A/N: Massive, MASSIVE trigger warning for graphic depictions of domestic abuse and rape in Marisol's portions of the chapter, depictions of islamophobia and references to the September 11th attacks in Mo's portions. If you don't feel comfortable reading these portions, skip to Connor's scenes.
Main POVs: Marisol, Mo, and Connor
Marisol laid there as Owen had sex with her in a tent at the Ravine. She pretended that she was in a different place, another plane of existence. Anywhere but here. He was rough but like always he didn't care. Sex was always about him.
When he was done, he let out a satisfied grunt as he rolled off to the side of her. She just looked up at the ceiling as she didn't have the strength to move. Her boyfriend rolled on top of her again. "Did you like that?" He asked her.
It was a yes or no question that couldn't actually be answered with a no. "Yes, great job, baby," she complimented him.
"Then why weren't you screaming for me?" He demanded, and she stiffened as she struggled to answer honestly. She didn't want to have sex at all with him but she knew what would happen if she turned him down. So she dissociated herself during the experience.
"I was so overwhelmed by how good you are at it," she answered while giving him a fake smile. She knew her attempt at lying was a fail when he chuckled darkly in response.
"You're such a terrible liar, Mari. It's a wonder how you got this far in life without me," he replied while squeezing one of her breasts, "I'm the best thing that ever happened to you."
"You are, baby," she agreed, trying not to flinch from how roughly he was gripping her. Her breasts were still sore from their last sex session underneath the bleachers earlier after school. There were bruises there too. At least they weren't visible. None of her bruises were ever visible or not able to be covered up by makeup.. Owen did not want anyone to see what he was doing to her regularly.
He gripped her neck next. "Say it like you fucking mean it," he urged, squeezing the side. She swallowed as she held back tears. Crying would only make Owen angrier and the bruises darker.
"I do mean it. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me and I love you so much," she replied before he slammed his lips down on hers in a bruising kiss. When he pulled away from her, there was a hungry lust in his eyes. "Flip over on your stomach," he ordered, squeezing her neck again.
She did as she was told. At least in this position she wouldn't have to look at him.
The next morning at school, Mo entered the building while talking with Eli. Well he was actually just being forced to listen to his best friend's dumb excuses for bailing out on their game night yesterday.
"Julia's stepmom kicked her out the house again and she needed to stay over my place," Eli explained.
"Isn't that always what's happening with you and her? Then you guys fucked all night while I sat alone at home with a box of pizza and only one game controller," Mo replied wearily. He was honestly sick of always coming in second place to Eli's bloodsucking girlfriend these days. It was forgivable the first few times, but now it seemed like him and Jake could almost never pull Eli away from Julia. If he had a girlfriend, he would find a way to perfectly balance his friendships and his relationship to keep everyone happy.
"Look Mo, I know you don't like Julia-"
"Wrong, I hate her. There's a difference."
"But you have to understand that I'm the best thing in her life right now and she needs me. I love her and I can't just…can't just…"
Eli stopped trying to explain as he looked at something. In confusion, Mo followed the direction his friend was looking in until he realized it was his locker that had words written all over it in black sharpie.
Mo walked over to his locker slowly until the words were visible.
They all were the word "terrorist".
He didn't have any idea as to why someone would do this until he remembered what day it was. It was the ninth anniversary of the September 11th attacks.
It was the ninth anniversary of him getting bullied for things other than being fat.
Connor entered his homeroom class and was disturbed to see someone sitting in his favorite seat by the window. It was Luke Baker, who looked really pleased with himself for some reason this morning.
He walked over to him. "You're in my seat," he complained. Luke looked up at him in confusion.
"So?" He replied in a tone Connor found quite rude.
"I sit in this seat every homeroom period and I would like for you to move," Connor requested calmly. Luke looked over to a fellow jock next to him and shared a laugh with him.
"Make me weirdo," Luke challenged with a smug smile. He must have assumed that because he was on an athletic team and he wasn't, that he wouldn't have the guts to do it.
Luke thought wrong.
Connor grabbed Luke by his arm and yanked him roughly out of his favorite seat. The other boy quickly reacted in a hostile manner as he attempted to catch him in a headlock. Connor twisted his body around to avoid the move and instead shoved Luke on the desk. Just then, his godfather stepped in.
"What is going on here, Connor?" He asked him in shock.
"He attacked me!" Luke whined.
"He asked for it. He said 'make me weirdo'," Connor replied defensively.
"Both of you to the principal's office now," his godfather commanded. Connor was flabbergasted.
"But-," he tried to say only to be cut off.
"Now," his godfather commanded with a more firm tone. He had no choice but to obey.
"I can't believe I have to attend classes with freaks like you," he heard Luke mutter to himself. Connor didn't let the comment get to him.
He was more frustrated about how a simple complaint about someone sitting in his seat led to this.
After her first morning class of the day, Marisol quietly gathered her belongings and headed out the classroom to her next. She only made it a few steps in the hallways before she felt someone grab her arm. Thinking it was Owen, she jumped in fear only to see that it was Eli, who had a concerned look on his face.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah," she answered quickly as she turned to face him. "What's up?"
"You're coming to the auditions for A Streetcar Named Desire after school right?" He asked her again.
"Owen wants me to come over and hang out with him and his buddies after the game," she turned down while shaking her head. But she really wanted to be in the play. She knew she needed to broaden her acting resume if she wanted to become an actress after high school. And the film adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire with Marlon Brando was one of her favorite movies.
"But we need as many people as we can get for production, and you would be great for either Blanche or Stella," he pointed out as they walked together.
"What Owen wants is important and comes first. I'm sure you understand with your girlfriend Jenny," Marisol replied.
"Julia," he corrected wearily, "And are you really going to turn down an opportunity like this for that moron?"
She pursed her lips at the question. She knew deep down that Eli was right and she should really audition for a part but she was prone to defending her boyfriend these days. "He's not a moron. I don't even think I'm good enough for any of the roles and the play sounds boring anyway," she argued.
She watched as Eli sighed before he said his next statement. "Marisol, you're beautiful, confident, and fierce with the right flair to take on any role. You're talented enough to even direct a production. Why you want to waste your potential to cater to that bum, I don't know, but I just know that this play wouldn't feel right without your involvement. Please think on it," he urged before moving past her.
Marisol watched the back of him, torn on what to do. She should always make Owen happy; That was her main priority these days because she knew what happened when she didn't. However, she really wanted to get a big part in the play so she could dip her toes in the acting industry, and her father always told her that a career mattered more than a man.
It took her only a moment to figure out what she wanted to do.
"I get hate crimed and the best thing you could say to me is for me to just wash the words off my locker? You're joking," Mo asked The Shep in shock and disgust as he sat in the Principal's office. As soon as his first class ended, he went right to the Shep to complain. Turns out that might have been a useless idea.
The Shep looked completely disinterested at his complaint. He folded his hands together on the desk. "Look Malachi, I mean Mohammad. Your name is Mohammad right? Until you find out who did it, there's nothing I can do. I deal with hundreds of students each day. I really can't give much attention to something that can be solved with cleaning solution and wipes," he reasoned flatly.
"What about my safety? What about making me and other Muslim students feel protected here? I got the words terrorist written on my freaking locker because some asshole thinks that every member of the Islam faith needs to be punished for the actions of some guy we don't even claim because of how evil he was. Are you saying that we don't matter?" Mo accused angrily.
"I'm saying that this is something that this is a minor incident that can be easily forgotten about. This is high school where not everyone is going to like you, especially on a day like this where thousands of people were murdered because of the extremists in your religion. You should expect kids to be sensitive to that," The Shep replied.
Mo's eyes bugged out of his skull. He could not believe what he was hearing. He had heard a lot of stupid shit in his life, a lot of them from Jake when he was high, but this took the cake.
"We're not even the country that was affected by 9/11! That was a fucked up thing that happened for sure but I was six years old when it happened. It had nothing to do with me and I shouldn't have to be bullied for it!" He argued.
"Look kid, just wash the words off your locker and move on. I got pantsed at a football game when I was your age but did I cry about it? No. Take the cleaning solution and leave my office now ," The Shep commanded as he shoved the spray bottle and wipes towards him. Angry, Mo grabbed the cleaning supplies and got up. As he started to leave, the principal had one last thing to say to him.
"By the way, you've earned yourself a detention young man for your foul language," The Shep said with a glare.
Mo glared back at him before storming out of the office.
Connor was very displeased to find that he had detention for the confrontation with Luke Baker earlier.
"Does he even care that you have Asperger's?" K.C. asked him as they took their seats together at their new lunch table. After Jenna dumped K.C. for his torrid affair with Clare, their friend had completely splintered. Jenna and Alli only hung around each other while him and K.C. only hung around each other. Clare had no one these days except her new friend Becky.
"The Shep told me that it's not an excuse for my actions and that I don't deserve special treatment compared to anyone else," Connor answered, trying not to get too upset, but it was hard. Even in the beginning of the school year when his godfather informed The Shep of his mental disorder and that he needed certain accommodations for it, The Shep did not care and said the same thing he did today.
"That's bullshit. What did that Luke kid get?" His best friend asked him.
"Detention as well and I'm not looking forward to spending time around him," Connor grumbled while he watched Luke Baker joke around with his friends at their own lunch table.
"I can't believe I have to film this guy bragging about how great he is when he can't even handle a situation with a kid with Asperger's properly," K.C. replied as he took a bite out of his burger. The Shep was being interviewed after school by a member of the journalism club, Katie Matlin, and K.C. was going to film the interview in exchange for a day off on Friday.
"I want Principal Hatzilakos back," Connor replied as Luke and one of his friends approached him. The mocking expression on Luke's face immediately put him on edge.
"So weirdo, is this your favorite seat in the whole cafeteria?" Luke asked him as he sat down next to him.
"Yeah why?" Connor asked in confusion before being shoved over by the other kid.
"I think you should learn that you don't have a claim on any seats or chairs at the school," Luke sneered as his friend laughed.
Connor didn't even notice that K.C. had got up from his seat until he stood behind Luke.
"And I think it's best for you and your friend to leave…before I get mad," K.C. warned Luke with a dark look in his eyes. Luke snorted at the threat but when he saw that K.C. was serious, he quickly got up from the table and left.
"Are you okay?" His best friend asked him.
"I guess so," Connor answered, feeling relieved that Luke was gone.
He was sure glad that he had K.C. as a friend.
After school, Marisol had decided to audition for a role in A Streetcar Named Desire like Eli encouraged. She hoped Owen would be understanding. He had to know that acting was one of her most important interests at this point and she could go one night without being shown off to his buddies.
The scene Eli was using for the audition was an important one. It was probably the most iconic scene in the play…that reflected what she was currently going through in the most unfortunate way possible.
" STELLAAAAAAAAAAAAA! " She heard Eli scream with a "heaven-splitting" violence from her place behind the curtains. Until the role of Stanley was casted, he was playing him to test any girls auditioning for the role of Stella.
Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Marisol slowly stepped from behind the curtains and on stage, where Eli was waiting for her.
This moment was all too familiar with her.
She gracefully walked towards Eli as she put on her best impression of a wife ready to forgive her husband due to how sorry he seemed. She had shaken up her hair and thought of unpleasant memories to make tears well up in her eyes. The memory she picked was losing her virginity to Owen.
When she stepped in front of Eli, she got lost in the strong emotion of his eyes, even if she knew he was faking it for the scene, just like she was. However it didn't mean she couldn't appreciate how beautiful his eyes looked at that moment.
They stared at each other, and for some reason another memory came to Marisol, one that she repressed. It was when they had their first kiss together in her living room closet three years ago.
When they embraced, and when Eli pressed his lips to hers in a kiss, the memory and the feelings she had back then hit her like a truck. The memory of how soft Eli's lips were against hers, the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach, and the warmth that flowed over her body were all coming back strong.
But this kiss was much more intimate, much deeper. There was a passion in it that she was sure wasn't right.
When they pulled apart, Eli got down on his knees and pressed his face to her belly, acting as if she was pregnant. Marisol looked down at him with as sympathy as she could before gently grabbing his hand and pulling him back up to eye level, just as it was in the script.
Eli had a look of shock in his eyes, and Marisol wondered if he was thinking the same thing that she currently was. That despite being a staged kiss, there was unexpected passion in it…..
"Excellent job…," Eli complimented her while blinking, "I don't think there's a better fit for Stella than you but we'll see."
"Thank you," Marisol replied in gratitude.
They then shared a soft, tender gaze, and Marisol felt safe for once.
Today continued to be shitty for him.
As Mo got dressed in his football uniform for the first game of the season, he thought about just how much he wanted to punch a wall today. Not only did he spend his lunch in detention, but when Mr. Perino showed everyone in history class footage of the 9/11 attacks, several people were staring at him for whatever fucking reason. As if he had something to answer for.
He should be used to this. It's something he had to deal with for years as a Muslim. There were so many occasions where him and his parents got uncomfortable stares at restaurants, at grocery stores, at the movie theater, anywhere . The worst moments were always at airports though.
He used to cope with the terrorist jokes by making his own jokes about his faith and heritage. He figured that no one could hurt him more than himself. However, now he was just annoyed and angry these days. Mostly angry.
"So are we going to show Northern Tech the wrath of Degrassi Panthers tonight?" Coach Armstrong asked as most of his teammates shouted various yeahs. "This is our first game of the season and I want to see nothing but everyone's absolute best. Let's kill it!"
"Woo," Mo replied half-heartedly. He would have been more excited for the game if today's events didn't happen.
"Come on, Mashkour. Put some more energy into that cheer," Armstrong urged.
"Hope you don't plan to crash a plane into Northern Tech if we lose," Luke Baker, a fresh recruit just like himself, jeered as several other members of the team snickered. Mo turned to look at him while narrowing his eyes.
"Yes, because the guy whose religion is responsible for multiple holy wars, colonialism, and other really dark stuff in history has any room to make jokes about my faith," he replied dryly.
"Almost three thousand good Americans were murdered by Muslim cowards nine years ago today, I'm allowed to make jokes," Baker countered with a glare.
"Yeah, yeah, well America has been getting its revenge for 9/11 for years by bombing millions of innocent people in the Middle East over the actions of one man and some hijackers, does that help you sleep real good at night?" Mo questioned sharply, resisting the urge to add "asshole" at the end of the question but he really didn't need to get in trouble for foul language again.
"Maybe your family should get bombed next so you know what it feels like," Luke answered with a smug smile.
The only thing that stopped him from going over to where Luke was sitting and choking the absolute shit out of him was Armstrong holding him back with one arm.
"Boys, you can either drop this conversation and take your frustrations out on the field, or sit in detention tomorrow after school. Your choice," Armstrong warned, and Mo rolled his eyes in return while Luke dropped the shit-eating grin from his face.
Sometimes he really hated everyone at this fucking school.
Later that evening, Connor was eating with his godfamily, still disturbed by the things he went through today himself. It caused him to play around with his plate of meatloaf instead of just eating it.
Spike had seemed to sense his current feelings at the moment. "Snake and I aren't pleased with you getting into a fight today, but that doesn't mean we aren't concerned with how you're feeling, what's wrong?" She asked him.
"The Shep doesn't care about any student that isn't a football player. He threatened to suspend me if he hears any more complaints about me being 'weird'," he answered bluntly.
"What? You're not weird, you're a child with Asperger's. Your brain works differently than everyone else's and he should acknowledge that as principal," his godmother replied in indignation before looking at his godfather. "Did you know about this?" She asked him.
His godfather sighed. "I've had several conversations with Mikerty about Connor's Asperger's. He is pretty adamant that he can't give out special treatment to just one student because then everyone will demand it," he answered.
"But it's okay to give jocks special treatment?" Spike accused. "Ignoring the concerns of students with mental disabilities isn't right."
"We'll talk about this later, Spike," Snake replied, and Connor could tell that his godfather felt exasperated by the conversation.
"We will," his godmother replied firmly before going back to eating her dinner. Everyone else at the table did the same, but the atmosphere was tense. Even little Jack could feel it as he dug into his slice of meatloaf numbly with a little spork.
Connor wanted to have faith that his godparents could fix things, but he had a feeling The Shep would stand by his decision.
Later that night, Marisol was sitting at home alone as she watched Clueless. She was going to go over Katie's house to study, but she got a text from Owen that he was coming by later to hang out with her. Since the Panthers won their first game of the season, her boyfriend should be in high spirits.
She was in high spirits herself and not just because the role of Stella was certainly hers. She was thinking about Eli for the rest of the day, and it brought pleasant feelings. She had thought that he hated her, especially since his girlfriend did for seemingly no reason, but he had thought highly of her.
And he (stage) kissed her with more tenderness than Owen ever did.
Marisol was just about to put some popcorn in her mouth when she heard the doorbell ring. She had a feeling it was Owen. Getting up, she walked over to the front door and looked through the peephole before opening up the door for her boyfriend. "Hey babe," she greeted as cheerfully as she could.
He didn't say anything. Marisol felt fear at that but still stepped aside to let him enter her home before closing the door. "What's up?" She asked. "I heard you guys did a great job at the-"
Marisol let out a howl of pain as Owen rammed his fist into her gut, the force of which sent her crashing into a wall. She nearly stumbled to the floor, clutching her stomach, but her boyfriend wasn't done. He grabbed her violently by her curls and dragged her over to her couch as she began crying.
"Why the fuck were you not able to come over my house later?" He demanded angrily as she continued to cry. He twisted her hair to the point she could feel her scalp burn. "Fucking answer me!"
"I had to audition for a part in the play! I want to be in the play!" She answered quickly to make him stop. He chuckled darkly but didn't loosen the grip on her hair.
"You can't act your way out of a trash can so I doubt you really want the part. You just wanted to hang around Goldsworthy. Are you fucking cheating on me?" He accused her.
"No! Please, I'm sorry. I just want a part in the play, you know I want to be an actress," she meekly apologized.
"The only thing you're good for is laying on your back or sucking my dick. You are nothing more than that," he replied scornfully. "I guess it's time for a reminder that I always come first in your life."
Marisol continued to cry as he reached inside her skirt and yanked down her panties.
Mo quietly ate dinner with his parents at the table. His mom had cooked a traditional Turkish dish, Saksuka. It consisted of eggplant, zucchinis, garlic, tomatoes, and chili. Despite being made up of mostly vegetables, Mo found it pretty damn good.
However, due to today's events, his appetite wasn't that great.
"Mohammad, what is wrong? You're not talking or cracking jokes about what happened in school today," his mom pointed out in concern while his dad watched him.
Mo debated on whether or not he should tell his parents about the words written on his locker this morning. After all, even if his parents raised hell about it, The Shep certainly didn't give a shit about the situation. And his mom was four months pregnant with another baby after her and dad prayed for years for Allah to bless them with a second child. She didn't need the stress.
However, he couldn't find it in him to lie about nothing going on today because a deep anger was simmering inside of him.
"Some kid wrote 'terrorist' all over my locker," he grumbled, "And then one of my teammates joked about me crashing a plane into Northern Tech if we lost."
His parents looked at each other in worry before looking back at him.
"Did you report this to the principal?" His dad asked him.
"He told me to wash the words off my locker and get over it," he answered bluntly. His father bristled in response.
"Unacceptable. This is a school that has a zero tolerance for bullying and harassment, but nothing can be done about a Muslim student facing bigotry?" His father questioned with a cold anger. "I will have a conversation with Principal Sheppard myself tomorrow."
"Dad, no-"
"Your father will raise his concerns about this situation to the principal, Mohammad. We will not tolerate our son being harassed and attacked on account of his religion," his mom insisted firmly. She then placed a hand on her stomach. "We raised you to never allow anyone to shame you because of your faith after the 9/11 attacks, and we will do the same with your little brother or sister. If the principal doesn't want to do anything about it, then we will go to the school board."
Mo nodded as it was the only response he could give. There was never any use arguing with his parents.
Plus, he wanted The Shep to shit himself in fear after being threatened by his parents.
The next morning, Connor stepped out of his godmother's car and headed towards the front steps of the school, where K.C. was waiting for him.
"Morning, friend. How did the interview with The Shep go?" Connor asked his friend as they entered the school together.
His friend struggled to answer, which tipped Connor off that something went wrong. "What happened?" He asked again.
"During the interview, I asked him if he was going to be more considerate of students like you who have Asperger's and he said something really fucked up that had to be cut out," K.C. answered.
"What was it?" Connor questioned, only for his friend to shake his head.
"I'm not repeating it," K.C. said firmly.
"I'm not trying to demand any special treatment for having Asperger's but I also can't change the way I think," Connor replied, deciding to drop the matter for now.
Maybe having his own preferred seat wasn't a big deal to fuss about but it made him more comfortable. It was all part of a set pattern he made up every day to keep him organized. Going away from that pattern made him itchy.
"And The Shep should recognize that as much as he recognizes that kids like me need a free lunch program," K.C. reasoned, "Which he was so happy to pat himself on the back for during the interview. He treated me like a freaking charity case."
It seemed like the video interview that they were due to watch in homeroom this morning was going to be full of The Shep having delusions of grandeur and him making false promises about how great he was going to be as principal. It seemed that in the search to replace Daphne Hatzilakos for the time being, Degrassi had hired a stereotypical politician in her place.
Very disappointing.
Him and K.C. were walking down another hallway when they saw Luke Baker writing something on someone's locker with a black sharpie marker. Connor stepped closer to see what it was.
It was the word "terrorist" written in big, bold letters.
Marisol was in so much pain from last night that she struggled to walk as she entered homeroom period. When she sat down next to Katie, her friend immediately looked at her in concern.
"What the hell happened to you last night, Mare?" Her bestie asked.
"I fell in the shower this morning," Marisol lied, hoping it was effective. From Katie's hard expression, she could tell that it was not.
"And you're in that much pain? I think you should see a nurse," Katie suggested.
"No, I'm fine," Marisol replied just as Owen came in with Dallas and Drew. When their eyes met, he looked at her with a cold expression on his face.
The message was clear. She got what she deserved last night.
Well after an entertaining meeting with his dad and The Shep, Mo whistled triumphantly as he left the principal's office and headed to his locker. His dad made it clear that if The Shep didn't take this situation seriously, then he was going to the school board. The Shep had no choice but to comply with his dad's demands if he didn't want his reputation damaged in his first semester as principal.
As he waved goodbye to his old man before, Mo felt a great sense of relief. Both of his parents were stuffy as hell sometimes but they always had his back.
When he saw a girl scrubbing something at his locker, he paused in confusion before approaching her. She turned to face him, and he could see that she had long brown hair, brown eyes, and olive skin.
"Is this your locker?" She asked him.
"Yeah, what happened to it?" He questioned.
"Someone wrote terrorist all over it," she answered with a frown. "I couldn't just walk by it."
Mo looked at his locker, and indeed he could make out some of the letters in that word even if they were being scrubbed out.
"My dad and I just had a talk with The Shep about it. The school is going to find out who did it," he replied.
"Good, because bigotry doesn't belong here," she replied firmly before she gave him a soft look.
"I'm Sadie, I'm in grade nine," she introduced herself.
"I'm Mo, grade ten," he introduced back, "Nice to meet you. I wish it was under better circumstances, but….it's Degrassi. You'll find out how bad this hellhole gets soon."
"If it's like this all of the time, then I guess I should be worried," she said.
"Hey, hang around the right guys and you won't get a social disease," he joked.
She laughed, and it was a cute, airy one. Mo felt his stomach flutter.
Connor entered his first class of the day, and found Luke sitting in one of his favorite seats again. If he wasn't afraid of being suspended, he would have gone over there again and told Luke to move. Instead, he sat in an empty seat in the back of the room.
Luke gave him a smug smirk as he sat down, and Connor thought of a pleasant image in his head. A pleasant image of him punching Luke in his face.
The bell rang, and Ms. Kwan walked in and narrowed her eyes at Luke. "Mr. Baker, any reason why you're sitting in Mr. Delaurier's seat this morning?" She questioned.
"I'm making a statement. That we're allowed to sit anywhere where we want and freaks don't get special treatment," Luke answered while folding his arms
Luke seemed to like making a lot of statements. Like writing the word "terrorist" on Muslim student's lockers.
"You can do that in another class where the seats aren't in alphabetical order, Lucas. Go to your proper seat or get detention," the teacher ordered. Luke sucked his teeth as he complied while Connor got up at the same time.
When Connor took his normal seat, he sent Luke a smirk of his own. He was pleased to see Luke's face contort in anger in response.
Marisol was still feeling pain in her stomach and in between her thighs as she showed up to Power Squad practice during lunch. When Chantay saw her go into the locker room to change, she stopped stretching to follow her inside the room.
"Girl, are you okay? You're practically limping," her friend pointed out.
"I'm fine, just had an accident this morning that's all," Marisol replied dismissively as she took off her clothes to put on her practice uniform.
"A real accident or something your boyfriend caused?" Chantay accused. Marisol froze, not knowing how to answer.
"Is he actually beating on you? My God, leave him or report him to the police!" Chantay urged.
"He's not abusing me, he's rough that's all!" Marisol replied defensively.
"If you can barely walk, then he's abusing you. He's a monster!" The other girl argued. "If you don't say something, I will!"
Marisol felt fear at that. Tears sprung up in her eyes at the thought of how Owen would react to that. "No, no, please . It's nothing serious I promise. Owen would never intentionally hurt me," she tried to assure her.
"Marisol, he's going to kill you if you don't leave him. Dump his disgusting ass and report him to the police. The last time there was a woman beater at Degrassi, he put his girlfriend into a coma," her friend reminded her.
"The police would never believe me, Chantay, and neither would The Shep. He loves Owen. Owen told me he was his favorite student at Lakehurst, and regardless he's not hurting me on purpose. Don't say anything, please ," Marisol begged desperately.
Her friend pursed her lips but said nothing more, making Marisol feel relieved.
If what Owen did to her last night was painful, she couldn't imagine what he would do to her if she tried to report him as a domestic abuser.
A/N: Sadie has been bumped up to grade nine with Clare's unlike in canon. Because I said so.