Chapter 15

Hayden told Anne that she would collect Rob’s school work from each class and bring it over after school on Friday. Anne said she wasn’t allowed to stay more than five minutes. Anne said she appreciated the effort that Hayden was putting in, but that Rob would still have to limit contact until everything was sorted out. She tried to dance around the wording, but Hayden understood what she meant. While Rob was guilty, he had to face punishment. When he was proven innocent, his punishment would stop. It was a simple discipline system. It just wasn’t fair to Rob. He was being punished for something he didn’t even do.

Hayden couldn’t help but glare at Jessica every time they passed each other in the hallway. In the cafeteria, Hayden had to sit with her back to Jessica. She was so angry. Jessica was taking sympathy from everyone who was offering it. She was “spilling her guts” to anyone who would listen. She was making up different versions of the event. It was getting progressively worse. She would “remember” more of the assault. She claimed she had blocked out most of it. Hayden wondered where she had picked up on those terms. She wondered if Jessica had been on the other end of the accusations. There was a dark family secret in Jessica’s house. It could have been something Jessica had done when she was younger, now guarded. Hayden never tried to understand Jessica’s actions. There was no explanation. She was volatile and unpredictable. She thrived on creating chaos, truly.

On Wednesday, Hayden was sitting alone in the cafeteria. Wayne dropped down in the seat across from her. Hayden looked up at him with a visible confusion. He put his arms on the table and leaned forward, motioning for her to do the same. She cautiously moved closer.

“Since your boyfriend is out of the picture, let me take you out.” He offered. She faked a smile.

“Um, no thank you. I don’t think he’d like that.” She declined. Wayne chuckled, leaning back.

“Do you care what a rapist thinks?” He asked loudly. A few people looked over at them.

“No. I don’t.” Hayden answered, making direct eye contact. Wayne’s smiled twitched.

“We both know you wanted it. You’re just pretending you didn’t so that you can be a victim and he can be your Prince Charming. But I know you’re a slut.” He accused. Hayden shook her head.

“You don’t know anything about me.” She corrected. Wayne shrugged.

“We’ll see what happens next time.” He cooed. With that, he pushed off the table and left Hayden alone with her thoughts. She wasn’t sure what Wayne was implying, but she didn’t like the sound of it. She didn’t plan on being alone with him any time soon either.

Hayden wasn’t blind to the whispers of everyone around her either. Wayne wasn’t the only one who was making implications. It seemed that a rumor had spread throughout the school that Rob had violated Hayden the night of Jessica’s party. It was pretty much exactly what happened, except Wayne switched himself with Rob. He made himself look like the hero who swept in and saved Hayden. As much as she wanted to just ignore the rumors, everyone was asking her if it was true. The hardest one to answer was Brent. Hayden couldn’t believe his own brother would doubt his integrity. She tried not to let it bother her, but it did. There was no one who believed Rob was innocent except her.

On Friday, Hayden brought Anne over Rob’s school work. She was about to leave, but Anne asked her to stay for a few minutes. She forced Rob to come downstairs and say hello. Hayden could tell that Rob was in rough shape. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days and had spent those days bawling. His eyes were red and puffy. He had black bags under his eyes. He looked worse than he did with a black eye. It made something twist in Hayden’s gut.

“I’m sorry.” She blurted. Rob raised his eyebrow.

“About what?” He questioned. Hayden shook her head.

“I should have never introduced you to Jessica. I should have kept you for myself.” She rambled. Rob smiled, likely for the first time in a few days.

“That’s sweet.” He spoke softly through a hoarse voice.

“I miss you.” Hayden sighed.

“I miss you too.” Rob nodded. They were both quiet for a minute. Anne came into the dining room with her eyebrow raised. Hayden couldn’t hide the sadness in her eyes. She could see the same sadness in Anne’s. She pointed to the clock on the wall, then went back towards her bedroom. Hayden stood up and slowly made her way to the door. Rob followed. As he started up the stairs, Hayden grabbed his hand. He spun around to face her.

“I believe you.” She assured. Rob smiled and slowly nodded.

“You’re the only one who does.” He sighed. She watched him drag himself back up the stairs. Hayden headed out the front door and back towards her house. She didn’t want to go home. She felt too restless to sit in her bedroom and listen to music or read. Her favorite things to do. When she got to the intersection at Carling and Ritchie, she took a right and headed further down Carling. After twenty minutes of mindlessly walking forward, Hayden stopped outside the entrance to the Andrew Haydon Water Park. She hadn’t intended to walk this far, but she figured she would take advantage and enjoy the lake view. She walked slowly along the path through the park. She paused to watch a family of ducks swimming by. She closed her eyes and listened to their quiet quacking sounds. She wondered what the ducks were talking about, if anything. She heard a familiar voice getting closer. She opened her eyes and looked further along the path. James and Amy were taking a stroll. As the couple got closer, Hayden realized that James wasn’t with Amy. This girl was a redhead, wearing a black beanie. Hayden shook her head and tried to pretend that she wasn’t watching the pair. James noticed her staring. Him and his companion walked past her. Hayden heard James say he dropped something. He jogged back towards Hayden with a look of terror on his face.

“Please don’t tell Amy.” He begged. Hayden was quiet. She knew it was her responsibility to tell Amy, since Amy was a friend of hers. She always thought about how she would want other people to treat her. Hayden would want to know as soon as possible.

“I’ll keep your secret if you tell everyone it was Jessica who burned down the tree house.” Hayden offered. James’s eyes went wide. He quickly shook his head.

“She’ll kill me.” He argued. Hayden shrugged.

“Those are my terms.” She insisted. James kept shaking his head.

“Look, she’s saying some really awful things about my best friend and I just want it to stop. She made her own bed this time.” Hayden insisted. James was quiet for a second, then nodded.

“Fine. I’ll come clean.” He agreed. Hayden held her hand out.

“Shake on it.” She demanded. James shook her hand, then went after his companion. Hayden couldn’t believe that James was cheating on Amy. She knew she had to tell Amy eventually. Right now, she needed to take advantage of this opportunity. It may be the only chance she had to clear Rob’s name. As soon as it was out that Jessica burned the shed down, it would cast doubt on everything she was claiming. It would also prove that she had been harassing the pair before she made those accusations. Hayden wanted to believe that Amy would do the same thing if she were in her situation. Eventually she would do the right thing. She had to.

James told his parent’s when he got home that night. It appeared he didn’t want to take the chance of Hayden changing her mind. Hayden wouldn’t have known if everything went over smoothly. Unfortunately, Jessica must have snapped. When Hayden walked around the corner to see what the commotion was, Jessica was being escorted into the back of a police car. Hayden had never seen someone being arrested before. The flashing lights and police chatter were unbearable. Jessica was shouting that she didn’t do anything. That she was the victim. She was accusing the police of being corrupt. It was typical of her to assign blame to anyone but herself. She would never hold herself accountable for anything she had done. Hayden wasn’t expecting this was going to change the way she conducted herself. Hayden just wanted to free Rob of the rumors that had likely stained his reputation for the rest of his life. It was the least she could do. She really felt she was responsible somehow. She had introduced them, she hadn’t stood up for him sooner, she hadn’t told him about her feelings. She made so many mistakes that may have contributed to him being in such an awful situation. Hayden knew there was nothing she could do about the past. She had to hold herself accountable and think about the future. Now that Jessica was showing her true colors to the police, it wasn’t likely they were going to take her accusations against Rob seriously.

Hayden was proud of herself. She found a way to get Rob out of the situation without having to tell everyone his secret.

The next day, Hayden skipped church and headed to Rob’s house. Anne was religious, and the rest of the family had gone to church like usual. Anne had been staying behind with Rob. He had a constant babysitter, so that his parents could say they always had an eye on him. Hayden knocked excitedly on the door. Anne opened it with her eyebrow raised.

“Hello?” She asked. Hayden waved awkwardly.

“I was hoping I could talk to Rob.” She hinted. Anne was quiet for a second.

“Right here, in the entrance.” She instructed. Hayden nodded, stepping into the house. Anne closed the door and yelled for Rob to get downstairs. She was using her stern voice. She headed down the hallway to her bedroom and Rob thumped down the stairs. Hayden smiled as he turned the corner.

“Hey.” She greeted enthusiastically.

“Hey.” He greeted the total opposite. Hayden clapped.

“Jessica was arrested yesterday.” She screeched. Rob raised his eyebrow.

“For what?” His voice cracked. Hayden shrugged.

“Being who she is, but in front of police.” She simplified. Rob shook his head.

“Wow.” He muttered.

“James told his parents that he wasn’t the one who burned the tree house down.” Hayden answered. Rob’s eyes went wide. He looked down the hallway, then back at Hayden.

“Are you serious?” He actually sounded excited that time. Hayden nodded.

“I can’t tell you why, but, yeah. So, I don’t know how long it’s going to take, but, I don’t think they are going to take the accusations against you very seriously now.” Hayden explained. Rob nodded.

“I love you.” He exhaled. Hayden nodded and looked down at the floor.

“I love you too.” She mumbled. Rob stepped forward, putting his hands on her shoulders. He pulled her in and kissed her, right in front of his mother. She coughed and pretended to tap her foot on the floor. Rob looked down, then scurried back up the stairs. Hayden looked over at Anne, wide-eyed.

“It’s fine. I told you, I knew it was happening when it started.” She assured. Hayden nodded. She wondered if Rob knew that his mother was secretly rooting for the two of them to get together. She couldn’t say she minded. It was the exact same thing she wanted. She hoped, now that Rob was free of Jessica and her accusations, they could pick up where they left off. She wanted to be with him, in every way. That was going to take time and she wanted to start now. She even had his mother’s blessing, but she was going to leave that part out.