Page 171 of Unraveling Rain
“Please take a seat, Mr. González,” the judge says calmly. “You are here as Ms. MacAllister’s significant other. I haven’t requested that you speak.”
Xander rights his chair, sits, and closes his eyes.
I cradle his hand between mine.
“Please continue, Mr. Johnson.”
Dennis shrugs. “As I was saying, we were just two teens, not knowing what we were doing. I didn’t mean any harm. I just wanted to make sure everything was in the past.”
I scoff as Dennis finishes his pathetic speech.
“Very well,” the judge says. “What are you proposing to settle this accusation, Mr. Johnson?”
His lawyer clears his throat. “Yes, Your Honor. We would like Ms. MacAllister to retract the report. This was a misunderstanding between two consenting adults. In addition, Mr. Johnson is generously offering one hundred thousand dollars as a gesture of good faith.”
I bite my lip to keep from exploding.
What the actual fuck?
Does he think he’s going to get away with this shit?
“Do you have a counteroffer, Ms. MacAllister?”
I lift a hand to stop Cunningham.
“Yes, Your Honor. There is no way in hell I’m going to withdraw my report. What he did to me wasn’t a misunderstanding. Dennis raped me. We had dated for over a year. I told him—many times—I wasn’t ready for sex.
“That night, he took me to a field to stargaze. He touched me in places I didn’t feel comfortable. When I told him to stop, he hit me—until I stopped fighting. Then he raped me.”
The room is silent except for the sound of the judge flipping through the file.
“When he took me back home, my brother saw us. Told him what happened. He punched Dennis and called his dad. Dennis’s family left town that week. His father said they’d leave peacefully if we didn’t press charges. Everything is in the Azalea Creek report—filed by both my brother and me.”
I breathe through the rising rage.
“So for him to sit here and call that night ‘reckless’? No, Your Honor. It was violent. It was traumatic. I want the harshest sentence he can get.”
I reach into my purse and retrieve the envelope. "Not only is my brother a witness to the state Dennis left me in, but I also have the clothes I wore that night. I’m sure they’ll show his DNA. And I have this.” I hand the judge the letter.
"A note from my dad, who passed away eight years ago. He found the box with my clothes. Said he noticed the change in me after that night.”
The judge reads it briefly before passing it back to me.
I turn to Dennis.
“So, are you going to be man enough and finally admit that you raped me? Or are you going to pretend that you didn’t know what you were doing? Because I can also call everyone who was at the bonfire that night and have them testify about your unsolicited advances toward me.
“And if that’s not enough, I’ll call your dad and ask why your family left so quickly, selling the farm for way less than it was worth. I’m sure your parents don’t know you decided to come back into my life after swearing you’ll leave me and my family the fuck alone.”
I raise an eyebrow.
Dennis closes his eyes.
His wife is staring at him, stunned.
“How could I have been so stupid to fall for your lies twice?” she whispers. “I didn’t know that was the reason youhad to leave Azalea Creek. You said the cattle at the farm got sick, and you all sold before it was a total loss.
“Also—why is she saying you’ve been texting her nonstop? Didn’t you do enough damage to this woman already? What’s your fixation with her?”
