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The movie keeps playing in the background. We’re silent until the end credits.
Ethan’s gaze crosses mine, his face twisted by the sadness. I must look the same.
Jade killed my dad.
My abusive, piece-of-shit dad tried to rape my friend.
More than once, apparently.
And no one believed her, so she took matters into her own hands.
As if life finally breathes back into me, I stand up, taking deep breaths and wiping my hair away from my sweaty forehead.
I walk to her, squat in front of her trembling form, and put a hand on the back of her head. She startles, whimpering.
I stay that way until her back stops shaking from the sobs.
“The first time,” I rasp. “When was it?”
She doesn’t lift her head, talking into her knees. “Your nineteenth birthday. When I was in senior year.”
“Fuck,” Ethan huffs, wiping a hand against his face. “We were here. We were rightfucking here.”
“And then?” I say softly to Jade, caressing her hair.
“He said no one would believe me. And he was right. No one did.”
I press my fist against my mouth, trying my best not to scream. I want to cry for her, with her. I wish she’d told me. I don’t blame her for not doing it, and I understand. He was my dad. But had I known, I could have killed him myself.
“And when did it happen? The second time.” My voice wavers.
“Two months later. In May. The day your dad and Ethan’s mom disappeared. It was because of me.”
I eye Ethan. His thumb is caressing his lips, his elbow resting on his arm across his chest. He nods at me, and I know that he’s thinking of telling her the exact same thing I want to.
So I do.
“Thank you, Jade.”
Her head snaps up. Her eyes are red from the crying, her face puffy.
“W-what?”
“Thank you for doing what we all wanted to, but never had the courage.”
“I…killed your dad.”
A sarcastic chortle escapes me. I think the shock is fading away. Finally. “You mean the man who locked me in the basement and hit me with the buckle end of his belt?”
Her eyes drop to the scars on my chest.
“The man who knocked Ethan unconscious when he tried to put himself between my dad and his mom?”
Her brow furrows, more tears filling her eyes.
“That’s the man we’re talking about, Jade. He didn’t deserve to live. Especially not if he touched you against your will. I never cared that he disappeared. I was happy about it.”
I wipe a tear with my thumb. “You did nothing wrong.”
