Chapter Sixteen —
Boys Will Be Boys

"Hey, how was the movie last night?" Grizz asked as he stepped into the kitchen, returning from his guard shift with Glenn.

"It was good thanks," Rosa replied. She was in the middle of plating up sandwiches that she'd made them for lunch, so took a moment to turn around to face them. "Are you guys hungry?"

Glenn's eyes lit up at the sight of food. "Like that's even a question." Rosa chuckled.

"So what did you guys watch?" Grizz questioned, taking a seat at the table.

Sasha sat on the opposite stool, her legs swinging underneath her as she chewed on a peanut butter sandwich. "The Princess Bride."

"Oh man, I love that movie," Glenn stated, taking a plate from Rosa.

"How was work this morning?" Sasha asked them both.

Grizz exchanged an uneasy look with Glenn, clearing his throat as he took a seat at the table.

The smile slipped from Rosa's expression. "What? What's wrong?"

"So, uh, Sam told us an interesting story," he said.

Rosa's gaze shifted between him and Glenn, searching their faces for some kind of answer. "What happened?"

"Well, Campbell Eliot is a diagnosed psychopath."

Sasha dropped the remains of her sandwich on her plate. "Sorry, what?"

"Campbell," Glenn repeated slowly. "Is a fucking psychopath."

Rosa looked between her friends unsurely, unable to tell whether they were joking or not. "Are you being serious?"

"Yes."

Rosa leaned back against the wall, letting the information sink in. "Holy shit."

"I'm not sure this surprises me as much as it should do," Sasha commented.

"Thank you." Glenn looked to Grizz, motioning his hand towards Sasha. "That's exactly what I said."

"I mean, it makes sense right?" Rosa said, taking a step forwards. "You think he killed Cassandra?"

"He's her cousin," Grizz pointed out.

"Yeah, but he's also a fucking psychopath," Glenn reminded, taking an aggressive bite of his sandwich.

"Sam said their family didn't keep guns," Grizz argued.

"And?" Rosa challenged. "He could have gotten hold of one from anyone around here."

Glenn nodded his head in agreement, shovelling the rest of the sandwich into his mouth. Rosa and Grizz both looked at him in mild disapproval, causing Glenn to frown.

"What?" He asked cluelessly, his mouth full of food. Rosa and Grizz both shook their heads, dismissing their thoughts. "Anyway," Glenn continued. "Campbell pulled a gun on Cassandra the first day we were here. And now we know he's an actual fucking psychopath. So, if anyone was going to kill her, it would be him."

Grizz shook his head unsurely. "I'm not sure. I mean, what about Harry?"

Rosa sighed heavily, leaning her hands against the table. "Harry may be a lot of things, but I'm pretty sure he's not a killer."

"She's right, it can't be Harry," Glenn agreed. "He's too much of a pussy."

"I know they were rivals, but would he actually want Cassandra dead?" Sasha added unsurely.

"Oh, he wanted her dead alright," Glenn said, swallowing the last bite of his food. Rosa's attention fell on him, frowning at his words. "But not dead dead."

Rosa watched him for a moment longer, wanting to know more of what he meant by that, but she decided to come back to it later.

"So what are we gonna do about Campbell?" Sasha asked them. "I mean, is there anything we can do?"

"Not exactly." Glenn shrugged. "Unless he confesses to anything."

"Have we got anything on anyone at all?" Rosa asked. "Like, did Gordie's investigation come up with anything?"

Grizz shook his head. "Nothing."

"Who have you talked to?" Rosa questioned further, looking back and forth between the boys. "I can help, I haven't got work until this evening."

"Rosa–"

She exhaled heavily, anticipating what was coming from Grizz. "I just want to do something okay? I feel useless."

"You're not useless," Grizz assured her.

"I want to do something to help."

"You could always talk to Elle?" Glenn suggested. Rosa turned to him with a questioning look. "Well, she's dating Campbell, so she might know something."

"Wait, what?" Rosa asked, looking between them incredulously. "And we're just...letting her? We're letting her stay with him? Campbell? The guy you just told me was a diagnosed fucking psychopath!"

"What else can we do?!" Glenn defended.

"Um, not that!"

"I don't like it either, but..." Grizz trailed off, running a hand over his face in exhaustion. "This is just so messed up."

Rosa's head was turned away from them, silently deliberating her options. "I'm going over there," she decided.

"That's a terrible idea–"

"No, she's right," Sasha agreed. "We should talk to Elle. She might need help."

"If you start interrogating her then she'll tell Campbell," Glenn warned them. "And he'll get suspicious."

Rosa's expression hardened. "I'm not scared of him."

"Well, it's your funeral."

Grizz shot Glenn a cautioning glare, but Rosa ignored his words, heading to the door.

"Wait you're going now?" Grizz asked, watching her slide on her jacket.

She fumbled in her pockets to double check the keys were still in there.

"Yeah," Rosa answered, as if it was obvious. "I'll see you guys later."

"Hang on, I'm coming with," Sasha said, shovelling the last bit of bread into her mouth.

Grizz watched them both for a moment in disbelief, considering whether or not to actually let them go alone. "Be careful, okay?"

"Always."

Sasha lifted her hand, giving him a two fingered captains salute in response.

Rosa slipped on her sneakers, and the two of them headed outside. She tugged her jacket closer around her body, heading down the porch steps as she began to think through how she would confront Elle without scaring the girl away.

Rosa had barely spoken to her before, though they did share History class together a few years back, but that didn't matter to her at all, she was concerned about the girl's welfare, and she was even more worried about what Campbell was actually capable of.

Sasha shoved her hands in the pockets of her hoodie, walking alongside her. "Do you think Elle knows what kind of person he is?"

"I don't know," Rosa answered truthfully. "I guess he can be charming to some people."

Sasha's nose wrinkled in disgust. "What did she even see in him in the first place? She's so pretty."

"God knows."

"Rosa!"

They both slowed down, Rosa glancing over her shoulder to see Harry Bingham approaching them.

She suppressed a sigh, not quite feeling that she had the energy to deal with him on top of everything else. Rosa hadn't actually seen Harry in days, not since Cassandra's funeral, and they hadn't spoken properly since prom. She wasn't mad at him, maybe a little frustrated, but since Cassandra's death, she could actually start to see where he was coming from, why he so desperately needed something to distract from the thoughts, and all the pain.

"Hey, what's up?" Rosa asked, turning around to face him properly.

She took in Harry's appearance as he made his way towards her, dishevelled curls making his brown hair look a mess. The dark circles underneath his eyes and chapped lips only added to the look. It seemed as if he hadn't slept properly in days.

Harry's eyes darted around them, gaze resting on Sasha for a few moments, before it returned to Rosa. Her eyebrows drew together, and she began to question if he was actually on something. "Everything okay, Harry?"

"Can we talk?" His eyes shifted over Sasha again.

"Um, okay. I'll catch up," Rosa assured the girl. Sasha nodded, leaving them both alone. Rosa turned back to Harry. "So, what's up?"

Harry glanced around the surrounding area again. "I, uh–" he cut off, his hand clasping lightly onto her forearm, moving them backwards into a more secluded area. Seemingly paranoid, he glanced over his shoulder one more time, before finally facing her properly. "I really need to talk to you about something."

"What's going on?" Rosa asked, her eyes softening in concern as she caught sight of Harry's hands beginning to tremble. "Harry? Hey, what's the matter?"

"I think–" Harry leaned closer towards her, lowering his voice. "I think I know who killed Cassandra."

Rosa took a step back. She looked up at him in confusion, her mind surging with all kinds of thoughts. "What?"

"Fuck," Harry muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair. He exhaled shakily, his eyes becoming downcast. 

Rosa followed his gaze, reaching out to take his hands in hers, an attempt to calm him down a little. "Harry, you can tell me."

He swallowed thickly, looking back up at her, his anxious eyes desperately searching hers. "Dewey, I– I think Dewey killed her."

Rosa's brows pulled together. "Dewey? As in Greg Dewey?" She asked. "Pale, scrawny–"

"Yes."

Rosa stared up at him, her lips pursed for a moment. "Are you sure?"

"He basically confessed to me," Harry said, glancing consciously behind him again. "He– he said–" he cut off, shaking his head dismissively. "Never mind."

"Tell me," Rosa urged. Harry shifted his stare away from her. "Tell me."

Harry was unable to meet her eyes. "He said, 'I finally got you some peace and quiet like you wanted'... it was something like that."

"Why would he–" Rosa shook her head, loosening her grip on Harry's hands. "Okay, why the hell would he say that to you?"

He sighed heavily, eyes closing shut for a moment. "I never wanted her dead," he said. "I promise you, Rosa, I swear. I never wanted that. But I–" He drew in a deep breath, finding it too hard to admit the awful things he said about Cassandra Pressman.

"I can't help if you don't tell me," she responded, trying to keep her voice steady.

"I just– I said that I wished she was dead, and some other things like that, you know? To make my life a bit easier. I was angry and drunk, and it's not an excuse but fuck–" He rubbed his hand against the back of his neck. "I didn't mean it, I didn't want that."

Rosa's jaw tightened. "You fucking what?"

"I didn't mean it," Harry rushed out, reaching for Rosa's arm again, but she had turned away from him. "I didn't think he'd take it fucking literally–"

"Why would you even say something like that?" She hissed, whirling back around. Rosa jabbed a finger at his chest. "For Christ's sake, Harry!"

"It was just...it was just locker room talk, stupid stuff like that!" Harry defended himself, causing Rosa to scoff in response.

"Right, like that doesn't have any fucking correlation to violence against women?" She snapped back, in disbelief at how ignorant he was being. "You're a fucking idiot. God, I can't even... I don't even wanna look at you right now."

"I–" Harry opened his mouth to respond, struggling to figure out a valid argument. "It was just stupid stuff, I didn't think anything like that would happen!"

"For the love of god, could you drop the toxic masculinity for one fucking minute!"

Harry's mouth snapped shut. He fell completely silent, a heaviness growing in his chest as Rosa began to make him realise the weight of his words.

Rosa stood silently for a few moments, her head turned away from him as she tried to sensibly gather her thoughts. "Okay, okay," she finally breathed out, bottom lip tugging between her teeth as she tried to figure out what to do. "Okay. You're sure it's Dewey?"

Harry nodded. "He basically confessed."

Rosa stood quietly for a while longer, running through the options in her mind. "Have you told anyone else?"

"I tried to talk to Kelly," he said, a sense of defeat in his voice. "She wanted to tell Allie."

"I mean, she's right, we do have to tell Allie–" she cut off as Harry shook his head firmly. "Harry, you can't just keep this a secret."

"I know, I just–" he paused, peering behind him again, still paranoid that somebody would be listening in. "I can't do that, I just can't. Look, you're the only person in this hellhole who actually gives enough of a shit about me to even listen right now."

Rosa's expression softened, and she began to realise that, of all things, Harry Bingham was lonely. But then, she also had to remind herself that he was a fucking dickhead. "Harry–"

"I told you because I trust you," he stated. "I know that Allie has to find out, but I just can't–" He glanced down at the ground. "I can't do it, I'm sorry."

Rosa placed a hand on his shoulder. He lifted his gaze to meet hers. Rosa's understanding eyes grew gentle at the sight of guilt and heartache she saw within his. Harry wasn't a killer, she knew that. And she believed him, she believed he hadn't meant for any horrible repercussions when he said what he did about Cassandra. But it didn't excuse it.

"Thank you, for trusting me," she said. "Look, I know you didn't do this, and I know you didn't mean for this to happen, but Harry, this isn't about 'boys will be boys' anymore, you can't get a free pass on this, okay? You have to understand that your words have consequences. The things you say, even if you call it 'locker room talk', they cause harm." Harry nodded his head, his eyes remaining on hers, trying to convey that he was taking in what she was saying. "I'll tell Allie, and the others, and we'll make a decision and sort this, okay?"

Harry released a heavy breath of relief, his body losing its stiffened posture. "Thank you."

"But I think you should tell Gordie what you know," she added. "He's leading the investigation. It's better if it comes from you, okay? Trust me."

Harry hesitated for a moment. "Will you...will you come with me?"

"Yeah," Rosa assured him. "Yeah, I will. We'll do this together, okay?"

"Okay."

A/N

Just Rosa giving a good old talk about toxic masculinity to a dumbass like Harry.