"It takes a lot of courage to be through what you have, and to force yourself out of bed every morning, remember that."

Millie's warm breath brushed against my ear as she slowly pulled away, squeezing my shoulder in a comforting gesture as my grandmother had for years before she passed away late last year. I watched silently as she crossed the room, only stirred out of my thoughts when Bianca jerked suddenly behind me and caused the chair to squeal against the tile as she shoved the exercise given to us deep in her purse.

She smiled sheepishly when she caught my eye and rose to her feet. "I was thinking maybe we could go grab a cup of coffee."

It had been so long since I'd been out with anyone other than Colton and my brother that I forgot just how to respond for a fraction of a second.

"That sounds great." I eventually mustered up, offering up the best smile I could manage.

It really did sound great. It had been months since Isabelle had sat down and asked me what was really going on in my life. She would occasionally ask as a topic to delve deeper into the conversation, but when I would have no response, she would immediately start in on a different subject entirely. I didn't blame her, not in the least. She had no idea what happened and I knew, without any doubt, that if she did, she would be sticking right by me and helping me through it.

"Did you drive here?" Bianca questioned.

I shifted on my feet, my mind flickering back to Colton's offer a few days ago.

"I don't have a car." I answered. "Or a license for that matter."

She laughed quietly, digging her keys from her oversized designer purse that I knew my mom probably had an exact copy of sitting in the back of her closet somewhere.

"There's no need to fear." She winked playfully, "I've got you, sis."

*

Few words were spoken the first few minutes of the drive. Bianca blasted the heat for a few minutes, turning the radio down as warmth spread throughout the car. It was when we were finally out of the parking lot and on the road that she asked the question I'd been dreading answering for the last few days.

"So the boy that showed up the other day," she started quietly, "who exactly was he? You didn't look overly thrilled to see him."

"Colton's my brother's best friend. He was just keeping an eye on me for my brother."

A silence hung in the car between us for a few minutes before Bianca finally threw a quick glance in my direction.

"They don't know what happened." It wasn't a question. "Are you going to tell them?"

The words formed in my head and mouth but wouldn't break passed my chapped lips. I bowed my head a fraction and shrugged a shoulder. "Colton knows now."

"And your brother?"

"No." I wasn't a hundred percent sure if I was answering that he didn't know or that I wasn't going to tell him, but to my relief, she didn't push any further.

A comfortable silence filled the car until we reached the cafe. Bianca hummed quietly to herself until we reached the bar stool at the counter, handing me a menu as she spoke softly.

"So your attacker," she paused as a waiter passed, "does he go to your school?"

The question left me reeling in shock for a few minutes, not able to mutter a coherent word.

"Yes." The word eventually escaped.

Bianca's look was somewhere between knowing and sympathetic. "Is he. . . he someone you know well?"

"No, but everyone else does."

Three months and this was the most I'd ever said about that night, about Kevin Marshall. There was a small part of me that didn't want it to stop either, that just wanted to tell the girl in front of me the entire story so it would finally be off my chest. But when I tried to speak again, the words fell dry and died somewhere in my mouth before I could get them out.

Bianca nodded, a clear look of understanding in her eyes. "Ah, Mr. Popular then, I take it?"

All I could do was nod.

She must have sensed how uncomfortable I was, because seconds later, she shifted her body so she was facing the counter, lacing her fingers through one another, and started talking.

"I was only thirteen the first time my cousin. . . the first time it happened. I thought it was some sort of joke, you know, just playing around. Until I said stop and he didn't listen. That was the first time. Every time after that, he'd threaten to spread disgusting rumors through the school, tell my parents shit that wasn't true. So I didn't fight him. And you know, every day I look at myself in the mirror and see that thirteen year old girl, and I hate her for letting him do it." I nodded when she grew quiet, then looked to her left, somewhere far beyond the wall. "My uncle? That happened more often then not, and he was far stronger than my cousin, of course, so I couldn't do anything. I couldn't tell anyone. Because who would believe a little girl over both of them?"

When she remained silent for a few minutes, I reached out and touched the top of her hand. "I'm sorry."

She shrugged, unaffected by the story she'd told as if it'd left her mouth a million times before.

"I'm a different person because of it now. I've overcome that obstacle in my life." She stopped, then added, "Now, this Mr. Popular, I think we should go pay him a visit."

*

There wasn't even the slightest ounce of my being that had any desire to see Kevin Marshall.

A laugh escaped Bianca as she slowed the car to a stop along the curb outside the Marshall's driveway.

"Are you serious? The Governor's son?" She put the car in park. "This is even better, because he has enemies everywhere, no one will suspect two young girls."

Bianca outstretched her arm behind my seat and brought a bottle of vodka out from the back. She caught my surprised look and laughed again.

"Oh come on, you couldn't possibly have thought we were going to do this entirely sober." She said, then took a swing from the bottle. I could feel my raw throat burning as I watched her chug down a good portion of it. She held the drink out to me after a moment, but for the first time in a long time, I didn't want to drink.

"I don't think this is a good idea, Bianca." I whispered. "Come on, let's just go."

But she was far beyond listening to me and had already climbed out of the car and was on her way around the bumper.

I hurried out myself, pressing my back against the car as I watched Bianca pull out a can of spray paint and head straight for Kevin's precious Mercedes. She started to spray profanities all around the car, then on the windshield. I brought my hand to my mouth, my eyes widening a fraction. After a moment, she grabbed the carton of eggs we'd stopped and bought a few minutes ago and started throwing them at the car.

It was a miracle that the alarm hadn't gone off yet. Most expensive cars had an alarm that would trigger when someone was within a close proximity of it.

Once the carton was empty, she set it on the back of the car and took a key out and started to carve something I couldn't make out from where I stood into the side of the car. Finally, she steps a little too close to the car in front of it in the driveway and triggered the alarm on it.

She rushed back at her car, shaking her head as she laughed, her adrenaline clearly pumping. I tore the keys from her hand, making the last minute decision to drive since she had drank. We threw ourselves into the car just as the Marshall's ran out of the house.

Kevin brought his hands to his head, then buried it in his hands as he stared at what was left of his car. I ducked as I turned the car around and drove by. Bianca shouted something out the window before we sped off into the dark night, leaving the Marshall's to stare after us in horror. 

***AN****

Hope you guys enjoyed! I'm SO SO SO sorry for the late update! It's been so hectic lately guys! Hopefully I'll be able to update more! 

Let me know what you think/thought!