B I T T E R

C H A P T E R TWENTY

Sitting in the safety advocate's office, I observed her room. She had a small office with lots of family pictures. Her little girls were so young and beautiful... but everyone gets corrupted at some point.

"Charlotte, are you able to tell me what happened?" she asked cautiously. I wasn't some porcelain doll that needed extra care.

I nodded, "It was Friday night and we were at my friend's party. Ace and I had gone on a date before and I helped him with his homework a lot. So, we were talking and then he wanted to go upstairs. I trusted him. I thought he just wanted a break from the party scene. I was wrong. Once we were inside, he slammed me against the wall and that's when it started." I stared at the floor with wide eyes as if I were traumatized. She wrote quickly and when she was done, she looked at me.

"Did you tell anyone?"

"I was ashamed. I guess it was my fault for allowing myself to be alone with him." I wiped a stray tear.

"Oh no, honey. It's never your fault." She rubbed the top of my hand.

"And then in the hallway, we were talking. He told me not to tell anyone and that if I did, he would do it again. I told him I was going to make sure everyone knew and then he grabbed my wrists. He attacked me so I screamed and that's when Ms. Williams came."

"This is a serious accusation you're making. Are you sure you've told me everything?" she twirled her friend. Did they always make rape victims feel bad about reporting? I felt uncomfortable talking to her.

"I wouldn't lie about this if that's what you're asking. I'll do the rape kit and take it up with the police if I have to." I scoffed.

"Sometimes it's best to keep your name and the school's name out the public." She explained. She was only interested in protecting the school and I found that sickening.

"You shouldn't allow a rapist to be among the students here. Maybe the media needs to hear my story so that everyone will know." I threatened subtly. I wasn't serious, but I knew it would get them to work faster. 

"That won't be necessary. We will handle it. The day is almost over, so if you drive to school, then you're free to go. I hope you feel better. I know this event can take a significant toll." She tried to comfort me. I didn't say anything else and I left from her office.

I texted the girls to come over once I got home. School was over now. In ten minutes, they had all arrived.

"Geez, what happened? We never heard from you after you left with Ace." Havoc asked. We were slumped around my room. Spencer and I were on my bed , and Riley and Havoc were in beanbags.

"Well, Ace is going down for rape." I smirked.

"Wait, what? Did he actually rape you?" Riley asked in shock. This was my craziest stunt so far.

"Nah. When we went into the hallway, he actually claimed that he wanted to just be friends. My problem is he was telling me this a couple days after we had sex for the first time."

"So you lied because he used you?" Spencer asked.

I nodded, sipping on my coke.

"Wow, you really have a knack for ruining people." Havoc chuckled.

"I don't want anything too bad to happen. I just want him to get kicked out of school." I shrugged.

"Yeah, it's not like no college will ever look at him again." Riley joked.

"He didn't care about me, so I don't care about him."

We threw out random possibilities of what his future might be. Havoc guessed he'd have to move to another country and start over, Riley suggested he would work a mediocre job, and Spencer hoped he'd become homeless.

"Charlotte!" my mother randomly burst into my room. She'd just gotten home from work.

I didn't have time to respond because she immediately asked, "Were you raped?"

I felt my face go blank and tensions rose in the room. The school must've called her. I slowly nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she looked hurt and like she was sorry for me.

"I was scared." I lied. This whole thing was a lie that I'd have to keep up with.

"I would've helped you, Char. This breaks my heart. I told the school I want that boy banished." She held her heart.

I felt sorry for my friends who were now just staring awkwardly because they knew the truth.

"I'll be okay. They're going to deal with him." I got up and hugged her. She broke down crying, upset that she couldn't prevent it. It wasn't her fault.

I was actually starting to believe my own lie. I was thinking as if it really happened. I was scared of what my mind was becoming.