𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐆𝐎𝐓 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘, peter parker

CHAPTER 10

"YOU REALLY DID IT THIS TIME."

APRIL TWENTY — FIRST HAD rolled around way too fast for Andie's liking.

She wasn't ready.

She wasn't ready to see his face again, the disgusting perverted stares on her back again, the mole beside his nose, his presence.

Andie had nightmares about this man, a met she has only met briefly months ago, and yet he ruined everything. Her lifelong best friends had been left behind because of him, her mother had became very overprotective to the point where she had even asked a police officer to escort Andie to school, there were rumours going left and right about Andie, everything was fucked.

Maybe this was his goal, to ruin everything.

Andie wasn't ready to see his daughter, the one with his eyes but with her hurt. What if the man's wife defended her husband? Would that make her just as bad, or just brainwashed and manipulated? Was the wife harmed too? Did he tell her? Did she know?

What about his niece? Did she try to tell people? Was she ignored? Would she despise Andie because Andie got help and she didn't? Would they appreciate Andie for putting an end to his bullshit? Would they be proud of her for speaking out?

"Andie, ma fille parfaite. Es-tu presque prêt?" ( meaning ; my perfect girl. are you almost ready? ) Cléa quietly asked, while Cléa had never been in Andie's shoes she understood what Andie needed. A support system, someone who's there for her. And Cléa knew that she wasn't Andie's best friend, but she was there, and that's all Andie cared about. When Andie's father died, Cléa shut down for years, Cléa wouldn't allow herself to do that this time. It wasn't about her.

Andie sighed as she brushed her hair, "Oui, maman." There was a lingering tension for a moment, "J'ai peur." ( meaning ; i'm scared. )

"Je sais, chérie, moi aussi." ( meaning ; i know, honey, me too. ) "Je serai avec toi tout le temps. Il ne peut plus te faire de mal." Cléa reassured. ( meaning ; i'll be with you the whole time. he can't hurt you anymore. )

Andie nodded her head, a tear stinging her eye. She wasn't wearing any makeup in fear of her sobbing and ending up wasting her expensive products, she was wearing sweatpants and an oversized hoodie and a messy bun. "Merci, maman. Je t'aime." ( meaning ; thank you, mom. i love you. )

"Je t'aime, aussi. We are leaving in twenty minutes." Cléa smiled then exited the room.

Silence filled Andie's room, she sat with billions of thoughts running through her head. She just wanted her dad.

Andie couldn't remember what happened next, her ears were ringing and her legs were moving without her brain. She 'woke up' and suddenly she was in the court house moments before the case started.

Andie locked eyes with who she assumed was the man's wife, she was holding hands with her thirty year old daughter and niece, she was sobbing. The wife walked up to Andie, "Andrea, right? I'm Susie." the elderly woman asked, she had grey hair and warm eyes. Andie nodded, knowing if she spoke her voice would crack and tears would fall down her face. "I am so sorry for what my fucking bitch of an ex — husband did to you. You didn't deserve that, it's not fair. I didn't know — I didn't know he was so horrible. I'm very, very sorry, darling. Can I hug you, honey?" Susie asked. Andie could tell she was being sincere, Andie was just slightly confused on how Susie didn't know. Andie quickly nodded, Susie wrapped her arms around Andie back as Andie let a sob out onto Susie's shoulder.

"Hi, Andrea. I'm Quinn." the girl standing to the left of Susie smiled with her hand out to shake Andie's. She looked a little older than 20, she was pregnant, Andie's eyes wandered to her stomach, praying the baby wasn't her uncles. "Don't worry, it's not his. It's my boyfriend's." Quinn laughed.

The other woman, in her thirties, hit Quinn's arm. "Quinny, don't joke right now! My father's on trial!" she scolded, then the two burst into laughter. It was clear they weren't the biggest fans of their relative. "I'm Sav. It's nice to meet you, Andrea, if it was under better circumstances." Sav smiled warmly.

"Sav, put my phone number in her phone. You can text me or call me whenever you feel sad about anything, I'll be like your meemaw, if you want. I'm just here." Susie smiled, Sav and Susie had the same warm smile.

Andie wanted to cry even more, they were so sweet it made her feel relieved. "Thank you. But it's Andie." she croaked.

"I think the trials about to start, we should go in." Quinn said. "We'll see you later, Andie." the three family members smiled to Andie.

Andie then walked into the court room after gaining her composure. Her eyes met his, he was sitting at the stand in an orange jumpsuit.

Marc Thompson. Marc Thompson was his name. He had destroyed almost everything in Andie's life, and they were just hearing each others names now. 

His face looked at hers, a disgusting smile creeping at his lips. He looked at her like she did something wrong, like she ruined his life single-handedly. Like it wasn't justice, like it was pettiness. Andie begged for the tears not to fall, holding them in. Her mother, on the other hand, could not hold her tears in. Cléa was blubbering and sobbing.

Andie found her seat, her brain was on autopilot. She listened as Sav and Quinn said their testimonies. How Marc had tore down their Dora underpants and tore up their Cinderella sleep dresses. How Sav was only five when the sexual assault and only stopped when she moved out. How Quinn moved into their home when her parents died, and how the sexual assault started that day. How Marc would only touch them when Susie wasn't home. How  he threatened them with the same gun he threatened Andie.

Eventually it was Andie's turn to talk. "Why didn't you scream?" the lawyer asked.

Andie sighed at the audacity. She couldn't.  "He had a gun to my back, he told me if I screamed or fought he'd shoot me." she listened as the lawyer lied for an hour about her story. Pure lies were being spat out of the lawyers mouth.

"What were you wearing?" the lawyer asked. Andie was a pinch away from freaking out and losing her shit. How does someone ask a child what they were wearing. She wasn't asking for it, she just wanted to go home.

Andie scoffed lightly, "I was wearing PJ pants and a hoodie. Don't fucking tell me I was asking for it, I was just trying to ride the stupid train."

Andie was angry — no, no. She wasn't angry, she was infuriated. She was angry this was happening, she was angry this happened in general, she was angry that the man standing in front of her was getting money for lying, she was angry that Marc might be able to walk free, she was angry for the people who couldn't speak out, she was angry about the amount of people who were able to do this shit and walk free.

Andie quickly slid out of the room and went to the bathroom. She went to a stall and cried. She just cried.