Page 107 of Unexpected Prejudice

“Don’t tell me…”

“Yes,” I answered his question before he could even ask, and in return, Shay-Lee moved his hand away from my thigh and pressed his fist to his mouth.

“No.”

“London and Berlin Kingston raped Laura Mayers the night of the Halloween party.”

“Jordan—” He tried to stop me, but I continued.

“And after they raped her, they used their money and connections to make the whole thing disappear.”

“How do you know about that?”

“Because before raping Laura, they tried to do the same thing to Jessie, only they failed. I walked in on them and stopped them. At the time, I didn’t think they could actually do it, but now…”

“Jessie? You mean—”

“Yes. One of the new guys, the one Don randomly chose to take for a game.”

He took a deep breath. “I thought Don’s attraction to him was just fun but now… fuck. How do you know all of this?”

“Because Laura asked for my help. She wanted me and Jessie to speak with the police, to tell them what the twins tried to do.”

The whole conversation flashed before me—especially the look in her eyes when I refused to help her. I would never forget the loss of faith right before her resignation. Resignation that it was the end for her. I was her last hope, and I failed her.

“She was already alone and exhausted when she came to speak with me yesterday. I was her last hope, and you know what I said? I said, no.” My throat went dry, and my gut felt like it was being stabbed. “I saw the misery in her eyes. The call for help. But instead of doing what I should’ve done, I turned my back on her.” I pressed my hand to my mouth to hush the sob that threatened to break free.

“Jordy—”

“I said no.” Unable to fight it, I broke, feeling the hot tears running down my face. “All I could think about was not wanting to screw things up for me, so I just said no.”

My hands trembled with the waves of shame and regret that washed over me. Over and over again, all I could think about was that one little word—no.

What would’ve happened if I had told her yes? She would be still alive, and maybe, just maybe, those monsters would’ve gotten what they deserved. “No,” I wrung my hands. “Who the fuck says no?”

“It’s not your fault,” Shay-Lee said in a firm voice as he reached for my shaking hand and squeezed it tight. “What happened to her was not your fault. It was your right to say no. Do you hear me?”

I shook my head because it wasn’t my right. I was a coward, the same as my father. Instead of doing the right thing, I chose to walk away.

“They didn’t stop there. A-after destroying her body, t-they continued to destroy her reputation.” With trembling fingers, I reached for my phone and opened the app I used earlier.

I read one of the comments. “S-sluts like her deserve to die.”

“Stop it,” he hissed.

Ignoring him, I stood and continued to scroll through the hate and ugliness. “I would have brought her back to life only to *^&$ her again. What a cunt.” The screen grew blurry, and I had to wipe my tears, but they didn’t stop. Soon, the letters started to mix until all I saw was the hate. So much hate. How could people be so cruel?

“Give me your phone.” Shay-Lee tried to reach for it, but I stopped him. I needed to read more. I needed to know what she dealt with and what I could’ve prevented.

“She was a human being. A good, sweet human being, and they—”

“And they ruined her,” he said and grabbed my hand, forcefully taking my phone away from me. “They ruined her. Not you.”

“B-but—”

He shook his head and stepped closer, so there was barely an inch between us before cupping my face in his palms and forcing me to look him in the eyes.

“It was not your fault, Jordan. You couldn’t have known she’d kill herself.”