Prove It (H.S)

Chapter Twenty Nine

I leave my dorm with just enough time to hit the coffee stand before I have to get to my first class of the day. My feet scurry over the walkway towards my destination when I see Louis holding a copy of the Daily Bruin, a concerned look on his face. I quickly order my coffee, hoping I have enough time to see what's wrong.

"Louis? Everything okay?" I ask, my voice seems to startle him. He runs his finger up through his hair and hands me the newspaper, pointing to an article. I read the heading, Rape Victim, UCLA Student, Speaks Out After Incident at Local House Party. My eyes skim the article and my heart feels as though it's rising up my throat when I see a familiar name.

Bennett Garner.

I cover my mouth after reading the whole story and hand the paper back to Louis. "Do you know Bennett?" He asks, rolling up the paper. I nod and say,"Sort of, but I know Eliza even better. She's in my business class. I can't believe that happened to her." I can feel tears brimming my eyes and Louis nods and stares at the ground.

His eyes shoot forward and I turn my head to see what he's looking at. Harry is walking up with a smile on his face and his hair in a bun. "Hello," he says when he approaches us. Louis half smiles before saying,"Did you hear what happened?" Harry tilts his head and Louis looks at me to help.

I take the rolled up paper from Louis and point to the article for Harry to read. After his eyes skim the page, he looks up at me, his eyebrows creased. He hands the paper back to Louis and shakes his head. "No. There is no way Bennett would do that. I was at that party, and nothing like that happened."

I look at Louis who seems uncomfortable. "Harry, mate, you left way earlier than the rest of us. I was there for the whole night and it's very possible that happened, we were all just too wasted to notice." Harry's jaw clenches and he shakes his head again.

"She's got to be making this up. She's got to be. I know Bennett, that's not him. The girl's probably looking for attention or some shit." My stomach turns when the words leave his mouth. My mouth drops and Harry looks at me, confused. "You did not really just say that," I say, pure disgust taking over my emotions.

"What?" Harry asks, and Louis is biting his lip. "You honestly think that? You think she's seeking attention?" My voice is getting louder now, and I've lost a care of what time it is. Harry seems taken aback by my tone and backs away slightly. I can see Louis slowly turn to walk away out of the corner of my eye.

"I'm just saying that she's got to be making it up. Bennett isn't that kind of guy. I know it," he says, his green eyes narrowing. I shake my head, frustration building inside of me. "Harry, I don't even know what to say," I spit, turning around and walking away, leaving him behind me.

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Harry's POV~

All of my morning classes came and went and my thoughts were occupied by that stupid ass story in the newspaper. Not only that, but Claire's reaction to what I said about it! I know there is no way in hell that Bennett would rape a girl, I just know it.

I walk down the sidewalk to my dorm and see Andy, of all people, standing outside of the building. Her brown hair is braided to the side and she's wearing a loose black dress. "What are you doing here?" I ask, suddenly nervous from her presence.

She gives me a small smile and says,"I feel like the other night was just really awkward and I just wanted to apologize, you know, for kissing you. It must've seemed really inappropriate at the time." I sigh, rubbing the back of my neck. "Uh, no, it's fine. I just think you should know that it's never gonna be any more than that one kiss." She nods and smiles.

"I hope we can be friends?" She says, a positive look on her face. "Uh, yeah, sure, friends," I mumble. We both stand there awkwardly for a few minutes before she says,"Well, see you around, friend," and with that she's walking away towards her red car.

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Claire's POV~

As I sit on my bed, I read the story over and over again, feeling more sick to my stomach each time. From the very beginning, I had a bad feeling about Bennett. He just seemed to rub me the wrong way and he always had this odd grin on his lips.

As much as I hate to say it, I'm not surprised that he'd do something so awful. I immediately think about Eliza. She really is a sweet, smart, pretty girl, and it pains me to think that she had to go through that.

I sigh and put the copy on my bedside table and pull out my phone. Another text from Aubrey. Ugh, really not what I need right now. It says,"Can we please talk? I miss you Claire! Please reply!" Maybe I should reply, at least give her a chance to explain herself? Maybe it will get my mind off this rape story and how Harry seems to take sides with the culprit.

I reply with a simple,"Talk about what?" She immediately replies and tells me to meet her at a diner outside of campus. With a huff, I grab my bag and make my way to the bus.

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I swing the door open to the diner and immediately see the perfectly curled red hair of my former best friend. I slowly walk over to the booth she's sitting in and take a seat across from her. When she sees me, her eyes start to water and she plasters a smile on her face. "Thanks for coming," she says.

"What do you want to say?" I ask, already annoyed. Her smile disappears and she folds her newly manicured hands on top of the table. "I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry and I know that means nothing to you but that's all I can say. I know that I hurt you and I feel so awful. You were my best friend and I love you."

She stops for a moment to wipe under her eyes. "I'm going to be truthful, I was and still am attracted to Harry, but I can't help myself. I know that it's off limits for me, and that I am completely out of line to try to come between you two. I promise I won't do anything to mess up your relationship. And again, I'm so sorry."

I decide to leave out the part that Harry and I are taking a break and just wait a moment before responding. Aubrey looks ashamed as she sucks on her lower lip and I finally say,"I hope you know that I don't want to be mad at you. I just don't think I'm up to forgiving you right now." She nods and opens her mouth to speak but I hold a finger up to silence her.

"But," I say, looking her straight in the eye,"that doesn't mean I'm not willing to try."