, all the way around to overlook the lake which is really really blue. They have a dock going out into the lake and a boat was tied up there. There were a few boueys out beyond the end of the dock with a few boats out there too. The water went from pale blue near the little beach at the shore to a dark sapphire blue - kind of like an ombré. I had not seen a lake this size. Lake George is where my family goes in New York and while it is big, it is not nearly this size. I think it’s because Lake George is really narrow so you are always close to shore. I’ve swum across it before. I wonder if people swim across Lake Tahoe - they must. Sebastian told me that when we looked across the water we were seeing Nevada.
We arrived and Tripp told us that the boys would stay in the bunk room but the girls would get to choose bedrooms together. Carolina and I had already agreed to take one of the twin rooms together. I found the room - it was on the main floor down the hallway from the kitchen. It was a small room but pretty and it had a view of the lake and a bathroom attached. The Kitchen was huge and full of party food: chips, popcorn, beer, and of course vodka, tequila, mixers — Tripp’s parties always have a lot of alcohol. My parents are strict, but they let me have some wine at special dinners and champagne on my birthday, but they don’t buy up for my and my friends the way that Tripp’s parents do. I told Mom about that and she made her face that she makes when she disapproves of something.
People kept arriving and in the end it was Tripp, Vin & Angela Parisi, Tyler Shea, Dash Reilly - that was the group from Xavier - Me, Carolina, Jen Tyson, and an old friend of the boys named Charlie, but I didn’t really meet him - that was the group from Academy - and then MJ Wong, Zizi Zinn, and Tally Briggs from Holy Heart. Of course Tripp started organizing games and of course everything involved taking shots or doing dares. He tried to set up slosh ball, but they only had a pony keg and didn’t want to crack it until day 2.
Everyone was drinking all afternoon. I had a margarita and then beer and then sparkling water. I didn’t want to be drunk and have a headache the next day and ruin the weekend. I also wanted to swim in the lake. I had more beer as we got closer to dinner time which was in the late afternoon. The boys all started to grill up steaks, burgers, hot dogs, and some chicken breasts. There was pasta salad, fruit salad, and Tally oversaw making a caprese salad and a green salad too. Zizi assembled a big sheet cake with white frosting and decorated it with sliced strawberries and blueberries to make an American flag. I don’t know where all the food came from. Tripp’s parents maybe? They weren’t there though. They apparently went to the Nevada side of the lake for the party, and would check in tomorrow. I think Tripp said they were staying somewhere called Edgelake? Edgewood? I don’t know. I thought it was weird that his parents weren’t even there.
There were fireworks in the evening - some were set off from a beach down the shore but we could see little clusters of fireworks happening all over different parts of the lake too. It was really cool. Seb and I went down on the beach and sat together to watch for a while which was nice. He was being really sweet - I know at parties like this he likes to be with his boys and do goofy things like they do. But, he was spending time with me and paying me all kinds of attention which was different, but nice. He always seems to want to spend time with me but is easily distracted by his friends doing something he wants to be a part of. He’s always distracted. We were kissing on the beach, but it got a little cold and there were mosquitoes, so we back up to the lawn where there was a hammock. There was music playing and some people were around a fire pit nearby, and I think the others were inside doing drinking games in the kitchen. Every so often you’d hear cheers go up like someone had done something.
We were on the hammock for a while and I’d been sipping on a beer, but I put it down on the ground after a while. We were kissing for a while and then I don’t remember what happened, but I fell asleep for a bit. I woke up to Seb kissing me. I was disoriented and he called me “sleeping beauty” which is the kind of thing I hate but I didn’t remember falling asleep, so waking up felt strange. Seb seemed excited. He asked me what I thought about going upstairs to one of the bedrooms. We had talked about maybe having sex this weekend, and maybe that was why he was being so attentive and sweet to me, but I was unsure. It felt like there was a lot of people around. I also don’t really like Tripp and it would be weird to me to have sex in his house for the first time. I don’t know why I don’t like him, but his eyes are always dead, like there’s nothing inside of him.
Seb seemed kind of giddy and giggly, and suggested we maybe go upstairs and just be together and that we didn’t have to do anything I didn’t want to do. He seemed aware of my reluctance, but I trusted him.
We left the hammock and I waved to Carolina who was sitting at the fire pit with some others. We went upstairs - Seb was holding my hand and leading me - and went to a bedroom at the end of one hall. I heard some music coming from inside but Seb knocked a little and we went inside.
In the bedroom there was Tripp and Dash Reilly - they were mixing drinks or at least making shots - off of a little table near a big fireplace. Jen Tyson was there too. She was looking at Dash and lounging in a big chair by the fireplace - she had these little short jeans shorts on and they kept riding up even higher as she moved her legs around. When we came in she looked at Seb instead. Seb kind of giggled when we came into the room and I know he said something to me, but I don’t remember what.
Seb went over to the table and Jen put her foot out and touched Seb’s chest with it when he got close. Dash came over to me with a shot that he had poured and offered it to me. I didn’t know what was happening but it all felt weird and wrong. I thought Seb and I would be alone together to talk and kiss and hang out, and we were here with a lot of alcohol and people I didn’t really know or like much. Dash offered me the shot again and I don’t remember what he said, but he repeated himself, something like: “We’ve been waiting for you. We wanted you to party with us.”
I was confused, but looking at Seb talking to Jen across the room. I looked at Dash, but didn’t really recognize him. I think I said “What?”
“We wanted you to party with us.” He tried to hand me the shot but I didn’t take it. I shook my head at him. He grabbed my hand and pulled me forward into the room, closing the door behind me. I heard him lock it.
I remember calling Seb’s name, but I don’t think he heard me. Dash went over to Seb and gestured at me. Seb came back over to me and he looked drunk now, he smelled like whatever the shot was. “We’re going to party with them, okay?” I just looked at him when he said this. It was all wrong and I didn’t like it. I think I said something to him about being alone, but I don’t remember. I told him I didn’t like this. He told me to be cool, that these were his friends. He turned back to Dash and Jen and they did shots. Tripp came over to me then and started talking. I remember the music got louder and it was weird and annoying and my head was fuzzy already.
Tripp said something like “don’t you think it’s time” or “you’ve had enough time” or something about time. I think he meant with Seb?? I don’t know. He got right up close to my ear then and said “Seb told us you’re terrible at blow jobs.” He looked at me with his weird little smile and looked me over top to bottom. I think he asked me if this was true. I just looked at him and then I looked at Seb - he was French kissing Jen Tyson and Dash was cheering. Dash came over to me then and said the same thing as Tripp “Seb told us you’re terrible at blow jobs, so tonight you’re gonna learn.” I looked at him and felt myself starting to cry but made sure I didn’t. I took a deep breath. I felt hot all over. Dash then said: “Jen will show you how to do it.” Dash and Tripp cut up laughing when he said this. “Jen knows what Seb likes.” He said laughing again.
Tripp went over to Jen and whispered something in her ear. She looked at me and pulled Seb - who didn’t look at me - over to the bed and she pushed him down on it and straddled him to kiss him. She was kissing my boyfriend on a bed and it looked very normal - like it wasn’t something new? Dash and Tripp got around her and kept saying something like “show her show her”. So Jen unzipped his fly, took out his penis, and started to give my boyfriend a blowjob. Seb was laughing and instantly into it. I was going to throw up. Seb’s hand was on her head, the way he had done to me when we had done that.
I turned away to go to the door. I had to get out of there. All of a sudden Dash was standing in front of me, blocking the door. I moved to go around him and he kept blocking me. Then I heard Tripp right up behind me too - they had me boxed in. The music was loud and making me nervous. I knew I had to get out of there. I was going to be sick. Dash said something to me like “no no no you’re not going anywhere.” I remember looking at him and he was looking me over. Then he started telling me I was “so pretty” and he “always wondered what Seb had” - things like that. My skin was crawling it was so gross. I went again for the door and he blocked me and Tripp grabbed my arm from behind. I shook off Tripp and Dash laughed at him. Dash said “C’mon Alexa, we want you to party with us and Seb will love it. You know he will.” I heard his words and it seemed to cut through everything and I heard him very clearly all of a sudden.
I looked at Dash, my boyfriend’s best friend and told him that he needed to get the fuck out of the way or I would scream the whole motherfucking house to the ground. His face changed and he stepped aside slowly.
I moved right to the door, unlocked it and ran. I ran down the hall and heard the door close behind me, it kind of slammed shut. The music got louder even through the door. I didn’t want to think about what the three of them would do to Jen even if she wanted it to happen. I didn’t want to think about that girl all over my boyfriend. I didn’t want to think about his scuzzy friends saying things to me and looking me over. I felt dirty. I wanted a shower. I wanted cold water. I wanted to swim away from there.
It was pitch black outside and no one seemed to be around. All the lights were on in the kitchen and all the dinner mess was still there, not cleaned up. The whole place was a shambles. I was going to sit in the big living room but I needed air and I didn’t want to be inside those walls. I was cold all over. I got a blanket off the sofa and went out to the deck and looked at the dark lake. I hid out there under the blanket on a lounge chair, waiting for the morning. I couldn’t stop replaying everything in my head and I was so sad about Seb. I could never be with him now, but something told me I knew deep down something like this was going to happen. I trusted him, but never really trusted him if that makes sense.
I waited until it started to get light out, and found my bag in a hallway and put on my swimsuit. I went out into the water and it was dark and cold and I just keep swimming and swimming. Eventually that guy Charlie came and got me to come in - he said it was too far out and the boats would be starting up for waterskiing and no one would see me. I just wanted to keep going but he said it was too dangerous. The sun broke and it was golden on the water and hard to see already, so we turned around and went back and sat on the dock. I hated the sight of that house and I didn’t want to talk to Seb or any of them. Charlie and I found Carolina and I told her what had happened briefly and Charlie offered to drive us home.
Somehow Tally was awake and she came in and heard the story and decided she’d come home with us too.
We drove back to San Francisco and got home by mid-day. I did not tell my parents any of this. I needed some advice so I spoke with the Headmaster over coffee earlier today and he suggested I write everything down so I’d remember it all. I am grateful that we go to Nantucket in two days.
Mark finished reading and realized he’d been holding his breath. The statement was spread out on one of Amanda’s evidence tables. It had been flattened and photographed and finger printed. On the back side of the last page, there was a hand-written paragraph which could only be assumed to be Alexa’s writing:
Seb came by to see me after I wrote and printed this so adding here. He was full of apologies about Tahoe. He said he had been drugged by Tripp with GHB which is apparently something Tripp has done before so everyone will party. I asked him about Jen and Seb admitted that they had been hooking up for months, even longer, and that she didn’t mind that he was dating me. He didn’t seem to think that I’d mind that he was dating me but having sex with her. He admitted that Jen liked him but she wasn’t someone he would date. He said that I was the one he wanted to date and he wanted our first time to be special, but Tripp had engineered the whole thing and said it was going to be more fun. He kept apologizing and I finally told him to stop, and that I never wanted to see or speak to him ever again.
I went inside and left him there and when I came in my Dad went out to talk to Seb. He told me after that he made it clear to Seb that he was no longer welcome at our home and that he should not try to speak to me again.
Later on this evening, Carolina came over and she showed me the chat room on Pr3pSF - I didn’t know it existed and Carolina said she knew but never went on there. She told me Zizi had heard there was chatter about me on there so we looked at it. Tripp had made a bet with Seb that I’d sleep with him by July 4th and all kinds of other people were betting too. People I didn’t know. I mean, they all use handles, but I don’t know that many people here. It’s all weird and gross.
Mark looked up at Jeannie who was watching him read all of the pages. He huffed a deep breath and shook his head.
“Wow.”
“I know. It’s - it’s awful.” Jeannie said quietly. “But at the same time I think it’s kind of what goes on with these kinds of kids these days.”
“Makes me want to talk with Dash Reilly again, and Seb.” Mark shook his head again. “And this Pr3pSF - I’ll get Raj on trying to find it.”
“Good luck with that. No one even mentioned it in any interview. Why are we just hearing about it now?”
“No idea. Could be super underground. Could be dark web. Who knows. Raj will find it.” Mark huffed again, standing straight and staring at the ceiling. “We also have to talk to Tripp, of course.”
“Of course. How do we do that though?”
“I’m trying to figure that out.” Mark gave a faint smile as he looked over the pages again.
“What is it?”
“Alexa. She stood up to all of them. Makes me like her.” Jeannie gave him the same smile.
“Me too.”
Enjoy this post? Please leave a like and a comment, and consider sharing The Spring with a friend!