Chapter Nineteen: Clearing The Air

~*Jimmy*~

Bianca and I sat on the bed for a long time, not saying anything, not looking at each other. I watched Bianca's fingers play with the embroidery on the comforter, and finally spoke up.

"Bianca..." I said. She looked up at me.

"Yes?"

"Did Craig..." I didn't even want to say it. It was almost like I didn't want to know. She simply stared at me, waiting for me to finish. "Did Craig...did he...was he the one that...tried to rape you and beat you up?" I finally got out. I stared at her, waiting for her answer. She sighed and looked back down.

"Jimmy, I don't know. It was dark, and the guy was about the same height as Craig and dressed similar to the way he dresses and wore his hair like him. And I know that could mean nothing, because I know the punk look is really popular now, but...when I came to, he was the first person I saw. So I don't know. I really, really don't know." She replied. "All I know is I'm very afraid of him."

I put an arm around her and pulled her closer to me. "He's not going to hurt you as long as I'm around, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

I looked at her as she looked down at the floor, and I needed to know one more thing.

"Bianca, you're not afraid of me, are you?" I asked.

"Jimmy, I love you. Of course I'm not afraid of you. I'm afraid of the way you make me feel sometimes, because it's so intense, but...I'm not afraid of you. I love you."

I smiled, and kissed her. "I love you too."

~*Craig*~

I kept throwing rocks and seashells into the surf angrily, one after the other. I was so incredibly pissed off, it wasn't funny.

"How could she think that???" I asked Manny. "How? She's known me since we were six, why would she ever think that I would rape her, or even TRY to rape her? I mean, I got the shit beat out of me for years, why would I go and hurt someone else? That's not me!" I yelled.

"I know, Craig. She's confused." Manny said. I glared at her.

"Who's side are you on anyway?"

"I'm on your side. Craig, I know what happened, I was there." Manny replied. "I'll go talk to everyone, tell them what really happened."

"Like they'll believe you." I snorted.

"Maybe not." Manny replied. "But I have to try." She stood up and brushed the sand off her pants. I sighed.

"Manny, I'm sorry. Things are just very confusing right now."

She kissed me gently. "I know. I'm gonna go talk to everyone, let them know what really happened."

I grabbed her hand. "Thank you."

She smiled. "Anything for my favorite guy in the whole wide world."

I smiled too. "Favorite guy, huh?"

She grinned deviously at me. "Next to Justin Timberlake."

"Hey!"

~*Paige*~

"I don't wanna hear it, Manny. You guys can find a hotel or something until we get ready to leave." I replied as I bustled around the kitchen.

"But Paige..."

"I said I don't wanna hear it, okay? I know exactly what Bianca went through. Or do you not remember Dean? I'll be damned if I let someone in my family's house that tried to that same shit." I replied, crossing my arms and staring at her.

"But Paige, he didn't do it!" Manny yelled. "I was with him the entire time! I was with him when we found her!"

Now I was confused. "Come again?"

Manny sighed, and pushed herself up on the counter, sitting down.

"Look, Craig and I were taking a walk, around seven-ish, by Degrassi park, and we heard a scream. So, we went running in the direction of the scream. That's when we saw it. The guy had Bianca pinned against a tree, and then he hit her, and she fell to the ground, and he started kicking her. She screamed again, and he ran away. Craig tried to catch him, but he was too fast."

"Then why does Bianca think..."

"Bianca went unconscious. When she came to, we were there. She didn't really pay attention to me, I guess she wouldn't, given that situation, but when she saw Craig, she started to freak out. She was scared, really, really scared. She wouldn't move. I think she was in shock. So Craig picks her up, and she starts kicking and hitting and freaking out. We brought her back to her house, Jimmy was already there, Jimmy called Spinner, and we went to the hospital. And that's what happened. That's 100% what happened, Paige."

I didn't know what to say. "Oh."

"Paige, Craig's dad used to beat him, pretty bad. So he would never even dream of hurting anyone, much less Bianca. They grew up together. He cares about her. I mean, just thinking about Craig hurting anyone, and especially Craig trying to rape anyone...that's incomprehensible to me."

"Wow." I said. "Manny, I think you need to go talk to Jimmy about this, before he goes on another rampage." "You're probably right." Manny replied.

"He's upstairs, with Bianca. Hey, and Manny?" I asked.

She turned to look at me. "Yeah?"

"Don't be too hard on Bianca. Situations like this tend to make you not see things clearly." I said.

She nodded. "I know."

Manny headed up the steps, and I sighed, sitting down at the kitchen table.

I needed to get the group together and talk to them.