Sam’s shoulders shudder silently.
“They’re monsters, Sam,” I continue in a gentle voice. “They deserve to go to jail for the rest of their lives for what they’ve done.”
“But what if they don’t?” she asks in a sharp tone as she finally looks up at me, her eyes glittering with grief and rage. “What if they get off and get away with it? You know how trials like this go. They’re going to try to prove that Deidre was a slut who’d been screwing her boyfriend since she was thirteen and deserved what she got. They’ll say she was asking for it. Or so drunk the boys couldn’t tell she wasn’t into it, or something.”
She swipes the back of her hand across her cheeks, smearing her tears. “Then I will have sat up there and told the truth for nothing. Deidre is already dead; I’m not. I just want to move forward and stop letting Alec’s mistake ruin my entire life.”
I shake my head, genuinely shocked. “I can’t believe I’m hearing this from you.”
“What?” She shifts her knees sharply to one side of the chair as she brushes my hands away. “You think I’m being selfish? Well, you don’t know these people. These guys are rich and connected and they have amazing lawyers who won’t hesitate to tear to pieces anyone who gets up there for the prosecution. It’s going to come down to my word versus theirs and no one is going to believe me after—”
She breaks off with a shake of her head.
A second later, she’s out of the chair, pacing past me into the room. “It doesn’t matter. Just trust me, no one at that school is going to believe a word I say.”
“Why?” I stand and face her, getting more confused the deeper we get into this story. “Why wouldn’t they believe you? You’re a straight A student and one of the stars of the volleyball team. You’re vice president of the honor society, for God’s sake. Why would anyone—”
“I got caught cheating on a test,” she says, eyes squeezing closed as the words come out. “I got behind after I was sick during Spring Break and I…I thought I was going to fail one of my midterms. So I cheated and…I got caught.”
I don’t know what to say. Sam never cheats; she doesn’t need to.
She’s so smart even a couple of hours of studying is usually enough for her to ace any test, while I would have to hit the books for days to get better than a C+ back in high school.
“What happened?” I finally ask. “Did you get kicked out of school?”
She brings one hand to her face and digs her fingers and thumb into the tops of her eyes. “No, just the honor society, but it was…bad. I was on academic probation and it ruined my reputation with my teachers… Cheating is a really big deal at Sterling. It’s enough to throw my word into doubt, and make it pointless for me to testify.”
“I don’t agree,” I say, shaking my head. “You cheated to get ahead, you’d be testifying to help someone else. It’s a totally different thing.”
Her hand falls away from her pale face and she meets my gaze with a stubborn look. “It doesn’t matter, Danny. I’m not going back. I’m not going to take that chance. I can’t afford to make the kind of enemies testifying against Todd Winslow will earn me.”
“Are you afraid they’ll hurt you?” I feel stupid for not considering it before. Of course she must be afraid. These creeps brutalized a girl so badly it drove her to take her own life.
“If that’s it, you don’t have to be,” I say, crossing the room to cup her face in my hands, to let her know with my touch that I want to be there anytime she’s afraid. “I’ll come with you to L.A., and sit in the courtroom the entire time. I’ll stay right next to you every second we’re in California, and beat the shit out of—”
“This isn’t something you can solve with your fists, Danny,” she says, voice rising as she takes a step back, severing our connection. “And this isn’t up for debate. I’m not going back. I’m staying here. I want you to stay with me, but if you can’t forgive me for being a coward for once in my life then—”
“That’s it,” I snap, lifting my fisted hands into the air at my sides. “You’re not a coward! This isn’t who you are, and I know you’re going to regret it. It’s going to affect the rest of our fucking lives, Sam! If you have a warrant out for your arrest, we can never go back to the states. Never.”
“So?” Sam shouts, pointing one arm toward the cabin door. “Your sister ran away from the police, and her life turned out just fine. She’s living happily ever after and about to have a beautiful baby.”