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“Mom, can I just stay home one more day?” She was tempted to ask to take her classes online, which was an option, but part of her wanted to see what was going on outside, to hear how the others were reacting to the news that she was sure had spread by now.
“No, we can’t keep hiding out here. The sooner we face the town, the better.” Misty had had all night to think about her next move. She knew that hiding for too long would give people the wrong impression and, from experience, understood that it was better to get out in front of these things before you got buried under them.
Hadn’t she weathered the storm once before? Yes, she had, and she’d get through this too. Besides, her boss wasn’t going to give her any more time since there hadn’t been a death or medical emergency. Just her husband being arrested for soliciting a minor.
Across town, Marissa was facing pretty much the same dilemma. Her mom was of the opinion that since she’d done nothing wrong and is, in fact, the victim, she had no need to hide out, while her dad was on his daughter’s side when she said she wasn’t ready to face her peers. In the end, Joanie Bishop had her way, convincing her husband that it was best for their daughter to go out and about as usual since she had nothing to be ashamed of.
Marissa wasn’t so sure. Of course, she hadn’t sent the message to herself and had no sinister motives against her coach. In fact, before all of this happened, she would’ve said that he was one of her favorite people. He’d been the one to build her up and made her see herself as more capable than she thought when no one else did.
Personally, she’d never felt threatened in his presence, had never gotten the perv vibe when with him, so when had things gone from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye? On top of that, her peers, people she trusted and knew all of her life since kindergarten, were all calling her a liar, though she couldn’t imagine what she stood to gain by lying on coach Swamp in particular.
She’d spent most of the night tossing and turning because her mind refused to shut down as she asked herself the same question over and over again. Had she moved too fast? Was there something else she could’ve done before calling the cops? Had she really destroyed an innocent man’s life with her accusation?
Each time she thought of it, she reminded herself of what she’d read, but then she’d try associating those words with the man she knew, and it wasn’t adding up. She’d tried bringing it up to her mom, but the other woman had shut her down. Her mom was on a social justice crusade, almost as if she’d been waiting for just such a thing to happen so she could be heard.
Marissa left her room with the intent of asking her mom once again to pull back from the things she was planning to do. According to Joanie, she wasn’t about to let this get swept under the rug. She’d read too many news articles about men in certain positions getting away with stuff like this, and she wasn’t about to let this one go, especially not when her child was involved.
At this point, there was nothing anyone could say, including her daughter, the supposed victim, that would make her turn back from the course she’d set. As a housewife who felt like she’d lost her identity since becoming a wife and mother, whose voice was never heard unless it had something to do with bake sales and PTA, she’d finally found a place to shine, and she was going to milk it for all it’s worth.
While Joanie Bishop was donning her social justice warrior gear, someone else was embarking on a campaign of their own. By the time Celia made it to the hospital to see Ryan, the local high school was once again abuzz with a salacious rumor. No one knew who sent out the group email that was mailed to every student from eighth to twelfth grade, but it was all anyone could talk about.
Celia walked into the hospital room where Ryan was sitting up in bed, looking better than he had the day before. “You look much better.”
“Did the doc tell you?” Ryan didn’t have time for small talk; he was pissed. He’d been sitting here stewing all night and hadn’t slept a wink. Had the officer not been keeping watch and his hand not been shackled to the bed, he might’ve walked out of here and gone to commit murder.
He felt violated in a way a man like him would never expect to be. Now so many things made sense. The fact that he’d married Misty so soon after they started dating, the fact that he’d married a single mom when that was the last thing he’d ever do. He was so mad Celia could see steam coming out of his ears, or at least she imagined that she could.
