Maya's POV
Monday,
January 25th
6:09 pm
"No matter what we wear, no matter what where we go..." Someone yelled into a megaphone.
"YES means YES and NO means NO!" We all yelled in response.
I felt the clamor of people all around me as I held up a sign that read, "There is no place for sexual assault."
All around me students held up different creative signs that each said it's own message.
The trial started at 4 pm and we'd been here for 2 hours gathering people and rallying on the steps of the court building.
It surprisingly wasn't that cold today.
Leila had gotten the word around school fast enough to get about 1,000 students to come to the protest.
My feet were getting tired at this point and I desperately wanted to eat something.
The trial was going to be all week and it seemed like every news reporter was broadcasting this.
We watched Monica walk in earlier and she looked so surprised like she was about to cry.
I hid my face with my sign when Cooper passed us on his way in earlier. I didn't want to see his face in person because I'd seen enough of it in my nightmares. Every. Damn. Night.
"Her Body, Her choice!" Casey yelled from beside me. Everyone joined along with her and chanted. I followed along with them.
There was something special about being a part of a large group of people and working together with one voice to spread a message. It felt both liberating and inspiring.
Everyone also got the memo about the black nail polish. I saw it on one finger, the whole hand, and a mix of black and white on different hands.
Far from me, I could see Will holding a sign with his black nails, "End slut-shaming and victim-blaming".
I could tell by the way everyone was chanting, that people were getting tired.
A tug on my shoulder caused me to turn around and I smiled as Ben pushed his glasses further up the bridge of the nose and smirked. "It's time."
I nodded my head and slowly seeped into the crowd, blending in with everyone else.
I followed close behind him and I could see Casey and Gen not too far in front of him.
After the house meeting, we had last week, they had devised a plan to leave the protest early in pursuit of the missing shoes.
I didn't know if finding the footwear would be enough to even help convict Cooper, but I knew that they were doing this to ease my worries about the results of the trial and help Monica.
We handed our posters to the people in the back and slowly made our way to my car. I'd notified Leila earlier that we would have to go before the protest would end and she said it was okay since we had enough people. Plus we never imagined that we'd be here this late.
It was already dark now and we only had 30 minutes until some athletes would start practice.
***************************************
6:28 pm
"How do you know for sure that no one is going to be here?" I asked as we made our way to the men's locker room. I pulled my black jacket closer to my body as we entered the air-conditioned gym hallway.
I'd only been near this area once before when Will made me meet him by the back entrance. That felt like so long ago now.
"Look, the football season is over and it's late. No one is going to be here." Casey answered. She wore a black leather jacket with a black shirt and dark jeans.
"The more important question you should be asking is how she got a keycard to the locker room in the first place," Gen said. She wore a black cheer sweatshirt and dark leggings.
Ben was the only one that didn't get the "wear black" memo because he wore a light blue hoodie and light-washed jeans.
"I stopped asking those questions a long time ago," I whispered.
The halls were covered with plaques and massive pictures of our school's athletes.
I saw Will's face in a trophy case when we first walked in the front entrance.
It still somehow surprises me how much money they spend on the athletic department.
When the Arts building petitioned to get a non-gendered bathroom, the school board said they'd think about it. That was over a year ago.
The floors were shiny enough for you to see your reflection clearly.
Men's Locker Room
I stared at the sign next to the door and watched as Casey swiped a card through the card reader.
I looked in both directions of the hallways and bounced on the heels of my feet.
If we got caught I don't know what kind of consequences we'd face.
The card reader flashed red and Casey looked at me in confusion.
I leaned against the wall and Ben tried it. It flashed red again.
"Well, so much for my stupid plan," Gen said in defeat. She sat down on the floor next to my feet.
"I'm sorry," Casey said taking the card from Ben. "I really wanted to help."
The 3 of them looked at me with guilt-ridden expressions.
"Guys," I said smiling. "It's okay. I really appreciate you guys trying to help though."
Ben nodded and I helped Gen up from the floor.
"And I paid the guy 20 bucks for this stupid card too," Casey said under her breath.
"Can I be of any help?" We all turned in surprise to see Will leaning against the opposing wall.
"You scared me." Gen clutched her chest as she stood up.
He flashed me a smile with his cute little dimples.
"What are you doing here?" I said plainly.
"I saw you leave and I followed you here." He looked at the doors and back at me. "Is there something you want to tell me?"
I looked at Casey and she smirked. "It's a bit of a long explanation but—"
"We're breaking into the men's locker room," Ben said plainly.
"Ben!" We all hissed at him.
"What? Are we not still doing that?" He asked innocently.
Gen snorted and lightly punched his arm.
"Will can you help us and we'll explain later." Casey said pointing to the door.
He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. Gen and I moved aside as he moved forward and slid his Id card across the card reader.
It lit up green and he smirked at me. "Here you go."
He moved back and we all entered in, making our way to the locker room section.
We passed the coach's office and the lights automatically came on.
"The cheer team doesn't even have a locker room." Gen whispered to me.
I raised my eyebrows as I took in the nicely carpeted floors and large cubbies each player owned.
In one area I noticed Will's cubby with his jersey number and a plaque with the words captain written on it.
Will sat down at his bench and I could feel his eyes trained one me as I took in the room.
I didn't really want to make eye contact with him after yesterday conversation.
Aside from the constant nightmares, what we spoke about kept me up last night.
"I found it." Casey said at another area with cubbies.
I walked further, past some more lockers and I found her standing in front of a cubby that read Lyons.
Both Casey and Gen went through the clothes on the rack and lifted up his sneakers.
"Nothing." Casey said.
I felt a hand on the center of my back and Will leaned his head close to my ear.
"What are we looking for exactly?" He whispered.
My felt chills down my back and I moved away from him.
"We're looking for shoes. The ones Monica lost that night at the hotel." Casey stated.
Will's face became more focused and he moved around me, leaning down next to Gen and Casey.
"There's a small latch in this compartment."
I leaned forward and watched as he moved Coopers sneakers out of the way.
He pulled a latch on the side of the wooden panel and it opened up, a small compartment hidden beneath.
He reached his hand in and pulled out a large ziploc bag.
Inside were shoes.
Gen and Casey's eyes lit up and they quickly grabbed it from him.
They pulled out a matching pair of black heels.
"Those are Monica's." I said taking them from Casey's hands.
"You sure?" She asked.
I thought back to when I saw her enter the elevator in her red dress. I could see the exact black heels on her feet.
"Positive." I couldn't believe it. He actually kept the heels. What the actual—
"Maya." Ben said gaining my attention.
"Yeah." I looked at him and he was holding a pink heel. I immediately recognized it as the heel I lost on Halloween night.
Will took it from Ben's hand and looked at it. The tension in his shoulders was enough to show how upset he was.
I stood back and stared as Gen pulled out two more pairs of shoes.
No one said a single word but it was as though I could hear everyone's thoughts.
"You okay?" Ben whispered.
I looked down at the blue sparkly heels and the red espadrilles.
"Can we just get out of here?" I was exhausted. It'd been a long day and I was so tired.
We all paused as the sound of a walkie-talkie entered into the locker room.
My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as I could hear the sound of keys jingling and footsteps moving closer.
Casey and Gen quickly put everything back and tossed Ben the bag of shoes.
Will gestured his hand in the opposite direction and we all followed into the shower areas.
We pushed back the curtains and ducked into the showers.
The keys in my pocket hit the floor and I quickly grabbed them.
Will firmly wrapped a hand around my stomach and pulled me into one of the showers.
I opened my mouth to say something and he placed a hand over it.
I leaned back against him and froze.
My eyes the shoes of the security guard as he passed through the showers. He moved slowly and stopped in front of our shower.
I could feel my heart pounding heavily in my chest and the sounds of Will's quiet breathing in my ear.
I heard the static on his walkie as he said "All clear. I thought I saw someone but it's empty."
The man turned around and walked back into the locker room area.
Will removed his hand as I took a deep breath.
I moved forward staring at the white curtain and stayed still.
The guy probably wasn't gone yet.
I felt a poke in my side and turned around slightly.
Will lightly pushed the twists off my shoulders and leaned in forward.
"You okay?" He whispered in my ear.
"No. Not really." I answered honestly.
"He's going to get what's coming for him you know? I'll make sure if that." He whispered while rubbing my arms.
I closed my eyes tightly and felt my hands roll into fists. I opened my eyes and stared at the blue tiles of the shower wall.
"But you don't know that." My voice came out a small squeak and I felt a lump in my throat begin to form.
All I could think about were the other 2 pairs of shoes. Who were the girls? How recent was it?
I wish I could talk to them. Not that I'd know what to say anyways. What would I say? "Hey, I was sexually assaulted by the same guy as you."
That was so fucked up.
I couldn't believe he'd kept them. Like trophies.
Gen's constant hours of watching Criminals minds did pay off. And if what she said was true, Cooper would be considered a serial rapist.
Oh my gosh, this was all too much.
I didn't know what the charges were for that but I knew it was probably bad.
I almost felt bad. But then I felt bad for feeling bad, because he knew what he was doing.
He had a whole life ahead of him and all of it would be snatched away.
But the school spent so much money on athletics. It would look so bad for them if there was a reported serial rapist that had been on campus for years. They wouldn't let something like that get out. Right?
Gosh, did my brain ever shut off?
I reached my hand out behind me and felt Will wrap his hand around mine.
"I'm here." He whispered over and over again.
I turned slowly and looked up at him in the eyes.
"Sometimes I think I don't deserve you." I leaned into his chest and bit my inner lip, trying not to cry.
"Stop that." He fully wrapped his arms around me and placed his chin on my head.
I let out a sigh as a tear rolled down my cheek.
"You guys, I think we're in the clear." Gen whispered through the curtain.
I pulled back and sniffled, trying to regain my composure.
Will soothed my arms and leaned down to give me a quick peck on the lips.
I turned around and pulled the curtain back.
"Ok, let's go."
We all quickly moved through all of the locker cubby areas and past the office, straight out the door.
"Thanks again." Casey said to Will. "You saved our asses back there."
He nodded. "Let me know if you need anything else."
"Goodnight." Gen said holding the bag of shoes to her side.
Ben nodded a goodbye and the three of them made their way back to the entrance.
I looked at both sides of the hall, making sure no one was around.
"It's not true you know."
I turn my attention back to him in confusion.
"You deserve happiness." He clarified. "Don't sell yourself short."
He reached a hand towards my chest and held the broken glass pendant in between his fingers.
"I mean that."
I quickly placed my hand at the back of his neck and bought his lips to mine.
I gave him a soft kiss and pulled away.
"You're always saying sweet things to me and I realize I don't really communicate how I feel." I said being self aware. "If I haven't said it already, you make me very happy....babe."
The last word felt weird out of my mouth but I watched as the smile on his face spread and his cheeks tinted pink so I knew it meant something to him.
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight." He answered.
I squeezed his hand and quickly made my way in the direction of the front doors.
A/N: I SUCK at updating, I knowwww. 😒So sorry for the hold up. This last week has been al over the place because of traveling, catching up on sleep, and finishing summer classes.
The trial finally started and there is more crazy shit to come. I'm outlining the last chapters as we speak and I'm crying just thinking about the fact that this book is almost over. 😭
Vote and Comment. Also you guys can follow me on Instagram: @annabella.bastien if you want
Xoxo.