Disclaimer: I do not own GMW.
Riley woke up when the sun began the shine in her room. She looked around curiously, wondering how she got back to her room. Everything that happened yesterday was all a blur. She remembered Charlie and what he did to her. She also remembered how she ran to the nearest police station and reported him as well as how her parents rushed to the station after she called them.
She didn't want to go to school today, for fear of seeing Charlie. The police officer reassured her that they had enough evidence to sentence him to at least three years. After Topanga heard this, she pulled many many strings to have Charlie's background investigated. So far, the investigators have linked some drug dealing to him, which will most likely make the sentence much longer.
"MOM!" Riley called.
Her mom came rushing in.
"Yes, dear?" Topanga asked.
"I don't want to go to school today. What if I see Charlie because the cops haven't caught him yet?" Riley asked.
"Don't worry about that Riley. After we left, I got a call from the station telling me that they caught Charlie. They said he looked beat up, but don't worry. He's never going to be a part of your life again. If he does, I"ll make sure he gets a lifetime sentence," Topanga vowed.
Riley nodded. "Can I not go to school today? I'm not feeling that well."
"Take a whole week off. It's normal to feel off after a traumatic experience like that. I'm sure your school will completely understand," Topanga looked at Riley once more before kissing her forehead. "I have to go now, but don't hesitate to call me anytime you need me."
Riley nodded and watched her mom close her room's door. How was she going to explain this to Maya and the others?
Riley spent the whole day quite productively. She finally dragged herself out of the bed and prepared a decent breakfast, blueberry pancakes.
Riley went through all the ways she could tell her friends. She could joke about what happened, but she figured they wouldn't really appreciate that. She could be direct and get to the point, but that might make them feel uncomfortable.
In the end, Riley decided to just slowly reel them into what she was going to say. Riley looked over at a clock, 3:30, it read. Riley knew her friends are out of school now, so she braced herself for the calvary that would enter through her bay window. Hopefully, it won't be too bad.
Before Riley knew it, shuffling was heard outside of her baywindow. Riley expectantly waited on bed, staring at the window. She saw a shadow, scratch that, she saw three shadows. The bay window opened and Farkle, Smackle, and Maya emerged through the window, all out of breath. Riley's door slowly started to turn and creek, introducing Zay.
"Climbing through the window is just plain rude," Zay pointed out to the other three, but they were catching their breaths.
"Where...were...you...Riley?" Maya asked.
"Your...dad..wouldn't...say...a...thing," Farkle breathlessly added.
"I want to tell you, but promise me you won't look at me differently," Riley held her pinky out.
Maya took that as her cue to interlock her own pinky. The others followed her example after she let go.
"You know the date I had with Charlie?" Riley started off, slowly.
"Did he leave you hanging?" Smackle asked.
Riley smiled a fake smile.
"No. He was there. He was there the whole time," Riley answered.
"Does he have a secret girlfriend or something and you found out who she was during the date?" Maya inquisited.
"No," Riley answered again.
"Then what is it, sugar?" Zay softly asked, having an idea on where this was going.
Riley took a deep breath before she answered. "He r-raped m-me."
Riley broke down crying as she admitted what happened. Maya's mouth hung wide as the words circulated through her head. Seeing Riley cry made her go into protection mode. Maya was immediately by Riley's side, holding her and soothing her.
"When I see that bastard, I'll make sure he won't ever have a chance to have kids," Maya promised.
"You can't," Riley said through her tears.
"Why not?" Farkle asked, going to Riley's other side.
"Because he's in jail. When the police found him, he was already beaten up," Riley explained.
Smackle and Zay both awkwardly moved forward to console their crying friend. The five stayed in this position for quite some time.
The other four were trying to control their anger against Charlie. How dare he do this to Riley! What kind of a sick person would do this sort of thing?
Riley continued to cry even harder. She remembered everything that happened in detail. It wasn't something she could simply forget with a snap of her fingers. She was permanently scarred from this experience.
"I wonder who beat Charlie up," Zay finally broke the suffocating silence.
"What?" Riley asked.
"You said that Charlie was badly beaten up and in jail. I wonder who did that to him and if they knew about what he did," Zay mused to the whole group.
"I mean maybe someone knew? Because you don't just randomly beat kids up," Smackle agreed.
"But who?" Riley asked.
"Well, tomorrow we can look around the school and see who has a bruised fist. Usually there would be a sign somewhere," Maya added.
"Are you going back tomorrow?" Farkle asked.
Riley looked around her room at all the supportive faces of her closest friends.
"Yes," Riley said determinedly.
Charlie and what he did was not going to stop her from living her life. She won't live her life in fear of him or what he did. She was going to live her life and make this her world.
