I should have known it was too good to be true. The perfect cheerleader meets the perfect football player. It's love at first sight. They fall madly in love. Everything in life goes their way. They get married. They beat the odds. What a bunch of bullshit.
My family imploded that night.
When I got home from the beach my dad and brother were still at the police station answering questions. My mom was calm but very disappointed in me. It wasn't about Romeo to her. It wasn't about my swimsuit to her. It was about my lying to her. Her trust in me had been shattered. I'd snuck around and been physical with a boy she didn't even know. It hurt her. I had not confided in her like a daughter is supposed to do. I hadn't understood how my lying could hurt her so badly. Now I understand. I was an idiot. I had no Romeo. I had no cheerleading. I had nothing to fall back on. I had nothing to look forward to. I knew I was grounded. I knew my father would forbid me to ever see Romeo again. I was a little girl lost.
I hid in my room crying my eyes out until I heard my father come home with Shane. I was curled up in a ball on my bed. I didn't want to go out to our family room and face my dad. I wanted to stay in bed forever. Of course, my headaches came back with a vengeance along with the dizziness.
"Where is she??" I heard my father shout.
"In her room," my mother said in a sad tone.
Then I heard an aggressive knock on my door.
"Get out here, young lady!" my dad commanded.
I did as I was told. I dried my tears and prepared for my tongue lashing. I walked out of my bedroom to find my entire family staring at me in disgust. My mom and brother did not dare say a word. My father's face was tomato red. His head looked like it was about to pop off his body.
"What do you have to say for yourself?" my dad asked.
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry isn't good enough. Not this time. What're you sorry for?"
"For lying to you and mom about Romeo."
"Before I lose my shit, you'd better start from the beginning. How did all this come about?"
"I met Romeo by chance at the beach earlier this week. We hit it off. He treats me really nice. I was afraid to tell you or have him come over here because it sounded like you were mad at him for going to Montague. Then Sadie made up her lies about him and I was even more scared to tell you. I wanted to tell you tonight but things got outta hand today."
"Romeo Rifleman is being accused of sexual assault by Sadie. That's a serious allegation. We find it hard to believe Sadie would lie about such a thing."
"She's lying through her teeth. She met Romeo for two minutes."
"We've known Sadie Croft since she was in kindergarten with your brother. We know her parents. We don't know this Romeo one little bit. Who do you think we're gonna believe?"
"You should believe me."
"Why? You've been lying to us for a week."
"Sadie's a piece of crap. Sorry Shane, but it's true. She lied about hooking up with Romeo to impress everyone. Now instead of admitting she lied, she's accusing Romeo of raping her just to save face. She doesn't even care if she ruins his life."
"Juliet can prove Sadie's lying," said Shane.
"How??" asked my mom.
"Because she was out with Romeo on the night Sadie's claiming she hooked up with Romeo. Juliet is Romeo's alibi."
"Is that true, Juliet?"
"Start talking, young lady," said my dad.
"My friends and I met Romeo at Starbucks," I explained. "Sadie came in and introduced herself to Romeo. She insisted he snap a selfie with her. I met Romeo in the parking lot and we left Starbucks together."
"Where did you go. Were there any witnesses?"
"Ashley and Caitlin saw us leave Starbucks together. After that there were no witnesses. He took me home."
"Did Rifleman take you anywhere else before he took you home?"
"We snuck into the Country Club and sat outside and talked."
My father did not like the sound of that but he let it go.
"For starters, you'r gonna need to talk to the police. Second, you're never to see or talk to Romeo Rifleman again."
"That's not fair!!"
"What's not fair is you running around with that kid behind our backs. Unacceptable. He should know that. You should know that. No daughter of mine is dating a Montague player ever. Over my dead body. He made the wrong choice in schools."
"That's just stupid!"
"You are a Capulet girl. You are a Capulet cheerleader. You are a Capulet legacy. You represent this family and this school. End of story. Don't confuse your place around here. It's a matter of loyalty. You dishonored me by being with him. By spending time with those kids today. That leads us to the subject of your attire at the beach today. You seriously embarrassed me. I don't need my assistant coaches showing me naked pictures of you on the internet. Everyone we know will see those photographs."
"I wasn't naked. I had a swimsuit on."
"A very inappropriate swimsuit. You're only sixteen years old. I don't care what the styles are. You are not to go down to the beach for the remainder of the summer. You are not to wear a bikini for the remainder of the summer. You are not to buy any close online for the remainder of the summer. Are we clear??"
"You can't be serious??"
"I am dead serious, young lady."
I looked to my mother but there was no way she was going to override my father. Yes, I reverted to my very best teen girl pout.
"Anything else?" I said in a snotty tone.
"Yes, hand me your cellphone, go to your room and don't come out. I don't want to see your face for a few days. Your mother will bring your meals to you. You need to do some soul searching, little miss. You need to think about what kind of girl you want to be. Do you want to be a liar? Do you want to be some boy's sex kitten? Do you want to be loyal? Do you want to be respected by your peers? Now go. Get outta my sight."
I turned over my phone, marched to my room and did the obligatory slam of the door.
***
I cried into my pillow for a good hour. I thought about Romeo. My main concern was talking to the police as soon as possible and making sure he had his alibi. Rape, my god. Romeo had a younger sister who he'd adored. I could never imagine him disrespecting any girl. Sure, he was super horny like me, but he never did anything to me that was nonconsensual. He never once made me feel uncomfortable or that we were doing anything I didn't want to do.
I suspected my mom thought my dad was being too harsh but she had no choice but to support his position. I was a shitty daughter, I suppose. But I didn't do anything to purposely disrespect my family. I just fell in love and didn't know how to handle the situation. It was not malicious, simply foolish and immature. That said, nothing could ever change the way I felt about Romeo. I loved him with all my heart. I wanted to marry him more now than ever. I had to find a way to talk to him.
From my bed, I could here my parents fighting while talking to Shane. From what I could hear through all the yelling, my brother had admitted to the police he was involved with spray painting Sadie's car. It sounded like he told the police what happened but may still be trying to protect Jake. I get it, they were best friends but Jake was a real snake. He was a bad guy. I wanted Jake to go down for the crime but I didn't want Shane to take the fall with him. All the boys, including the freshman players involved, were going into school tomorrow to talk to Principal Harris. I'm sure my dad would be there as well. It would put extreme pressure on my dad when it came to the season opener against Montague and the mighty Romeo Rifleman. Jake, despite being a complete ass, was an important player for my dad on both sides of the ball. So was my brother. Shane ran the offense.
By the time the Cane family went to sleep that fateful Sunday night, no one was talking to anyone. My mother was livid at my dad for coming down so viciously on both Shane and me. It was not a happy house.