My father squeezes my hand, “Honey, you don’t know that. Rape.” He shakes his head. “I don’t want to believe it. But…”
“Wait.” I shake my head. “What?”
“Karrie,” Mindy says, “a woman just accused him of beating and raping her last night after the game.”
My dad nods. “According to the police, she walked into the station this afternoon and said she spent the night with him or rather he went to her room at around one a.m. They spent the night having sex, rough sex.” Mindy looks at the lawyer. “Where it got out of hand. She said no. He didn’t stop.”
I let my father’s hand go. “Bullshit. He would never. Ed, I promise you he didn’t do this.” The tears are coming, but they are angry tears now. Why isn’t anyone listening to me? Mindy’s phone rings and she answers it. She nods and hangs up. “They are arresting him now.”
I get up. “I have to go to him. I have to be there.” I’m about to run, not walk out of the room, when my father stops me by holding my arm.
“Karrie. You did what you had to do. You can’t put this on yourself. He must have sneaked out while you were sleeping.”
I yank my hand out of my father’s hand. “He was with me.” Mindy’s hand goes to her mouth. “All night, Dad.” My tears run down my cheeks like a river flowing. There’s nothing that will let them stop. “All night, every night.”
My father puts his hands in his pockets, looking at Ed.
“I don’t need you to believe me. I need you to believe that no matter what, Matthew would never do that to anyone. He has sisters and a mother that he adores. He would never ever raise his hand to anyone.” I turn to Ed. “I need to know right now whose side you’re on, because if you aren’t on my side, which is his side, you need to leave.”
“Karrie,” My father starts, but I hold up my hand to stop him.
I gather whatever strength I have left.
“I love him, Dad. I love him more than I can say. I love him with every beat of my heart. I love him with every breath in my body. I love him with every single piece of me.” My shoulders go square, my spine straight. “I’m in love with him. I have been from the moment he walked into the house and told me to buy his food. Now I ask you, Dad, whose side are you on? Because…” I shake my head, not ready to say the words.
“Yours, every single time it’s yours,” he says quietly. “Let’s go be by Matthew’s side.”
I nod while a sob comes out of me. The thought of losing Matthew is too much. “I can’t let him see me like this. I have to be strong for him.”
My father takes me in his arms, where I let go, a sound of horror coming out of me, my heart broken when I think about how alone he must be.
“Get Cooper on the phone. Ed, call in the cavalry,” he says over my head while he rubs my back. “Mindy, put out a statement that we stand by his side. No matter what.” He rubs my back. “Okay, honey, we need to get to the police station.” He guides me out while Mindy stays on my other side, her hand in mine. A form of unity.
She leans in. “No way he did this.”
I nod at her, biting my lips together when we make it out of the arena at the same time they put Matthew in the car.
“Karrie!” he yells from inside the car. “Karrie!”
My first thought is to go to him, but they drive off, so I turn and my father ushers me back into the arena into a waiting car.
“The media is picking up the story. It’s all over the place,” Mindy says, getting in the car also. “I have Parker on the phone.” She hands me her phone.
“Hello,” I breathe out, my voice cracking.
“Karrie, I know what you’re going through, honey, I’m on my way.”
My head just nods.
“Honey, you have to be strong. For Matthew. Yes?”
I just nod, but it’s like she knows.
“We should be there within the hour.”
“Okay,” I whisper and then give the phone back to Mindy. “I think I’m going to be sick,” I say when my stomach starts to rumble and the motion of the car makes me light-headed.
“Here, drink this.” Mindy hands me a bottle of water. When we get to the station, I spot five media trucks already. “Look down and don’t say a word to anyone,” she says, getting out of the car followed by my father, who holds out his hand to me.
I walk next to my father, who puts his hand over my shoulder and leads me inside.