Michelle's POV
"In breaking news, 17-year-old Damien Travolta of Washington DC High was pronounced dead yesterday evening at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. It has not been clear what the cause of death was, but inside sources claim that Ryder Daniels And Damien Travolta were attacked yesterday outside their school's premises by a group of unidentified men. Ryder Daniels is still recovering at MedStar hospital-"
I watched as the television screen faded to black and slowly lowered my gaze to the remote in my hand and my finger pressed against the power button. I was dumbfounded. . .
Damien is dead.
I mean I heard what happened to him on news last night but he's dead?
I slipped off the sofa and began to pace the living room. They'll think I'm a suspect right? They'll think that my father hired someone or in this situation- people to kill Damien because I mean someone like my father has the authority to do so.
I'm in all this trouble just because I almost slept with him. God! Why couldn't I have been sensible before walking into that classroom with Damien? Maybe then I would have avoided all of this, everything with him, Mason and Ryder.
Now he's dead.
Did Mason have something to do with it?
"I did what I had to do to protect you."
Why did he say that? He's speaking in the past tense, meaning that whatever was done had already occurred. To protect me. . .it can't be Kaleb, or else he would have told me something and there's no one other than Ryder and Damien who were after me.
No, no stop thinking so negative Michelle, Mason had absolutely nothing to do with the death of Damien.
He wouldn't risk it and especially not for someone like me.
I got myself into this mess and it's mine and my parent's duty to get me out of it. If only there was a way for me to prove that Damien and Ryder were trying to assault me then I won't be held accountable for any of this.
It was self-defence! But no, no one believed me because they think I'm like my parents. Like I'm above everyone so I'm lying to get my way. They think this is a ploy!? For what? What would I possibly get out of lying about something this serious?
I shook my head slowly and marched up the stairs and into my room. I hopped onto my computer chair and rolled myself towards my desk as I reached forward to turn on my computer. When the screen came to life I navigated my way towards twitter and the Washington DC News.
@LailaCress:People are ridiculous to think Michelle had anything to do with Damien's murder,You heard the girl she was almost raped #JusticeforMichelle
@MakaylaTrent:I'm disappointed in the place I call my school and home, How can such an innocent girl be accused of murder when she was already held countable for threat #JusticeforMichelle
@KaylaBaruch:All Of you dimwits and idiots out here fighting for Michelle when she's the real murderer out here..LOCK HER UP! #CrazybitchMichelle
People are really at my neck for this. And Kayla, of course she'd believe her boy-now deceased ex-boyfriend.
But despite that, I'm happy I actually have people standing up for me.
I closed my twitter tab and scrolled through the news, but with no new leads in sight, I sighed and turned my computer off.
I slipped off my pizza stained clothes and sauntered lazily into the bathroom to take a bath. I need it, to rid myself of this greasy smell and to soothe my mind. These have been the longest three days of my life, all because of Damien.
I'm not happy he's dead but I would have loved to see him behind bars for what he tried to do to me.
I stepped into the shower and turned the knob so that the hot water cascade down my back, soothing my tense muscles as I pressed my fingers into my flesh to release the tension. I sighed in relief and remained in the shower for the next fifteen minutes until I could feel my fingers starting to prune.
I slipped out carefully and grabbed my towel off the rack. I wrapped it around me and sauntered out of the bathroom.
Then I stopped and frowned deeply when a gust of wind swept across my face and a chill ran down my back. But this wasn't just an ordinary chill, this feeling, I felt it when I was at the cafe with Brandon. That feeling where it felt as if someone was watching me.
That feeling where you know something bad is about to happen.
I flickered my eyes towards my door which was cracked open, but even from here, I could barely see the hallway. I waited silently for someone to burst through those doors with a gun or something. And not just anyone. . .Kaleb.
When it seemed like nothing was going to happen I sighed in relief and prepared to make my way into my closet before there was a loud crash that erupted around the room. I screamed in pain as shards of glass suddenly began to puncture my skin from every direction, leaving me little to no room to run.
I pivoted on my heels, prepping myself to dash across the room until my leg jutted forward and I came crashing down onto the floor hard.
I cried out in pain as my head slammed against the floor and almost immediately my vision blurred. "W-wha-" I panted as something warm trickled down my neck. I tried to reach upwards and find the source of this sudden warmth but my hands wouldn't work.
I was paralyzed in my spot, panting frantically as tears trickled down my cheeks, as my skin burnt from the shards of glass punctured into it and I bled out from my head.
And then I heard it, someone calling for me, a familiar voice and the sound of heavy footsteps outside my door.
But It was a little too late for me to identify who it was as the heaviness of my eyes grew unbearable and darkness consumed me.
•••
Mason's POV
"Justice for Michelle, justice for Michelle!" I smiled at the crowd of students, parents and citizens standing outside the precinct, signs in their hands, angry expression etched onto their faces and their strong and loud voices shouting out into the air.
"This was a great idea, Sasha," I said and she smiled sadly as she nodded her head.
"I had to, Michelle won't go down without a fight." She said before she fell back into chanting.
A majority of our school's population came out here today to support Michelle. We're supposed to be in class right now but we refused to step foot into a school who refused to investigate a matter more deeply and instead they allowed on of their students to get arrested with little evidence to back up claims.
We wouldn't stop now, not until the charges against Michelle were dropped.
Another group of students are at the school looking for some sort of evidence to back up Michelle's statement.
It's been three days since she was arrested and I hate seeing her like this; I hate seeing her worried, angry, frustrated. I needed to fix this.
All it does is just fuel my anger even more and I haven't had enough time to focus on football.
Michelle is more important than that.
"Hey, hey look." Sebastian roughly nudged me in the arm as he gestured towards the entrance of the police station. Ryder strolled out with an officer by his side, the mass of students chanting got increasingly louder and a range of boos echoed around me.
I thought he was in the hospital. Guess he came out quicker than I had hoped.
I really wish they injured him more badly than this. After Michelle told the press her side of the story I couldn't bear to look Ryder in the face without feeling the need to pull out a gun and shoot him myself.
They assaulted her. . .they tried to rape her. And now what? Now they take him to court and see's who gets the get out of jail free card and who gets community service or worse, thrown into prison? Bullshit, they should have shot him as well.
The public chose to believe a petite girl like Michelle provoked and overpowered two football players who go to the gym every single day. I mean she did do that but it's the provoked part which gets me, why did they think she just attacked them for no reason?
The public refused to look at the logical side of things and it pissed me off.
Pathetic.
Not even my asshole would believe such bullshit, and my asshole is filled with shit so that's to show you.
Society is messed up.
I'm just happy Michelle got to share her story with the press yesterday and Sasha forming the Justice for Michelle protest. A protest against Ryder, against the police officers and against anyone who chose to jump on the first story they hear without even needing to hear all three sides of the story.
Michelle's side.
Ryder's side.
And the truth.
And now, not only do some people believe Ryder's story but they also believe that Michelle had something to do with Damien's murder. I know I was responsible for it, I know what I did and it's eating me alive not telling Michelle the truth.
But again! Why can't people look at the logical side of things? How could she murder him or send someone to murder him when she was locked in an interrogation room with no access to a phone.
"Okay, okay this rally is over, all of you go back to school and do some homework. Go home to your parents and children, this rally is over!" Officer Bill shouted as he stood at the top of the stairs, his hands folded over one another.
"Oh suck a dick Bill, you're so full of shit even my asshole is jealous of you!" I shouted out loud. The crowd burst into fits of laughter before that laughter bubbled into more angry shouts, screams and cries to protect the women of Washington against sexual assaulters like Ryder and Damien.
"Mason!" Someone shouted and I pivoted on my heels to face the person and rolled my eyes in annoyance as Tristan struggled to approach me.
He squeezed his way through the crowd and toppled towards me, clearly out of breath. "Michelle, she's a–at–" He whizzed out and I arched a brow as he gasped for air "–she's at the hospital."
"What did you just say?"
"C'mon let's go!" He grabbed my hand and tugged me towards his car. Without protesting I slipped into the passenger seat, my mind still foggy and his words still echoing in my head. She's in the hospital. I wasn't there to protect her.
This is all my fault.
I knew I should have stayed home to protect her.
Stupid. . .fucking stupid!
You're an idiot Mason!
"Did you hear me!" He shouted, snapping me out of my thoughts. I slowly turned my head towards him and watched as he snapped his head towards me then back onto the road frantically, "her mom called me before I came to you, her mother found her lying in her room in a pool of blood, her body covered in glass and out cold. "
Covered in glass? A pool of blood?
What the hell happened whilst I was gone?
After what felt like forever, Tristan finally pulled up into the hospital's parking lot and I hopped out of the car, not waiting for him as I dashed across the lot and towards the hospital. I slipped inside and rushed towards the receptionist table, a bit out of breath and frantic as I slammed my hand against the counter.
"Michelle White, what room is she in?" I wheezed out. The receptionist eyed me peculiarly before turning her attention to the computer. She began to type away and I cried in frustration. Finally, she flickered her eyes towards me and smiled softly, "room 102."
Without as much as a thank you, I propelled towards the elevator and slipped inside. I slammed my hand against floor C and leaned back against the wall to catch my breath.
Please be okay, please be okay.
This is all my fault, I should have been there to protect her and instead, I was outside wasting time, that same time I could have been with her. This is why you're useless Mason, this is exactly why.
When the elevator doors swung open I dashed outside, ignoring the angry shouts that echoed behind me from the hospital staff and instead I frantically searched for room 102.
When I finally found her room I toppled inside frantically, my head snapping around the room anxiously until it landed on her, laying on the bed all bandaged up. Her eyes snapped towards me and she smiled softly as I crossed the room and strode quickly towards her.
"Oh, thank god you're okay. Michelle, I'm so sorry I wasn't there to protect you I-"
"Mason, it's okay. I'm okay, I just have a concussion and a few bruises from the glass that punctured my skin, I'll be fine." She reassured me as I lowered myself down beside her.
"What the hell happened?" I whispered softly and she flickered her eyes shut as she lowered her head down onto the pillow. "Someone threw something into my window and the shards of glass sprayed all over me. I tried to run but I slipped because I just came out of the shower and I was dripping wet. I fell onto the floor and hit my head against it, thus the concussion."
"Someone threw something into your window, no one can get onto the premises, the gates are locked, unless someone knows this place inside out," I exclaimed and she sighed as she flickered her eyes towards me.
"Mason you know who did this." She mumbled and I shook my head frantically, I refuse to believe it. I refuse to believe the one day I left Michelle alone he came looking for her.
If it is him then he's closer than I thought he was.
He made his first move.
And I'm going to strike back harder.