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My mind was racing. I had no idea what I should do, so I did the only thing I could. I called Gram.
*****
We were all surprised when Harris didn't arrest Dante. I was frantic in the interim as I coordinated with Gram to find out what had happened to Dante.
I was so convinced that they'd be at the police station that I left school, taking Dante's car to pick up Gram. We were literally pulling out of the driveway when Harris drove up in his brown sedan, Dante in the backseat.
Dante got out, and Harris drove away.
I stopped the car, put it in park, and got out. I ran and threw myself at Dante with such force that it made him sway precariously for a beat before he settled back solidly on his feet and wrapped his big arms around me.
"I'm fine, shh, I'm all right," he said into my hair, voice pitched loud enough to be heard over my sobs.
"D-d-did he hurt you?" I gasped him.
"No, he didn't lay a finger on me. Calm down, angel. Shh. You're okay. Calm down." He was stroking a hand over my hair, over and over, to soothe me.
Slowly but surely, it was working.
"What happened?" Gram asked him. She was, as always, the epitome of calm.
He gave her the short version of what had happened at school.
"But he didn't arrest you?" she asked when he finished.
"No. He just took me for a drive and then brought me here. And you know what? I don't think they're doing a damned thing to find the guy that attacked Scarlett. He straight up told me that they're not even close to making an arrest. And you know what else he said? They haven't even gone to look where we told them the guy hangs out. At this point the only way they'll even find him is if he goes to the station and turns himself in."
The more he revealed, the more agitated he became, until at the end he was raising his voice.
Gram held up a hand, and he quieted. "I'll start asking around about all of this—Harris, the case. I will get some answers, but I need you to stop getting into trouble. You're only making it worse, Dante."
"Harris was bothering me at school today," I defended him. "Dante only got into trouble helping me."
She studied us both, looking more ruffled than I'd ever seen her. "Jesus. What the hell is going on?"
That scared me more than anything. If Gram didn't know what to do, the cause seemed completely lost.
She took a few deep breaths and seemed to regain her composure. "Like I said, I'm going to get some answers."
I believed her and was comforted.
And I believe she would have, if she'd had more time, but everything came to a head just two days later.
I don't know just what Harris said to Dante, what seed he planted that troubled him so, but it took root quickly and flowered into this: Dante believed that the only way my attacker would be arrested was if he went to find him personally.
He left in the middle of third period, but I only found that out later. I didn't even know he had gone at the time.
When the news came, it was like a ripple moved through the school, information spreading like a furious gust of wind. I was not the most social, as usual, and so I wasn't the first to hear. I was blissfully ignorant for a few more minutes than the majority of the school, but when I heard the news, I was as shocked as everyone else was.
Dante had been arrested for killing my attacker.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
"Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight."
~Phyllis Diller
PRESENT
