Red Herring ✔️

25. Penance

Ailene blanched. "Did you hide in here on purpose?" She screeched. 

Mazie crossed her arms over her chest and glowered across the room at Ailene. From her eyes alone, she should feel the rage that threatened to expose itself if Ailene pressed the wrong buttons. 

She debated how to handle this, considering she didn't give herself much time to deliberate on the best course of action. Logically, Mazie witnessed the big reveal of the truth behind Demi's addiction, but that didn't mean she knew all of the little morsels of disillusionment on Ailene's part that led up this explosion. Emotionally, she desired to rip Ailene's head off and remind her exactly how she was being a terrible friend to Demi. Maybe that wasn't her place, but Mazie cared too much about justice, right and wrong, and integrity. 

"No, although I did hide when I heard your voices. Didn't really think I should interrupt that," Mazie admitted. Probably not the entire truth, but Ailene didn't need to know that. She didn't deserve any crumb of kindness at the moment. 

The panic rose to the surface, shining in Ailene's wide eyes, causing her hands to tremble and her body to cavort uncomfortably with anxiety. "You...listen, you can't tell anyone."

"I can't tell anyone that Lonny raped Demi? Or I can't tell anyone that you don't support her?" Did she sound mad? She thought she sounded mad. She was aiming for allusive and neutral. So much for that. 

"That's not true!" Ailene ran her fingers through her hair. "I...I do support her!" 

"Didn't sound like it to me," Mazie mumbled, inspecting her fingernails nonchalantly. 

"Demi...sometimes flies off the handle! I catch her in lies all the time. Sometimes, I don't even think she knows what's reality and what isn't when she's high. Those drugs do weird things to her," Ailene cried out, rubbing her hands up and down her arms to stave off the chill that suddenly overtook her. 

Mazie cocked her head and stepped menacingly towards Ailene who cowered like a spineless weenie. "Your friend...your best friend...told you that her boyfriend - ex-boyfriend, whatever he is - raped her. I don't care what drugs she is on or whether she was drunk or whether she was entirely sober. No matter what state of mind she was in, you have to believe her. You have to take her seriously. Whether or not Demi fades in and out of reality, it's your job as her best friend to protect her and get to the bottom of this." How could she do anything but? 

"You don't know Lonny like I know Lonny!" Ailene defended, covering her heart with her hands protectively. 

Mazie took another step towards her. "You're really still taking his side at this point? You are not the person I or anyone else thinks you are." Mazie flipped her hair over her shoulder and stalked away, content to leave this conversation be. She couldn't stand to be in her presence anymore. 

"Stop!" Ailene leapt in her direction, clutching her arm with both hands, fiercely digging her fingernails into her skin. 

Gasping, Mazie ripped her arm away. 

Turning hysterical, Ailene began to cry, tears streaming down her face in rapid succession. "You don't understand. I want to believe her. Trust me. I'm not that girl. I'm not the person that doesn't believe girls when they say they've been raped."

"Not convincing," Mazie muttered, narrowing her eyes in confusion at this show she was putting on. 

"Please, please listen to me. I'm begging you. I have no idea what happened. I have no idea what went wrong. One day, we're the best of friends. Everything is normal. We're seniors in high school. We have boyfriends and we cheer on the cheerleading squad. We go to football games and hang out after school. Stupid, stupid girl stuff!! Then out of nowhere, and I do mean nowhere, Demi knocks on my door at my house at like three in the morning and she can barely breathe let alone talk or walk or do anything. I don't even know how she got there! She didn't drive! Her car wasn't there!"