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“Okay.” She places her mug down, turning to me with her undivided attention.
So, I tell her everything. Every sordid detail about that night. I leave absolutely nothing out because if I want this to work in Rome’s favor, she needs to know the whole truth.
“Elodie,” Mom says with a bite of disappointment in her tone as she strokes my back. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”
“I was scared. Thought maybe I could just move on and forget it ever happened. Then we moved to Willow Creek and I quickly realized it wasn’t just going to go away.”
Mom tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, a look of remorse on her face. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that alone. You know you can tell me anything, honey.” I nod in response, a pang of anguish in my chest. “Grant told me all about Rome’s case and I did look into it to see if there were any discrepancies, but without a witness on his behalf, he was sentenced accordingly with the evidence presented by the defense attorney.”
It breaks my heart knowing Rome also had to go through that alone while those three guys created their own narrative of what happened. It was his word against theirs, and in the end, he lost so much.
“So,” I say, desperate to hear her tell me she can fix this. “Do you think you can help Rome?”
“Oh, Elodie, as much as I would love to, Rome has already been sentenced. In fact, he’s completed his community service, paid his fines, and in a few months, he’ll be off probation.”
“Probation?” I spit out. Rome never mentioned being on probation still. Why didn’t he tell me that?
“Yes,” Mom strokes my head again, calming me in the same way she has since I was a little girl. “When Rome was found guilty by the court in February, he was sentenced to one year of probation.”
“So that’s it?” My voice cracks as defeat washes over me. “Nothing can be done, even now that I’m willing to give a statement as a witness?”
All the hope I’ve felt since Rome told me he got in trouble is now gone in an instant. That is until my mom’s eyes perk up and she says, “Actually, there might be something.”
My eyes shoot wide open and a glimmer of hope flickers inside me again. “Really?”
“I can’t make any promises.” I can see the wheels turning behind her eyes. “Give me a couple days to review his case and look into a few things.”
I throw my arms around her, squeezing her while she hugs me back. “Thank you, Mom.” I try not to let the tears fall as I hold her tight.
“You’re welcome, honey.” She pats my back and kisses my cheek. “I have to get to work but try not to worry about this too much. No matter what happens, Rome will eventually forgive you.”
I nod, smiling back at her but knowing this isn’t only about forgiveness, this is about Rome’s future that I stole from him.
Mom leaves for work and I’m already running behind, so I quickly get ready for school. By the time I’m done, everyone has left the house.
Moving fast, I step outside, pulling the door closed behind me. It feels unusually warm for early October, but the dull gray sky and the fresh scent in the air tells me a storm is coming. Reaching into my purse, I pull out my keys and remote start my car before I even get to it. Except, as I approach, something catches my eye on the windshield. I go in front of the car and pluck out the envelope stuck underneath my windshield wiper.
Chills shimmy down my spine as I unfold the flap and pull out a lined paper note.
What goes around for a snitch, comes back like a bitch.
Dread washes over me as I let the note fall slowly to the ground. Not because of what it says, but because of what I see sticking straight out of the front seat in my car.
Cautiously, I go to the driver’s side door and pull it open, my hands shaking uncontrollably. My eyes land on a rusted-out pipe that’s been stabbed right into the cushion of my seat, dripping with blood.
I gasp and instinctively stumble backward. My feet slip on the slick pavement and I lose my footing, my ass hitting the driveway with a loud thud.
Not a breath leaves my lungs as I sit there for a second, staring at the bloody pipe sticking out of my seat, wondering whose blood that is. It has to be an animal. It can’t possibly be human blood. Who the hell would do something so deranged?
There’s no way it’s the same pipe Rome used to hit Winton that night because the cops would have taken that in for evidence, assuming it was found on the scene. Regardless, it’s meant to scare me—a symbol of what happened that night, and the fact that I told someone when I wasn’t supposed to.
This has Winton’s name all over it.
But what if it’s not? What if this is Rome’s doing? He could still be punishing me. Just like he said he would. Maybe he’s been punishing me all along. It could have been him who drugged me at the party so he could get that video of me dancing on the counter. He could have been the one who slashed my tires just to scare me.
Suddenly, everything feels so fake. I feel so used and I have no idea what’s real and what’s not. I felt a spark with Rome. As hard as I tried not to, it kept flickering inside me to the point that I allowed it to fully ignite. And now, I’m the one who is going up in flames.
Still in a state of panic, I get to my feet, feeling off-balance and lightheaded. I kick the car door shut with my foot and snatch the note off the ground, now feeling the uneasy threat of eyes on me. He could be out there, watching me this very minute.
