I knock on the front door, but no one answers. I knock again and wait. Only after I ring the doorbell, do I hear footsteps on the other side. Carrie answers the door.

“Hey, how are you?” I ask. My voice is flat and mechanical. I just want to get through this and go to the hotel and get some rest.

“We just wanted to thank you and your parents for having us and let you know that we’re going to go to a hotel,” I say without waiting for an answer.

“Oh, okay,” Carrie says quietly. She is dressed in a large puffy sweater and sweatpants. Her eyes are bloodshot and her skin is so pale, I can see the blue veins underneath.

“I’m really sorry about everything, Carrie,” I add. She nods and looks away, wrapping her arms around her shoulders.

“Yeah, me, too,” she says after a moment.

I feel like I need to say something else. But another part of me is urging me to leave. We stopped by. We said our good-byes. Why stick around? Lingering can only make things worse.

“Is Tom still with the police?” I ask before I can stop myself.

Carrie nods and shrugs. Aiden tugs on my shirt slightly. “We should go,” he whispers.

I turn around to leave, but then Carrie says, “The thing is that I still don’t really understand what happened.”

Shit, I say to myself.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“I’m just confused about the whole thing. I mean, are you sure that you saw him doing that? Tom isn’t…like that you know?”

“Yes, I know. I was surprised, too.”

“I mean, you know him. He’s a really sweet person.”

I stare at her. I don’t really know how to respond to this. A part of me understands where she’s coming from. But I also know what I saw. And it was Tom. And he was doing horrible things to Caroline.

“Listen, thank you for having us,” Aiden says. “Please tell your parents thank you as well.”

I can tell that Aiden is anxious to get out of here. But before we can make our escape, Mr. and Mrs. Warrenhouse show up at the door.

“We just wanted to stop by and say good-bye,” I say to them. “We’re going to stay at a hotel in town. But thank you so much for having us. You have a beautiful home.”

“Thank you for coming,” Mrs. Warrenhouse says absentmindedly. It’s the morning after and all traces of the perfectly put-together chic woman in impossible high heels with the gorgeous waist and hair are gone. Instead, she is dressed in a comfortable pair of leggings, a large oversized sweater, and slippers. She looks tired and worn out. And not just from the party.

“Tom is doing well,” Mr. Warrenhouse says to Carrie. “I just got off the phone with his lawyer.”

I stare at him. Did he really just say that? Did those words really just come out of his mouth? I don’t know if he had forgotten about us or doesn’t really care that we hear.

“Are you sure?” Carrie asks hopefully. “Do you think it’s going to be okay?”

“Well, no guarantees, of course,” Mr. Warrenhouse says. “But I got him set up with one of my most experienced lawyers. Plus, Tom’s not an idiot. His father’s an attorney.”

I glance over at Aiden. He looks just as shocked as I do.

“Wait a second, I don’t understand,” I say. “Why are you taking Tom’s side? I mean, I know he’s your fiancé, but what about what he did to Caroline?”

“Honey, we know that you strongly believe in what you saw. But you weren’t there the whole time,” Mrs. Warrenhouse says to me. “You don’t know how it all happened.”

I take a step back. Suddenly, she doesn’t look so helpless and broken anymore. She’s embodying her position as a matriarch and taking care of her family. I hate the fact that I ever felt bad for her.

“With all due respect, Tom was the attacker. It doesn’t matter what happened before. Caroline was passed out so she couldn’t possibly give her consent.”

“We know that’s what you believe, honey,” she says in her most disgustingly sweet voice. “But the thing is that life isn’t black and white like that.”

“I just don’t understand why you’re taking his side. I mean, do you want your daughter to marry someone like that? Someone who rapes women?”

“Tom did not rape that girl,” Mr. Warrenhouse says definitively. I really thought that he would at least be on Caroline’s side, but now it’s clear to me that this whole family is fucked.

“Yes, he did, Robert,” Aiden says, taking a step closer to me. My heart skips a beat. He’s on my side. It feels so good to have someone on my side.

“I don’t think it’s a good time to discuss this. We have all had very little sleep and the night has been very stressful,” Mrs. Warrenhouse says. “Thank you for coming.”

“Okay,” I mumble. Aiden takes me by the arm and we walk down the steps off their porch.

“Oh, and, Aiden,” Mr. Warrenhouse yells after us. “I’m sorry, but given everything that’s happened, I don’t think it would be wise for me to invest in Owl at this time. I wish you all the best with your future ventures.”

I can’t help but drop Aiden’s hand. When I reach for it again, Aiden pushes my hand away. I can see the disappointment and sadness on his face, but he quickly composes himself.

“Thank you for your time and consideration,” he says slowly. Wow, what a class act. I want him to run up there and yell at the Warrenhouses and maybe even punch them. But what would that accomplish? Nothing. He doesn’t want to invest in Owl and there’s not much we can do about it.

Aiden unlocks the car and holds the door open for me. A few minutes later, we speed away from this place as quickly as we can.