I've Changed

61. I have to go

TW: RAPE

(WARNING TO ALL READERS THAT THERE IS MATURE CONTENT AHEAD!! CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!)

Jae's pov

"Cassidy watched me get raped"

When the room becomes still and silent, my heart sinks. When I watch Ellie staring intensely at Cassidy, whose eyes widen, my stomach twists with contempt. When Ellie's confession shocked us, I look around the room and could see everyone's jaws on the floor and no one making any abrupt motions.

I move forward, wanting to reassure Ellie since I see her in pain and blood trickling down her hands, but Malcom stops me and shakes his head. I come to a standstill, furrowing my brows, and return my gaze to Ellie, who takes another breath.

"Too late to make excuses Ellie, the whole school knows it's the other way around-"

"Mark Powell, you're one and only, raped me in this same room. He raped me until I was bleeding, causing me to vomit and despise myself as a result of his pain," My breath catches as Ellie speaks flatly to show no hesitancy. I sense the tension in the room, as well as the shame and fear on everyone's faces, while I glance down at the floor and feel the terrible pain of her words.

"Stop lying," Cassidy scoffs, as the rest of the team shuffles on their feet and moves away from the two girls. Cassidy wipes the blood from her face, unfazed by the discomfort.

"How can I lie when that's my proof," Ellie says, pointing to the ceiling, and my eyebrows, like everyone else's, rise when my gaze lands on the security camera that overlooks the offices. I look at Malcom, who appears calm despite the tense situation, before feeling my heart ache for Ellie as I watch her try to hide her tears, making me upset for her since I don't like seeing her like this.

"You fucking stood there," Ellie says, gesturing to the lockers in front of one of the offices, and I swallow my anxiety for her as my mind spins. "You stood there and watched Mark fuck me till I passed out. You stood there and watched me scream for your attention, begging you to help me, to push him away, but all you did was wait there and watch him torture me," I bite my lower lip, close my eyes, and shake my head in disappointment. Ellie's voice cracks at certain moments, and I can see she's hurting, but she's doing a good job of keeping it steady and confident, which makes me proud of her for sticking up for herself.

"After that day, I thought you were a bad person, someone who betrayed your internship partner, classmate, and I-I thought even a friend," my stomach tightens at her words, making me want to step towards her and hug her into my arms, but Malcom keeps me back. "I was tricked and led into believing I was loved, but I wasn't," Ellie shakes her head, and I raise my head to examine her figure, which is gradually improving as the days pass. Her beauty standing out to me since she is the strongest person in this room.

"You had to get worse. You had to keep making mistakes and be ruthless in your actions. So, no, you didn't only stand there and watch me get raped; you then allowed it to happen again," I gasp and stagger back as the masses surrounding me do the same. I make eye contact with Sofie, whose eyes begin to tear up as Theo stands by her side. Alex is cowering behind Eric, who is attempting to console her. The team is awkwardly looking around, flicking their gaze between Ellie and Cassidy.

"You let Mark fuck up my life once more. You showed him the room where I was most vulnerable and weak, so he could rape me again," I forcefully bite my lower lip, causing a small amount of blood to leak from the skin. I wipe the few tears that had spilled out of my eyes with my hand.

"You asked for it," Cassidy says, and the rest of the team and I tremble in her presence as she finally reveals her vicious and disturbing personality, showing that we've all been fooled into thinking the opposite.