She Asked For It

Believe in Me

He can't know that I know it was him, I thought to myself. Anyone who is open to raping another is okay with doing other torturous acts, like murder.

So I give him the most cheerful, colorful smile I could muster up, giving an Oscar award-winning act.

"Castor, was it? What are you in here for?" I joke, laughing at the end to really sell the idea. Castor analyzes me, looking for any sign to show I remember.

"Sorry for interrupting, I just came in here to talk to Jeremiah," He responds in a friendly tone with his deep voice, friendlier than he has ever been towards me. He turns to Jeremiah and asks him, "Why haven't you been returning any of my calls?"

Jeremiah's once broken eyes fill with fake enthusiasm as his smile stretches, but not showing his dimple. That's when I know he's faking it. "Sorry, Rose here got herself in a bit of a pickle, I wanted to come for moral support."

Got herself in a bit of a pickle.

How did I do this to myself?

As Jeremiah and Castor talk my eyes turn to look at Agnes, who is swooning over the Italian student standing in the doorway. It took everything in me not to shiver in disgust. Haven was looking at me, analyzing me through this whole interaction, looking for clues to show her the missing piece to the puzzle. I put on my fact act again.

"Well, I gotta go now, but I hope you get better soon, Rosalie." Castor says out of nowhere, his eyes as dark as a starless night sky swoops over to me. It takes all of me not to gulp and I smile my big smile while responding with, "Thank you, have a nice day!"

He looks at me a second longer before walking out, his loud footsteps keeping me on the lookout.

Haven dramatically stands, stretching before looking at me. "I gotta go, my bladder is not listening to my needs right now." Before she quickly shuffles into the bathroom connected to the room. I chuckle, while Jeremiah rolls his eyes. Agnes stays there, eyes still on the door Castor left from.

I am terrified of Castor, but I need someone else to know, I need someone else to bear the weight of this knowledge.

I turn to Agnes and signal her to the door, to which she runs out, almost like she wants to look for Castor.

I turn to a puzzled-looking Jeremiah and I hope I'm not making the wrong decision to tell him, my best friend, first. I sigh and take a deep breath, closing my eyes to ready myself.

"What's wrong?" Jeremiah asks me with concern laced in his voice. It's now or never.

"I need to tell you something, but please don't go around telling everyone, please?" I ask, looking down because I couldn't handle Jeremiah's concerned light brown eyes.

I take his silence as yes, to which I whisper while looking at my lap, "Castor did it."

There was a couple of seconds of quiet until Jeremiah responds with a breathy voice, "What?"

I take another deep breath before shakily stating, "Castor raped me."

I looked up and see the gears in his mind turn, disbelief evident in his face.

"I don't believe it," Jeremiah responds, looking at his lap with wide eyes.

"I know it seems impossible, him being your friend and all, but trust me-" My moment of comforting him turned to him yelling at me, his face having an angry red blush.

"Y-You don't understand! I know him better than anyone and I can tell you that this was not his doing! Y-You were knocked unconscious, you probably saw someone wh-who looked like him or-or something like that!" Jeremiah bursts, his face filled with a look of disbelief.

"Trust me! I saw him! I saw his eyes! His eyes are the exact same with-"

"Almost everyone has dark brown eyes like him! Stop trying to put someone as the villain when you aren't even completely sure it's him! What if it isn't him!? You would just be ruining his life and career over something as small as that!"

"I know it was him," I respond lowly. Jeremiah's face turned red from anger. I know that Castor is his friend and all, but why can't he trust me?

"You know what? Let's say he did do it. Why would you try and ruin his life over something that lasted probably only like half an hour? He's had a hard life, doing this to him would permanently ruin him." Jeremiah defends Castor, leaving my mouth hanging open.

"You're going to defend him by saying he had a bad childhood and how if this went out he would be scarred? What about me, huh? What about how he has permanently ruined me?!" I didn't mean to scream, my emotions were getting to me.

That's when Haven starts running out of the bathroom, coming to me and holding me in her arms. She's trying to calm me down.

"You know what? You're so goddamn selfish! You know what-" Jeremiah yells back, his breathing turning into panting.

However, Haven cuts him off with a deep, but loud, "Jeremiah..."

But he doesn't listen, "Haven, you don't even know what happened! She probably asked for it!" Jeremiah yells out to both me and Haven, spit flying and landing on my face before he marches off and out of the door, slamming it in the process.

Hurt is evident in my face as I curl up in a ball, ignoring my body's protest in doing so, and crying it all out, my sobs wracking through my body. I am soon met with the comforting arms of Haven.

"He's just mad, he doesn't mean it." Haven coos, rubbing circles in my back. So she heard us. We sit there like that, her murmuring words of comfort in my ear as I cry my eyes out in her shoulder, again. After what seems like forever, Haven decides to speak.

"But maybe don't make any brash decisions yet, you don't want to hurt an innocent."

Haven's words ring in my ear, she doesn't believe me either.

"Get out." I coldly respond, retracting from her touch and sitting on my bed, looking at the wall in front of me.

"I didn't mean it like tha-" Haven tries to reason, but I have had enough with other people's doubt.

"I said get out!" I yell like a banshee, sobs passing from my throat as my screams tore through. The doctor and some nurses come in, staring at us as the drama unfolds.

Haven looks between the audience and me, a sad look on her face.

"Okay" is all she says before walking out of the room and passing the audience with her head down in shame.

I look at a wide-eyed nurse before murmuring, "I just want someone to believe me," Before my eyes roll to the back of my head and I pass out from exhaustion.