He’s going to blow.
“Our girl is so strong, to not only endure that, but to make it through tonight. If I was in her shoes, I don’t think I could,” I sigh as I carefully sit beside them, not wanting to jostle and wake her.
“She’s the strongest person I know, period. Man or woman,” Matthew whispers.
We sit there in silence, my chest tight, as my stomach twists in knots. I lean forward, resting my elbows on my thighs as I cradle my head in my hands, staring at my feet. I replay every word Dylan told us over in my head, waiting for her to smirk and say gotcha, that this was all some joke. But she didn’t.
It’s not a joke.
It’s real.
Some fucker attempted to rape my girl, and she had to live with it.
“Do you think Holly knows? Surely not. Wouldn’t she have wanted to press charges long ago?” I ask out loud, to no one in particular.
“I’m not sure. But I have a knot in my stomach about something I overheard and I plan to address Holly about it. But if she did and wasn’t there for her, she’s dead to me. I’ll never respect her or approve of any relationship my father has with her.”
“Dead to us!” I add. “Dylan’s amazing. How she ended up with two shit parents astounds me. She deserves better, and I’m going to make sure she has it. Between Jacob and me she has parents who adore her and think the sun shines on her.”
I glance over my shoulder to the back door. Jacob’s still outside. It’s eerily quiet and I’m afraid he’s about to do something he’ll regret later.
Fuck! I sit upright, pinching myself. Nope, it’s real, tonight isn’t a dream. Instead of celebrating our win, one we should be over the moon about, we’re processing the devastation that our girl was subjected to.
“You think he’s okay?” Matthew nods his head toward the back door.
“No. But neither are we.” I stand slowly. Dylan’s taken care of, nestled in Matthew’s arms, getting the rest she deserves. My best friend in the fucking world needs me right now.
I make my way over to the door, giving one final look back at Dylan, before taking hold of the handle and opening it. Jacob’s sitting on the top step, body hunched over and head slumped, his shoulders bounce up and down as I hear faint sobbing sounds.
I make my way over, lowering down on the step beside him, wrapping my arm around his shoulder. Right now, I need to be strong for him.
Jacob
“I should have been there. I could’ve stopped it.” Each word comes out with a shaky breath, broken and ragged. I look over at Ford, knowing my eyes are glistening with tears, as my lips quiver, but I don’t even care I’m showing my weakness.
“It’s not your fault just as much as it isn’t Dylan’s. The only person to blame is Brock Johnson. We need to be strong now for Dylan and support her in how she wants to handle this,” Ford says softly.
“But… but.” I break into a sob mid-sentence.
“Nope, there’s no buts. You’re—no, we’re here for her now and that’s what’s important. You can break down now, but then you gotta pull yourself together. We need to be strong for Dylan.”
“If I had only answered the phone,” I whisper.Why didn’t I?
“It would have still happened. There’s nothing we can do to change the past, it’s what we do in the present and future that’s important.”
I smirk, as I huff out a laugh. “When did you become so—” I pause, looking for the right words. They’re on the tip of my tongue but I can’t seem to say them. I finally give up and wave my hand at him, “—this person. So put together and in tune with your emotions.”
“Eh, I don’t know, guess I’m evolving. The monkeys did it, why can’t I?” It’s all I needed to burst out laughing, a moment to let go of all the guilt I’m holding inside.
“Pickle’s going to be okay, isn’t she?” I ask softly.
“She is and we’ll be here supporting her no matter what she decides.”
“I want to kill him,” I admit to myself and him for the first time.
“Join the club, but we can’t. Neither one of us wants to be away from our girl, and none of us are made for prison. I mean, do you even know how to make a shiv?” he asks, his face serious.
“Maybe we should start practicing, you know, just in case. I’m barely holding it together now, but when we have to play him again.” I fist my hands, knowing that day is coming once the season begins. “I don’t know if I can hold it together.”
