8/6/2021- My boyfriend has decided to read this book...he's going to find out that I simp harder for West than I do for him. Either that, or he's going to think I wrote West off of him (like he seems to think I did for Elijah from Fight For Her). If only LOL!

Also, if you haven't read Fight For Her yet, you definitely should! You can purchase it in any bookstore near you, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Wattpad Books, etc.! I am so grateful to have been able to formally publish one of my books, and the better Fight For Her does, the more likely they are to publish Silently Falling in English!!

Silently Falling (Edited): Chapter Thirty Five

The next morning, my confidence stays with me and I know I'm ready to face my classmates at school. They are going to be beyond shocked that I'm speaking again, and I have prepared myself for rumors to fly around. I tossed and turned all night thinking of what they would say.

So, when I wake in the morning, I find my body almost refusing to leave the comfort of my bed. My alarm buzzes on my phone beside my head, morphing my headache into a migraine the longer I wait to shut it off.

"Raine! Your alarm has been going off for ten minutes, you don't want to be late!"

Dad's voice mixes in with my annoying alarm and I groan, covering my head with Mr. Buttons and flinching when his horn pokes my ear.

"Okay," I sigh, flipping on my back. "I'm up."

Though I know I can't hide from this situation forever and I'm much stronger than I was three years ago, I am still dreading having to face him. I can still feel his grimy hands holding my mouth shut, still taste the sweat and dirt when I bit his palm, and, worst of all, I can still picture what he did to me every time I close my eyes.

Despite finding my voice, there's still a fear within me that as soon as I see him, I will lose it all over again. One snide comment, one glare, may be all it takes. I wasn't strong enough to fight him off physically, how can I be confident that I can fight him off mentally?

Knocking at my bedroom door snaps me from my thoughts and Toby steps inside seconds later.

"You have a habit of entering before anyone says come in," I tease.

"You had a habit of not being able to say come in," he shoots back with a smile.

I take a pillow from off of my bed and throw it at him while I laugh. He catches it and throws it right back.

"Throwing Mr. Buttons would have gotten the reaction you were looking for," he says, but then his smile fades. "I just came to see if you still wanted to come to school today. No one will blame you if you decide to skip."

"Yeah, West was wondering the same thing yesterday," I sigh. "I should go, right? If Warren sees that I skipped, he's just going to bask in knowing he still has such a hold over me. He'll think he won."

"This isn't a game, Raine. For him, maybe some twisted game, but not for you. This is your life. Don't look at it in terms of him winning or losing."

"It is a game though, isn't it? A cat and mouse game. Where he chases me into a corner and taunts me every chance he gets."

"If you want to look at it that way, at least make it a game that you can play by your own rules." He says seriously.

"A cat and mouse game has a clear winner no matter what rules are in play."

"Not in Tom and Jerry."

I tilt my head at Toby and can't help but chuckle. "You're comparing this to a kids cartoon?"

He drops his head and laughs with me. "Yeah, I guess that was kind of lame. Point is, he doesn't have control over you. Not anymore. You've proven that by getting your voice back."

I let out a heavy sigh and grab Mr. Buttons to hold him close to me. He doesn't smell like a childhood stuffed animal anymore, instead he smells faintly like a burning campfire. Like West.

My phone buzzes next to me, almost on cue, and it lights up with West's contact.

East: It's an oddly warm day today...the sun is shining pretty bright despite the fact it's facing the threat of snow in the winter. Cool, huh?

I only notice the smile on my lips when Toby speaks up. "And he'll be there," he says, nodding to my phone. "West."

"How'd you know it was him?"

He snorts and goes to leave the room. "You wouldn't smile like that if it was anyone else," but then he pauses in the doorway. "I'm going to leave for school in about an hour, but I'll be downstairs waiting if you decide to come."

When I hear his footsteps pad down the steps, I turn my attention back to my phone.

Me: Was that some sort of metaphoric pep talk? Sunshine & snow...

East: You caught me

Me: Between you and Toby I feel like I'm in english class and Mr. Patterson is trying to make us understand why the author said the curtains were blue.

East: He would say there's symbolism in everything

Me: What would you say?

East: That the sun shines brightly on the west coast and winter snow doesn't have any control

My smile brightens and I shake my head at how ridiculous he sounds.

Me: We aren't on the west coast

East: Chicago is considered the Midwest, close enough

East: And I know that made you smile

That's all it takes. Thirty minutes later, I'm dressed and ready to face whatever "the winter snow" throws at me.

As Toby pulls into the parking lot, I can feel my heartbeat in my throat. My eyes don't stop scanning the parking lot; searching and praying they don't spot a familiar black Audi. I reach over to take Alyse's hand and steal some of her strength as she gives my hand a gentle squeeze and a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Raine. We all have your back, you know that," she says.

We park and as I step out, I'm instantly relieved when I see West pulling in right next to us. As he steps out of his Jeep, he grabs his book-bag from the back and throws it effortlessly over his shoulder, slightly bunching up the long sleeve of his light gray Henley Shirt.

He catches my eye from across the top of his Jeep and breaks out into his handsome smile.

"Good morning Sunshine," he signs as he walks toward me.

I cock my head slightly when he signs his greeting to me until I note the wary look in his eye. I haven't texted him since before I got dressed and ready for the day, so he may not be certain that I still plan on talking and revealing to all of our classmates that I got my voice back. My heart flutters a bit and I smile softly at him as he stands in front of me.

"Good morning," I say.

His smile widens and his eyes crinkle at the sides as he reaches out to take my hand.

"I was hoping I'd get to hear that beautiful voice today."

"Toby, take notes," Alyse mutters as she steps out of the truck, grabbing her backpack and closing the door.

"You have a beautiful voice, too!" He exclaims as he rushes to get out of the truck and run around the front to be next to her. I bite back my laugh when Toby sends West an exasperated look.

West rolls his eyes, "Those two still working things out?"

I chuckle, "I think she's playing hard to get."

"Like you did for the past few months?"

I look up at him and narrow my eyes playfully. "And who says you 'got' me?"

West's sweet smile fades to match my smirk as he cocks a brow. Next thing I know, he pulls me to him by my waist and he spins us so that my back is pinned against the Jeep with his free hand flat against it, right next to my head.

His head is dipped down, lips only inches from mine while I just stare wide-eyed at him. He eyes my lips hungrily before dragging them back to meet my startled gaze.

"I've got you now," he says quietly, and it causes my heart to beat a million times faster.

His subtle campfire scent is blanketing my senses, even the slight scent of mouthwash on his breath is causing me to go weak in the knees. His hand holding my hip isn't helping the zoo in my stomach, and neither is the look in his eye. Without hesitation, I rest one hand on his defined chest and snake the other around the back of his neck, threading my fingers through his hair.

"And now I've got you."

He inches his lips even closer, lightly brushing his nose against mine. "Let's be honest, Sunshine. You've had me since day one."

And then he kisses me. His lips meet mine in an innocent yet tender kiss that I feel all the way to my toes. It's warm and inviting, capturing my heart and causing it to beat harmoniously with his.

His hand on my waist moves to rest on my cheek, but he chooses the wrong one and his palm presses into my bruise. I can't help myself as I subtly flinch. West instantly removes his hand, breaking his lips from mine as his expression fills with concern.

"Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?" He asks, taking his hand off of his Jeep so that he is no longer trapping me against it.

"No! No, I just...the bruise," I say quietly, gesturing to my cheek.

His face drops in an instant, "I thought it had faded."

"I just covered it up with makeup this morning."

He drops his gaze to the pavement. "I'm sorry."

I try to catch his eye and smile softly, shaking my head. "Don't be. It's okay."

"It's going to be hard for me to see him today and not rip his head off," West says, his jaw clenched as he eyes my cheek with the covered bruise. "It may be a good thing that I can't see it, because if I did I wouldn't hold back when I see him. I still might not."

"West, I don't want him to be able to do anything to you," I say as I take his hand.

"He doesn't deserve to get away with this, Raine."

I know he's alluding to more than just meeting his vengeful fist. I know he's alluding to me pressing charges. Dad did the same thing last night, but I avoided the conversation.

Toby wants to ask me about it too, I can tell. Dinner last night was the two of them dancing around the topic and me conveniently avoiding it every single time. I just... I can't handle a trial. The trial freshman year took too much of an emotional toll on me. I don't know if I can handle that again. I've finally gained back what Warren stole from me when he attacked me freshman year. I'm in a good place. Why would I risk losing that for another potential trial?

"I'm not going to press charges, West," I say quietly.

His jaw clenches and he shakes his head. "Why? You have a solid case and I'll testify to what I saw. They won't be able to work around that."

I drop my gaze to the pavement and sigh. "Yes they will. You testify to what you saw and then they turn it around and claim that you assaulted Warren. Nathaniel twists the story to make us look like the bad guys instead of the victims... We can't win, West."

"No jury would believe that."

I lift my gaze to meet his, but I don't shy away when I see the anger swimming in his eyes.

"You don't know that."

"You don't know that, either," he shoots back. "He can't get away with hurting you."

"He already did!" I snap, pulling my hand out of his and taking a step back as my frustration builds. "I've been in this situation before. I know exactly how it would go!"

West eyes widen slightly but I keep going before he can say anything.

"If we put you on the stand, Nathaniel or whatever lawyer Warren gets is going to grill you as his defense. He's going to make you admit to pinning Warren against that desk. He's going to make you admit to wanting to hurt him. He's going to bring up your past so that no one will believe you when you say that you didn't punch him, and he has the bruises to prove it. Because you know who Warren will say hurt him? Not Toby. Then, once they make you an unreliable witness, no jury will believe a word you say when you admit everything you saw him do to me."

"But Alyse and the others walked in and saw you-"

"Saw me what? Nowhere near Warren? They will focus on the fact that Alyse never saw Warren's hands on me. She only saw my dress torn and you pinning Warren to the desk. Then the jury will question why you were in there in the first place. And you know what Warren's defense will do? They'll make the jury think that maybe, just maybe, it was you. When that doubt trickles into their minds, we'll have already lost. With your background and how good Nathaniel is...I'm too scared that somehow you would become the one on trial. And I refuse to let that happen."

"Sunshine-"

I let my voice drop with my head and I sigh. "There is no case, West. Drop it." I brush past him and to Toby and Alyse, trying to calm my mind and force a trial away from my thoughts.

I can't do it again. I can't risk West being put on stand. I can't risk being called a liar again. I can't do it.

However, West reaches out and takes my hand, forcing me to face him.

"I'm sorry," he says softly, brows pulled together. "I just...you know I have your back no matter what you decide. I just don't want you to give up before you've even given it a chance. Will you at least think about it? Please?"

I close my eyes for a moment or two, willing my mind to calm and think rationally. I steady my breathing and focus on the feeling of my hand in West's, squeezing his softly.

Eventually, I give him a small nod. He lets out a breath of relief and gives me a small smile. Then, our attention is pulled over to Toby's truck that Tina is stomping toward with Tyler by her side.

"You!" She screeches, stomping up to Toby who takes a step closer to Alyse. "You blocked my number?"

"I- uh, yeah." Toby stutters out.

"That's why you wanted to talk to him?" Tyler says, his face falling. "Why does it matter? You're kinda with me."

I snap my eyes to Tyler who is conveniently avoiding my gaze, but his focus shifts to West's hand in mine and I see his shoulders sag.

Amidst everything else that happened this weekend, I had forgotten about Tyler's declaration of his affection towards me. Now, however, his kiss comes to the forefront of my mind and my body stiffens when I realize I need to tell West.

West quirks a brow at Tyler's announcement of being with Tina and I feel his gaze move to me, but I wipe the reaction off of my face and tune back into their conversation.

"It matters because he didn't even have the decency to tell me why! He just blocked me!"

Alyse pops her up as she crosses her arms and grins, "This should be interesting."

Toby looks between her and Tina a few times and awkwardly adjusts his backpack on his shoulder.

"Look, Tina, I'm sorry. I just don't have any interest anymore," he says. "I shouldn't have been with you in the first place, okay? It's Alyse, it's always been Alyse."

All of our jaws drop, but not nearly as far as Tina's as she scoffs.

"You asshole! You should never have been with me in the first place? That's definitely not what you were saying when we-"

"Okay! Tina, Tyler, why don't you tell us how you two got together?" I say, cutting her off to save Alyse from having to hear anymore. "Also, does anyone know where Gray is?"

Now her jaw drops for an entirely different reason as she stares at me.

"Did you just..."

And, in seconds, her mood changes completely and she abandons Tyler's side to run to mine and hug me. My hand drops from West's as I awkwardly hug her back, my arms not fitting around her backpack.

"Raine! Oh my gosh!" She cheers, squeezing me tight.

For the rest of the day, that's how the reactions go. In music, Mr. C called me to the front of the class to play the piano as usual, but when I talked to him, the entire class noticed and they erupted into a fit of shock. Girls that I've never been close with rush up to hug me and guys that never paid me mind suddenly start trying to strike up a conversation with me.

By the end of first period, Warren still hasn't made an appearance. I walk out of Mr. C's class with Alyse by my side and instantly West is at my other side.

"So you're the talk of the school," he says with a chuckle, taking my books for me as we head towards my locker.

"Yeah I don't think she had a single moment of silence in Music," Alyse laughs, "everyone wanted to hear her speak and find out how."

"What'd you tell them?"

I shrug as we turn the corner and come up to my locker where Toby and Tyler are already waiting.

"Just that I spoke with a lot of doctors over the weekend and it somehow worked. I kept things pretty vague."

"Alyse! I forgot to say it, but you look beautiful today," Toby greets her as we approach them.

"Well now it just seems forced," she mutters.

His posture deflates and he shoves Tyler, "You said that would make her smile, dude."

Tyler puts his hands up in defense, "It usually works."

"Any signs of Warren?" Alyse asks, ignoring their banter.

Toby shakes his head. "I don't think he's here today."

"That's not too shocking," West says. "After the beating he took from Toby and the fact that the rest of us are itching to hurt him, I'm sure he didn't want to show his face."

Tyler scoffs, "Coward."

I let out a huge breath of relief and rest my head on West's shoulder, allowing the fear of having to face Warren roll off my shoulders. I know it's going to happen eventually. He won't hide from here forever, but I'm just glad to know today isn't going to be the day I have to see him.

West winds his arm around my side and rests his cheek on my head.

"I told you it'd be okay, Sunshine," he says quietly.

Suddenly, Gray comes running down the hall towards us, nearly slipping on a stray piece of paper on the floor, and I lift my head to send him a questioning look. When he reaches us, he has to bend over to catch his breath.

"Where the hell have you been?" Toby asks as Gray stands back up, gulping in a few more breaths.

"First off, that finally happened?" He asks, gesturing between me and West with a smile. "And second, I was late because I was busy mapping out a schedule for us to make sure Raine never walks alone in between classes. You know, in case he's here." He says, pulling a folded sheet of paper out from his pocket.

We all crowd around him to read over the schedule and my heart flutters.

"Gray...this is perfect," Alyse says, taking it from him.

"Yeah man, thank you," Toby says, clapping him on the back.

As we all continue to study the sheet, one of our classmates suddenly stops next to us and smiles widely at me as his group of friends waits behind him.

"Raine, hey! Say something!"

However, before I can awkwardly speak up, Gray whips around and glares at the guy.

"Excuse me? That was incredibly rude, you know. How would you like it if you couldn't speak and I just came up to you and started mocking you?"

The rest of us glance at one another in confusion, but then I recall that Gray has no idea I've gotten my voice back. He hasn't been at school until now.

"Gray, it's okay!" I say.

Gray turns towards Alyse who he assumes spoke up and puts his hand out, "No, hold on Alyse. This isn't okay."

Alyse sends him a deadpan look. "Gray? That wasn't me."

Gray ignores her for a second and goes back to scold our classmate before doing a double take, then his shocked eyes shift to me.

"Holy shit."

---

8/6/2021 - Total rewrite (as the rest of the book will be). This chapter took me a while to write and while it isn't my favorite, I think it has a lot of important banter between everyone and sets the scene nicely for what's to come! I hope you guys liked it!

Until next time ❤