Going Nowhere Fast

28. Girls

I was pretty bummed out when I got that text from Billie. I was already getting ready to see him. It was strange to me that he didn't give me any kind of head up. I didn't want him to think I was consistently worried about him so I didn't press into the matter. It just felt a bit off.

I decided I was going to meet up with Clara, Jess, and Ranee for lunch instead.

I needed to see them and tell them what happened before I had to go back to school. The more people who knew the truth and would treat me normally, the better.

I put on a teal romper and decided to paint my toenails when Clara walked in my room. Things had settled down enough for her to start doing that again like she would always before. We were just trying to figure out the best possible way to explain what happened to Jess and Ranee.

Clara knew the whole truth from the start so she was really good mental support.

"Hey, girl. You're looking cute," I said to her. She had a light-pink, floral romper on that complimented her soft, light features.

"Thank you," she smiled, "what's new?"

"Nothing much," I said casually. "I'm a little bummed out though because Billie is going to stay with his uncle in New Jersey for the week," I said.

"Hm, that's odd," she said.

"You think so too?" I asked.

"Yeah, I mean he just has a concussion. If anything, you wouldn't want to go on a plane. He should really just be staying in bed," she stated.

"I thought so too. IDK he like cancelled our plans last minute because he said he was going to stay with his uncle. Oh, and he dropped the 'L' bomb in the same text. It was like really weird," I said.

"He said he loved you?" she asked sounding just as shocked as I was when I read it.

"Yeah, it was so out of nowhere and unlike him at all," I complained.

"That's really weird," she said.

"I know," I responded. I wanted to get my mind off it. "What's new with school drama?" I asked trying to change the subject. I thought I might love Billie, but that was a big step to make, especially after knowing him for such a short amount of time.

"Scar, did you know that the party that you told the police about, the one that started this all, is now being completely investigated by the police?" Clara looked at me with a grave look in her eyes.

"I didn't realize, no," I responded.

"I heard that they might arrest Brian. I mean, it was his party," she said.

"Do they even have any proof?" I asked.

"Well, both Billie's mom and the pastor remember the party happening. I think they were able to find some of the pictures from a few of the kid's phones and computers. I heard they found some pretty nasty images of Billie while he was blacked out," she said.

"He wasn't blacked out," I started, "he was drugged."

"Well that makes that worse," she said throwing her arms up in the air.

"Yeah, I get why he kept to himself for so long. That must've been terrifying for him, you know?" I asked looking up at Clara.

"Yeah, and to have to relive it the way he did with the Trisha drama really sucked. I am genuinely so mad that they thought that was a remotely acceptable idea?" Clara spat with her face turning red in anger.

"You don't have to tell me, girl," I started. "When anyone lies about being raped, they're only going to make it harder for actual sexual assault victims to receive any kind of justice. It's a hard-enough experience to go through and nowadays, the victims are interrogated more heavily than any type of perp. It's fucking bullshit."