The Art Of You And I

Chapter twenty: Conflicted.

I sighed as I closed the door to the studio behind me and trudged towards Dave, Who sat molding something pointy and long out of clay on the tables. I set my bag down in front of me.

Dave immediately looked at me with a soft smile, but paused after he saw the look on my face. "What's wrong, kid?"

I shrugged as I took a seat beside him, crossing my arms on the table. "Honestly, I don't know."

He tried peeling off clay from his fingers as he said, "Did something happen at school?"

I shook my head. "No. I was just thinking about something. Actually, I've been thinking about it for a while now."

"What is it?"

After hesitating, I said, "Have you heard of a girl who got raped by someone from school?"

He tensed. "I assume you're talking about Dylan Quinn?"

I nodded gravely.

He sighed and folded his hands, looking at me with sad eyes. "I knew the girl's aunt, who was her mother's sister. In fact, we were best friends in high school. She was the reason I met Michael."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

He shrugged. "You never asked."

"What else?" I asked.

He frowned. "They were an extremely religious family. Went to church every Sunday, wore modest clothes and always gave you advice that involved finding your way with the help of god and what not. They were conservative people but, ironically, they were truly accepting to change and supported the LGBT+ community. The girl, her name was Maddison, had a good heart. When she said she was raped, people didn't really believe her at the beginning."

He rubbed his fingers together. "They thought she wanted attention and to cause unnecessary drama. Because why would someone like Dylan would want to rape someone like Maddison, a girl who wears modest dresses and big sweaters?" He said sarcastically. He sighed. "But soon after she stepped up, more girls started accusing Dylan of the same thing. Sexual assault. And, well, you could see that that didn't work since he still attends schools. Maddison started getting treated differently after that and was forced to move school. There were people supporting her, don't worry. But I guess she couldn't take it anymore."

I swallowed. "Is there any way to put the asshole in jail?"

He shook his head. "Trust me, we tried everything. But his dad was the sheriff and had a lot of respect from the people. There wasn't any evidence to support Maddison on this case. And the police system is corrupt any way. So, even if she did have a chance of winning, he would have been put on a lighter sentence."

I exhaled angrily. Bullshit.

"That's not completely true." I protested. "Isn't there anybody who could help Maddison win the case?"

He thought. "There are two lawyers here who could probably do something about it."

"Who?"

He smirked at me. "Have you heard about Alexander Stone?" I rolled my eyes. "If there was anyone who had a shot at winning, it would be his parents."

"So why didn't they do anything about it?" I said exasperatedly.

"What do you think? They're out of town, busy with their own cases. I'd be surprised if they paid attention to this one particularly."

I sighed. This is. This is awful. Beyond horrible. I feel so bad for the poor girl.

"I know." Dave said softly after seeing my expression. "It's disturbing and sad. But, what could you do? People have tried already. Nothing could be done."