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SETH
My hand tightens on Rachel’s as we walk down the sidewalk. The police station comes into focus and I feel Rachel still at my side. Her steps halt and I wait for her to change her mind and turn around. She’s been oddly quiet this whole morning, as if she’s going through the motions. I turn to her, watching her stare at the station as if she’s walking into a math test. Her brows are pinched together, and she keeps running her teeth over her bottom lip.
“Hey,” I say while wrapping an arm around her shoulders and drawing her close to me. “It’s going to be ok. I’ll be there.”
Rachel nods. “I know.”
“You’re doing the right thing,” I say while taking a step forward, happy when she follows my lead.
Her arm slides against my back and she clutches at my waist as we close the distance between us and the station. “You won’t leave?”
“If you want, I can come with you into the room,” I say before pressing a kiss against her temple.
She nuzzles into me and I breathe in the fresh coconut smell of her hair. “I wrote down notes.”
I chuckle. “So you told me.”
“It’s just so I don’t forget anything.”
There’s a buzz and I watch Rachel slip her hand into her coat pocket, bringing out her phone. She smiles as a message from Charlie pops up.
“What’s that?” I ask while nodding towards the phone.
“A cellphone, dumb-dumb.”
I roll my eyes. “No. Your message. I thought you weren’t speaking to the girls anymore.”
Rachel sighs while sliding her phone back into her pocket. “I talked with them on Saturday.”
I raise an eyebrow. “And now everything is fine?”
Rachel makes a face. “Not quite. Charlie believes me.” She chuckles and pushes her hair out of her face. “She actually just messaged me: you can do it!” I watch her shake her head. There’s a smile on her face, yet it doesn’t reach her eyes. She looks like the saddest smiling girl I have ever seen. “Lauren on the other hand thinks I’m a liar. And a whore.”
I stop in my tracks and turn Rachel around in my arms. “You are definitely not a whore.”
Rachel looks away from me, her gaze focused on the ice covered sidewalk as if it’s Picasso’s finest work and not a freaking, boring slab of cement. “I don’t know. What if they ask me why I was over in the first place? Then I have to tell them I got into a spat with you guys and then they might ask what my relationship is with you.” She shrugs. “Maybe they will think I was asking for it.”
“Rachel.” I frown when she doesn’t look at me and shake her shoulders slightly. Her tear stained gaze meets mine and I stroke the side of her face. “You are not a whore. Consent is consent and that bastard didn’t have it. If they do ask, just say you got into an argument with me. You don’t need to involve Lucas and Hunter. Hell, they wanted you to stay.”
She nods, but I don’t think she feels any better.
“Rachel, seriously, just because you are in a relationship with the three of us doesn’t make you any lesser than a person. You told that asshole no, and he grabbed you and tried to take advantage of you. Everyone needs to know that.”
Rachel nods again and straightens. “Yes, you’re right,” she says while lifting her head up. I watch her take a deep breath and stride towards the police station. “Let’s just get this done and over with. The sooner I file the report the sooner I can put this whole mess behind me.”
I follow after her. Lifting up my watch I notice the time. Track practice is soon, but I decide to shrug it off. Being there for Rachel is more important, and it’s not like missing one practice is going to affect my game all that much. I’ll just tell coach I got the stomach bug. I’m sure he’ll understand.
We stride into the station. Looking around. I have no clue where to go or what to do. There seems to be a line of people waiting to be called to a front desk with others sitting in chairs lined against the frosted window. I follow Rachel towards the line, seeing that is probably the best place to be.
“It’s getting late,” says Rachel while looking at the time on her phone. “I thought this was going to be a quick in and out operation.”
I smirk, thinking of something else that could be a quick in and out and receive a dark look from Rachel. She’s getting better at reading minds… or me.
“You should probably get going.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Rachel fidgets as someone in the front is called to a desk. “I’m supposed to be at work in an hour and a half. I hope this won’t take that long.”
