Nets and Lies(25)

I shook my head. “Will that’s awful.” I tried drowning out the voice screaming in my mind. Are you crazy? He deserved it! Hell, he even deserves to be gang raped over and over in prison for what he did to you!

“It was.”

Without another word, I reached out and wrapped him in my arms. “I’m so sorry.” I rubbed my hands over his back in wide circles. “I love you, Will. I know it’s a stupid thing to say right now, but I want you to know how very much I love you.”

He pulled away to kiss me tenderly on the lips. “I love you, too, Mel. More than anything in the world.” He wound his fingers through my hair. “I don’t know what I would do without you. My dad feels the same way.”

Saliva rushed into my mouth, and I feared I would vomit. Instinctively, my hand flew to my mouth. “Are you okay?” Will asked.

I nodded. In barely audible voice, I said, “He doesn’t think I said anything, does he?”

Will shook his head. “No, he knows that it was Jordan who made the accusations. When he heard your name, he shook his head and said, ‘She’ll testify for me’.”

BASTARD, the voice screamed in my mind. That f**king bastard! He knows what he did to me! He knows what he took, and he expects me to testify for him? Because of my love for Will, he’s using me like I’m just a pawn in his game. My chest tightened. But this isn’t about him, remember? It’s about the boy you love who holds you right now. It’s about protecting everything you hold sacred. I wrapped my arms tighter around Will. He laughed. “Hey now, you’re gonna squeeze me to death if you don’t stop!”

“I’m sorry. I only feel safe when I’m in your arms.”

He smiled. “Don’t be sorry. You squeeze me all you want then. It feels pretty damn good to me too.”

I stared into his dark eyes. “What are we going to do, Will?”

“We’re going to stay strong. The hearing will be in a few weeks. You’ll testify that Jordan lied about you being…” Will stopped abruptly, unable to repeat the word.

I nodded. “Yes, yes, of course, I will.”

“Once the judge hears the evidence, he’ll throw the case out the window. I mean, Jordan’s been in trouble most of her life. Hell, she’s probably been before most of the judges here in town.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Will brought his lips to mine. “It’s going to be all right, Mel. As long as we’re together, we’ll get through it.”

“I know, Will. You’re all that matters to me.”

“But there’s something else right?”

I sighed. “Everyone was staring at me this morning. I know it’s only going to get worse.” Tears welled in my eyes. “And the team. What will they think about me when I show up for practice?”

“They know you, Mel. Once you tell them it’s all a lie, they’ll understand.”

No, it’s more like once I lie. I’ll only be a part of the team if I lie. I can only keep Will if I lie. I can only keep my sanity if I lie. “You think it’ll really be that easy?”

“Yep.”

Finally, I smiled. “This isn’t supposed to be the way it goes. I’m supposed to be comforting and reassuring you instead of you reassuring me.”

Will laughed. “We’re here for each other, remember? I’m all right, and you’re all right.”

“We’re all right,” I said, softly.

“Exactly.”

I glanced back at the building. “Don’t you think we ought to head back?”

He made a face. “What excuse are we gonna give them for being late to class?”

“We can say we got called up to the office.”

“Yeah, that sounds good. I mean, I’m sure they know what’s going on, so they probably won’t question us.”

I picked up my purse and book bag and followed Will back into the building. After being with him, I felt revived—at least for the moment.

Chapter Eight: Jordan

Thursday I faced the firing squad by going back to school. I’d spent all of Tuesday afternoon with Detectives Pendley and McKay of the SUV unit as well as Mom’s lawyer. When I was told that Coach T would probably be arrested Wednesday morning, I decided I better stay home. I turned my cell phone off, and I didn’t take any calls on my home phone either.

So as I headed back to school, I was a little nervous. It was pretty much a guarantee that gossip had fanned through the entire school the day before. Even though I wouldn’t have to face Coach T, there was the rest of the student body, including Melanie, to contend with.

I eased my black BMW into a spot. It was five minutes until the bell rang, and everyone hurried into the school. I sucked in a deep breath before grabbing up my purse and book bag. Like I’d done years before in beauty pageants, I pulled my shoulders back, jerked my chin up, and walked into the building with my head held high.

My stoic front didn’t last long. I’d barely gotten past the front office before someone bumped into me. “Hey, watch it!” I cried.

“Lying bitch,” the girl murmured under her breath.

“Screw you,” I called over my shoulder.

I started towards my locker. I couldn’t ignore the looks of hatred people gave me, nor the comments people made as they passed me. But I kept right walking as if nothing had happened.