“Yeah. So she didn’t get to fuck Aiden over, but that didn’t stop her from going after my family. And now I’m supposed to feel bad for being pissed about what she did? She drugged me, man. She drugged me and you know what else she did.”
“I’m not discounting your feelings. I’m asking you, for the sake of both of our families, for the sake of a troubled-young woman, to reconsider. We’re willing to make amends in any way we can. Volunteer work. Counseling for Sienna. Tell me what you want.”
“It’s late, Rog. I’m on New York time. I wanna go home and sleep.”
“Think about this, please? Please?”
“Tonight, I’m thinkin’ about almost losing my father. Again. And you put this on me now?”
He raises his hands. “If you can think it over, I’d appreciate that. I’m sorry to put this on you. I’m sorry it happened to you. And I’m sorry it was my daughter that did it.”
“Yeah. Whatever.”
My mother comes out.
He puts his hand on my shoulder and gives me a look and then goes to her, putting his hand to the small of her back.
“I want to talk to you,” my mother says, pointing at me.
“Not tonight, Mom.”
“Austin!”
“Mom, leave him tonight. He’s on New York time. He’s tired.” That’s Adele, now beside me.
“Okay. Tomorrow,” Audra warns. “I’ll come to your house.”
“I’ll be back here,” I say.
“Then I’ll see you here,” she clips and then she and Roger leave.
Aiden and Carly come outside.
“So?” Adele asks.
“He wants me to drop the charges.”
“Eff that,” Adele says.
I look to Aiden.
He shrugs. “It’s up to you, Auz.”
“What would you do?”
He shakes his head. “Dunno.”
“Thanks for the help,” I say.
He shakes his head again and gives Carly a dark expression before his eyes settle back on me. Obviously, Aiden has an opinion on the matter, despite the fact he’s saying nothing.
“I think you did the right thing, Austin, the fact that it’s Sienna aside,” Carly says. “But if you drop it to keep peace between the two very intertwined families and to move on with your life, that’s okay, too. She’s crapping her pants with the prospect of jail time, I’m sure. Just that fear right now is a punishment of sorts.”
“And being on the sex offender registry,” I add.
Carly’s jaw drops.
So does Adele’s.
“Yeah,” I say.
“Harsh,” Aiden says.
“Yeah. Is it deserved?” I ask.
“Damn straight it is,” Carly declares. “I saw the videos, Austin. We all did. She was a predator that night.”
I clench my jaw, hating that this makes me like prey, like it makes me seem weak. And this is part of why I’ve been barely able to stand myself the last few weeks.
Carly keeps talking. “And by now, Sienna probably knows there’s video, too and knows that she’ll be convicted if it goes to trial. But it’s also your life here, your time dealing with court and possible publicity, and if you decide you want it to go away, that’s totally okay. A lot of women don’t report this kind of thing because of what it’ll do to their lives, having it all public, and that applies for you, too. She took away your rights that night, but she can’t keep doing it. It’s your right to decide whether or not you want her to go down enough that you’re willing to do this. Your life, your choice.”
“Yeah. As of today, I’m going to say yeah. It’s worth it.”
“Good,” Adele says. “We’re with you every step.”
“Thanks,” I say as my big sister puts her arms around me and gives me a hug.
“And we’ll be with you if you decide to drop the charges, too,” Adele adds. “Though I hope you don’t.”
“I have no intention of that,” I say.
Aiden says nothing. He’s staring at the ground.
“Aid?”
He looks me in the eye, and I know that look. He has something to say.
“Say it, man.”
“Say what?”
“Whatever you don’t wanna say.”
He shakes his head like he’s got nothing.
“Say it,” Carly tells him, then looks to me. “He’s not saying anything to me, either. I’d really like to know what he thinks.”
“If it were me,” Aiden says, looking at me, “I might take a different approach to get my revenge. One that hurts the bitch but one that doesn’t necessarily get made public.”
I scoff. Yeah, not a shock. My brother has been pretty creative with revenge multiple times.
“Yeah, but that can get you in trouble too, can’t it?” Carly hisses.
Aiden winces. “This is why I didn’t wanna say anything.”
Aiden and Carly split up for a while because of revenge he took against a girl named Bella Wilson that fucked with him. His revenge was dirty enough that he almost didn’t get his happily ever after with Carly.
She shakes her head again.
“Are we in a fight now, Peaches?” my brother asks. “Because if we are, that’s unfair. You told me to say what I was thinking. You punish me now, you think I’ll be so verbal next time?”