Chapter 13

When Hayden woke up in the morning, she was really sore. Her entire scalp felt like it was peeling off. She knew it was just because she was sensitive. Jessica had a really tight grip on her. She checked her arm, where Jessica had grabbed her. Sure enough, there was a bruised hand print. Hayden didn’t know what she was going to tell her parents. They were going to ask. She couldn’t tell them it was Jessica. No one would believe her. Unless Hayden came clean about the tree house. That would mean she’d have to tell her parents about her and Rob. He’d never be allowed back in the house if they knew what him and Hayden had been doing. She was certain of that.

All day Sunday, Hayden was thinking of the awful ways Jessica would try and get them back. She was likely to make a scene at school, where everyone would favor her version of events. In the few years she had known Jessica, she had seen a wide array of reactions. It depending how angry she really was about the two of them dating. Hayden imagined she was pretty angry they had lied to her too. So they had twice the punishment in store. Not that Rob seemed to care. He called Hayden that night and informed her that he had spent the whole day playing Pokemon cards with his brother. Hayden wished she could disconnect from her stress the way he seemed to.

Hayden was dreading school on Monday. It took her twice as long to get to the bus stop. She almost missed the bus because she couldn’t make herself walk any faster. She didn’t want to be going to school. She didn’t want to face Jessica. She didn’t want to know what awful things Jessica had planned. Rob was smiling, like usual. He was determined not to let Jessica take anymore time or thought. Hayden wanted to push her out of mind too. But something told her that Jessica wasn’t going to walk away. She was planning something. Hayden couldn’t have expected what Jessica planned.

Jessica’s idea for getting back at Hayden and Rob was to ignore both of them. She was pretending neither of them existed. When Jessica and Hayden had to work together on something in class, Jessica would pretend she couldn’t hear Hayden. At lunch, Jessica made it a point to “bump” into Hayden, pretending that she ran into an invisible wall. It got old quickly, but Jessica was enjoying herself too much to stop. Hayden figured that ignoring them was the best case scenario. She didn’t understand how Jessica saw the situation and thought she was winning.

It didn’t take Jessica long to realize they relished in the break from her constant pestering. She stopped ignoring them, instead making an attempt to stare Hayden down at every opportunity. She sat across from the gymnasium, staring daggers at Hayden. She pretended not to notice, but she could feel her stare. Hayden knew that Jessica was planning something big. Her next move was going to be an attack. Hayden knew she wasn’t ready to defend herself, physically or mentally.

Hayden knew something was wrong when Rob was pulled out of the classroom on Friday morning. He had never been called to the office. She couldn’t concentrate on the lesson plan. She zoned out through her classes, rushing to meet Rob at their usual table in the cafeteria. Rob never showed up. Hayden waited until the bell rang before finally heading to her next class. She spent the rest of the day watching the clock. It felt like the longest day of her life. When the last bell finally rang, Hayden headed to the area for kids who took the bus home. Brent was standing with one of his female friends. Hayden waved him over to her. He dragged his feet.

“What’s up?” He asked, crossing his arms. Hayden looked around.

“Where’s Rob?” She quickly asked. Brent shook his head.

“Maybe he left already.” He offered. Hayden bit the side of her lip.

“He got pulled out of first period today.” She noted. Brent nodded.

“Then he’s probably at home. Maybe he was sick or something.” He insisted. He kept looking over his shoulder at the girl. Hayden nodded and motioned for him to go back to his conversation. She left him and started walking home. When she got to the crosswalk on Carling, she went towards Ritchie instead. She hurried her steps towards Rob’s door. She knocked repeatedly, with a hint of panic. Anne came to the door instead of Rob. Hayden peered past her.

“Where’s Rob?” She asked. She made no attempt to hide her concern. Anne took a deep breath.

“Rob might not be able to socialize for a while.” She started. Hayden’s jaw dropped.

“What happened?” She squeaked. Anne shook her head slowly.

“I don’t know.” She exhaled. Hayden nodded.

“He’s in trouble?” She asked under her breath. Anne nodded.

“He is in very big trouble.” She agreed. Hayden bit the side of her lip.

“Can I talk to him? For just a second?” She begged. Anne motioned for her to come inside.

“Dining room. I’ll be right down the hall.” She instructed. Hayden cautiously sat down at the dining room table. The birds were being noisier than usual. The knot in Hayden’s stomach twisted further. Rob came downstairs with his eyes glued to the floor. Anne motioned to the dining room. Rob dropped down in the seat across from Hayden. He refused to look at her.

“What’s going on?” She asked, hoping he would have an answer.

“Jessica said I,” He paused. Hayden could hear in his voice that he had been crying. Hayden leaned forward and put her hand on his shoulder. He pulled away.

“You can’t touch me.” He cautioned. Hayden raised her eyebrow.

“Why not?” She asked sharply. Rob shook his head.

“She’s telling everyone I forced her into something.” He mumbled. Hayden’s eyes went wide.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” She screeched. Rob put his finger to his lips and motioned to the living room. Hayden nodded, dropping her eyes to the table.

“You’ve never had sex. How would that even be possible?” She asked quietly. Rob sighed.

“I lied to her. I told her I wasn’t a virgin.” He confessed.

“Oh Robbie.” Hayden let out a deep sigh. He smirked.

“Not a good time to be smiling.” She observed. Rob shrugged.

“I like when you call me that.” He noted. She smiled.

“Okay.” She agreed.

“What are you going to do?” She asked after a few seconds of silence. He shook his head.

“I don’t know.” He sighed. Hayden nodded.

“We have to prove she’s lying. The easy answer is to point out that you’re still a virgin. I don’t know if there’s a way to check that though.” She suggested. Rob shook his head.

“It’s her word against mine.” He clarified. Hayden shook her head.

“No. It’s her word against ours.” She corrected. Rob smiled.

“Are you sure you don’t want to bail now?” He asked. Hayden laughed.

“You’re my best friend. I’m going to stand by you, no matter what.”

Back home, Hayden was trying to figure out a way she could prove Jessica was lying. Rob didn’t want to approach the subject of his sex life with his mother. Hayden understood. She wouldn’t want to either. It was a private thing, and between the two of them. Rob had told her he touched Jessica when she asked him to, but she never touched him. Hayden couldn’t help but ask questions. She wanted to know everything. She didn’t, because it made her insanely jealous. At the same time, she had to know that her relationship with him was more valuable. It seemed Hayden touching him did deepen their bond. It wasn’t the way Hayden intended, but it had happened.

She thought about going undercover and trying to be friendly with Jessica again. She could play along with Jessica’s lies. She could say the same thing happened in order to make Jessica trust her again. Then again, Jessica would know she was lying too. That would only work if Hayden was willing to publicly accuse Rob of the same thing. Then Jessica would convince herself she was a victim, even though she wasn’t. Hayden wasn’t willing to say such terrible things about her best friend though.

Growing up, Rob was the only person who ever had her back without question. He would always support her, even if he didn’t agree with her. It was something Hayden could never show enough appreciation for. There were enough people doubting her and her abilities. She needed a few cheerleaders to mix into the crowd. Rob had always been her biggest cheerleader. He was truly her best friend. Maybe one day, they would be able to be more than friends without the added drama. Hayden believed they would make the perfect couple, based on the years of friendship they already had. All they were doing was adding intimate activities. Everything else, they would have already been doing.

They always made excuses to spend time alone together. They always wandered off together. They were always having a conversation with their eyes. They had a twins’ connection, even though they weren’t related to each other. They were just that close. Hayden knew the only thing that could go wrong would be with other people. The two of them were perfect otherwise. Hayden wondered if it was possible for the two of them to run away together. She knew they were a bit young, but she had read stories about romances that survived against all odds. They were best friends first, lovers second. They would be able to rise to the occasion and be the support each other needed. They were in sync.

The reality was Jessica needed to be put in her place. She didn’t have the right to make up lies and ruin a perfect human being’s reputation just because she was angry she no longer had control. Her entire family would cover for her. Her friends would all take her side. Everyone was so scared of how she would react that no one was willing to stand up to her. Hayden didn’t know what she was going to do, but she was convinced she had to do something. She had to protect Rob because he would try and protect her.

Rob would never. He couldn’t. Even if he were sexually active, he was an expressive person. He likes kissing and closeness more than stimulation. There was no way he would be able to force someone against their will. He wouldn’t be into it himself.

Hayden wondered if Jessica knew what it actually felt like to be assaulted. If she did, it wasn’t likely she would throw false accusations around. Hayden felt bad that Jessica was belittling how traumatic forced sexual encounters can be, especially to teenagers. It never got easier, as Hayden had read. She wanted to know more about her own experience with Wayne. This led her to reading testimonials from previous victims. There was a book that interviewed people who had been victims of sexual assault. There were vastly different stories between the victims. It seemed like there was no common ground between the victims. They were so random.

Hayden wouldn’t want that to happen to anyone, but she wished Jessica would understand how hurtful her actions were. She could ruin Rob’s entire future. Not to mention his entire family’s reputation. Jessica didn’t deserve to be the woman to ruin his life. He needed to save that title for the first woman he truly loved, with his body, mind, and his heart. There was a part of Hayden that wanted to be that person. She also recognized that Rob was a few years away from trusting women. This situation with Jessica was only going to make it harder for him. He was going to be more out of reach. Hayden couldn’t deny she was hurt for selfish reasons. She was also hurt for him.