Page 35 of Peaches & Cream

I pull my arm back from Dad’s grip. “Get myself…? I don’t even know where to—” I point at the cop car behind the barn. “What have you done?”

“What any decent father would. I’ve made sure that man can never touch you again. He’ll get serious time for this.”

“Decent father?” I splutter and storm away to find the Sheriff. “Lou?Lou.”

Dad chases me. “Let him do his job, Cady. We’ve all seen the evidence.”

I stop in my tracks and turn to face my father. “Whatevidence,Daddy?” I yell at him. “There’s been no crime. I’m a grown woman, and Iwantedto fuck Daryl, so I did. I’ve been fucking him for weeks, and I plan to fuck him for years to come. And I don’t use any birth control. I could be pregnant with his child, right now, and I hope that I am. I’ve wanted a new family for years, because I am fuckingdonewith the one I have. Forget me leaving in a week. I’ll be gone tonight, and I’m never coming home again. What do you think aboutthat?”

I don’t wait to hear his answer, because I can see Deputy Dan having what looks like celebratory drinks.Motherfuckers. I head straight for them, but Dad grabs my hand and yanks me back. “Let them do their job, Cady.”

“Their job is to protect and serve, not do unlawful vigilante shit and be a bunch of fucking idiots.”

“Daryl resisted arrest and assaulted an officer.”

“Why wouldn’t he resist? He’s not fucking guilty.”

“He’s going to prison.”

“Then so am I.” I flip him the bird, march straight toward Deputy Dan, and slap him upside the head. “Daniel Ferguson, you had better have a good fucking reason for locking my boyfriend in the back of that police car.”

Dan spits his beer, “Boyfriend?”He looks me over, and puffs through his lips in disbelief. “Cady, there’s no way we’re going to believe that kind of horse shit. Whatever that man’s threatened you with, to make you lie or keep a hush about the incident, it ain’t going to save him. You go home and take all the time you need to recover. He won’t be bothering you anymore, so don’t you worry about a thing. We’ll take care of it.”

I stare at him, dumbfounded. I shake my head. “I’m sorry,what?”

Sheriff Lou joins us and clears his throat. “Cadence, your Daddy’s worried you’re acting out of character. He suspects you’re suffering some emotional — but perfectly reasonable — post-traumatic upheaval, and after hearing you just now, I can see his point. I understand you’ve been through a lot,” he says slowly and softly, “and if you need me to call Nurse Sheila so you’ve got a woman to talk to about what happened, I’m happy to do it, but we all think it’d be better if you went home and had some rest first. We can take your statement in the morning.” He points over at his car. “And if that man made you say that story, it ain’t going to help him none. Nobody’s going to believe a sweet girl like you was doing anything consensual with a man like that no how, so don’t waste your breath. You focus on getting some rest, and we’ll talk tomorrow. I’ve given your daddy the names of some counsellors, and I think doing a rape kit would be invasive and unnecessary at this point. We’ve got all the evidence we need, and it don’t seem right to put you through it.”

Ready to pull my fucking hair out, I scream at him. “What fucking evidence?”

Sheriff Lou shakes his head and takes a step back. “Don’t make me re-traumatize you, Cady. I can’t do it. You’re suffering enough. Look at you.”

I do look at myself.

I look at myself from everyone else’s warped perception and consider assaulting some people myself. But that’s not going to help Daryl. I need to stay calm and see everything for what it is and everyone for who they are — a big, fat lie.

This whole town is making my life the biggest fattest lie there ever was, and no matter how crazy, helpless, or victimized I’m being made out to be, I refuse to live it.

The demon always screams before it dies.

I stand tall, take a deep breath, and nod as I’m the calmest I’ve ever been. “Thank you, Sheriff,Deputy. As you suggested, I think I will take my leave.”

I walk away, forcing my brain to come up with a plan. I see my father in the distance and press myself against the nearest tree in the hopes he won’t see me. He stops to talk to Mrs. Peterson, and I can just tell he’s lapping up all the sympathy he’s getting from this Smear campaign he’s created to get rid of Daryl.

While he’s distracted, I quickly head the other way, ducking between the sheds, and doubling back to where Lou’s car is parked. Those doors to the back are only locked from the inside, so the criminals can’t get out, right? And nobody ever locks their cars around here. We’re a small town. Everybody knows everybody. It’s safe and there’s no need.

I creep close and try the handle. The door opens, and I slip into the backseat, where Daryl is handcuffed andbruised.

I pull the door nearly closed and shuffle over to him. “Motherfuckers. Theybeatyou?”

Daryl rouses slowly and smiles when he recognizes me. “Hey, Beautiful. Are you okay?”

“Me?” I assess his swollen face and whimper. “Areyouokay?”

He razzes his lips at me. “This is nothing. The way I grew up? I’m immune to this kind of shit.” He searches my eyes and plumps his bottom lip. “Don’t look all sad, Babe. I promise it doesn’t even hurt. Shit, PattyMaddogMacArthur had a better right hook than Dan — The Fuckhead —Fergusson.”

I snort softly and glance out the back window. “They’re all against us,” I tell him straight. “I think they’re trying to make out that I’m too traumatized and mentally disturbed to testify or something. I’ve tried telling the truth, but they refuse to hear it.”

“Sounds about right.” Daryl sighs. “I know how to deal with the situation, but it’ll take some time, and I’ll need you to make some calls for me — if that’s not too much to ask? I get the feeling I won’t be allowed to do shit until they decide to let me, and that could be a while yet.”

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