My girlfriend was violated on a rainy night, and I saw everything happen. I even recorded a video. In the end, she couldn’t take the pain, lost her mind, and was sent to the hospital.
A few days later, her mother came to find me and fell to her knees. “Benjamin, Maya said that on the night she was violated, she went to find you. You were nearby, you must have seen who did it, right?”
But as she held onto my leg in grief and despair, I kicked her away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see who it was.”
——
Violet Campbell fell hard to the ground after I kicked her. “Benjamin, you’re lying!”
Her voice shook, but she clenched her teeth, refusing to cry. “From the day Maya was admitted to the psychiatric hospital, she’s been holding her pillow and calling your name every day. She said she clearly saw you at the entrance of the alley that night! Why didn’t you save her?”
I took out a cigarette and flicked the lighter three times before it finally lit.
“Auntie, I already told you, I didn’t see anything. Maya has lost her mind. Can you really take her words seriously?”
Violet suddenly stood up and rushed toward me, trying to grab my arm. I moved aside, and she missed, stumbling a few times before catching her balance again.
“My daughter has always been honest; she’s never lied in her life! Even if she’s not clear-headed now, she wouldn’t make up something like this!”
My fingers holding the cigarette tightened. When the burning tip touched my skin, I came back to my senses.
In truth, I knew better than anyone that Maya Campbell wasn’t lying. That night, the rain poured heavily.
I had been hiding from it at a convenience store near the alley, watching helplessly as someone dragged her into the dead end beside it.
“I went back to the dorm late that night. I wasn’t anywhere near that alley.”
I threw the cigarette to the ground and crushed it under my foot. “Benjamin Rivera, I’ll ask you one last time, who was the culprit?”
Just then, Maya’s father appeared. “Maya dated you for two years and treated you so well. Now that she’s ended up like this, you still refuse to tell the truth?”
After hearing what had happened to his daughter, Roman Campbell had fallen and hurt himself. He still limped whenever he walked. Seeing him like that made something heavy press against my chest.
But I forced myself to say, “Uncle, I really don’t know. If I did, I would’ve gone to the police already. Why would I waste time arguing here?”
“Waste time?”
Roman suddenly lost his temper and shoved me hard, but he used too much strength and ended up stumbling backward, falling to the ground himself.
Violet screamed and ran to him. “Roman! Are you alright? Benjamin, you beast!”
People nearby began to gather around. “Isn’t that Benjamin? Wasn’t he Maya’s boyfriend?”
“I heard about what happened to Maya. Seems like she’s lost her mind. So he knows who did it and still won’t speak?”
“Damn, what a coward! His girlfriend got assaulted, and he doesn’t even have the guts to stand up for her, and now he’s pushing her father?”
Maya’s best friend rushed over, pointing at me and shouting, “Benjamin, are you even a man? When Maya was with you, everyone envied you!”
“She was the school belle, countless guys chased after her, and she rejected them all for you! And now you treat her like this, did you lose your conscience?”
I sneered. Of course, I knew people envied me.
At last year’s school anniversary, Maya had gone on stage to deliver a speech as the student representative, and every guy in the audience couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“What good is envy?”
“All of you saw how well she treated me, but none of you saw what I did for her. Now that something happened, you’re all pointing fingers, but do any of you really know what happened that night?”
