Mending Fences by Sherryl Woods

your side, too, but I’m also a big believer in facing facts. Having a woman claim that you raped her is a very serious thing, Evan. It’s not just going to go away. You might be able to talk your way out of a speeding ticket, but not this. This could destroy your life, do you understand that?”
    “You’re just full of good cheer, aren’t you, Mom? Go home, okay? Dad will fix this.”
    Her gaze clashed with her son’s, but in the end she was the one to look away. The cocky self-assurance she saw there made her want to cry. She would stand beside Evan no matter what, because he was her son, but in that instant she knew she couldn’t believe a word coming out of his mouth.
     
    Emily was as stunned as everyone else when the rumor that Evan had been arrested for date rape spread through the school by mid-morning on Monday. According to the headlines splashed across the local page of the morning paper, an unidentified freshman at the University of Miami had accused him of the attack, saying that rather than leaving after their date, he’d insisted on coming in and then demanded sex. When she’d turned him down, he’d raped her.
    During her first break, Emily read the article with a sense of disbelief, especially since Marcie had been deliberately vague about why the police had come for Evan. In fact, their only conversation after she’d called to ask if Caitlyn could stay with Emily had been a request that Emily keep Caitlyn for the rest of the weekend.
    “There’s too much going on over here right now and she doesn’t need to hear any of it,” Marcie had said, sounding completely drained.
    “Caitlyn can stay as long as you want,” Emily assured her. “Shall I come by for her things or send her over?”
    “No,” Marcie had said quickly. “I’ll pack a few things and drop them by.”
    “She has a lot of questions,” Emily had warned her.
    Marcie sighed. “We all do.”
    Finally Emily understood the hint of desperation she’d heard in Marcie’s voice and her rushed visit to drop off Caitlyn’s clothes. She’d barely said a word beyond thanking Emily for taking care of Caitlyn and being sure she got to school on Monday.
    Now, as Emily scanned the morning paper in the teacher’s lounge, she tried to imagine the way she’d feel if this had been Josh who’d been accused of such a thing. She also wondered what on earth Marcie had been thinking by allowing Caitlyn to go to school this morning. A sensitive fifteen-year-old girl wasn’t prepared to cope with the stares and whispers and intrusive questions about her brother that were bound to hound her during the day.
    Taking her cell phone from her purse, she dialed Marcie’s number. To her dismay it was Ken who answered.
    “Ken, it’s Emily. Is Marcie there?”
    “She doesn’t have time to talk now. We’re in the middle of a crisis here, in case you haven’t noticed.”
    “I know. That’s why I’m calling. The news is all over at school. I’m worried about Caitlyn.”
    “Caitlyn will be just fine,” he snapped. “She’s not the one in trouble.”
    “But—”
    He hung up before she could utter the protest, once again proving that in his eyes Evan was the only childin his family who mattered. Emily had seen it before, had seen Caitlyn struggling to get her father’s attention, but beyond his frequent reprimands, it seemed he was barely aware of her presence. It was clear all his hopes and dreams were tied up in his son. But even if Evan was at the center of this current crisis, it didn’t mean that Caitlyn wasn’t affected, too.
    There was a hesitant knock on the door of the teacher’s lounge and Dani stuck her head in. “Can I come in, Mom?”
    “Of course. What are you doing out of class?”
    “I told Mr. Litchfield I needed to see you. It’s about Evan. Have you heard what they’re saying?”
    Emily nodded as she tried to read Dani’s expression. Whatever she was feeling about this was well hidden behind a carefully neutral