June 23rd, 1994

June 23rd, 1994

So, that was that. I moved back in with Mom and Wayne, and to be honest, I didn't really mind all that much. I no longer felt safe living at Claire's for some reason. Still, even after all that had happened, Wayne still regarded me with a sneering indifference. It hurt, but all I could do was try to ignore him.

I remember I had a visitor a couple of days after the rape. I wasn't even expecting to see her.. but for some reason I was glad. She was the last person on earth who.. okay, here's what happened..

"She's what?!" came Wayne's loud voice from downstairs.

"Wayne, just calm down." Diane replied hastily, sounding afraid.

"Don't fuckin' tell me to calm down, Diane! Are you kiddin' me? And you expect me to be okay with this? After the things she said to me?"

"She's been through a lot," came Diane's defensive reply.

"I get that, but.."

"Then don't say another word! She's my daughter, and she's going to live here again whether you like it or not!"

Kate kept listening as Wayne's anger quickly dissolved. "All right, Diane. She can stay."

The conversation ended abruptly after that. Kate stood up and crept back to her room, then sat down on the bed, hugging her knees. She was still taking it in. It was like a bad dream. She hadn't cried since that night, but maybe that was down to shock. She hadn't uttered a word since it had happened either. She knew Wayne had big problems with her coming back, but she didn't really care. She hated him. She was just so angry; not just with Wayne, but with everyone else in her life. Her mother, Claire, even Jack. It was crazy, but also true. She felt so cold, like she'd never be cheerful again. Maybe she wouldn't be. It was too early to tell.

Jack had come to visit her twice over the past couple of days. Kate was still awaiting his daily visit that day, and for some reason she was looking forward to it, though she didn't really feel like seeing anyone. But Jack.. well, he was okay. She didn't really have any reason to be angry with him anyway. Afterall, he'd saved her the other night.

And yet..

If Jack hadn't done what he'd done the night of the party, maybe Jason wouldn't have chosen to get his revenge. Still, there was nothing that could be done about it now. It was over, it had happened. And now Kate was going to have to work on getting better. Once she'd done that, however, she'd go out to find Jason and kick him where it hurts. Oh yes, she'd take pleasure in doing that.

The doorbell rang downstairs. Kate could faintly here the disgruntled voice of Wayne, as he talked loudly to Diane whilst going to get the door. Kate suddenly perked up, wondering if it was Jack. Sure enough, she heard the faint sounds of footsteps, growing louder as they ascended the stairs. Kate turned around and sat there expectantly, waiting for the door to open to reveal Jack standing there. However, to her surprise, it wasn't Jack. It was only her mother.

"Kate," Diane began uncertainly, "There's someone here to see you."

"Is it Jack?" Kate asked, though she knew it wasn't. Her mother always allowed Jack to come straight upstairs.

"She says her name is Shannon Rutherford."

Kate suddenly felt light headed. "What?" she breathed, unable to believe it. What on earth could she want?

"Should I send her up here, or..?"

"Yeah," Kate said quickly. She just had to know what Shannon was doing there.

Diane nodded and backed out of the room, closing the door behind her. Moments later, it opened again and Shannon was standing there. She looked as slutty as usual, with her long blonde hair tied back in a low side ponytail, while her outfit consisted of a black crop top and dark skinny jeans. She was also wearing heels, which didn't surprise Kate in the slightest.

"What do you want?" Kate enquired, regarding her coolly. To be quite honest, she was sort of amused at Shannon being there. For a moment she forgot why she was feeling the way she was; seeing her greatest enemy standing there before her almost made her giggle.

"I came to see how you were," Shannon replied casually, closing the door with her foot and walking into the room. "So.. your Mom seems nice."

Kate rolled her eyes. "You obviously have another reason for being here, Shannon. I know you wouldn't just come to see how I was, not after that party.."

"Oh please Kate," Shannon sighed, sitting down on the bean bag opposite Kate and crossing her legs. "I'm so over that now."

"Really?" Kate said, quirking an eyebrow, utterly bewildered.

Shannon smirked at her. "Yeah, sure. I have girls say stuff like that to me all the time, and I get over it easily. But enough about that." She stopped smiling and suddenly she seemed like any ordinary girl, not the slut that Kate had always thought her out to be. "How are you doing?"

"Well gee Shannon, I'm just great," Kate rolled her eyes at the other girl and scowled. "How do you think I'm doing?"

Shannon smiled wanly back at her. "I didn't think so," she said simply, shaking her head. "It was Jason, wasn't it?"

The question caught Kate off guard and her brow furrowed. "What makes you think it was him?" she questioned.

"Come on Kate, I'm not an idiot," Shannon replied coolly, "I know they all think I am, though. Look, I tried to warn you about him, didn't I? You know I did. That's why I came up to you at the party."

Kate remembered. Shannon had tried to warn her. So maybe..

"Did he rape you?" Kate blurted out, and Shannon flinched. "He did, didn't he?"

Shannon snorted. "As if! Luckily I still had hold of my handbag so I hit him with that a couple of times, knocked him out cold." She shuddered, "Still, he could have. And he would have. He's a creep, Kate."

Kate said nothing. She couldn't believe this girl, who she'd believed to be a complete prep, out for nothing but attention, had fought off a predator like that. She suddenly admired Shannon, for some strange reason.

"It was okay, though," Shannon went on, "My brother, Boone, got him back for me. I didn't even ask him too, but yeah.. sort of like how your guy Jack fixed him up good the other night."

Kate couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, that was sort of.. nice."

"I wish I knew a guy who would do something like that for me," Shannon said whistfully, "Besides Boone, of course." She added, rolling her eyes.

"Did anyone else find out about it?" Kate asked, "About Jason?"

"No, I knew how my Dad would react, so I didn't tell him. I guess I was scared, you know? I didn't want anyone to know about it, so Boone swore he wouldn't tell anyone. Anyway, I was still scared of Jason, but he never came after me again after Boone dealt with him. So.. yeah. Things were better after that."

Kate's mouth fell open. She'd never realised.. never even bothered to realise..

"Shannon.. I um.."

"Always thought I was a bitch?" Shannon finished for her, "Well duh, everyone does. I've gotten used to it, though."

Kate just shifted uneasily on the bed. To her surprise, and even dismay, Shannon rose to her feet. "Well, I guess I'd better go," she said quietly, giving Kate a small smile, "I'll see you, maybe."

Kate nodded. "Okay, then. Bye, Shannon."

The other girl quickly left the room, and Kate was left alone. Yet, even after a small chat with her worst enemy, she couldn't help but take solace in the fact that she wasn't alone.

AN: Oh my god, I am so so sosososo SORRY that I haven't posted a chapter earlier! I've had a lot of things to deal with so I really do apologize! I hope this was sufficient, and yes, Shannon will be in the story more often now. Okay, that's all I have to say.