Reese glared, while saying nothing in his defense.
Another girl shot Karin a cold look and said, “He ain’t worth it. I’d lose him, if I were you!”
“But you’re not me, okay!” Karin sneered at her and the other girls. She watched them walk off whispering and wished she hadn’t been made to feel like the world was suddenly on her shoulders.
She imagined Reese felt the same way. Only worse.
He looked at her. “I didn’t do anything, Karin. No matter what Lesley told you or what anyone else chooses to believe.”
Karin met his eyes. “She didn’t tell me anything. Her mother won’t let me talk to her.”
“And that’s my fault?” Reese asked, frowning.
“Isn’t it?”
“No! Maybe you should consider that if someone’s lying, it’s her, not me.”
Karin rolled her eyes. “Isn’t that what all guys say when they’re accused of a sexual assault? It’s always the girl’s fault.” She knew that was unfair, but she couldn’t help it.
“I never said that.”
Karin reached her locker. She turned and faced him. “So what are you saying?”
“I’m saying that you should give me a chance before you throw us away based on false allegations.”
“That hasn’t been established,” she told him.
“You sound like your old man in the courtroom,” Reese said, unsmiling.
“No, I sound like someone who’s looking out for my best friend!” Karin retorted. Admittedly, she didn’t know if the label fit anymore, since Lesley wouldn’t even speak to her. What type of real friendship was that?
“Yeah, right. At the expense of your boyfriend, who’s done nothing wrong. That sounds really fair to me.”
“I’m not sure you still are my boyfriend,” she hated to say.
Reese looked genuinely hurt. “You’re dumping me?”
Karin raised her brows at the question, and then put the onus back on him. “I thought that after the party, you felt we weren’t really on the same page.” In light of Lesley’s accusations, she had to wonder even more.
“I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“Yeah, I did,” he insisted. “As far as I’m concerned, Karin, you’re still my girl—if you want to be, that is.”
Karin felt herself pull in his direction, still very much attracted to him and maybe even still in love. But she had to keep her feelings in check, at least for the time being. It was Lesley who needed her loyalty at the moment, though she may not have been aware of it.
“I can’t talk about this right now, Reese,” she told him, hard as it was.
“Then when?” he pressed.
“I don’t know,” Karin uttered and added quickly, “I have to go to class.”
She walked away and was happy and sad at the same time that he did not try to follow her.
* * *
Karin did her best to dodge questions and comments about Lesley’s accusation, while just trying to get through the day.
After a peer counseling session, Karin went to the girls’ bathroom to freshen up. Cheryl was in there, standing before the mirror expertly applying her lipstick.
She spotted Karin’s reflection and began talking to it. “Well, well, well. It looks like things are getting pretty interesting these days with you, Reese...and Lesley—”
Karin’s first instinct was to come back later, not wanting Cheryl to thrill in her misery. But the better part of Karin hoped she might be able to provide some answers or at least some clues as to what might have happened Saturday night.
Karin stood beside Cheryl and took out her lip gloss, dabbing it lightly on her lips.
“I think scary is more like it,” Karin said, hoping for a reaction.
Cheryl raised a brow. “Yeah, that’s for sure.”
“So you heard about Lesley accusing Reese of sexually assaulting her?” Karin had no doubt she had.
“Who hasn’t?” Cheryl confirmed. “Everybody’s talking about it.”
“Do you believe it?”
“Do you care?” Cheryl asked.
Karin met her gaze. “Look, Cheryl, I know we’ll probably never be friends, but you still care about Reese, even though you’re pretending not to.”
“So what’s your point?”
“My point is that I don’t want to see him hurt by this, if he’s innocent. And I think you feel the same way.”
Cheryl considered this, glancing at the mirror and back. “Maybe I do.”
Karin sensed there was more to be said. “I need some answers about what may have happened between Reese and Lesley at the party after I left,” she told her frankly. “Right now, I don’t seem to be getting any answers. If you know something, I’d like to hear it.”
Cheryl shot her a direct look. “All right. I don’t believe Reese sexually assaulted Lesley like she claims. Not the Reese I know. He has, well let’s just say, a healthy libido.”
“I know,” Karin said self-consciously, having experienced it firsthand to some extent. “But the same could probably be said of anyone who sexually assaults females.”
“True. But since girls are willing to give themselves to Reese at practically the drop of a hat—if he weren’t attracted to me or you—I just don’t see him falling into that trap and jeopardizing his chances to make something of himself by doing something so crazy and stupid.”
“People sometimes do crazy and stupid things, especially after they’ve been drinking,” Karin pointed out, and thought of Marcus trashing Jayne’s house.
Cheryl dismissed this. “Not Reese. I’ve never seen him drunk. He likes to be in control of his faculties.”
Karin believed that much from what she knew about him. But just how much did she really know about him?
“Do you have an opinion about why Lesley would accuse Reese of this?” Karin felt as if she were going behind her friend’s back in asking, but she needed some perspective other than her own, which was clouded with loyalty toward Lesley.
Cheryl smoothed her braids. “Well, from what I’ve heard, she and Marcus went all the way that night. Maybe Lesley felt guilty and needed someone other than Marcus to take the blame. Maybe Reese was an easy choice after you left the party and he became a free floater.”
Karin wondered if Cheryl was actually blaming her for what Lesley said had happened. Could she have been at fault? If she had just stayed at the party, maybe none of this would have happened.
“I just hope your Dad can help Reese the way he helped Marcus,” Cheryl interrupted her thoughts.
“Me, too. He may need all the help he can get.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Karin was shocked when she saw Lesley outside the cafeteria with a group of girls huddled around her. She hadn’t seen Lesley in any of the classes they shared. When Lesley spotted Karin, she tried to walk away. But Karin had no intention of allowing her to get away. Not till they at least talked about this.
She grabbed Lesley’s arm. “Your mother said you weren’t coming to school today.”
Lesley rounded on her. “Yeah, well, it felt like I was suffocating in that house and I needed to get out. So I decided to come for the afternoon session.”
Karin thought Lesley looked worn down. She took a deep breath, and then asked her, “So were you ever going to talk to me about what happened between you and my boyfriend?” Even if Reese’s status with her was up in the air at this point, Karin was not ready to put their relationship in past tense.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Lesley said tersely.
Karin frowned. “I think there is. You accused Reese of sexually assaulting you. Is it true?”
Lesley curled her lip. “Do you really even care?”
“How can you say that? Of course I care! You’re my best friend. At least I thought you were. Talk to me, Lesley...”
After a moment or two, she said tonelessly, “Okay, yeah, it’s true.”
Karin’s he
art sank. “So what did he do? Did Reese rape you?”
“No, just other stuff.” Lesley sighed. “Look, Karin, I can’t talk about this right now. I’m sorry.”
“Reese said he just drove you home and nothing else happened,” Karin stated, ignoring Lesley’s desire to end the conversation.
“So he’s lying!” she snapped.
“Why would my boyfriend go after my best friend?” Karin asked. “I’m just trying to figure it out.”
Lesley shrugged. “Why do people do anything they aren’t supposed to do? Guess he felt I wouldn’t say anything.”
Karin softened her tone. “Are you sure there wasn’t some kind of misunderstanding between you two that could explain whatever happened?”
Lesley seemed to think about it. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“Why don’t you just tell her the truth? That you made the whole thing up!” Both girls turned to see Reese approaching.
Karin tensed at the confrontation, but also welcomed it, even if she knew that her father had warned Reese to stay away from Lesley. But it wasn’t like running into each other on school property was totally avoidable.
“What did I ever do to you to deserve this, Lesley?” Reese demanded, looking down at her.
Lesley stood her ground. “I think you know.”
“I don’t know anything, except that you’re lying and half the student body believes it.”
“So what about you, Karin?” Lesley asked bluntly. “Whose side are you on?”
Karin’s head was spinning, as she wasn’t sure which way to turn. To show support towards either could cost her someone dear. But to be hasty in leaning one way or the other could be just as damaging.
She swallowed and said, “I’m not taking sides. This isn’t about me. It’s about what really went on and what the consequences will be.”
“I think we both know the answer to that,” Reese said matter-of-factly, “if she’s allowed to get away with this.”
“She won’t be,” Karin quickly said and then tried to correct herself. “I mean, not on words alone without corroboration.” She looked at Lesley and could see the anger and sense of betrayal in her face. “I’m sorry, Lesley. I just want what’s right to come out of this.”
“You mean what’s right for him, not me.”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
“Just leave me alone—both of you!” Lesley glared at Karin and ran off.
Karin started to go after Lesley, but Reese stopped her. “Let her go. Maybe she’ll think about it and do the right thing for everyone before it’s too late.”
“Or maybe she already has,” Karin said tartly, and left him standing there.
* * *
Later that day, Karin spotted Marcus walking down the hall with some of his friends, not including Reese or Lesley. He seemed in good spirits and wasn’t acting like someone whose girlfriend was a wreck and allegedly the victim of a sexual assault.
He acted as though he hadn’t seen her, so Karin called out to him. When he turned around, she said in a blunt voice, “I need to talk to you, Marcus.”
He looked at his friends uneasily and muttered, “I’ll catch up with you later.”
Karin watched them amble away and turned to Marcus.
“So what’s up, Karin?” he asked innocently.
“Why don’t you tell me?” she said.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She made a face. “I think you do. Lesley accused Reese of sexually assaulting her.”
“Yeah, I know.” He looked away like this would make it all just vanish.
“So what do you have to say about it?”
“What do you want me to say, Karin?”
“I want you to tell me if it’s true.”
“How would I know?” Marcus said.
“Because you’re her boyfriend—last I knew—and Lesley would have told you if something had happened between her and Reese.”
He shrugged. “Well, she didn’t.”
Karin sighed, locking eyes with him. “I saw you making out with her at the party.”
“So, what does that prove?”
“It proves that maybe Lesley’s trying to protect you by implicating Reese.” Even if this seemed like a stretch, Karin couldn’t rule it out either.
Marcus’s brow creased. “You’re saying you think I sexually assaulted her?”
“Did you?”
“No way!” he insisted.
Yes, there was definitely some way for it to happen. Was he telling the truth or was he distorting it for his own best interests?
Admittedly, Karin was not sure what or who to believe at this point. She had to take Marcus’s word for it right now, but wondered just how much it was worth.
“Do you think Reese would do such a thing?” she asked Marcus straight up, mindful that Reese had stuck his neck out for him.
Marcus seemed to wrestle with the question before saying, “Probably not.”
“Then you think Lesley made the whole thing up?”
“I’m not saying that.”
“So what are you saying?”
He gritted his teeth. “I’m saying that I don’t know if anything happened between Lesley and Reese, okay? Maybe you need to talk to Lesley about it.”
“Maybe you do,” Karin challenged him. Unless you have a good reason for not wanting to be anywhere near her.
“Look, I’ve gotta go,” he said, paused, and added, “Lesley’s been avoiding me. Don’t ask me why. I’ll try calling her...again.”
Why would Lesley be avoiding Marcus? Was it out of guilt? Or because of his friendship with Reese?
Karin felt more confused and torn than ever. She was on the verge of losing her best friend and boyfriend and was not sure which one of them was on the level with her or even if Marcus was less than innocent in all of this. All Karin knew was that the boy Lesley had fallen for was the last person Karin saw her friend with at the party. Before everything turned sour.
* * *
After school, Karin waited at the curb for Marilyn Chamberlain who had offered to give her a ride home. Lesley had not offered, apparently willing to let her walk home for all she cared. Karin hated that it had come to this between her and her supposed best friend. She wasn’t sure if the mistrust and alienation could ever be fully repaired even after things were settled with the sexual assault charge.
When the car pulled up, Karin immediately recognized it as Reese’s. He rolled down the window and leaned his head over.
“Hey, Karin.”
“Hi, Reese.” She didn’t want to feel happy to see him, considering the weird situation they were in. But she couldn’t help it if she was still attracted to Reese and wished things between them could go back to where they were before they got out of hand at the party Saturday night. She could only hope that he hadn’t misled her about his true nature when all was said and done.
“Can I give you a lift home?” There was a sincere quality in his tone that told Karin he was trying to meet her halfway.
That wasn’t good enough in this instance, especially since she knew her mother would kill her if she accepted his ride.
“I’m riding with Marilyn,” Karin told him.
“So change your plans and ride with me instead.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“You know why not.” She fluttered her lashes at him.
He frowned. “Look, I wouldn’t hurt you, Karin. I wouldn’t hurt Lesley either.”
“She says otherwise,” Karin stated, as though he’d forgotten the serious allegation leveled against him.
“Yeah, I know what she says and it’s not true.” Reese grimaced. “I’m definitely not a sex offender. Not even close.”
Karin wanted to believe him. She knew that desiring consensual sex and taking it by force were two entirely different things. She would not make him out to be guilty prematurely, but she also wouldn’t pretend that Lesley
’s accusation against him didn’t exist.
“Do you think Marcus could have forced Lesley into doing something against her will?” Karin tossed at him with more than mild curiosity.
Reese scratched his pate. “What are you getting at?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” she asked. “We both saw him and Lesley making out hot and heavy that night, leaving little to the imagination.”
“So that doesn’t make Marcus a sex offender. I seem to recall that Lesley was a willing participant in what they were doing.”
“So do I,” Karin agreed. “But that doesn’t mean it stayed that way. No means no—at any time.”
“I agree,” Reese asserted. “I still don’t believe that Marcus forced Lesley to do anything she didn’t want to do. But he’s not the one she’s accusing, is he?”
“No,” Karin acknowledged, which was what made this so hard. Lesley had pointed the finger directly at Reese and not her own boyfriend. Meaning Reese was either the person she made him out to be or completely innocent of Lesley’s accusation. But did that make Marcus guilty?
“I really don’t know what to think, Reese,” she said frankly. “I do know that it wouldn’t be a very good idea to have you drive me home—especially since Lesley lives next door.” She remembered Edgar’s not so veiled threat against Reese. “Not to mention my mother, who doesn’t want me anywhere near you right now.”
“So I’ll drop you off a block away,” he persisted. “Don’t do this to us, Karin. We can’t let something that’s unsubstantiated and untrue do us in.”
“You’re right,” Karin said thoughtfully. “The reality is things were already strained between us before this.”
“So we’ll work it out.”
“Maybe,” she considered the possibility. “But, for now, I think we need to cool things a bit.”
“For how long?” he asked impatiently.
“At least till we see where this goes with Lesley and any charges you may face for...a sexual assault.”
Reese’s eyes blazed with anger. “This really sucks. All I did was give your friend a ride home. After I dropped her off, I was hoping I could talk to you. But your bedroom light was off, so I left. Now it’s made my life miserable for no good reason. I don’t want us to end over something that never happened.”
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