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9, 3 weeks.

For the past two weeks, I had skipped school.

For the past two weeks, I refused to leave my bed.

For the past two weeks, I was too emotionally drained to do anything.

On the third week I was somewhat alright. I didn't feel like seeing anybody, or talking to anyone. I was just alone in my own thoughts, just thinking and thinking about the incident.

About the person who did it to me.

Lily didn't even attempt to make things right again. She didn't call, didn't text, didn't stop by.

It was like she was a stranger, once again.

Jackson on the other hand, surprised me the most. Ever since I told him about the incident he had been nothing but nice to me. He didn't pull any pranks, didn't make fun of me and most importantly, didn't call me pigtail.

I somewhat missed that.

Once I told my parents about the person who did it, they called the police. The person was arrested and had to do community work. He wasn't put into jail but he had to keep his distance from me.

Technically, he didn't commit a crime considering I managed to escape, but he still had to pay the consequences of nearly doing something that he was going to regret for the rest of his life.

Possibly.

The school headteacher seemed alright with me not going for a while. All the teachers understood that I was going through a hard time, and didn't want to pressure me into going to place that was a constant reminder of that night.

The reminder that went to school with me.

*three weeks ago*

"Ava, please let me explain," He shouted as I continued to walk away from him, "Please, I need to tell you the truth!"

I turned around, dumbfounded. "What truth?"

He sighed in relief as he heard me speak, guilt clearly shown on his flushed face. He looked tired, sad. Which was surprising, considering he never failed to look good but at that point, he looked like he hasn't slept for days.

Was Ryan Brown, hurt?

"I'll tell you but not here," He started. "I don't think you'd want anyone else to hear."

I thought about it, before finally replied with, "Fine, but we are not going to your house."

After that, we made our way to a nearby park. It was a small one which meant not many people visited, so Ryan gladly took the chance to tell me the truth.

We sat on a wooden bench, the air filled with tension and the cold breeze. The sun hid behind the dark rain clouds, which stared at me; making the whole moment more thrilling and alarming.

"I don't know where to start," He began."I have never felt so ashamed in myself."

I looked at him."Why?"

"Last year was a dark year for me. My dad left and my mum hardly came home and I... I thought I could kill my sorrows by being stupid," His voice cracked. "I relied on drugs. I relied on them so much that I couldn't live a day without something that got me stoned. My mum didn't even care. She came home one day when I was high and simply laughed at me. She fucking laughed. And then she spent the rest of the day drinking,"

I stared at him in shock. "I'm so sorry,"

"No," He said sternly,."I haven't even gotten to the worst part."

"Sorry, carry on,"

"So as I was saying, I relied on drugs a lot. I remember one evening, I was so fucking stoned that I didn't even know what was going on. I remember going for a walk in the city at night and seeing this girl... And then I let my stupid brain take over. I was so angry that night, so fucking angry at my parents. So I guess I let my anger out on her. I approached her, trying to guess who she was. The girl was beautiful, so damn beautiful that I couldn't help myself. And then, I nearly did something really dreadful," Tears swelled in his eyes. "I'm so fucking sorry."

I couldn't process it. I was in loss for words, I was so conflicted by what he told me that reality hasn't hit till minutes later.

"Y-You," I managed to croak out."You were the guy, y- you nearly fucking raped me!" I screamed, gathering up my anger.

His eyes filled with guilt."I was under the influence of drugs, I would have never hurt you if I wasn't!"

"That doesn't justify your answers. You nearly raped someone. You wouldn't have stopped if I didn't get away." I shouted, raising my arms up in anger.

"But I did stop myself," He started. "That's how you got away." He blurted out, as tears escaped his eyes.

"What?"

"I stopped myself when I realised what I was doing. I have never felt so guilty, Ava. You have no fucking idea how sorry I am," He cried, as a little part of my heart shattered. A part of me felt bad for him.

"Then why did it take you a whole year to tell me?"

"I had to stop myself from doing drugs. It's been difficult, but I've been clean ever since that night."

"Oh." Was all I could say, before my tears started to spill.

I walked away from him, not saying a thing. He didn't even try to catch up, as he probably understood that I needed space.

I needed time.

-present day-

A part of me felt bad when I found out he was arrested.

But then another part of me believed it was closure; it finally made the nightmares go away.

On the third week, I went back to school. It felt strange to see everyone again, as it felt like they all knew.

Maybe they knew about the incident.

As I approached my locker, I felt someone's gaze on me. I turned around, only to find Lily and Jackson talking.

Except they weren't talking, they were shouting.