“All rise! Court is now in session, the honorable Judge Monique Sanders presiding.”

The bailiff’s bellow brought the chatter in the courtroom to complete silence as the small statured judge approached the bench to take her seat.

“You may be seated,” she stated in a voice that was both calm and firm, leaving no doubt as to who was in charge. Molly sat with the prosecution wringing her hands nervously in anticipation, waiting for Judge Sanders to deliver the punishment due the cowards who called themselves men at the defendants table.

Justin and Jennifer sat amongst the rest of the on-lookers holding onto one another tightly. Justin took a deep breath in both relief and fear. He was relieved because he thought this day would never come. Finally the animals that had caused his sister so much pain and suffering would have to answer for their misdeeds, but he also feared that the system would fail Molly yet again.

Jennifer just wanted this whole ordeal to be over so that Molly could go back to living a normal life, if that was even possible. The media hadn’t exactly been considerate of her privacy and the constant harassment had taken its toll on her emotionally and physically. It made Jennifer sick to her stomach every time she thought about how they tried to blame Molly for her own attack based simply on what she had been wearing at the time. Justin looked over at Jennifer and noticed she had gone pale, as if she had seen a ghost.

“Mom are you alright,” Justin whispered in her ear.

“Oh, I’m fine honey. I just never thought I’d see the day when these monsters would actually pay for what they did to Molly,” she smiled “Me either.’’ Justin whispered back with a wink.

Judge Sanders spent a few moments going over the briefs handed to her before turning her attention to the packed courtroom.

“Will the defendants please rise,” the four men sitting at the defendants table did as they were instructed, preparing themselves to hear their fate.

Graduation night St James Academy 9 months earlier

Molly was just coming out of the auditorium having an animated conversation with some classmates diploma in hand, when she spotted Jennifer and Justin who had been waiting by the trophy case to offer their congratulations.

“I’m so proud of you sweetheart,” Jennifer gushed with tears in her eyes. “My baby girl is all grown up.”

Justin gave her one of his biggest smiles and a tight hug and told her how proud he was of her as well. “You did it Mollusk, you survived four years of pure hell,” Molly rolled her eyes in response and smiled in return.

“Thanks Justin although you’re wrong about the four years of pure hell…it was fourteen,” she quipped causing the Taylor trio to erupt in laughter. Molly’s facial expression suddenly changed from one of excitement to one of despair as she sighed heavily “I just wish Dad could have been here too.”

Jennifer brought Molly into an embrace and whispered “I know you do honey, and so do I.”

“But enough of that,” Molly started not wanting to think about it any further. “I can’t wait to go celebrate this momentous occasion. Sarah Jacobson is throwing a graduation party at her parents’ house and I don’t want to miss a minute of it.” Jennifer and Justin couldn’t hide their amusement; neither could they resist joking at Molly’s expense.

“Well I guess we better get you home Cinderella, your chariot awaits,” Justin said tongue in cheek.

“Haha very funny ….asshole,” Molly smirked under her breath as they made their way to the school parking lot.

Once they arrived home Molly immediately ran upstairs to get ready for her big night on the town. She still couldn’t believe that she was finally done with high school and preparing to go to college. She decided such a special night afforded her the opportunity to don her hottest outfit.

She went to her closet and pulled out an Aeropostle printed tee, thigh length denim skirt, and knee high stack-heeled boots. After lightly applying her make-up and brushing her beautiful strawberry blonde hair, Molly checked herself in the mirror and was satisfied with her appearance. Molly made her way back down the stairs and kissed Jennifer goodbye, promising to be careful and to call if there was any trouble.

“Mom are you sure it’s safe to let Molly go out by herself so late at night?” Justin asked his voice full of concern. He knew from firsthand experience what dangers could be lurking in the shadows on a night like this. Six years had passed since his bashing but nightmares of his ordeal still haunted him. He didn’t want Molly to ever experience the emotional trauma he had to go through, was still going through to this day.

“She’ll be fine Justin. Don’t worry I’m sure she can take care of herself.” Justin tried to take his mother’s advice and not worry, but he still felt a little uneasy about the situation. He offered a smile in resignation and placed a kiss on Jennifer’s cheek before replying “I’m sure you’re right Mom she’ll probably be fine.”

It was really starting to get late and Justin had an early meeting the next day so he decided to head home to get some sleep.

“I’ll call and check on you and Molly tomorrow Mom.”

“Thank you for that sweetheart, I love you Justin.” Justin hugged his mother one last time before shutting the door and getting into his car.

When Molly reached the Jacobson residence twenty minutes later, she was greeted by a very excited Sarah and the pleasant sounds of Creed’s ‘My Own Prison’ coming from the large speakers in the living room turned dance floor.

“Damn Molly, I thought you’d never get here. Everybody has been asking about you.” Sarah stated as she escorted Molly through the throngs of writhing, gyrating bodies.

“Darling perfection takes time. Do you think I can just tumble out of bed and look like this?” Molly asked with and exaggerated flip of her hair. Sarah cracked up and offered to get Molly a drink.

Molly and Sarah continued to engage themselves in conversation while unbeknownst to them; they were being watched very closely. Zamani Smith, Terrence Walters, Jackie Bond, and Richard Phillips were in complete awe of the two lovely young ladies. The four high school football stars spoke candidly of all the nasty, naughty things they would do to Sarah and Molly if given the chance.

“Man that Molly Taylor is one hot piece of ass,” Terrence licked his lips as his eyes raked slowly over Molly’s five foot nine inch frame. Zamani couldn’t help but agree adding, “Yeah, and I bet her pussy is tighter than Ft Knox.” Of course Richard and Jackie couldn’t resist getting in on the fun and had their say as well.

“I bet I can get her to fuck me before the night’s over with,” Richard suggested.

“No way fucker, she’d never go for a loser like you,” said Jackie “I’m more her type and besides, no woman wants a man with a little dick.” This threw the four jocks into a fit of uncontrollable laughter until Zamani broke up the moment of mirth.

“Alright asswipes let’s settle this thing once and for all. Twenty bucks and bragging rights to the first one to get Ms. Taylor to give up her sweet little ass…deal?” The other young men seemed to be taking their time and thinking it over, hesitant to take on such an endeavor and making themselves look like fist class assholes if they failed. After a few moments of silence, the young men shook hands and agreed to the terms.