Visions

Chapter Twenty: The Victims are Liars

Each step into that hallway felt wrong as if August and I were being alienated. Everyone was distancing themselves from us as we walked carefully down the hallway and to the group of the visions. Telling the truth about our abuse, maybe had to be the hardest thing we have ever done, and despite his arrest, we were being treated like we were criminals for coming forward. August's locker was covered with homophobic slurs as well as Dorian's locker. We stood next to them and I took a deep breath because the whispers that everything was my fault rang clearly among the other students.

Myla was even talking to us about how we should have waited for things to calm down before telling the police, despite being there for us yesterday. Callum acts like getting the police involved and going on live television is the worst thing that we could have done for ourselves. They didn't understand why we needed to tell the police about our abuse and after this morning, I felt like a short fuse, maybe because everyone was starting to think it was my fault. It was easy to blame me.

I sat through my last class before lunch watching the clock as if waiting for the whole day to be over. I let my leg shake under the table as I stared at the clock and waited for it to be all over. I felt tired of the whispers. The long hand was inching closer to the end of the class and I continued to stare at it, before quickly grabbing my stuff and I put my report on the desk. I left the room as quickly as possible as I ran to August's class and waited outside the door as he waited for the teacher to finish talking.

I saw him get up before the teacher commented. He stayed back as he looked outside of the door, he made a smile towards me before frowning. All of his classmates came out of the room as they stopped to stare back into the classroom before looking down at me. They smiled before leaving and heading to the lunch room.

The conversation was over as he came out with a giant stack of papers that the teacher gave him, "He gave me to research so I can make an entire project that is related to my abuse. It is worth forty percent of our final grade for the semester. I hate this school," I nodded my head in agreement before leaving for the lunch room.

We finally got to the lunch room and we ignored everyone in our path because they wanted to know more about the abuse that we went through. August could tell that I was not emotionally feeling up to people talking to me and I could tell that neither was he. I saw Luca sitting down at the table and I sat right next to him, before putting my bags on the floor and getting my lunch box.

"Hi, my name is Willowmine Paisley-Bynes, I believe that we have a few classes together and I wanted to know if you wanted to be friends," I said to him as I pushed an entire bag of his favorite snacks and alcohol wrapped up in our special handkerchief. He nodded his head before shoving the bag deep into his book bag as he saw the contents. He gave me a small chuckle before wrapping his arms around me. He let out a deep sigh as I wiped a few tears from his eyes. Dorian and I met our eyes together as he smiled deeply at me.

"Willowmine, huh?" He said to me and Dorian showed me a confused expression but I just nodded my head at them. "I am really glad to have you back as my friend, Mara," he stopped himself as he looked carefully at me, "Willowmine."

~Three weeks later~

August stared at me with a smile on his face as we stared at a few Christmas trees with Laura. Laura and I came here together, but August decided to tag along. He wanted to see me for as long as possible, especially after moving out of his house but that doesn't mean we don't try to spend every minute together, mostly due to his mother.

She started forbidding me to see August after school without supervised visits and he started getting watched. She knew about my future pregnancy and she was doing everything she could to not make another me, but August told her that when the trial started happening we needed to see one another. She understood at least for the most part.