By the next morning, Bella felt like she was approximating some sort of physical normality. The nausea had passed, and the pain in her hand wasn't so excruciating. Functioning with it was another matter entirely.
She'd agreed to meet Jun at her dorm, just before dinner, so they could talk. She was running late though, slowed by her hand in so much of her day.
When she got there, he was waiting at her door, and he looked angrier than she'd ever seen him before.
"Hey," she said, not certain of his appearance.
"Hey?" he said, moving towards her purposefully. "That's all you have to say to me, after what you pulled?"
She stopped, stepping back a bit, as he came closer, confusion in the crinkles of her forehead. Then she blushed, thinking of their last interaction.
"I'm sorry—"
"The police show up at my door to charge me, and you're sorry?" he spat out.
"What?"
"You filed a sexual assault complaint against me!" He wasn't yelling, but it was loud enough that people walking by looked.
"I didn't!" she said, then more quietly, "I went to the hospital for my hand, and they jumped to conclusions. I didn't—"
"They showed me your complaint, Bella. Signed by you."
"I didn't sign it!" she protested.
He turned away, pacing, fists squeezing. They were still in the hall. "I get that it wasn't ideal," he said, in a barely controlled voice, "and I'm sorry about that, but this was just so low."
"Jun," she said, shaking with the shock of his accusation, "I didn't. I don't know what else to say."
He looked at her, nodding, but not agreeing. "You didn't strike me as someone who would do something spiteful." He didn't sound convinced, though.
"They took a statement, but I didn't sign it. I know what those mean. My Dad's a cop, Jun—"
"Don't," he said, voice breaking. "It's bad enough that you did it. Lying about it makes it just worse." Then his volume rose again, angry and hurt indignation colouring it. "I mean—how could you do that? What kind of person does that?" He didn't wait for an explanation, the sting of tears threatening. Instead, he turned and walked away, disgusted, angry, but most of all, hurt, by what she'd done.
"Jun!" she called, trying to follow after him, but he'd broken into a lope, out the door, and gone, faster than she knew she could match.
She went to her room, determined to at least calm herself down before she did anything else. She hadn't signed it. She hadn't been that out of it that she would forget, and it wasn't like the staff there would sign it, or anyone—
Here she stopped.
Yes, she could definitely think of someone else who would have signed it. Someone who could imitate her signature perfectly.
Someone who had promised her that he wouldn't hurt Jun, and that no one in his family would either.
After last fall, she didn't doubt his ability to lie to her too.
- 0 -
Jun had barely had the heart to swim his full set of laps. The police had advised that he seek legal counsel, and he'd gritted his teeth, phoning his parents after he'd seen Bella.
That they hadn't disowned him on the spot, shocked him. It was his mother's quiet tears in the background, handing the phone off to his father, that had made his heart spasm in on itself.
"How're the knees?" Tory's voice called, as she slid herself into the hot tub.
"Huh?" he asked, lost in unhappy thoughts.
"Broken glass?" she asked sympathetically.
"Oh," he said, remembering. He shrugged. "She filed a rape charge against me."
"Whoa, Bitch," she breathed out.
He looked like he wanted to protest, but his throat was contorting, clearly tight around a lump there. He said nothing.
Pulling off her swim cap, Tory shook out her red curls, and brought her icy hand to rest over his. "Why don't we go get a drink?"