They really did it.
Jacob has been put in prison again.
He's been falsely accused, again.
Wronged, again.
Covering my mouth, I stumble back to my room, where I empty the contents of my stomach into the toilet.
What am I going to do?
What canI possibly do?
Dread fills me as the reality of the situation sinks in further.
There's absolutely no way I can let Jacob take the blame for this.
What must he be going through right now?
The door to my room opens and closes, and after rinsing my mouth and sucking in several deep breaths, I step out of the bathroom to face my father.
I've always known he wasn't exactly a nice man, and I know he's done some shady things over the years. But never did I ever think he'd be capable of something like this.
“Dad,” I choke out. “What have you done?”
Thick, salt and pepper eyebrows that match his hair quirk up as if he has no idea what I'm talking about.
“What do you mean?”
“You . . . you set this up. I'm here because of you.”
The stoic expression on his face never falters as he undoes the button of his suit jacket and takes a seat in the armchair near the window. As if me finding out is no big deal.
Meanwhile, I'm close to crumbling to pieces, and I can't seem to hide it
“Well, I hadn't planned on you being in here for quite this long.”
I move over to the bed and grab hold of it for support, not feeling like I can rely on my own strength right now.
“How could you do that to me?”
“How could I do that? What do you expect me to do when I find out that my daughter is running around with a fuckingrapist.” He shakes his head, and the derisive scoff he lets out seems to be filled with barely contained loathing. I'm not even sure who it's directed at, at this point, me or Jacob. “Doing it this way took care of two things at once,” he adds after reigning in some of his anger. “You'll be coming back home, and he's off the streets.”
“No. Dad, you have to fix this!”
The panicked shriek of my voice rings through the air between us. I feel like I'm being consumed by thick emotions while my father is calmly seated in the chair with nothing but an annoyed look on his face.
“Why would I fix it?”
“Because he's innocent.”
“Because he's–.” Shaking his head with a humorless laugh, he stands and adjusts his sleeves. “Thistime, maybe. It doesn't mean he doesn't deserve to be in there. It was only a matter of time before he did it again.”
“No. I meanthathe's completely innocent. As inbothtimes. He didn't do it and he absolutely does not deserve to be in prison.”
“Enough!” he scolds, turning to look out the window. “I never thought you'd be so stupid, Remi, but here you are proving me wrong. Believing a sexual predator like an idiot.”
Closing my eyes tight, I grip at the sheets on the bed like they're the only things stopping me from falling. I'm barely holding myself together, but somehow I manage to compose myself enough to be able to speak calmly and clearly.
