Page 55 of Friend
“Just curious.” I pressed my toes against the floor, pushing my bag back. This was so,sohard. “About what would happen.”
“IfMu was alive,” Damen responded, “then I’d come and get him.”
That’s what I thought.
“I would have a hard time letting him out of my sight,” he added, sounding slightly shamed. “Because only something truly horrible would explain why he hadn’t been with us.”
I clenched my teeth as I glared at the floor.
He wasn’t wrong.
“Why?” he asked again. “What does this have to do with your ‘not friend’ who was attacked?”
My palms started sweating, and I pressed my left hand flat on my thigh. “Nothing.”
“Okay.” It was hard to imagine he believed me—but he probably did. He was annoying about getting answers when he wanted, and if he really suspected something, he would have pressed the issue.
I wanted to throttle him.
“About the girl,” Damen continued, and I sat up straighter, “you have to leave it up to her. Ifshe doesn’t want to talk about it, or report it, there’s nothing you can do. Don’t force the issue.”
I scoffed, and he added, almost defensively, “What?”
“You’re nosy.” I felt no shame in calling him out—he was aware of himself. “And a busybody.”
“There’s a difference between pushing boundaries in a healthy way and taking away a person’s choice entirely,” Damen said. “In cases like this, it’s best to follow the victim’s lead.”
But she was wrong. “Fine.”
“Unless you absolutely think you need to bring in an adult, there’s really nothing else you can do about it. You can suggest that she get checked out at the hospital, but it’s her decision,” he added. “All you can do is to let her know that you see her the same way and she has nothing to be ashamed about. Then, maybe, she’ll talk to you—or someone else.”
I pressed my lips together.
“Finn,” Damen said, and there was something different in the way he said my name. It caused my entire body to tense. “Do you want me to come over?”
My shoulders tensed, and it suddenly became harder to breathe.
This was it. I could say ‘yes’, and, maybe, it’d get easier from here.
“I might still be learning, and it’s not really my specialty, but do you want to talk to me about it? Tonight, maybe. I can come over,” Damen said. “Do you need me? Do you need to talk to someone?”
Instead of reassuring me, his statement was a reminder of the serious flaw in that idea. If I saw him now—in person—there was no way I could hold it together.
I was on edge—tired and close to losing my control.
If he saw me at this moment, there would be no holding back.
“No.” I breathed in and out slowly, reigning in my emotions. “It’s fine. Thanks for the advice.”
He paused, and I half-expected for him to announce that he was dropping by anyway. But then he spoke. “Okay, Finn. I’m trusting you. You’ll tell me, right?”
Trustingme.
But I’d been lying to him for eight years. What was a little longer? “Yeah,” I said. “I know.”
I’d done what I could—at least for now.
