∞∞∞
The next morning, I insist on going back to school. With less than a month until graduation, I can’t afford to wallow, no matter how badly I want to. Ben, Maryanne, and Johnny have been walking on eggshells around me. Axel’s the only one treating me with a semblance of normalcy. Everyone else… it’s like they’re afraid I’ll shatter.
And I get it. But unfortunately, I’m used to picking myself up and stitching myself back together. I wish that wasn’t true, but it is.
A turtleneck hides most of the bruising around my throat, but the blood-red specks in my eyes are harder to ignore. Ben corners me at breakfast, clearly worried. I know Darren was released on bond yesterday, but the restraining order keeps him a hundred yards away and off school property. If he violates it, he’s done. And honestly? I don’t think he’s dumb enough to try.
“I’ll be okay,” I tell Ben gently. “I need this.”
He nods, but not without a sigh. He hates that I was violated while under his care. No matter what I say, he won’t relieve himself of his guilt.
∞∞∞
Walking down the hall, I brace for the stares and whispers.
What I don’t expect is the solidarity.
Girls I barely know stop me to talk. Some to say they’re glad I’m okay, and others, to tell me what a disgusting creep Darren is. A few lean in close to whisper their own stories of unwanted hands at parties, crude words slung their way, or worse.
We cry. We laugh. We connect. Not in a pity party way, but in awe survived thiskind of way.
Something’s shifted in the air.
Where before there was cattiness and quiet competition, now there’s an unspoken code of sisterhood. Girls walk each other to class. They wait outside bathrooms. They stick together in a way I’ve never seen before.
I hear one girl whisper something snide when she thinks I’m not listening. One comment out of dozens of kind ones, but still, it reminds me: change doesn’t happen all at once. Some people are slower to catch up.
And yeah, maybe it won’t last forever. But right now?
It’s beautiful.
∞∞∞
By the time evening rolls around, my body aches and my brain’s a foggy mess. I collapse into bed early, bone-deep tired.
Today gave me something I didn’t expect.
Hope. Hope for a better school. Hope for a safer world.
Hope that maybe, just maybe, something good can grow from all this hurt.
Chapter 27
My eyes snap open in the dark.
For a moment, I lie still, heart racing, trying to figure out what woke me. The house is quiet. Too quiet. Until I hear it. The faint creak of someone on the stairs, then slow, deliberate footsteps in the hall.
I freeze, barely breathing. Please keep walking. Please don’t—
The doorknob rattles.
My entire body locks up. I want to move, to run, to scream, but I can’t. I’m frozen. The click of the lock makes my blood run cold, and the door creaks open on its hinges.
Please, let this not be real.
I squeeze my eyes shut as footsteps circle the bed. My blanket is yanked back, and cold air hits my skin like ice. I feel his presence, looming and close, before I feel the press of his hand on my cheek.
“I love you, Little Lina,” he whispers, breath reeking of whiskey. “Why are you scared?”
