Antagonym

Chapter 39

This was it. This was the moment I was losing way too much sleep over.

I had spent way too much time going over my speech with Sylvia. I'm sure at this point Sebastian could recite it himself as a result of hearing it so much. But no one else had heard it; not Beck, not Finn, or even Axel. I was waiting to present the final version. This also happened to be the first time I was talking about my rape to Axel, whom didn't know about it until last week when I say do and decided to tell him before he found out on his own.

Thankfully, Axel was sympathetic and understood why I had kept it from him.

But today was the day.

So I was standing behind the stage with Sylvia, both of us wearing our own version of pantsuits. It's not that we were against dresses, but we were projecting an image tonight and that didn't include femininity; it was purely about being one of the guys. Sylvia's was navy blue with a white button down while mine was black with a nude colored silk button down.

I was practically trembling in my heals at the thought of what I was about to do. I had struggled for years to even tell two people and I was about to admit to the entire world I was a victim of rape and I still was plagued with mental problems because of it. This was the exact opposite of the solidarity I was trying to project at the beginning of the season.

"You look like you're about to keel over."

I turned around sharply, my glare already set at Sebastian's height. My best friend was a pain in my ass. "I'm kidding," he raised his fake hands innocently, a bright white smile on his face. "I've heard your speech more times then I can count. You will do perfectly fine, Danny. It's amazing. What's the worst that could happen?"

"I have a panic attack and majorly embarrass myself."

"And if that happens, just look at Beck and I. Pretend you're talking to us like you always do. This is no different. Every person who bought tickets to this is here to support your cause, not rip you apart. Just breathe in and out slowly like we're training. You got this," he boosted my confidence, his hands settling on my shoulders before pulling me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around my brother and gave him a gentle squeeze of reassurance.

When he released me, I let a deep breath leave my lungs as I glanced at Finn giving Sylvia a kiss, their hands intertwined. That's what happiness looked like.

The separated, my blood related sibling giving me another hug, rubbing my back as I gave his large frame a hug back. "I believe in you, Danny. Remember how nervous you were for the trial? You were fifteen and you couldn't read of a script. This is a piece of cake. Sylvia and I are right there for you, and we always will be."

"I love you, Griffin."

"I love you too, Danielle Riley." I belonged. This was my family, pure blooded or not.

I breathed in and out through my nose, watching as two of the three most important men in my life disappeared to find their seats after Seb gave Sylvia a hug and told us both he loved us while wishing us luck. My eyes focused on Sylvia, both of our skin colored mics hovering by our mouths. "We got this. These people have nothing on us," I told her with a small smile.

"Damn right."

And when the applause filled the auditorium and the two of us walked it to face a full crowd, I had a bright smile on my face as the warm lights illuminated my face. Immediately my eyes found the front row with Axel, Ken, Sebastian, Finn, Beck, Jason, Al and all of the usual guests at the Riley picnics, from Finn and Sylvia's friends Sam and Kelsey to their Olympic goalie Rob and his wife and their high school friend Jameson and his. There was a whole group of people ready to support the two of us. It was impossibly for me to feel alone with the people who had surrounded me since I was as young as twelve.