Page 48 of Spiteful Lies

I roll my eyes at his double standards. He can father a bastard, but Charlotte’s stuck with her shitty luck. “Astrid.”

“Astrid, your father isn’t accepting calls. But I’ll tell him that you called. You’ll be glad to know that he’s responding to treatment.”

I suck in my breath as the nurse waits for a response. “Thanks for letting me know.” I end the call abruptly, disgusted by being blocked.

Once again, a mix of emotions sends me spiraling all over the place. Closing my eyes, I center my thoughts as if I’m about to step into the ring again. This is the attitude I have to master. I have one more fight to win. And I refuse to be shamed by Howland or distracted by my anger. I’ll keep my focus on Leister. He has to go to prison.

Breathing deeply, I turn and start running at a slow pace back to the dorms. My feet glide over the pavement this time. Hopefully Charlotte is sleeping late. I check the time on my phone, and it’s after nine. It’s a slim chance, but maybe I can get to her first.

But before I leave the trail, I see Gillian approaching around the bend. Our gazes lock, and neither one of us can look away. Our relationship has been stuck down in the toilet since Rawlins cornered her and made her squeal. But it takes a lot of energy to keep hating someone after the damage is forgotten. Gillian is no Leister. I nod at her and intend to continue my run when she reaches out to stop me.

“Astrid, I have to speak to you.” Gillian jogs in place, and I do the same. Are we hard core or do we need something to do? “I know you’re angry with me, and I don’t blame you,” she continues, despite me trying to wave it off. “I’m not making any more excuses for what I did. It was shitty, but I want you to know that I admire what you’ve done. It was very brave.”

I frown. “About what?”

“About Ted Leister,” she replies, frowning slightly. “I saw it on my feed. You know the complete testimony is in the news?”

My heart drops, and I stop running in place. How could they post that? How could someone release the details? “Along with my name?” I ask.

Gillian stops moving and shakes her head. “Charlotte’s name is mentioned, but it mentions a sister. And that’s you. Right?”

I nod, not sure what to do next. The thought that people know exactly what he did to me makes the sick rise up in my throat. My body tenses, but I will myself to be brave and not fake it. I focus on Gillian and see pain in her staring eyes. She really does care. “Thanks, and I’m not mad at you anymore, Gillian. Rawlins is scary.”

Releasing a long breath, Gillian smiles and then punches me in the shoulder. “If you need anything, just let me know, Astrid. The team is behind you. Always. If anyone bothers you or Charlotte, let us know.” She punches her open hand, and when I laugh, the tension eases off. Smiling, Gillian waves and takes off farther down the path.

Fuck. I start running again at top speed toward the dorm. I’ve got to tell Charlotte before someone else does. If she doesn’t already know. Slim to no chance. Racing down the path, I notice looks of curiosity but ignore them. I block them out so well that I almost collide with Valerie walking down the path.

“Astrid, are you okay?” She glances behind me, and I turn to look, but no one’s there. “You’re running as if someone is chasing you,” she explains.

I shake my head. “No…Yeah, sure. I’m okay.”

“I thought because you were running...” She stops herself, staring at my track uniform. “Sorry, I forgot. I mean, I admire what you and Charlotte did. Coming out like that and telling people about that awful man.” She screws up her face, pinching her features together, and stares hard at the ground.

“Thanks, Val.”

She bites her lip. “I really mean it.” Valerie looks away before making eye contact again. “I never shared this with anyone, but once when Ted Leister was here on campus for parents’ weekend, he said something disgusting to me. I never told anyone, not even my parents, because I was ashamed. I didn’t do anything, but I felt like I had. I was just being nice and smiled. But you understand.”

I nod. “Yeah, I do. I couldn’t even go to court to face him. So yeah, I do.”

Valerie shakes her head fast. “But you did something, and that’s what’s important. On Monday, I’m going to tell Dr. Rawlins what that…shitty man said to me.” The curse comes out of her mouth like a shot. “It may not be the worst thing he’s ever done, but I want people to know how disgusting he is.”

Without thinking, I reach out and touch her shoulder. Then Valerie does something that really catches me off guard. She hugs me. It’s a stiff and awkward one, as if we don’t know where to put our limbs. It only lasts a second, but it means a great deal to each of us.

“Thanks,” I whisper.

She nods once and hurries off toward the dining hall.

The sense of being watched is too strong to be paranoia. Slowly, I shift my gaze and see Justin standing outside the faculty building with a canvas wrapped in a sheet, leaning against the wall. I turn toward him to let him know that I see him. I lift my hand, but Justin frowns slightly. He doesn’t look at me again as he grabs his canvas and starts to walk away. I’m seconds from shouting his name when I notice something that puts a hard lump in my throat.

Two junior girls stare at Justin with wide eyes as he passes by them. They lift their hands to their mouths and whisper, glancing back at him as he walks in the direction of his studio. The one girl nudges the other one with her elbow, and the other girl makes a face in disgust.

God, I’m so stupid. Justin encouraged me to share what had happened, but I didn’t think about what would happen to him once I talked. I can try to hide, but he has no choice. He’ll always be Ted Leister’s son. I look over again, and the two rude-ass girls are looking straight at me with their bulging eyes. My temper flares as I scowl back at them, and I’m tempted to march over there and tell them off. But why bother? I don’t have time to educate the ignorant.

I start to walk away quickly, heading toward the dorms. And a feeling comes over me that I rarely acknowledge—a feeling of guilt. I’ve treated Justin badly and kept him at a distance. And now, because of me, he’s associated with a lech that preys on women. What if someone takes it too far and takes their anger out on him instead? My heart races as I realize what I’ve done.

Instead of seeing Justin separately, I always link him to his dad. A man he hates as much as I hate mine. Will people think of Justin as a talented artist or as the guy whose dad is an abusive shit? Why am I the bastard while my dad is respected? Why should we have labels when it wasn’t our fault?

I turn back and head in the direction that Justin went. I have to talk to him and let him know I’m sorry for screwing up his life. A hand grips me on the shoulder before I can take off. I turn, expecting to see one of the boys, but it’s Terri. He grins, but his eyes are thoughtful as he steps in front of me.

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