... Everyone was there. I’d never seen so many people, and they were all dancing and drinking.”
“And what about you? Were you drinking?”
Her eyes dropped to the ground as she answered, “Yeah, I was. I didn’t want to be the only one who wasn’t joining in, you know?”
“I get it.”
“Anyway, I had a couple of beers, but Lucas ... he drank quite a lot.” She inhaled a pained breath before adding, “Much more than I realized.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It’s not all his fault, Clay. I should’ve known what he had in mind when he asked me to go upstairs with him, but I just wasn’t thinking.” She turned to look out the window and started to sob again. “I’m so stupid.”
That familiar rage started to creep over me like a wildfire. “What. Happened!”
“I’m trying to tell you,” she fussed.
“No, Lyssa, you’re hemmin’ and hawin’ around. Just tell me what the hell happened!”
“After we got upstairs, he took me into one of the bedrooms, and we started to kiss. It was nice at first, but then I could tell he wanted something more.” She turned to face me, and when I saw the anguish in her eyes, it gutted me. I had a feeling I knew exactly what had happened between her and Lucas but didn’t want to believe it. I wanted to stop her from saying the words out loud but didn’t get that chance. Tears were streaming down her face as she muttered, “I told him that I didn’t want anything else to happen, but he didn’t listen.”
About to come unglued, I asked, “What do you mean ‘he didn’t listen’?”
“No matter how many times I told him no, he just kept pushing.” Lyssa dropped her head into her hands, and I could barely hear her. “I should’ve never gone upstairs with him. I don’t know what I was thinking. I should’ve known what he wanted, but I was just too stupid to see it.”
“Stop that shit right now! None of this was your fault. This was all on him. Every damn bit of it.”
“You’re wrong! This is just as much my fault as it is his. I never should’ve gone into that bedroom with him. I know what it means when a guy like Lucas wants to be alone with a girl, especially at a party. I knew there was a good chance that we’d be fooling around, and I think a part of me was actually hoping he’d want me like that.” She wiped the tears from her eyes. “All my friends were so jealous that I was going to Homecoming with not only a senior, but with the best-looking senior in school.”
“You’re fucking kidding me with this shit, right?”
“Lucas could’ve asked a hundred different girls and not a single one of them would’ve given a second thought to having sex with him tonight.” I couldn’t believe my ears when she added, “I should’ve been happy that someone like him would even choose to be with me.”
“Dammit, Lyssa! That asshole fucking raped you!” As I looked down at my sister, so distraught and full of heartache, I found myself thinking about a conversation I’d had with my father. He was truck driver, and it was tough on him being away from home all the time. Knowing he couldn’t do it himself, he’d asked me to look after my mother and sister, to protect them in a way that he couldn’t. It was up to me to fix this thing, so I didn’t resist when the rage rose to the surface and took over as I grabbed my keys off the dresser. I stormed towards the door and told her, “I’m going to fucking kill him.”
“Clay, stop!” she pleaded and rushed over to me. “Don’t you get it? No one can find out about this. If they do, it’ll ruin me!”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You know how people can be ... how they twist things around and shift the blame.” She ran her hand through her disheveled hair and continued, “No matter how it really played out, everyone will think it was my fault ... that I brought it on myself. I don’t think I could handle that.”
“So, you’re just going to let this asshole get away with raping you?”
“I don’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice, sis.” I took a minute to consider everything she’d said, and even though I knew there was some truth in it, there was no way in