The Truth

"Of course! Come in," he said, guiding me to his desk and offering me a glass of water.

I broke down in front of him, sobbing uncontrollably. "I don’t know how to explain this," I said, covering my face with my hands.

The sheriff waited patiently, letting me cry, giving me the time I needed to collect myself.

Finally, gathering my courage, I spoke up. "Someone tried to rape me at the chapel," I said, my voice barely more than a whisper. I looked up, meeting his gaze, my eyes pleading for understanding.

Sheriff Newton’s face turned pale. "I am so sorry, Ms. Fernandez, I am so sorry this happened to you," he said, rubbing his face with his hands, clearly distressed.

"Can you explain what exactly happened?" he asked gently.

I knew I had to lie, at least until I learned the whole truth. So I began with a deep breath "Vincent and I went to the Chapel for ghost hunting," I said.

"We got separated, and I ended up in the chapel, I was mesmerized by that place so I somehow reached center of the altar.

There was some kind of powder scattered around making a circle, when I found myself in the center I began to lose consciousness. I think it might have been drugs or something similar.

While I was lying numb in the center of the circle, that's when he came, I couldn't see his face, but someone forced himself on me. He..." I stopped, tears welling up again.

After taking a deep breath, I continued, "He tore my clothes off and was on top of me. I was so numb I couldn’t move.

Then, Vincent probably heard my screams and found me. As soon as he entered the circle, the man vanished into thin air. If Vincent hadn't saved me, I don't know what could have happened!" I bit my lip.

"Are you sure Vincent wasn’t the one who...," he started to say but then paused. "I mean, if there was some kind of gaseous drug involved, maybe you just imagined it was someone else? But in actual maybe it was Vincent?" he suggested.

"That's not possible actually, if it was him, he could have done it, but he rescued me!" I clarified.

"But please, I don’t want you to call him to take his statement. I’m not fully sure if he wasn’t involved!" I added.

"All the more reason to call him," he insisted. "If he is involved, maybe he could point us in the direction of this man?"

"I could give you my clothes. You could take his fingerprints and run them through criminal records?" I suggested with a shrug.

He smiled at me. "Listen, kid, that’s not how this works. Tell me what else I can do?" he asked.

"I need security around my house. I am feeling scared, I no longer feel safe anywhere, especially since my Dad died, I don't want to lose Mom to!" I glanced up at the ceiling.

"That will be taken care of, especially considering the unfortunate incident involving Mr. Darkwood's Grandmother and her caretaker being killed! We will provide security for both houses." He gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"What?" My eyes widened in shock.

"You didn't know?" He squinted, "Oh, right! You were at the chapel when we received the call from him!" He pursed his lips.

"Anyway, go and get some rest. I will do my best to catch whoever was involved!" He reassured me.

As I made my way out, my gaze fell upon Mr. Darkwood, sitting in the waiting room. Since he hadn't see me yet, I turned my face away and hurried out.

Once I left the school, I went straight to the cafe where I decided not to sit with my so-called friends anymore. I also realized that Christine was absent.

I focused on my studies to distract myself from the events of last night, although flashes of it continued to haunt me.

Finally, time passed and we met in the cafe as we used to before.

"Tell me, Willow, what made you betray me? It wasn't your fault that I easily fell into your trap. It was my fault for allowing snakes into my life! I don't blame Vincent for what happened. I trusted him because you told me to." I spoke calmly, but my rage was barely contained, and my eyes searched for answers.

"While you should actually blame him!" She almost yelled, pointing toward him, but then she was sitting in front of me, her eyes locked onto mine. She appeared completely different from the Willow I knew – she seemed fragile and shattered. And then she began, "Do you really want to hear the whole story? Well, fine. I'll tell you everything.

But just know that after this, everything between us changes. I want you to understand why I did what I did." She glanced at me briefly before looking down.

"That day was like any other ordinary day, I caught a glimpse of my pitiful reflection in the mirror. I tied my hair tightly into a ponytail, put on my glasses, and wore my green and yellow striped sweatshirt.

Getting ready to endure the torment and bullying until I couldn't hold back my tears in the bathroom.

It's even hard to eat in this state, so I settle for a small sandwich. My mother kisses my forehead and whispers in my ear, 'One day, they will recognize your worth!'

Will they? I highly doubt it. Feeling broken and hopeless as always, I took slow steps along the school hallway, surrounded by the sound of laughter that pierced my ears.

But then, the sound of the door swinging open caught my attention. I turned around and saw my eternal crush, Vincent Frost, entering through the door. His black, shiny hair, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his average yet attractive physique made me lose whatever little confidence I had left.

As always, he captured the attention of every girl in the room, and unlike me, he had countless friends.

But his eyes found their way through the crowd, directly toward me. He glanced at me and with a gentle smile, he looked away.