Chapter 14

The next day, when she woke up, Hayden went straight to Rob’s. Anne said that he wouldn’t be able to socialize for a while. Hayden was there to speak to Anne. She needed to know if there was any chance Anne believed Jessica. She wanted to set the record straight that Rob wasn’t that kind of guy. If anyone knew, it was her. Rob would die for Hayden, but wouldn’t let her touch him. She would know if he was a piece of garbage. Hayden truly believed anyone who forced another person into something was trash, aside from those who may not have understood themselves. Anyone older, wiser, and knowledgeable was trash. Anne led her into her bedroom, which was supposed to be the living room. Rob had two younger siblings who needed the other 2 bedrooms though. Anne and her husband slept in the living room. Anne was the only person Hayden knew who had a computer. Except Elizabeth’s dad. He had a computer for work, though Hayden never knew what that meant.

“How can I help you?” Anne asked softly as Hayden sat down on the love seat in her room.

“We have to talk about Rob.” Hayden didn’t hesitate. Anne nodded.

“What have you heard?” She asked. Hayden shook her head.

“I don’t care what’s being said. I know the truth.” She quickly dismissed. Anne raised her eyebrow.

“Okay?” She was fishing for the answer. Hayden took a deep breath. She was breaking Rob’s trust by saying something, but she needed his mother to be informed.

“Rob’s a virgin.” She blurted. Anne was quiet, then started nodding.

“I know.” She sighed. Hayden raised her eyebrow.

“Then why is he in trouble?” She questioned. Anne shrugged.

“My back is against a wall.” She confessed. Hayden was quiet.

“I have no choice but to treat this like a real accusation, even if I know it’s not possible.” She furthered.

“It’s not fair.” Hayden mumbled. Anne shook her head.

“It’s not. Rob’s a good kid. I know in my heart he’s not capable of that.” She sighed. Hayden nodded.

“Tell me about it.” She groaned. Anne raised her eyebrow.

“Excuse me?” She questioned. Hayden’s eyes went wide.

“I’m sorry.” She apologized. Anne shook her head.

“I thought I was picking up on something between you two.” She noted. Hayden looked at the floor.

“That’s why Jessica is doing this.” She clarified. Anne nodded slowly.

“Of course.” She muttered, looking up at the ceiling. She clapped her hands together and took a deep breath. It looked like she was praying with her eyes open. Hayden stayed quiet.

“He’s my oldest. He has to be an example.” Anne sighed. Hayden nodded.

“But you don’t believe it, right?” She asked for clarification. Anne shook her head.

“I know my kids.” She assured. Hayden was quiet again.

“Okay. I just had to make sure.” She sighed. Anne nodded.

“I appreciate you stopping by.” She thanked. Anne led her back to the front door and sent her off with a smile. Hayden felt better after talking to Anne. She had no idea how she was going to help Rob though. All she could think about was confronting Jessica and getting her to drop her dumb accusations. She knew Jessica wasn’t a reasonable person, so talking to her was pointless. Instead, Hayden decided to talk to someone else who was bound to be on Rob’s side. His friend Josh. He was 5 years older. He lived on Richmond, up the street from Hayden. She headed straight to his house. He lived in the Reinert Holdings apartment building. Hayden had look for his name on the index. She rung up to his apartment. He lived alone with his dog.

“Hello?” He sounded confused.

“Hi. It’s Hayden. Rob’s friend. I need your advice.” She summarized. There was a brief silence, then the door opened. Hayden headed up to his apartment on the third floor. He opened the door looking every bit as confused as she expected he would.

“Rob was accused of assaulting a woman.” She cut to the chase. His eyes went wide.

“I beg your pardon?” He stumbled. Hayden nodded.

“It’s true. I mean, not the accusation. It’s true that someone is saying it though.” She rambled. Josh motioned inside. Hayden stepped into the apartment and immediately started pacing around. Josh was quiet, watching Hayden pace. She stopped and looked over at him.

“You don’t believe it, do you?” She stuttered. Josh shook his head.

“No. But I’ve been in his shoes.” He mused. Hayden raised her eyebrow.

“You have?” She asked. Josh nodded, crossing his arms.

“What did you do?” She pried. He let out a deep breath.

“Uh, she eventually slipped up and told the wrong person the truth. They always slip up when they’re lying.” He summarized. She nodded.

“So you’re saying we need to be patient?” She asked. Josh shrugged.

“It’s all you can really do.” He answered. Hayden huffed.

“It’s not fair.” She repeated. Josh shook his head.

“No, it isn’t.” He agreed. They were both quiet.

“As long as the people who are important believe him, he’ll be fine. If you start doubting him, he will start doubting himself. Even innocent.” He hinted. Hayden nodded.

“I know he didn’t do it.” She insisted. Josh nodded.

“Are you sure?” He pushed. Hayden laughed.

“Absolutely.”

Hayden spent her entire Saturday thinking about why Jessica was doing this to Rob. It wasn’t even her direct drama, but it drove her crazy. Jessica had already hurt Rob so much throughout their relationship, however short it was. He didn’t deserve this added pressure she was putting on him, Anne had said that Rob wasn’t allowed back to school either. Anne had no choice but to home school him again. At least it was something he was familiar with. Anne had been his teacher for most of his life. She only put her kids into public school when it was time for them to focus more on social skills. She knew that they couldn’t develop those at home. She was teaching the second youngest at home. He was just reaching the age of school. The youngest was still running around in diapers. Rob wasn’t going to enjoy being home all day. Going to school was his only real break from his family. Hayden felt terrible for him. No matter what she tried to think of, all she could think of was confronting Jessica. As illogical as it was, that was all Hayden could come up with. That evening, she gathered enough courage to take the short walk to Jessica’s and knocked heavily on the door. Jessica answered, then smirked.

“What are you doing here?” She snapped. Hayden shook her head.

“Why are you doing this?” She asked. Jessica bit her lip.

“I don’t appreciate being lied to.” She mused. Hayden raised her eyebrow.

“Sandra told me that it was a plot to break me and Rob up.” Jessica clarified. Hayden nodded. She hadn’t given much of an explanation to Sandra, so she was likely to make up her own.

“We shouldn’t have needed a plot. He told me he tried to leave you and you threatened to kill yourself.” Hayden complained. Jessica shrugged.

“It worked.” She dismissed. Hayden shook her head.

“I am sick of seeing my best friend with a black eye.” She quipped. Jessica raised her eyebrow.

“Is that what this is really about? Or are you jealous?” She questioned. Hayden shook her head.

“What would I have to be jealous of?” She countered. Jessica smirked.

“You can be jealous of all the ways Rob has touched me. All the places he’s had his lips. I know he hasn’t touched you.” She mused. Hayden slowly shook her head. It stung, but she wasn’t going to let Jessica get inside her head that easily.

“This is going to ruin his life.” Hayden begged. Jessica shook her head.

“No. But I can ruin his life. All I have to do it get one person to say it happened to them. I’m sure I can find someone willing to make a few bucks. If not, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Don’t you worry. I am only getting started.” Jessica threatened. Hayden rolled her eyes internally. Jessica was one of the people who had money and used it to buy other people. Either their time, possessions, friendship, stories. Jessica would buy all of her social interactions. She could easily buy herself a boyfriend too. She just wanted to be nasty because that’s the kind of person she was. Hayden knew talking to her was going to be pointless. She didn’t know why she bothered. She should have known that Jessica had layers to her plans. She always did.

Hayden didn’t think like that. She decided she needed to talk to Samantha. She was crafty and devious. She knew how to get away with as much as Jessica, but she was never caught and no one had to take the blame. Jessica was emotionally chaotic. Samantha was calculated chaos. She was a force that wasn’t to be messed with. Hayden knew that. It was the reason she kept so many secrets for Samantha. She was genuinely afraid of her reaction.

Hayden wasn’t the type to gossip anyway. But Samantha and her shared a few secrets that she would have loved to share. Especially with Rob. He asked. By not answering him, she felt like she was being dishonest in some way. She felt like he had the right to know, since Samantha was often around. Hayden would want to know if it were Rob in her situation. He had bigger issues to worry about, so he wasn’t likely to be thinking about that part of their conversation. At least, she hoped he wasn’t thinking about it. Rob was intuitive. If there were subtle signs, he was going to see them and figure it out for himself. That wouldn’t be Hayden’s fault though. She had no control over that. If he ever said anything, Hayden would approach the subject with Samantha. In the meantime, her secrets were safe with Hayden. It’s not like Hayden wanted to tell everyone either. She felt ashamed. At the same time, it felt good. Samantha had soft, plump lips that were always decorated in a flavored lip gloss. It was entrancing. Sometimes, Hayden got swept up in the moment. The first time it happened, both the girls chalked it up to curiosity. It kept happening. Hayden was starting to wonder why.

Hayden and Samantha had been avoiding spending any time alone together. Now Hayden had to go over while the rest of the family was at church and beg her to come up with a scheme. It had to be something way more extreme than her previous plan to get Rob dumped. Obviously, that wasn’t going to make Jessica release Rob from her grasp. Samantha could get way more creative. Hayden never really asked her for help because she never really wanted revenge on anyone before. This was different. Jessica was ruining Rob’s reputation. His life. His future. She couldn’t be allowed to get away with it. Hayden had to protect Rob for a change.

Samantha listened quietly as Hayden rattled off the situation. When Hayden was finished, she let out a loud and exaggerated sigh. Samantha just nodded, biting the side of her lip. The action drew Hayden’s eyes to her lips. Samantha leaned forward on her bed. Hayden was sitting on the floor.

“This is a tricky one.” Samantha confessed. Hayden shook her head.

“Please don’t say that.” She begged. Samantha nodded.

“I’m not saying I can’t do it. It’s just delicate. These situations always are.” She warned. Hayden nodded.

“He doesn’t deserve this.” She repeated for the millionth time. Samantha nodded slowly.

“Are you positive?” She proposed. Hayden raised her eyebrow.

“Are you serious? Do you believe Jessica?” She squeaked. Samantha shook her head.

“Of course not. I know a liar when I see one.” She dismissed. Hayden nodded.

“Then what are you saying?” She questioned. Samantha shrugged.

“I’m not saying anything. But, if you’re going to jump to his defense, you have to be sure that he’s not guilty. Right?” She tried rewording. Hayden shook her head.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that Rob is innocent. I know him better than anyone else. I know things about him that no one else knows. He can’t even touch someone who is willing. How would he touch someone who wasn’t?” Hayden rambled. Samantha raised her eyebrow.

“Really?” She asked, slightly higher pitched. Hayden bit the side of her lip.

“I’m not supposed to tell anyone. I’m dying to.” She sighed. Samantha nodded.

“Hey, your secrets are safe with me. You know too many of mine.” She assured. Hayden faked a smile. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. She was dying to gush to someone about Rob. At least Samantha understood. She was the only girl Hayden knew their ago who had genuinely lost their virginity. There were many people who said they had. The ones who actually had seemed to carry themselves differently. Hayden saw that in the older people that were around them.

“A few weeks ago, at Jessica’s party,” Hayden paused, then slowly shook her head.

“I went with Wayne and he tried something.” She summarized. Samantha’s jaw dropped.

“Are you kidding? You better be kidding!” She screeched. Hayden shook her head.

“Oh my God. Tell me exactly what he did.” She demanded. Hayden shook her head again.

“Noooo.” She whined. Samantha let out a deep sigh.

“Did it involve body parts?” She asked. Hayden laughed.

“Only hands, and some rubbing.” She tried to detail. Samantha was quiet.

“I never thought of him as the type.” She confessed. Hayden shrugged.

“Sometimes you don’t know, right?” She tried to dismiss. Samantha nodded. Both girls were quiet.

“So I have to ask again, are you sure he’s innocent?”