The color seemed to completely drain from Sarah’s face in the split second that it took for Molly to suggest that she walk arm in arm with her in this seemingly losing battle. She watched nervously as Molly rose from the couch and tossed the TV remote angrily aside. From the look on Molly’s face, the girl was no longer feeling cowed or depressed. She was furious. It was a good change, as far as Sarah was concerned, although she was more than a little worried that Molly’s abrupt change of mood was just as unhealthy as her previous numb state had been.
“Those limp dicked, half witted motherfuckers! Just who the fuck do they think they are?” Molly grumbled, as she paced agitatedly from one end of the room to the other.
“If they were really expecting me to just sit idly by and accept this bullshit, they have another thing coming. I WON’T let them get away with this. I’m going to take that fucking stand and look each and every single one of those assholes in the eye and dare them to lie. I know them - they’re all fucking cowards at heart. There’s no way they will be able to lie to my face enough to convince a court that I asked for what happened to me.”
Molly’s pacing became more frantic the angrier she got. Every time she glanced at the television news program - even though they were no longer showing footage from the courthouse regarding her case - her fury ramped up another notch. Sarah wanted nothing more than to support her friend, but at the same time she didn’t want to give Molly any false hope. Sarah wasn’t quite as sure as her friend professed to be that the boys would cave. It wasn’t that she didn’t have faith that Molly could handle the situation at large, her uncertainty came from a place of profound guilt.
She asked herself, not for the first time since that night, why hadn’t she noticed something was wrong? Anybody who was present knew firsthand that she and Molly were practically joined at the hip for a good portion of the night. She should have curtailed her drinking during the party so that she would be lucid enough to know that Molly had been gone too long. Or maybe she shouldn’t have let the other girl out of her sight at all. She would never forget the sight of Molly cringing on her bathroom floor-bloodied, beaten, and broken. Sarah didn’t understand how Molly could ever forgive her for letting this happen...moreover, she didn’t think she even wanted her to.
“Molly are you absolutely sure about this? Putting yourself out there like that? I mean...everyone’s going to be watching you. They’ll all know. . . And there aren’t any guarantees that the boys will even receive proper punishment for their crime. Can you deal with being exposed like that a second time if they get off scot free? Will it be worth it to you?”
“And just what the hell is that supposed to mean Sarah? Do you think I should just give up and take whatever crumbs they’re willing to throw my way? FUCK YOU if that’s how you feel.”
Jennifer and Justin had silently come in right about the time Molly had launched the big “Fuck You” at her friend and hastened to break up the exchange. Neither of them had ever seen Molly so enraged and it was both a scary and welcome sight to see - at least she was feeling something again. They couldn’t help but feel the tension. It was so palpable that one could swear it had it’s own heartbeat. In fact, Molly was so wrapped up in her own tirade that she didn’t even hear her mother and brother approaching.
Jennifer reach out a tentative hand “Molly…”
Molly visibly jumped about six inches off the ground at the unexpected touch on her shoulder and spun around in mid-air.
“I’m sorry, Sweetheart. I didn’t mean to startle you,” Jenn quickly apologized, internally cursing herself for being so thoughtless as to alarm her admittedly jumpy daughter. “I guess it’s safe to assume you’ve already heard about what happened today?”
“Yeah. I can’t believe the judge just let them out of jail. It’s not fair, mom. Doesn’t that asswipe judge get it? These fuckers could do it again and now that they’re free to roam around at will there’s nothing to stop them from hurting some other girl,” Molly’s voice was becoming increasingly more unsteady, the anger in her tone rapidly fading as despair took over once again.
Justin had seen the tigress unleashed in Molly today and he was so damned proud of her for having the temerity to stand up and let it be known in no uncertain terms that she intended to hold her attackers accountable. He wasn’t quite ready to put that beast back in the cage just yet. Instead, he intended to encourage the ferocity whenever possible.
“Don’t worry Mollusk, if I have my way, I will personally see to it that the bastards get exactly what they deserve for what they did to you,” Justin reassured her, reaching out to hug the brave young woman but withdrawing from her when he noticed the slight flinching as he approached. It physically hurt him to see his sister reacting that way but other than stand with her through the rest of this hateful experience, share the pain of the trial and be her buffer or occasional whipping post for whatever else they might have to endure, there was nothing else he could do to help her heal.
“Thanks, Jus, but…”
“No buts Molly. This is only the beginning and we’re going to do whatever it takes to make it through this. Those fuckers getting out on bail doesn’t mean dick because we’ll still kick their asses in the end.”
Molly smiled softly at Justin as she cupped his cheek gently. Even though she and Justin had had their fair share of disagreements in the past, and lord knows they could get pretty epic, it was times like this that she felt blessed to have a brother like Justin. It was comforting to have not only his love but his unwavering support in this fucked up mess. Tears involuntarily made their way down Molly’s cheeks and she finally allowed herself to be encased in her brother’s arms.
Jennifer’s heart warmed at the sight of her children bonding in a way she never thought possible. Only it was such a dirty damn shame that this unspeakable tragedy was the catalyst for bringing them closer. She was still boiling inside thinking about those home-grown little terrorists roaming the streets with some semblance of freedom while Molly virtually remained a prisoner within her own home.
Mr Kinney’s words played over and over in her mind about trusting him to get proper justice for her daughter, but that was easier said than done. These days Jennifer didn’t trust anyone. The justice system itself had failed her daughter proving once again that money does indeed talk , and bullshit walks. Still, something about the recent precedings didn’t sit right with her. How could those monsters get such a slap on the wrist after what they had done?
She also pretty damn sure Molly wasn’t their first or only victim. Maybe she ought to do a little background checking of her own to see if her suspicions held any merit. Jennifer knew she couldn’t have been imagining things when she saw the sly look that passed between Jackie and the good judge. The world in which the country club set moved was small but leaden with powerful alliances. It was definitely a possibility- an avenue should her suspicions prove right, she’ll be happy to bring crashing down around their ears.
For now though, she would focus her attention where it was needed the most, and that was on her children.