Carl and Lucas strut around like nothing happened at all. It wasn’t fair how some people protected him over Nate, but that is the hypocrisy of high school. The longer you know someone, the easier it is to blame someone else. “Who is this lucky fella?” Carl walked up to Crystal smoking from a handmade one hitter. “Not someone who mistreats women.” Crystal snapped back quickly as Vic pulled her closer. “Please do not engage with him.” Amber comments. “Why not? I mean she wasn’t acting like this when we were hooking up.” Carl dropped the bombshell. “I’m sorry, what?” Amber spat out. Carl knew what he was doing. He told them because he knew she wanted that. “It was only a distraction. I mean, you kept running back. Before I committed myself to Vic of course.” Crystal returned fire like no one was around. “Well, we know I can satisfy you a lot better than this dirty greaser.” Carl stood his ground. “Excuse me?” Vic shot out of his seat. Crystal held his hand. “Carl, get away from us. Don’t you have someone else to bother?” Crystal rolled her eyes. “Fine.” Carl laughs, walking off.
Crystal stormed off to the nearest bathroom stall and took some deep breaths, trying to pull herself out of a panic attack. A few knocks on the stall, Amber attempted to calm her down. Danielle watched from the sink mirror, fixing her hair. “Crys, are you okay? Crys open the door.” Amber called out. “Can you help me Dani?” Amber asked. “You all casted me out. That isn’t my place anymore.” Danielle left the bathroom.
Danielle entered the fun house alone. The house was dark with the occasional strobe light. Every room is different from the one before. She reached a room filled with mirrors. Suddenly she was backed into the mirror and kissed. She knew by the kiss it was George. He was dressed in jeans and a plain T under the black hoodie. His hand slipped under her skirt and a finger inside. Something clicked. She didn’t want this. She wanted to leave but his grip was strong. “I...I can’t tonight not here. Not now.” She let the fake tears drop so she could hurry out. George looked into the mirror and punched it, screaming in anger. Danielle has teased him all year. He shook his head in understanding of what he had to do and exited the house. One person saw it all. Trish ran out of the house, pushing through other people entering. “Wrong way!” Someone yelled. She looked around but all of her friends were gone. “I know you saw what happened inside. Please don’t tell anyone. I fell into temptation. It was a mistake. I will do anything please. Just don’t tell anyone.” George appeared behind her. “I don’t know what you are talking about. I ran out here because I feel like I am about to throw up.” Trish was always a bad liar. She ran off to find Amber.
“Look, it’s our little buddy.” Carl plopped down next to Nate. Nate kept his head down. “You know, it sucks that you quit the team. I would have loved to give you another black eye.” Carl laughs. Lucas made eye contact with Nate. He knew he didn’t want to do that to him, but he felt he had to. Nate stared at Lucus with disappointment and hurt. Nate got up and walked away without a word. Defeated he felt.
Pulling out his phone, Nate did something he should have done a long time ago.
Nate : Brielle, I know I am the last person you ever want to hear from. But I am so, so, so sorry for what I did. Or what I didn’t do. I was supposed to protect you and I ended up hurting you. It was NEVER my intention to do that. I was confused and figuring things out. I was intoxicated and dealing with my own demons. It is not an excuse. I just want you to know I am truly sorry. I’m sorry I took advantage of you. I am sorry I didn’t keep you safe. I am sorry it took this long to apologize for my actions. It kills me every day knowing I not only hurt a close friend and family but the girl I… Loved. You don’t need to forgive me. But just know I am sorry for all of it.
B :
B : Thank you.
Vic entered the bathroom and knocked on the stall. “Babe. Open up.” He says. She opens the door, revealing the smeared blue and purple makeup. “I’m sorry. Just hate him so much.” She cries. “Look at me. Don't worry about him. Focus on us. I am here, right here. I’m not going anywhere.” Vic pulls her face closer and kisses her. “I love you.” he whispered. Her face dropped. She never heard those words directed to her from someone other than family. “I love you too.” She says quickly. “Let’s go home.” Vic smiled.
Carl : Meet me behind the faris wheel in five.
Crystal did what she thought was the right thing and showed Vic. Vic grabbed the phone and walked out of the bathroom. Maneuvering through the crowds of people, he makes his way to the meeting spot.
“Finally, I thought you...” Carl stopped at the sight of Vic. “Usually I would beat the fuck out of guys like you, but I know Crystal wouldn’t want that. She is happy with me, I don’t play mind games with her, I care about her and show her off like the Queen she is. Leave my girl alone.” Vic knew what kind of guy Carl was, he had to be careful about what he said. “Yeah? Or else what? You gonna call yo gang on me homeboy?” Carl baited. Vic laughed and headed back to Crystal.
Amber exited the bathroom to a missing Chase. “Chase? Chase!” Amber called out. “There you guys are. I just saw-” Trish was interrupted by Amber’s yelling for her brother. “He is missing?” Trish asked. “No I’m just yelling for sport. Please help me find him!” Amber snapped. “Calm down. He is around her somewhere. We will split up and search for him.” Crystal snapped back. “Chase!” The girls yelled in different directions. Their screams get lost behind the loud music. The lights started to mix together and the crowd grew.
Danielle made her way through the crowd and bumped into Trish. “I know you probably hate me, but Amber’s brother is missing and she is freaking out.” Trish panicked. “First, have you heard of the most?” Danielle asked. “No why?” Trish blinked with confusion. “Because that’s what you’re doing right now. Last time I saw Chase was over there by the parking lot with some man.” Danielle stated. Trish ran off to the parking lot. “Amber. Dani said Chase was with some man in the parking lot! Meet us there.” Trish informed.
Trish found Chase being put in the car with Amber's dad. Danielle stood behind the car and Trish in front. “Move!” Amber’s dad yelled to Danielle as she crossed her arms. Nate saw the commotion and saw the man try to back over Danielle. “Hey! You’re trying to hit my sister?” Nate yelled. “Nate, he is trying to kidnap the kid.” Danielle informed. “Dad? What are you doing?” Amber asked. The kids surrounded the car, forcing him to get out. “You think you could come here and kidnap that child?” Crystal asked. “He is my son. It's not kidnapping.” Her dad argued as Amber got Chase out of the car. “This doesn’t help your case. You beat us every day! You hurt mom! The next time you come near us I will call the police.” Amber yelled, confessing everything in front of everyone.
Her father sped off into the night as Amber stood in the dusty parking lot. “I know. It’s okay. You’re okay.” Danielle hugged her tight, not acknowledging Crystal. “I will let them take you guys home.” Danielle walked off with Nate.
“Why didn't you tell us you were being abused at home?” Crystal pulled Amber in for a tight hug. “It’s not really something you like to bring up. It’s fine. My mom and grandmother are taking charge of the living situation.” Amber explains. “Let’s get you home. Wherever home is.” Crystal says.
Exactly three days and four hours had passed and the nurse finally called. “So good news and bad news maybe.” She says. “Good news first, to soften the blow.” Crystal prepared for the worst. “You are very lucky. You are STD free. Just need to be more careful.” The nurse started. “And the bad news?” Crystal sat up straighter and took a deep breath. “You’re pregnant.” Those words shattered her world. She couldn’t hear anything after that. Everything was just blurred. What is she going to do? She can’t keep this child. She can’t. She can barely make it through life herself. She hurried into the bathroom and threw up. “Thank you. I uh, I have to go. Thank you.” Crystal says, falling against the wall and crying.
After exactly seventy-three texts and twenty calls and multiple Instagra
m and Facebook messages later, Crystal showed up at Carl's house, Banging on the door. “What the hell do you want toxic waste.” He asked, snatching the door open. “I went to get tested. I was honest with her. You weren’t the only guy I was sleeping with. But was the only guy I wasn't safe with.” She confessed. “Good to know you are a slut.” He started inside. “I am clean. So whoever you got it from, wasn’t me. But I am carrying your child.” She shots out. “What did you just say?” He crept closer to her, shocked. “You heard me. I am carrying your child. I am untouchable now. You want to hurt me? I will show you hurt.” Crystal laughed walking back to the car when she received a text.
Vic : Let me take you out tonight.
Crystal : I’d like that. Eight?
Vic : I’ll be there.
With a rage, Carl slams the front door and rushes to his room. He sits on the edge of his bed and cries. Not from sadness. From the sheer fact that his career and life can be changed forever. She now had power over him and everyone will know. He looks at his computer and gets an idea. She wants war? Well he will show her what a war lord could really do.
10 . TIME STANDS STILL…
I t is here. A night in Paris. Danielle sat at her vanity applying her makeup. Her perfectly painted face, her scarlet red lips rubbed together. Her red Hamda Al Fahim dress hung on her closet door. Hazel studied Danielle from the doorway. “Years of struggling to see over the sink to watch me put on my make up and now you do make up better than me.” She crept over to her. “I learned from the best.” Danielle smiles.
“Beautiful as always. Shouldn’t your date be here?” Nate asks, leaning on the doorway. “I will leave you two at it.” Hazel exits the room.
“Jason and I broke up. I am going solo. Now get out I need to get dressed.” She pushes him out of the room. She took a deep breath and slid the dress on.
Her heels clicked on the cold floor as her parents waited with smiles. “Honey you are so beautiful. absolutely breathtaking.” Hazel smiled and hugged her tightly. “You get in there and you show that school what the Rose family does best.” Felton kisses her forehead. “Thank you. I won’t be back too late.” Danielle laughs, entering the elevator.
Danielle entered the limo with her cheer team and they were on their way. The music blared in the limo as the girls and their dates drank, screamed and joked. Danielle couldn’t help but feel like something was off. She took out her mirror and reapplied her red lipstick. Took a few deep breaths. “Are you okay?” One girl asks. “Yes. Everything is fine. Just thinking about who the king and queen will be.” Danielle put on a fake smile. Danielle pulled the little weed she had left and her golden blunt wrap and packed it. “That dress is beautiful.” Another comments. “Thank you. You all look so gorgeous tonight.” Danielle smiles, but she can see the lies that glowed in their eyes. She lit the joint and took a puff. Opening the sunroof, she blew out of the limo. “Anyone want any?” She offers.
The ride to Oberlin finally ended and the girls and their dates rushed inside, leaving Danielle all by herself on the steps. How did it come to this? Everything she wanted, gone. Everything she was trying to avoid happened. What would Annabella Dayton do? She asked herself. She entered the venue and saw everyone sitting and talking to their peers. The table she was placed at was filled, but one chair was filled by someone that must have been lost. Spencer was in her seat. “You must be lost, or illiterate. I mean we all know you are a bad liar.” Danielle approached Spencer, anger built quickly. “You have some nerve showing your face here.” Crystal says, brushing off her coral colored dress. Crystal then held on to her date; Vic. “Why wouldn’t I show up? It is my prom as well.” Danielle asks with her sneaky smile. She had a card. A card that will make or break her after this. “Because your brother is a rapist.” Spencer yelled. The room fell silent. Danielle turned around. “Yes. My brother is a rapist. He raped my best friend at a party while drunk. And he is paying for that, I had no part of it whatsoever. So, bullying me, harassing me, will stop.” Danielle shot back. “And if I don’t?” Crystal stood face to face. “I’m not above violence.” Danielle whispered, taking a step closer. “I’m sorry, was that a threat?” Crystal yelled, alerting everyone. “Yes. It was indeed. If you think for a second that I am afraid of you, you have been traumatized tremendously. This confidence you have. Remember who gave that to you. And I can surely take it away.” Danielle laughed.
“Everyone, this girl lied to the police and said my brother was involved in what happened to her when he wasn’t even near her. She was not raped. Maybe she was, but not at that party and not by my brother. Then again it doesn’t matter because you were just upset. Upset at me and everyone at this table. You told the police we all lured you there when we did not. We made you interesting. You were invited to the party. But we didn’t lure you in any way. You should be ashamed of yourself.” Danielle yelled at Spencer. Tears rushing down her face. “You told the police we lured you?” Amber asked. “What I did to Jason was horrible, but I would never lie to get someone arrested on false charges. Now get your ass out of my seat. And you get your ass out of my school.” Danielle ordered. “Clearly one of us has underestimated the other.” Bethany says.
Spencer shot up and ran into the hallway, crying hard. Danielle sat down and fixed her hair. “Why are we all still looking around? Get back to prom, talk. The show is finished.” She snaps her fingers. “I am sorry. For everything.” Trish whispered. “We have two months left until summer. And then I will find a new school and make new friends. I thought you girls would be my best friends who wouldn’t leave me, and yet here I am alone. After tonight I won't bother you guys ever again.” Danielle got up and walked out of prom and walked and walked and walked.
Carl sat and watched Crystal and her date laugh and flirt. She was trying to make him jealous. Smirking like he had something up his sleeve. Rolling her eyes, Crystal stormed over to him. “What the hell are you looking at? And are you even supposed to be here?” She asks. “You’ll see. And I got special permission and being supervised.” He laughs. As Crystal walks away, a text message is sent to the student body.
Well, well, well… this isn’t a new story but who is this girl in the video. I think we all know a certain jewel that was a part of Rose’s clique. But one can only assume.
-TheDot.com
Video Attachment...
Everyone watched and laughed and looked around. Carl winked at Crystal as he watched his work. “Crys, is that you?” Amber asks as Crystal sat down. She pulled out her phone and opened the video. “Um, I'm gonna be right back.” Crystal hurried to the bathroom. No one knew it was her for sure. Or did they? “Fuck you’re so good at this. Bend over.” The distorted voice says. No faces were shown. That’s the thing she never admitted it, and no one could ever prove it, but they all knew it was her, to Crystal it probably felt like they all knew too. That's the thing about society these days. Five people can feel like the whole world. She cried and cried. It wasn’t like it hasn’t happened before. But those were in middle school and freshman year and everyone that knew about it mostly graduated already except for some students that forced themselves to forget the image. She looked in the mirror at herself. How she changed. She touched her stomach and shook her head. “Game on.” She whispered. She fixed her makeup and proceeded to her seat.
“Everything okay?” Trish asks. “Yeah, I watched it and thank god it wasn’t me. I thought it could have been an old video or something. But that’s not me.” Crystal lied. “Who sent that out? Want me to fuck them up?” Vic whispered to her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She fixed her hair and blinked a few times to keep her tears back.
Jason sat in the locker room on the bench. Alone. Thinking if he should or should not do it. He bounced his knee anxiously. He tried to breathe slowly and count like his anger management coach taught him. “Fuck!” he screamed. Everything was coming together. You are a freak . Just a game we played to see if you'd actually fall in love with me . You are pathetic
. I never loved you and I never will. How could I ever really be with a freak like you? The way Danielle treated him, the way she looks at the other guys, the way she said certain things, the things her friends said, the things his friends said. It was a game. He brought his hands to his head, revealing the gun. No one likes you here . That’s when it happened. He snapped. He loaded the gun and started walking to the ballroom.
Nate entered through the back door of the locker room with Sarah. “Why are we here again?” Sarah asks. “To see if there is any evidence to help us with the investigation. Carl has to have something in here. Nate looked at the locker that was protected by a key lock. “Dammit! It’s locked.” He punches the locker. “Move over.” Sarah pushed him and pulled out a bobby pin. “That doesn’t actually work.” Nate plopped onto the bench and dropped his head in his hands. Suddenly feeling a weight on his lap. “I was kidding.” He laughs, shooting up from the bench.
They scavenged through the locker and came across a phone. There was a paper taped to the back that was titled, ‘The Brotherhood.’ Sarah turned it on and there were tons of videos on the phone of every girl that was involved dating back to the early 2000s. “This is it. This is our proof.” Nate says. “Let’s go. I need to find my sister.” He added, running through the gym.
Danielle found her way in the girl’s bathroom in the third building. She sat on the wall and cried. She lost everything. The perfect life she planned. The perfect reputation she had to rebuild. Her brother, her best friend. What else? She thought moving to a state would be an escape from her tarnished family name. She was wrong. Terribly wrong. Danielle walked to the sink and dried her face. The door started to open. The last person she wanted to see. The one who started all of this. “What do you want?” Danielle hissed. “I heard crying. I guess helping bad people is my skill.” Spencer replies. “Do you really think I am a bad person?” Danielle asked. “No. I think you are hungry for attention. Self-absorbed. Materialistic but not a bad person. You just need to let that stuff go. It’s not something you want to graduate with. It’s fun for a while and then it destroys your life. I know because it happened to people I have seen grow up.” Spencer explained, handing Danielle a tissue. “Thanks.” Danielle fixed her makeup and reapplied her lips. She looks down at the red lipstick and handed it to Spencer. “It’s a nice color. And it would look nice on you.” Danielle flashed a smirk. “Did you just have a breakthrough?” Spencer laughed. “Maybe. Nerd.” Danielle laughs. “Since you’re pressing charges on Carl I will warn you. He has a team of lawyers. Be prepared for a war. That family is worse than mine. Yes my brother made his mistakes but that’s not me. Enjoy your night.” Danielle walks out.
Where the White Rose Withers Page 11
