"Wait a fucking minute!" I yell, digging my feet to the pavement. "I would never rape anyone. I would never touch any woman against their own will."

"You'll tell that to the judge," the officer mutters, trying to drag me down.

"MUM!" I yell.

She keeps crying into her hands, not even being able to move but I shout anyway, "You have to believe me!"

She has to believe me.

She starts crying harder into her hands and I don't know what to do. Does she believe me? She has to. Deep down I know she does.

Fuck. This is so fucked up.

The officer makes a noise, similar to a growl and yanks me, throwing me against the car hood. My head hits the metal panel, and I groan in pain.

"Dylan!" A familiar female voice sounds.

Any other day it'd be soothing but now it just makes me think I'm imagining things. It's Luna.

It can't be. She wouldn't be here in this exact shitty moment. She should have been there last night.

I'm hearing voices.

"Dylan!" She calls again. "What's wrong? What's happening?"

I snap my eyes open and struggle to straighten up, watching Luna run down the street. Somehow, I can't help but feel relieved she's here even if I don't want her to see me this way.

She's here.

"Baby," I mutter.

She'll believe me.

Just when she's about to reach me, her hands raised toward my face, the officer yanks me back. Fucking prick.

"I'm being accused of raping Abby," I growl, growing angry at this shit shot. "Can you believe this fucking madness?"

She stumbles back and her raised hands shakily lower from the position they were in.

"Baby," I call, growing nervous. "You don't believe this right? I was waiting for you, then Dean was the one answering the call instead of you. I... I..."

As she steps backwards, I try to stalk forward, towards her. Desperate to explain to her but the officer yanks me back, once again.

She couldn't possibly believe it, right? Everyone knows I would never.

Everyone fucking knows me.

"Luna, baby, you have to believe me. You know me, I would never do such a thing. Not after what my mother went through!"

She doesn't answer, taking back another step with wide eyes as one of her hands covers her gaping mouth.

"Luna," I struggle to get close to her. "I love you. Baby, I love you." I cry, desperate for her to believe me. "I would never fucking touch her, not even with consent. You have to believe me."

"Nice show, kid." The officer pulls me closer to the back passenger door. "Get in the car."

I ignore him, looking at her, expectantly.

She will believe me. After everything we've been through, I know she will believe me.

"Oh god," she mumbles.

And then, the last thing I would ever expect. She turns around and runs away, leaving me here, heartbroken by her and left to face alone an absurd accusation.

The officer opens the car door and throws me inside, before locking me in. I let my forehead fall forward, resting against the front seat.

"I love you," I whisper again, even if she's not listening anymore.

Even if she doesn't love me back.

⛓️⛓️⛓️

My mind is racing with thoughts, trying to go through everything that happened and trying to make sense of it. But it's no use.

Earlier this morning, it was my head that hurt but now? It's my fucking soul.

"Davis, your dad arrived with your lawyer." The officer opens the door to my "room" and beckons me to get out into the corridor.

I stand up, ready to exit and walk with my hands cuffed in front of me. They changed it the moment we got to the station and took all my belongings except for my clothes I really fucking hope I can get bailed and wait for this to get solved at home.

There's no way I'll actually get blamed for something I didn't do. Right? I left here in that hotel room. If Abby was raped it certainly wasn't by me.

And Luna? Fuck... I don't think I can believe she was with Dean. At least not of her own volition, but fuck it doesn't hurt any less. And the way her face froze in shock in front of me as she heard what I was being accused of. Did she believe in it?

The horror in her eyes told me, yes, but there's a part of me that doesn't want to believe she'd doubt me. And yet, she ran like I was the devil and had set her on fire. So maybe she does...

Fuck this hurts much more than I thought. More than being accused of this, what bothers me is the possibility that she might believe it and think I'm a monster.

I feel abandoned by the one who matters the most.

Closing my eyes, I rub at my chest, trying to relieve the pressure but the officer yanks my hands down. Fuck, that hurt.

How did things get to this?

We stop in front of another metal door and he opens it, pulling me in by the arm, harshly before retreating to the door and getting out before closing it. My dad stands up the moment I'm inside and pulls me into his arms, squeezing me tight and making my eyes burn and bury my face into his shoulder. Fucking hell, I was never as physical with my dad as I was with my mum when it came to comfort but I needed this. Too fucking much.

His signature perfume invades my nostrils and his hard muscles crush me, almost as if he wants to pull me into him, to protect me from everything.

Yeah, I fucking wish we could do that instead.

How did my fucking night go from wanting to tell my girl I love her, to being let down by her at the same time my ex showed up to me, only to start the morning with a fucking fake rape accusation.

"Dad, I did not rape anyone," I whisper to him with a cracked voice.

"I know son, I know," he mutters, putting my back. "Sit down, we have a lot to talk about."

"How's mum?" I ask him. "Does she really not believe me? I would never do to any woman the same she's... Dad, she has to believe me."

"She does, Dylan," he grabs my hands, squeezing them. "She was just shocked. It brought a lot of memories and she didn't know how to react, she broke down. You know how much it still affects her."

"Will she come to visit me?"

"She's outside. Hopefully, they'll let her see you afterwards."

My eyes fall down, remembering what went down. How she just ran away without a word.

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"She left," I mumble.

"Who?"

"Luna. She appeared but she ran away as soon as she heard what they were accusing me of. I think..." I trail off, not being brave enough to say it.

"Do you think she does not believe you?"

"Mum didn't," I grumble, placing my head on my cuffed hands.

"She does believe you. She... You know she reacts badly to these things."

"It feels like I have a gaping hole in my heart." I can feel my voice break but I don't care anymore. "How did you cope?"

I rub my chest again, trying to ease it. But it's useless.

"How did I cope?" Eyeing him from beneath my lashes, I notice how he leans back, with a frown framing his blue eyes. The ones I inherited. "With what?"

Looking back down, I admit with a shaky voice, "With your soulmate abandoning you."

I can hear him choking on his own breath as my tears finally start to fall down my face with the admission, opening the dam I've been trying to maintain closed until now. My body shakes uncontrollably and embarrassing noises leave my throat.

"Your soulmate?" he whispers with wide eyes.

Is it so surprising? He has his...

"Yeah," I choke out through the tears, looking back at them, not even bothering how I look. "Everything I longed for, I found it in her. What I saw in you and mum every day growing up that left me wanting a love like that, I found it in her."

"A-are you sure?"

"As sure as the oxygen I breathe."

"To be honest, I barely coped." His words take away the little hope I had. "It never got better, and when I saw your mum again. It came all rushing back, it felt like someone was punching me in the heart, repeatedly."

My lips press together, grimly. How encouraging.

"How could you even forgive her after all you've been through?" I blurt but regret it the moment it leaves my mouth.

His eyebrows shot up to his forehead, in surprise.

"No," I say. "Forget I said that. I know what happened, I know why. It just feels so dark right now. I just...I don't know."

There are no words.

"But I had to suffer alone and in silence, my parents would scoff and complain every time I moped around because of her and by the time I got to college... It was just me. But you're not alone Dy. We got you for better and worse."

I nod, grimly and that's when the man sitting next to my father chimes in, "Hi Dylan, I am Mathew, your lawyer. I want you to run down everything that happened last night. Do not leave any detail out, everything might be able to be used in our favour."

I start recalling everything, from how I told Luna I had a surprise for her and wanted her to meet me at this hotel I had booked for us to spend the night in, to when she was on her way but never showed up.

"So, instead of Luna coming to your hotel room. It was Abby?" he asks.

"Yes," I sigh.

"How did she even know your room number?" he asks.

"I don't know!" I snap. "Maybe she fucking followed me? Her hometown is three hours away from here. What's she doing here anyway?!"

"Dylan, calm down. We're helping," dad scolds.

"I know sorry."

"And then what?" He looks down, right after making the question, preparing his pen to write.

"We argued, she told me Luna wasn't coming. When I called her, her ex answered and I left her there. Went to a convenience store and drank myself into a stupor. Woke up in the morning," I grunt the last time, avoiding my dad's eyes."

"Ok, then we should be fine." He finishes scribbling on his papers. "All we need is to ask the hotel for their CCTV, the receptionist's testimony on how you checked out and you'll be cleared."

"Uh..."

"Uhh, what?" My dad grits.

"They were having some kind of problem, I just left. I mean, I am sure someone saw me but I didn't... check out."

"Well, it's not as good as a security camera but if someone saw you leave that'll be good enough. Give me that convenience store, just in case we might need it."

We go through everything again one more time, as he repeats the same fucking questions and asks for even more details. By the time we're done, I'm exhausted but push through. Maybe they'll let me see my mum and after the way she looked at me earlier, I need to make sure she believes in me.

"Davis," the officer calls from the door as my dad and the lawyer stand up, expectant to know if they'll let her through after. "Back to your room. No more visits today."

Fuck. I can't even have that.

⛓️ A u t h o r ' s N o t e ⛓️

I am always going to be a Willow defensor, SA victims never recover fully. It changes people, it will always leave a scar in one's soul. It doesn't mean they are less than - NOT AT ALL. But people are also allowed to react and deal with stuff differently. Her reaction doesn't mean she doesn't believe her son. This means she is distraught. The woman is pregnant, hormonal and has heard her son is being accused of rape. Something she went through, unfortunately - she is allowed to break down (that's my perspective anyway).

Also, I know this "accusation" came out of nowhere. It was supposed to. This is a first-person POV, when something is being plotted behind your back - you don't see it coming. However, the "villain/s" kept appearing once in a while. So, something bad was bound to happen. 

I promise everything will be explained, and hopefully, at the end of the book, you all will have forgiven me! xD

P.S - next chapter is already halfway through, it will be out soon. Tomorrow at the latest!<3