Page 105 of Unexpected Prejudice

With everything that had happened recently, admitting I was happy would make me an awful person, but I was happy. I didn’t need to worry about money because Shay-Lee paid off my whole debt. As easy as that. After meeting Mike, he told me he’d closed the debt. I tried to ask questions, but he told me to trust him, so I did. While money was a problem for me, it wasn’t for him, and I was in no position to say no.

Another thing was Miles. While I didn’t know what happened between him and Shay-Lee, I knew it was bad enough to make Shay-Lee disappear a little into himself whenever Miles’s name came up. And whenever that happened, he would come to me, and I embraced those moments, which became increasingly frequent with each passing day.

Another reason why my life suddenly became good was Jess. Our friendship helped me get through school. Thanks to the twins, the football team ostracized me, and I was pretty much alone. Going to a place like BH as a friendless loser was fucking hard, but thanks to Jess, I hardly felt alone. I ate lunch with his friends and even went to their house after school. He was totally awesome, and the fact that he accepted my relationship with Shay-Lee and kept it a secret only made me like him more. He was a good friend, and I was grateful for him. Sometimes, I thought about coming clean about how we started our friendship, but every time the idea came up, I pushed it aside. After all, what good would it do? Jess and I were in a great place, and I wanted to keep it that way.

I noticed a shift in Levi’s attitude toward me—from how he looked at me to his lack of patience whenever I was around. I’d put my money on that he was jealous, but he had no reason to be. I had zero romantic interest in Jess and vice versa. Ninety percent of the time we met, Jess talked about Levi. The other ten percent were random facts and thoughts that popped in that crazy mind of his.

Feeling pretty good, I made my way toward the library. I had an hour to spare before my next class and decided to cram in some much-needed math studying. Thanks to football, I got a full scholarship, but it didn’t mean I could neglect my academics. I was lucky enough to have a choice of schools and decided to pick one right here on the West Coast. That way, I could stay close to my mom, but… what about Shay-Lee? I had no idea where he planned to go once school was over. I was trying to remember if the subject ever came up in a conversation when someone called my name.

“Laura?” I asked, surprised, as I turned around to see her standing behind me.

I hadn’t seen her for quite some time, and she’d definitely lost weight. In fact, she looked like a completely different person. I remembered her as a smiley, vibrant, warm-hearted girl, but right now, there were no traces of her.

“Hey, is everything okay?” I leaned to touch her shoulder, but she quickly stepped away, almost as if my touch would burn her. Noticing her reaction, I pulled back.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, avoiding looking me in the eyes. “I didn’t mean… I just… I need your help.”

“You want me to do what?” I asked, still processing what she was asking of me.

After telling me she needed my help, we found a quiet place underneath the old oak tree that faced the drama club building. Laura sat on the stone bench with her hands shoved between her thighs while I remained standing.

“I know it’s a lot, but you must understand. I need your help.” She paused and took a deep breath. “I went there by myself, but no one listened. I was dismissed. Ignored. They said I made the whole thing up.”

Her brown eyes were exhausted, and she looked at me with despair. “Do you know how much courage it took me to go to the police station in the first place? Only to be treated as a suspect?” Tears started to roll down her eyes, but she fought them. “I sat there for hours and told them everything, Jordan. I told them how they stripped me naked, punched me, and pinned me to the floor only so they could—”

Her bottom lip quivered, and she took a deep breath.

“I told them how they raped me, and they ignored it. Me. They ignored me.”

Shocked by what she just shared with me, I sat on the bench beside her. I had no idea what to say or how to react. Her confession must have taken a lot of courage. I was horrified and couldn’t begin to imagine how she was feeling.

I covered my mouth with my palm. “I still don’t understand how I can help.”

“I need you to testify against them.”

“Why me?” I turned my head to meet her determined face. It amazed me how, behind all that pain, she still had the strength to fight.

“Because you were there.”

“What?” I jerked out of my seat. My brows knitted together as I tried to figure out what she was saying. There was no way I was there when Don and Lin Kingston raped her. If I had been, I would never have let it happen.

“I was half passed out in the bathroom when I heard them say your name. It took me a moment to realize what they were talking about. They tried to hurt someone else before…” Once again, she paused to wipe her tears. “Before doing what they did to me, there was some other girl they tried to hurt.”

And then, everything clicked. She was talking about that night I came in time to save Jess.

“If you and that girl can talk with the police, maybe they’ll believe me.” She stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. “You know as well as I do that the twins have power. They turned me into a liar. They said I’m a gold-digging slut going after their money, and people believed them.”

My gut twisted as my throat went dry. I didn’t know what to say or how to react, so I just stood there and stared at her. Despite her fragile body, pain in her eyes, and exhaustion on her face, she had an inner strength.

I had no doubt she was telling the truth. I could feel it in my bones. The twins were monsters. Predators who needed to pay for their crimes, but I couldn’t be the one to do it. They were too strong. They had the power and the means to protect themselves, while I didn’t. I wasn’t that privileged. Not anymore, if ever.

The last time I tried to stand against them, I ended up in the hospital for three days. Even that wasn’t enough for them, and they continued to harass me whenever they could. If it was to throw snarls or threaten me, spread rumors, and tell lies. I was already in their crosshairs and couldn’t afford to make it worse.

A part of me wanted to help Laura. She deserved to get justice. But at the same time, I worried about my mom. We were finally in a good place, not worrying about loan sharks or me not going to college because we were broke. Helping Laura meant going against the twins, and putting everything I had achieved at risk, and I couldn’t do that.

Unable to look her in the eyes, I stared at my feet. “I’m sorry,” I whispered with pain. “But I can’t do it.”

“Jordy—”