PIPER'S P.O.V.


I stared blankly at him, unable to think clearly. How could I end up with James' father as the detective on my case against him raping me?

"Miss, is something wrong?"

"I... I'm sorry. I'm going to have to talk to another officer."

He looked at me, his face turning cold and stern.

"Ma'am... Piper, was it?"

I nodded to him politely; I couldn't talk to him about this.

"Piper. Was my son involved in the reason why you're here? You can tell me."
I didn't know what to do, so I looked at the empty table and spoke without looking at him.

"Yes. He... He drugged me and raped me."

His fist hit the table and he buried his face in his hands.

"I thought he was better!"

Better? He had done something similar before?

"I'm sorry, Piper. I'm being completely unprofessional right now. You poor thing. I... I can't
believe this."

"Can I ask what you mean by better?"

"Yes, but all of this is off the record for now and then we'll have an official conversation and report."

I nodded in agreement and awaited his explanation.

"When his mother and I divorced, she remarried in a matter of a couple months. It was fast and he took it hard. Her new husband had a daughter that was much older than James. He was 12 and she was 17. I don't want you to think I'm trying to make excuses for him because that is far from the truth, but Amy really messed him up. She convinced him that none of what they did was wrong and it went on so long without any of us knowing that he reaped permanent psychological issues from it. He's started to see therapists but he was stubborn and didn't want to talk. He wouldn't take no for an answer, though. He would get girls drunk so that they would sleep with him, even slipping something in one girl's drink when he was 16. Her family pressed charges and he spent 6 months in juvenile jail. When he came home, he was... different. He wouldn't speak to anyone for about a month, but he home-schooled and seemed to have moved on with his life. He continued to see a therapist and we never had an issue with it again. Until now. I am so, so sorry."

James really had problems that I had no idea about. I wonder if Detective Kamp knew that him and Ashlee hooked up. I knew that wasn't really wrong because Ashlee's mom married James' dad when they were already at the university, but knowing this, surely Ashlee's mom would want to know. That wasn't my place, though.

"It's not your fault, sir. I hate to do this to you, but I plan on pressing charges. I'm honestly scared to be around him and we go to the same school."

"I wouldn't expect anything else. I'm on your side. Now, don't look at me as his father; we're going to have an official, on the record conversation and you're going to tell me everything you remember and we will review your hospital papers, okay?"


HARRY'S P.O.V.


What was taking so god-damn long? She should have been done by now, but I could still see her through the glass, talking to the officer that walked in thirty minutes before. I guess I didn't know everything that went into filing a police report of that nature, but I wanted to be able to comfort her again. It would really comfort me. I checked my phone and had a new text message.


*FROM: Liam
I hope Piper is okay. Tell her I'm sorry for leaving and being emotional.*


*TO: Liam
It's fine, mate. It's all a bit fucked up but no one is upset with you. At the police station now.*


I set my phone down on the counter next to me and tapped my foot on the ground impatiently. I decided to take the little bit of free time to check on Andy.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Karen. How's Andrea?"

"She's fine. Wanna talk to her? She's right here."

"Yeah."

I heard shuffling and movement and then a little voice that melted my heart.

"Daddy?"

"Hi, baby girl. How are you?"

"At playground!"

She still didn't always get the difference between 'how are you?' and 'what are you doing?' but
that was fine because I just wanted to hear her.

"That's great! Are you excited to come to America for Christmas?"

I still hadn't told Piper, but she could have the opportunity to meet my daughter in New York
when we go to the charity auction.

"YES!"

She squealed and mumbled something inaudible. Right then, the officer stood up and led Piper to the door.

"Andy, sweetie. I have to go. I'll call you later! Have fun at the playground. I love you."

"Love you, daddy. Bye bye."

I hung up before Karen could return to the line and walked toward Piper and the officer.

"That took forever. What happened?"

"I'll tell you in the car. Let's go."

She pulled me outside after waving goodbye to the man she had spoken to. As soon as the
door shut behind us, I pulled on her hand to stop her.

"Piper, what's going on?"

"The detective is James' dad."

"What? Why didn't you ask for someone else? What if he gets him out of it?"

"Calm down! He won't. Apparently, it's happened before."

Before? That asshole had done that to some innocent girl before he did it to my Piper? If I wasn't furious before, I was then. We walked back to the car in silence, climbing into the back since Riley had moved to the front and fallen asleep. Cory turned around to face us as we shut the doors.

"How did it go?"

"Fine. Let's just go home."

Piper seemed upset, but I didn't want to try to talk to her in the car and I knew we weren't far from her dorm. When Cory parked, he shook Riley awake and she looked around, confused as to where we were. We all stood silently in the elevator, Cory and I pulling their bags. It had already been a long weekend, and I still had to be back in California for a show Tuesday night. When we entered the dorm, Riley and Cory stormed off to their separate rooms, obviously having gotten in a row in the car. I followed Piper to her room and sat on her bed, but she kept standing.

"I need to get rid of these sheets. I can't sleep in them."

She turned around and pulled her bag toward the dresser. I stood up and started to take the sheets off of her bed, leaving a bare mattress with only a cover on. I put she sheets in a pile outside of her door and shut it again.

"Where are fresh sheets?"

"You don't have t-"

"Just let me help, please."

"There should be some on the top shelf of the closet."

I turned to her closet and easily reached for the fresh set of white sheets. I pushed the comforter and pillows off of the bed and pulled the fitted sheet on first, making sure to straighten out the creases. Then, I opened the top shet, also ensuring it was flat, as I hear a small giggle from behind me.

"Are you laughing at me?"

"No, babe. I'm just... okay. I'm laughing a little. You're such a perfectionist!"

"Don't make fun of me; I'm only trying to help!"

She walked over, still laughing and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"I'm just messing with you. You're the best; thank you, Harry."

I wanted to turn around to face her so that I could kiss her, but I couldn't stop thinking about James and how angry I was. My mind flooded with the fact that he was within a mile radius of me and I couldn't pummel him. Or could I? No, I couldn't. I wanted to but Piper would be furious. It was the only thing I could think about, but I needed to be considerate of her.

"Harry, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just... tired." I lied. If I told her what I was really thinking, she would worry and stress
over nothing.

"Well, I'm exhausted and it's almost 9 anyway. Let's go to bed."

I nodded and threw the pillows and comforter back onto the bed before pulling off my shirt and pants. Piper walked into the bathroom and came back a couple minutes later with a toothbrush in her mouth and no pants on; only a tank top that I could see her breasts through. I walked over and placed a kiss on her forehead before pulling my toothbrush out of my bag and entering the bathroom and finding toothpaste. Once we were both done getting ready for bed, I pulled the sheets away so that she could climb in and got in next to her.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to see a therapist so that we can have sex again."

I draped one arm over her hip and scooted closer to her.

"Piper, you don't need to rush anything, but I'm sure a therapist wouldn't hurt. Just don't do it for
me; do it for you."

"I just want to get better."

She started crying and turned her face so that it was in her pillow. I stroked her hair but my mind returned to James. How could he have done this to someone before and then think it would be okay to do it again? He had to of seen how it affected the other person. How could he fucking hurt her? I warned him to stay away, but I never expected this. I grinded my teeth together so that I wouldn't lash out in front of Piper.

"There's nothing wrong with you, Piper. It's him. You are going to be okay. Just don't put any pressure on yourself to rush things. I love you and I'll wait as long as it takes to have sex with you. It isn't the most important thing."

"Thank you, Harry. I love you. I don't know if you realize how much it means to me that you're here right now."

I kissed her forehead and held her close to encourage her to fall asleep. Within minutes, her breathing was in a rhythm and I knew she was out. I waited a little longer before carefully pulling my arm out from underneath her and slipping out of the covers, careful not to wake her. Once I was up, I slipped my pants and shirt back on. I couldn't sleep the way that I felt and I was too antsy to just lay there. I had to walk and clear my head. I grabbed a hoodie and pulled the top over my head to cover my face at least a little. When I left Piper's room, my shoes already on, I saw Cory sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to think so I'm going for a walk."

"Alright, take the spare key from the wall so you don't get locked out."

He didn't seem upset with me but he was definitely in a bad mood. I could care less at that point why, so I grabbed the spare key and walked out the front door. Once I was outside, I walked with my head down, but very few people were even outside. It was getting later, but it was a Saturday night so I knew there would be some crowds later on. I didn't know what I was doing or where I was going but I looked at a map on the corner of a campus road. Roadhouse, sandwich shop, Starbucks... That seemed like the only place within walking distance where I could get something quickly and hot cocoa sounded good. I started to walk in that direction and let my mind wander. If I decided to confront James at some point, what would I even say? Nothing could be said to set things straight. Words couldn't fix anything, which is why I knew I shouldn't try talking to him. I would probably just lose my temper and do something that Piper would hate me for. I wouldn't regret it though. He deserved to feel the pain he caused her, even though it would be impossible to hurt him emotionally because he had no heart. After walking for five minutes, I came across the building I was looking for and walked toward the glass door. As I approached it, I looked inside and my body froze. My hands clenched into tight fists inside the pockets of my jacket as I started to breathe heavily through my teeth. None other than James was behind the counter, acting as though nothing was wrong. As soon as I saw him working so nonchalantly, I knew I would have to do something. I couldn't control my thoughts anymore; they all reverted to violence and before he could see me, I stomped to the back of the shop, sitting on a curb behind a dumpster. I could see the back door between the wall and large bin but anyone on the other side would have to be looking for me to see me. I sat there for an hour, my thoughts sinking in even more as I waited. He was going to pay for what he did.

When the door opened, I saw his lanky figure walk out, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his back pocket. He stood there, trying to light one that he rested between his lips, the wind making it difficult. He turns so that the wind can't hinder his lighter and I take the opportunity to sneak behind him, pulling my hood over my face even more so that all he could see was a dark shadow. I quickly grabbed his shoulders and turned him around fiercely, immediately punching him, right between the eyes. He stumbled backwards and grabbed his face.

"What the fuck? Who are you?"

I didn't answer. Instead, I moved in again and hit him again, this time in his abdomen, making him bend over, clutching it. Once he was leaning over, I held his shoulders and brought my knee to his groin, repeating this until he was laying on the ground. I pounced on him, gripping his shirt in one hand, but he beat me to it this time, hitting me hard in the nose, making blood drip immediately. I wiped the warm liquid and continued to hit his face with my knuckles even though I knew I needed to stop. Every time I tried to, I thought about him fucking Piper and continued, hitting him harder. I was yelling; not words, just yelling to release my anger, as well as distract from my bleeding fists. After a while, I realized he wasn't moving anymore and I stopped. He looked at me, his body limp, and tried to keep his eyes open. I could tell that he was about to black out so I stood up and pointed in his face sternly.

"If you EVER so much as look at her again, I will finish you."

His eyes fluttered shut and I knew I had to leave. I ran as fast as I could, making sure my hood was still covering me. What did I do? Why did I do that? Piper was going to kill me. She would never forgive me. The police were handling it; why couldn't I just let them do their job? Because I couldn't control myself and he did deserve it. Once I was standing in the lobby of Piper's dorm, I called 911 and said 7 words and hung up.

"Someone's passed out behind the campus Starbucks."

I rushed upstairs and unlocked the door but Cory was still sitting there. I leaned against the door and closed my eyes as I sank to the ground, completely out of breath.

"Harry. What happened?"

"Shhhh. Don't wake them up."

He spoke quieter this time, but still frantically.

"What did you do?"

"I got my payback."

Notes

I know: DOUBLE UPDATE TODAY. Just so much going on in these chapters that I couldn't resist. So, please comment!!!

What's going to happen to James? Will Piper be mad at Harry like he thinks she will? Will James remember that it was Harry who did that to him? Will Harry get in trouble with the law? Will it have an effect on Piper's case against James? ANY OTHER COMMENTS WELCOME <3

Thank you sooo much for reading/commenting/rating/subscribing! It means so much to me. xx