Chapter Ten
Not a Smiling Matter
Elizabeth pulled out the last one of the outfits she'd bought that day, and Conner nodded in approval. It was the little pink one Jessica had thought was so cute. "Like them?" she asked, smiling at him.
"Of course. They're adorable, just like our kids will be." He kissed to top of her head, gently patting her stomach. Elizabeth smiled happily.
Over the last few months, they'd both grown even closer, and the future had started looking much brighter. While she wasn't sure how things would work out with the twins as well as her and Conner's relationship, she was positive they'd get through this. Both were excited about having the twins, and in some aspects, having kids so young didn't seem so bad.
"I really like the pink one," Conner said, leaning back on her bed. Elizabeth leaned down next to him, laying her head on his chest.
"Actually, Jess picked that one out…" She sat up. "Speaking of Jess, I need to call her now, okay?"
Conner nodded, getting up and kissing her on the check. "Sure. I'll be in my room if you need me later, okay?"
Elizabeth nodded, grabbing the phone off her nightstand, and quickly dialing her home phone number.
Jeremy watched Jessica lay down against his chest, gently sweeping her hair off her face. She'd finally stopped crying a few minutes ago. He knew she was taking this hard, and so was he. When he though about the future, he'd thought about Jessica, getting married someday, having kids together. But he knew that would change now.
He looked at her, her eyes half closed. Jeremy knew that she was tired, she'd said earlier that day that she hadn't gotten much sleep. Jessica looked so fragile and vulnerable, dressed some old sweatpants, and one of his ratty old shirts that she practically swam in, which she'd changed into when he got home. Running his hand through her soft blonde hair, he began thinking of how unfair it had been that this had happened to her, now.
At that moment, the phone rang. Jeremy looked down at his girlfriend, wondering if her mom would get it. Jessica opened her eyes, looking cautiously at her phone. After the second ring, it stopped, so he assumed that he mother had gotten it.
"Are you doing better?" he asked softly.
Jessica nodded, sitting up more, and letting him wrap his arms around her. "Yeah. I'm just having trouble… excepting all this."
Jeremy nodded, his thoughts interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Jessica, your sister is on the phone. Please pick it up, okay?" Mrs. Wakefield called.
Jessica pulled back abruptly. "I can't," she whispered, looking up at him, her blue green eyes pained. "I can't tell Liz about this."
Jeremy nodded, knowing how much she must be going through. "It's okay, sweetie. Do you want me to tell her?" He volunteered, hoping that was the right thing to do.
"Would you?" she managed to give him a weak smile. "I can't tell Liz. I just can't."
Jeremy nodded, kissing the top of her head, and then reaching over for the phone. Jessica got up. "I've got to use the bathroom."
Jeremy nodded again. He knew she really meant she didn't want to talk about it. He grabbed the phone, and heard Mrs. Wakefield click off the line.
"Jessica?" Elizabeth's voice, no doubt.
"Um… no. Jeremy. She wanted me to talk to you." He said simply, hoping it wasn't too obvious something was wrong.
"What happened?" Elizabeth demanded immediately, "What's wrong?"
Jeremy took a deep breath. "There was some bad news at the doctors office," he said, slowly, then rushed on. "They found out that Jess isn't ever going to be able to have kids."
Jeremy heard the gasp on the other end of the phone, and Jeremy felt horrible having to break the news to Elizabeth. He knew how close the twins were.
"Oh God…" he heard Elizabeth say, obviously feeling horrible. "She's taking it hard, isn't she?"
Jeremy nodded, then remembered he was on the phone. "Very. It took almost an hour for her to calm down." He said simply, looking at the closed bathroom door, hoping Jessica was okay.
He heard Elizabeth let her breath out on the other end of the phone. "God! I feel so horrible! I was going on and on about the twins today, and it must make her feel even worse now." Elizabeth sighed. "I feel so bad about this. I didn't even realize something was wrong this morning, until she'd said she had a doctors appointment."
Jeremy knew what she was going through. Guilt. He'd been going through it since the afternoon before, when Jessica had broken the news to him. "I know what you mean." He said absently.
"What?"
Jeremy figured he'd might as well tell her. "I didn't suspect anything until she'd told me- well, yeah, she'd changed, but I thought that it was because we were drifting apart or something." He swallowed. "And because I called in sick that night she was working with Simmons."
"Jeremy…" he heard Elizabeth start, "Don't blame yourself, okay? Because I can tell from your tone of voice that that's what you're doing. Jessica doesn't blame you, so you shouldn't either."
Jeremy knew she was right. But the fact still upset him. "I won't." he said uneasily.
"Okay, that's good. I wish I could be there and talk to her, but I know she's having a tough time." Elizabeth said quickly. "I'm going to go, but please, just make sure she gets through it, okay?"
"Yeah." He said. He would have done so, no matter what. "I'll have Jess call you later, if she's up to it, okay?"
"Okay. Bye." Jeremy heard the line hang up, and he lay the phone back on the receiver. That had to have been the hardest conversation of his life.
Elizabeth took a bite of her spaghetti, trying to focus on what Conner was saying, but the only thing that she could think about was her sister. Megan and Mrs. Sandborn were out for the evening, so Conner had fixed them dinner. After a moment, she realized that Conner was staring at her.
"Liz, what's up?" he asked, in question to the blank look on his face. "I don't think that you've heard a word that I've said since we sat down."
"I'm sorry," Elizabeth said quickly, wiping the blank look off her face. "Just lost in thought."
Conner raised his eyebrows. "Sorry Liz, but that was apparent. So, what's up? You never space like this if it's something major."
Elizabeth sighed, knowing lying to him would be fruitless. He'd see right through it. She sighed. "Actually, it's about Jessica. She's going through some really hard times." She stopped, hoping that was a satisfactory answer.
"And?"
Okay, so it wasn't. "Well," Elizabeth started slowly. "I just found out this morning that Will Simmons raped her about three weeks ago." She said quickly, hoping he wouldn't ask anymore questions.
Conner looked at her, obviously in shock. "How's she doing? Is she okay? Is Jess gonna press charges?"
"She's not holding up too well," Elizabeth said truthfully. "I think that the emotional part is really getting to her. Jeremy's been there for her a lot, though, and I think that's helping." She stopped, debating on telling Conner the rest of it. Finally, her conscience picked up and she decided to tell him. "Jess had missed her period, so mom insisted on taking her to the doctors today. She just found out she'll never be able to have kids." Elizabeth felt her eyes fill with tears for her sister. "I feel so bad about it- it was just at the mall this morning that I was going on and on about the twins and stuff."
Conner leaned over the table, touching her arm. "Sweetie, it's not your fault… you didn't know. So don't blame yourself."
Elizabeth nodded. "Poor Jessica. I feel so bad for her. I know she isn't doing very well."
Conner nodded. "I'm sorry. I know how close you and your sister are." He finished his plate, and rinsed it off, leaving it in the sink. "I hope she gets to doing better."
Elizabeth smiled wanly, handing him her empty plate. "Thanks for dinner."
Conner smiled, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her. Elizabeth didn't resist, but still was thinking of Jessica. She just prayed her sister could get through this.
Jessica leaned her head against Jeremy's shoulder the next morning, his hand resting familiarly on her hip. Her dad, as well as Jeremy was taking her up to the police headquarters to press charges against Will. Jessica was extremely nervous, not knowing what to expect, and not knowing what people would think of her once they got word of the attack, the charges brought against Will.
She felt Jeremy graze a kiss on the top of her head, as they stopped, waiting for her father to catch up with them in the parking lot, before they walked into the police building. "Don't worry Jess, it'll be okay." Jeremy whispered, "You're going to be fine." He broke away so he was facing her, holding her hands in his.
Jessica looked up into his warm brown eyes, nodded slightly. "I don't know if you're right," she said slowly, "But I'll do what I can."
Jeremy nodded in approval. "That's all I'm asking." He kissed her forehead. "I love you, Jess."
Jessica smiled, hugging him. "I love you too."
Twenty minutes later, Jessica walked alone into the office of the head of the human services department, which included the unit that worked with victims of rape and other sexual abuse. She pushed the door open, to reveal a petite, black woman sitting at the desk. She had a no-nonsense, yet concerned look on her face.
"Hi." Jessica said nervously. "I'm Jessica Wakefield."
The woman smiled, sticking her right hand out for Jessica to shake. She did. "Have a seat, Jessica. I'm Ray-Keisha Lomax, head of the human services department. I understand that you're here today to press charges for sexual abuse."
Jessica nodded meekly. "Rape charges." She stuttered, losing the calmness she'd had moments before.
The police woman nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry honey. By the way, call me Keisha."
Jessica nodded. "Okay. Keisha."
"Now, tell me what happened, and when."
Jessica took a deep breath. "Three weeks ago yesterday, I was working at the House of Java until closing, with Will Simmons and Danny Harrington. Danny was replacing my boyfriend Jeremy, because he had the flu, so he was working in his place. At closing, Danny got out of there as quick as he could, and Will and I cleaned the place up. I was about ready to leave when… when Will shoved me done and raped me." Jessica choked out the last part, struggling to keep herself from crying.
Keisha nodded. "I know it's hard, Jessica." Jessica nodded. "I know what you're going through. I was raped when I was about your age."
Jessica dried the tears from her eyes. "You were?"
Keisha nodded. "By my boyfriend. But we're hear to talk about you, not me." She looked at her sympathetically. "Where there any events leading up to when Will attacked you?"
Jessica nodded, shakily telling her of all the whole drama at the beginning of the year, to when Will dumped Melissa, and began relentlessly trying to win her from Jeremy. She even told her of how uneasy he'd made her feel in recent weeks, and how even Jeremy hadn't trusted him in the slightest. When she finished, she realized that Keisha had been jotting down notes on a legal pad.
"What are you writing?" Jessica asked hesitantly.
"A ledger of what you're telling me. It'll help when we take this to court." She showed Jessica her notes. "You have quite a case against him." She tapped her pen back and forth against the track. "I believe all of this, but I don't know about the DA."
"What?" Jessica asked, wondering what she was leading up to.
Keisha stopped tapping the pen. "Well, it's a strong case- but it's all on circumstantial evidence. The fact that you used to date will could be used as a strong point for either side… either Will was spiteful you'd broken up, or you were upset that he dumped you."
Jessica felt her stomach turn. She was right. It could be taken either way. "I know." She said finally, after a drawn out silence.
Keisha nodded. "I'd like to talk to your boyfriend, since he works at House of Java, also. Plus, he knows what's been going on. Why don't you go and get him, okay?"
**********************************************************************
Jessica took a deep breath before walking into school on Tuesday morning- her first day of the week. She'd been absent the day before, because she'd been too upset to go. Jessica also had know that Will would be back today.
On Sunday night, Will had been taken into custody, for questioning. Once hearing his explanations, the SVPD had declared a shaky alibi, and had pressed charges against him. He'd been taken into jail overnight, and released Monday afternoon on a bond. Of course, when the press had heard about it, SVH star quarterback charged with rape, they'd jumped on it like a pack ravenous dogs. From what she'd heard from Elizabeth, it was all over school the next day.
Knowing that much, Jessica knew that she'd been the focus of conversations, for both students and teachers. Walking through the main entrance, toward her locker, she heard the buzz in the hallway completely stop, all eyes on her. Yet she kept going, just hoping things would get better.
Yeah, right. Jessica thought. By the end of the day they'll think that know the whole story, and have made a judgment on who's innocent and who's guilty. And Jessica didn't know who would stay in her favor once Will was back.
Jessica reached her locker, noticing Melissa was waiting for her. Her dad had dropped her off at school that morning. She walked up to her, giving her the best smile she could, which was very slight.
Wordlessly, Melissa gave her a hug. "I've heard," she stated. "Almost all the guys and most of the popular people are siding with Will. It doesn't look good for you Jess."
Jessica nodded, "I know. The odds are against me."
Melissa closed her eyes. "Jess," she said quietly, "I thought about this a lot last night, and I think that I'll come forward that Will was abusing me."
Jessica looked at her in shock and disbelief. "Are you sure, Melissa?"
"Yeah. I should have said something sooner… then you wouldn't be going through this now." She sighed, staring Jessica dead in the eye. "I'm sorry, Jess."
Now it was Jessica's turn to give Melissa a hug. "It's not your fault. Really, it's not." She pulled back, seeing Melissa was about to cry. "I'm just glad that you're coming forward. Will shouldn't be able to get away with this. It's not right."
Melissa nodded, quietly watching Jessica open her locker and take out her books. "I know. But it still doesn't make me any less nervous- I'm going to have to talk to my parents, about the abortion and everything. I don't know how they'll react."
Jessica nodded, slamming shut her locker, and beginning to walk slowly towards her homeroom, Melissa following along next to her. "I don't think that they'll get too mad at you." Jessica said.
Frowning, Melissa shook her head. "You know I don't have the best family life in the world, and I'm sure mom will be on my case about it, no matter what."
Jessica smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry. I forgot." She hugged Melissa as she reached her homeroom. Waving with her good hand, she walked in, hoping that she, as well as Melissa, would make it through the day.
Elizabeth flipped to the next page in her calculus book, trying to pay at least some attention to her schoolwork. It was hard, considering she was battling off waves of nausea, as well as mental images of her sister. Jessica had barely made it through the day, that Elizabeth had know. She'd dealt with many teachers that wanted to know what was going on, concerned students, as well as hostile students that had sided with Will. It hadn't been a good day for Jessica.
Sighing, she quickly scribbled the equation down in her calc notebook. Shoving thoughts to the far side of her mind, Elizabeth went through the steps of the problem, trying to decide what x/y equaled. So far, she hadn't had any luck.
This was useless. She didn't have the patience at the time to work on her homework. She could scribble it out during homeroom, if she had too. Getting up, Elizabeth felt another wave of nausea, and headed for the bathroom.
Emerging ten minutes later, she flopped weakly on her bed. It wasn't turning into a very good day for her, either. She looked at her alarm clock. Ten till six, which meant the door slam she'd heard moments before had been Conner rushing off to work. She assumed that Mrs. Sandborn had already left for a dinner with some friends from college, which she'd been talking about all week. Megan, the only one home, would have just gotten back from the soccer game she'd been playing. So they were the only ones home.
About ready to go downstairs, Elizabeth heard a faint knock on the door.
"Can I come in?" Megan called softly from the other side.
"Sure." Elizabeth said, sitting up. Megan walked in, almost hesitant. She took one look at Elizabeth and stopped.
"I'm not bothering you, am I?" Megan asked, concerned.
Elizabeth smiled. "Not at all. Why don't you sit down?"
Megan nodded, sitting on the edge of her bed. "I heard about Jessica today. I'm really sorry that Will did that to her."
Elizabeth nodded, "She's not doing the greatest." She confirmed grimly. "Jess is especially nervous about the trial. I just wish that this hadn't have happened."
Megan stopped, and looked down. After a few silent moments, she pulled her head up, tears forming in her eyes. "It shouldn't have happened." She said quietly. "It's my fault that she had to go through it too."
Elizabeth looked at Megan, confusion spreading on her face. "Megan, what are you talking about?"
Megan looked down, a few tears running down her cheeks. "Because last year, Will raped me."
Not a Smiling Matter
Elizabeth pulled out the last one of the outfits she'd bought that day, and Conner nodded in approval. It was the little pink one Jessica had thought was so cute. "Like them?" she asked, smiling at him.
"Of course. They're adorable, just like our kids will be." He kissed to top of her head, gently patting her stomach. Elizabeth smiled happily.
Over the last few months, they'd both grown even closer, and the future had started looking much brighter. While she wasn't sure how things would work out with the twins as well as her and Conner's relationship, she was positive they'd get through this. Both were excited about having the twins, and in some aspects, having kids so young didn't seem so bad.
"I really like the pink one," Conner said, leaning back on her bed. Elizabeth leaned down next to him, laying her head on his chest.
"Actually, Jess picked that one out…" She sat up. "Speaking of Jess, I need to call her now, okay?"
Conner nodded, getting up and kissing her on the check. "Sure. I'll be in my room if you need me later, okay?"
Elizabeth nodded, grabbing the phone off her nightstand, and quickly dialing her home phone number.
Jeremy watched Jessica lay down against his chest, gently sweeping her hair off her face. She'd finally stopped crying a few minutes ago. He knew she was taking this hard, and so was he. When he though about the future, he'd thought about Jessica, getting married someday, having kids together. But he knew that would change now.
He looked at her, her eyes half closed. Jeremy knew that she was tired, she'd said earlier that day that she hadn't gotten much sleep. Jessica looked so fragile and vulnerable, dressed some old sweatpants, and one of his ratty old shirts that she practically swam in, which she'd changed into when he got home. Running his hand through her soft blonde hair, he began thinking of how unfair it had been that this had happened to her, now.
At that moment, the phone rang. Jeremy looked down at his girlfriend, wondering if her mom would get it. Jessica opened her eyes, looking cautiously at her phone. After the second ring, it stopped, so he assumed that he mother had gotten it.
"Are you doing better?" he asked softly.
Jessica nodded, sitting up more, and letting him wrap his arms around her. "Yeah. I'm just having trouble… excepting all this."
Jeremy nodded, his thoughts interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Jessica, your sister is on the phone. Please pick it up, okay?" Mrs. Wakefield called.
Jessica pulled back abruptly. "I can't," she whispered, looking up at him, her blue green eyes pained. "I can't tell Liz about this."
Jeremy nodded, knowing how much she must be going through. "It's okay, sweetie. Do you want me to tell her?" He volunteered, hoping that was the right thing to do.
"Would you?" she managed to give him a weak smile. "I can't tell Liz. I just can't."
Jeremy nodded, kissing the top of her head, and then reaching over for the phone. Jessica got up. "I've got to use the bathroom."
Jeremy nodded again. He knew she really meant she didn't want to talk about it. He grabbed the phone, and heard Mrs. Wakefield click off the line.
"Jessica?" Elizabeth's voice, no doubt.
"Um… no. Jeremy. She wanted me to talk to you." He said simply, hoping it wasn't too obvious something was wrong.
"What happened?" Elizabeth demanded immediately, "What's wrong?"
Jeremy took a deep breath. "There was some bad news at the doctors office," he said, slowly, then rushed on. "They found out that Jess isn't ever going to be able to have kids."
Jeremy heard the gasp on the other end of the phone, and Jeremy felt horrible having to break the news to Elizabeth. He knew how close the twins were.
"Oh God…" he heard Elizabeth say, obviously feeling horrible. "She's taking it hard, isn't she?"
Jeremy nodded, then remembered he was on the phone. "Very. It took almost an hour for her to calm down." He said simply, looking at the closed bathroom door, hoping Jessica was okay.
He heard Elizabeth let her breath out on the other end of the phone. "God! I feel so horrible! I was going on and on about the twins today, and it must make her feel even worse now." Elizabeth sighed. "I feel so bad about this. I didn't even realize something was wrong this morning, until she'd said she had a doctors appointment."
Jeremy knew what she was going through. Guilt. He'd been going through it since the afternoon before, when Jessica had broken the news to him. "I know what you mean." He said absently.
"What?"
Jeremy figured he'd might as well tell her. "I didn't suspect anything until she'd told me- well, yeah, she'd changed, but I thought that it was because we were drifting apart or something." He swallowed. "And because I called in sick that night she was working with Simmons."
"Jeremy…" he heard Elizabeth start, "Don't blame yourself, okay? Because I can tell from your tone of voice that that's what you're doing. Jessica doesn't blame you, so you shouldn't either."
Jeremy knew she was right. But the fact still upset him. "I won't." he said uneasily.
"Okay, that's good. I wish I could be there and talk to her, but I know she's having a tough time." Elizabeth said quickly. "I'm going to go, but please, just make sure she gets through it, okay?"
"Yeah." He said. He would have done so, no matter what. "I'll have Jess call you later, if she's up to it, okay?"
"Okay. Bye." Jeremy heard the line hang up, and he lay the phone back on the receiver. That had to have been the hardest conversation of his life.
Elizabeth took a bite of her spaghetti, trying to focus on what Conner was saying, but the only thing that she could think about was her sister. Megan and Mrs. Sandborn were out for the evening, so Conner had fixed them dinner. After a moment, she realized that Conner was staring at her.
"Liz, what's up?" he asked, in question to the blank look on his face. "I don't think that you've heard a word that I've said since we sat down."
"I'm sorry," Elizabeth said quickly, wiping the blank look off her face. "Just lost in thought."
Conner raised his eyebrows. "Sorry Liz, but that was apparent. So, what's up? You never space like this if it's something major."
Elizabeth sighed, knowing lying to him would be fruitless. He'd see right through it. She sighed. "Actually, it's about Jessica. She's going through some really hard times." She stopped, hoping that was a satisfactory answer.
"And?"
Okay, so it wasn't. "Well," Elizabeth started slowly. "I just found out this morning that Will Simmons raped her about three weeks ago." She said quickly, hoping he wouldn't ask anymore questions.
Conner looked at her, obviously in shock. "How's she doing? Is she okay? Is Jess gonna press charges?"
"She's not holding up too well," Elizabeth said truthfully. "I think that the emotional part is really getting to her. Jeremy's been there for her a lot, though, and I think that's helping." She stopped, debating on telling Conner the rest of it. Finally, her conscience picked up and she decided to tell him. "Jess had missed her period, so mom insisted on taking her to the doctors today. She just found out she'll never be able to have kids." Elizabeth felt her eyes fill with tears for her sister. "I feel so bad about it- it was just at the mall this morning that I was going on and on about the twins and stuff."
Conner leaned over the table, touching her arm. "Sweetie, it's not your fault… you didn't know. So don't blame yourself."
Elizabeth nodded. "Poor Jessica. I feel so bad for her. I know she isn't doing very well."
Conner nodded. "I'm sorry. I know how close you and your sister are." He finished his plate, and rinsed it off, leaving it in the sink. "I hope she gets to doing better."
Elizabeth smiled wanly, handing him her empty plate. "Thanks for dinner."
Conner smiled, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her. Elizabeth didn't resist, but still was thinking of Jessica. She just prayed her sister could get through this.
Jessica leaned her head against Jeremy's shoulder the next morning, his hand resting familiarly on her hip. Her dad, as well as Jeremy was taking her up to the police headquarters to press charges against Will. Jessica was extremely nervous, not knowing what to expect, and not knowing what people would think of her once they got word of the attack, the charges brought against Will.
She felt Jeremy graze a kiss on the top of her head, as they stopped, waiting for her father to catch up with them in the parking lot, before they walked into the police building. "Don't worry Jess, it'll be okay." Jeremy whispered, "You're going to be fine." He broke away so he was facing her, holding her hands in his.
Jessica looked up into his warm brown eyes, nodded slightly. "I don't know if you're right," she said slowly, "But I'll do what I can."
Jeremy nodded in approval. "That's all I'm asking." He kissed her forehead. "I love you, Jess."
Jessica smiled, hugging him. "I love you too."
Twenty minutes later, Jessica walked alone into the office of the head of the human services department, which included the unit that worked with victims of rape and other sexual abuse. She pushed the door open, to reveal a petite, black woman sitting at the desk. She had a no-nonsense, yet concerned look on her face.
"Hi." Jessica said nervously. "I'm Jessica Wakefield."
The woman smiled, sticking her right hand out for Jessica to shake. She did. "Have a seat, Jessica. I'm Ray-Keisha Lomax, head of the human services department. I understand that you're here today to press charges for sexual abuse."
Jessica nodded meekly. "Rape charges." She stuttered, losing the calmness she'd had moments before.
The police woman nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry honey. By the way, call me Keisha."
Jessica nodded. "Okay. Keisha."
"Now, tell me what happened, and when."
Jessica took a deep breath. "Three weeks ago yesterday, I was working at the House of Java until closing, with Will Simmons and Danny Harrington. Danny was replacing my boyfriend Jeremy, because he had the flu, so he was working in his place. At closing, Danny got out of there as quick as he could, and Will and I cleaned the place up. I was about ready to leave when… when Will shoved me done and raped me." Jessica choked out the last part, struggling to keep herself from crying.
Keisha nodded. "I know it's hard, Jessica." Jessica nodded. "I know what you're going through. I was raped when I was about your age."
Jessica dried the tears from her eyes. "You were?"
Keisha nodded. "By my boyfriend. But we're hear to talk about you, not me." She looked at her sympathetically. "Where there any events leading up to when Will attacked you?"
Jessica nodded, shakily telling her of all the whole drama at the beginning of the year, to when Will dumped Melissa, and began relentlessly trying to win her from Jeremy. She even told her of how uneasy he'd made her feel in recent weeks, and how even Jeremy hadn't trusted him in the slightest. When she finished, she realized that Keisha had been jotting down notes on a legal pad.
"What are you writing?" Jessica asked hesitantly.
"A ledger of what you're telling me. It'll help when we take this to court." She showed Jessica her notes. "You have quite a case against him." She tapped her pen back and forth against the track. "I believe all of this, but I don't know about the DA."
"What?" Jessica asked, wondering what she was leading up to.
Keisha stopped tapping the pen. "Well, it's a strong case- but it's all on circumstantial evidence. The fact that you used to date will could be used as a strong point for either side… either Will was spiteful you'd broken up, or you were upset that he dumped you."
Jessica felt her stomach turn. She was right. It could be taken either way. "I know." She said finally, after a drawn out silence.
Keisha nodded. "I'd like to talk to your boyfriend, since he works at House of Java, also. Plus, he knows what's been going on. Why don't you go and get him, okay?"
**********************************************************************
Jessica took a deep breath before walking into school on Tuesday morning- her first day of the week. She'd been absent the day before, because she'd been too upset to go. Jessica also had know that Will would be back today.
On Sunday night, Will had been taken into custody, for questioning. Once hearing his explanations, the SVPD had declared a shaky alibi, and had pressed charges against him. He'd been taken into jail overnight, and released Monday afternoon on a bond. Of course, when the press had heard about it, SVH star quarterback charged with rape, they'd jumped on it like a pack ravenous dogs. From what she'd heard from Elizabeth, it was all over school the next day.
Knowing that much, Jessica knew that she'd been the focus of conversations, for both students and teachers. Walking through the main entrance, toward her locker, she heard the buzz in the hallway completely stop, all eyes on her. Yet she kept going, just hoping things would get better.
Yeah, right. Jessica thought. By the end of the day they'll think that know the whole story, and have made a judgment on who's innocent and who's guilty. And Jessica didn't know who would stay in her favor once Will was back.
Jessica reached her locker, noticing Melissa was waiting for her. Her dad had dropped her off at school that morning. She walked up to her, giving her the best smile she could, which was very slight.
Wordlessly, Melissa gave her a hug. "I've heard," she stated. "Almost all the guys and most of the popular people are siding with Will. It doesn't look good for you Jess."
Jessica nodded, "I know. The odds are against me."
Melissa closed her eyes. "Jess," she said quietly, "I thought about this a lot last night, and I think that I'll come forward that Will was abusing me."
Jessica looked at her in shock and disbelief. "Are you sure, Melissa?"
"Yeah. I should have said something sooner… then you wouldn't be going through this now." She sighed, staring Jessica dead in the eye. "I'm sorry, Jess."
Now it was Jessica's turn to give Melissa a hug. "It's not your fault. Really, it's not." She pulled back, seeing Melissa was about to cry. "I'm just glad that you're coming forward. Will shouldn't be able to get away with this. It's not right."
Melissa nodded, quietly watching Jessica open her locker and take out her books. "I know. But it still doesn't make me any less nervous- I'm going to have to talk to my parents, about the abortion and everything. I don't know how they'll react."
Jessica nodded, slamming shut her locker, and beginning to walk slowly towards her homeroom, Melissa following along next to her. "I don't think that they'll get too mad at you." Jessica said.
Frowning, Melissa shook her head. "You know I don't have the best family life in the world, and I'm sure mom will be on my case about it, no matter what."
Jessica smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry. I forgot." She hugged Melissa as she reached her homeroom. Waving with her good hand, she walked in, hoping that she, as well as Melissa, would make it through the day.
Elizabeth flipped to the next page in her calculus book, trying to pay at least some attention to her schoolwork. It was hard, considering she was battling off waves of nausea, as well as mental images of her sister. Jessica had barely made it through the day, that Elizabeth had know. She'd dealt with many teachers that wanted to know what was going on, concerned students, as well as hostile students that had sided with Will. It hadn't been a good day for Jessica.
Sighing, she quickly scribbled the equation down in her calc notebook. Shoving thoughts to the far side of her mind, Elizabeth went through the steps of the problem, trying to decide what x/y equaled. So far, she hadn't had any luck.
This was useless. She didn't have the patience at the time to work on her homework. She could scribble it out during homeroom, if she had too. Getting up, Elizabeth felt another wave of nausea, and headed for the bathroom.
Emerging ten minutes later, she flopped weakly on her bed. It wasn't turning into a very good day for her, either. She looked at her alarm clock. Ten till six, which meant the door slam she'd heard moments before had been Conner rushing off to work. She assumed that Mrs. Sandborn had already left for a dinner with some friends from college, which she'd been talking about all week. Megan, the only one home, would have just gotten back from the soccer game she'd been playing. So they were the only ones home.
About ready to go downstairs, Elizabeth heard a faint knock on the door.
"Can I come in?" Megan called softly from the other side.
"Sure." Elizabeth said, sitting up. Megan walked in, almost hesitant. She took one look at Elizabeth and stopped.
"I'm not bothering you, am I?" Megan asked, concerned.
Elizabeth smiled. "Not at all. Why don't you sit down?"
Megan nodded, sitting on the edge of her bed. "I heard about Jessica today. I'm really sorry that Will did that to her."
Elizabeth nodded, "She's not doing the greatest." She confirmed grimly. "Jess is especially nervous about the trial. I just wish that this hadn't have happened."
Megan stopped, and looked down. After a few silent moments, she pulled her head up, tears forming in her eyes. "It shouldn't have happened." She said quietly. "It's my fault that she had to go through it too."
Elizabeth looked at Megan, confusion spreading on her face. "Megan, what are you talking about?"
Megan looked down, a few tears running down her cheeks. "Because last year, Will raped me."