Read Online Modern Monsters (Entangled Teen) by Kelley York - Free Book Online Page B

think so.” Not that Autumn told me, anyway. She said they didn’t find anything because of Callie washing any viable evidence, but she could very well have made that up.
    “Well…that’s a weight off you, isn’t it?” He grins. “No evidence means they can’t really prosecute you for rape.”
    I try to smile in return, despite not being so sure. Like Autumn said, I’m not off the hook yet. Though some part of me does feel a little lighter, and that feeling lasts long after I’ve gone to work that night and returned to Brett’s, where Mr. Mason is there to greet me with a smile as he pulls me into his office. Brett follows us and this time, Mr. Mason allows it.
    “Good news,” he says brightly, and proceeds to reiterate the information we already knew. Hearing it again, especially coming from him and not from Autumn, makes it sound better, more hopeful. He must be in a good mood, because he doesn’t tell Brett to leave so we can talk in private like he usually does.
    “It’s great,” I say when he’s done, even though I don’t entirely know what it means for me. Thankfully, Mr. Mason is good at explaining every step of this process so I haven’t been left too in the dark.
    He takes a seat and we sit in the stuffed chairs across from his desk as he explains. “First, they don’t have much to convince a judge for a restraining order anymore. This temporary one will stay in effect until your hearing on the sixth, but they’ll probably have to drop it.”
    Brett rolls his eyes. “It’s not like Vic would’ve gone to talk to her anyway. They don’t have any classes together.”
    “True. But when Callie was ready to return to school, if they had gotten a permanent restraining order into effect, Vic would’ve been the one forced into switching schools.”
    Oh. I hadn’t known that. Frankly, I’m not so sure I’d survive going to school without Brett. The idea in and of itself is terrifying.
    Mr. Mason continues. “They obviously have no physical evidence to charge you on. A party full of drunk kids doesn’t make for reliable eyewitnesses, and since there are so many varying stories about when you went upstairs and came back down again, they’re struggling for a leg to stand on.”
    “Even w-with Callie identifying me?”
    “The wording she used is pretty sketchy.” He rummages through his papers to locate a stack in particular. “She told the detectives that she remembers you were present at some point when you took her to the bedroom, but that she couldn’t say with undeniable certainty you were the one raping her. Your face is just the last one she saw and she remembered hearing your stutter. If she reiterates that to a jury, it isn’t going to sound convincing. Alternatively, if she changes her story, her credibility is shot.”
    Brett smiles wide and pats me on the back. I feel like this should make me happier than it does. Yeah, I’m ecstatic that this is good news for me, but… “W-what do the police do now to f-find out who did it?”
    “Depends.” Mr. Mason shrugs. “If the detectives had their way, they’d just close the case. But if Callie’s family wants to keep pushing or if they get the media involved, then the police can press charges anyway—I don’t think they’ll get anywhere with that—or they’ll find someone else they can pin this on just to put everyone’s mind at ease. They have the other guys from the party that they’re questioning, but again, no evidence, no easy suspects. There isn’t a lot they can do to really find who did it, shy of someone stepping forward with a new story or an admission. They’ve taken multiple statements from several people, ran their tests, and found nothing. They may mark the case as cold until—if and when—they find some other evidence. Cases like this aren’t taken very seriously, though. They might think digging deeper is too much of a hassle.”
    It’s just like Autumn said. Now Callie is going to be stuck not