"In California with my toes in the sand," he hummed, his body slowly swaying. I emerged from the corner I was hiding behind and smiled.
"Use the sleeves of my sweater," I sung. He turned around, a smirk playing on his lips. He approached me, intertw...
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⚠️ Mentions of sexual assault and rape, proceed with caution.⚠️
Fire fumed inside of me and I was having trouble pushing it down my throat so that my words wouldn't send me or anyone else to hell. I swallowed the heat lumped in my esophagus and felt it swirl in my stomach, reaching to the tips to my mind. My body was over-taken with pure fury, making me ready to start a spark wherever I set foot.
The Campbell family was dead to me.
The Faith I knew was long gone. I no longer saw hope in our friendship, as all of it was blinded by the stunt she pulled on Dylan. It sickened me to the core that she did what she did and didn't end up behind bars. This no longer was a petty high school scandal, it was a god damn crime. It was the work of the devil himself.
"She took advantage of my brother to guilt-trip me," Dylan spoke hushed as he studied the crashing waves in front of him. I anticipated the water to transfer down his cheeks but he sucked in his tears with a quick sniffle. "It worked, Sierra."
I pulled him into a tight embrace, stroking his beach-salt hair in a comforting manner. He sobbed into me as my shirt took in all of the sorrows of the boy in my arms. I rubbed his back and gradually tugged away, my hands remaining intertwined with his.
Our trip to Beachside started out rather light-hearted - us just getting smoothies and me telling him about what was going on between Jackson and I. After downing half our smoothies, he insisted he opened up but wanted to in private. I respected him and we found our way on a secluded spot on the beach. Before I knew it, he was pouring out his heart and soul into my palms.
"I can't believe it," I muttered. "Is that really the Faith I've known my whole life?" The tears that ran down my cheeks made me feel selfish. It was Dylan's brother who was now hospitalized and I was mourning the death of my golden friendship and the near-to-death experience Dylan described to me. "I'm so sorry. I could of prevented it."
"It was destined to happen, I guess," he whispered unintentionally. "I just wish it didn't happen."
"Did he ever try telling anyone?" I chewed on my inner cheek.
"Think about it, Sierra. A moderately attractive guy trying to open up about an assault that a girl younger than him inflicted," Dylan clenched his fists under the blanket of sand. "In this day and age, no one even thinks twice about the boys and men who get raped."
That was the first time that night he pulled the real word out of his mouth. I instinctively flinched. He couldn't find it in him to say his brother's name, for Gods sake. He was the one who saw his own brother get assaulted but couldn't do anything about it. It wasn't about reputation at that point, it was the fact that Faith literally had him watch otherwise something bad would've happened.
There was so much more to the story than what Dylan managed to open up with. I didn't dare to pressure him into talking more, just what he was comfortable with.
