At around ten that same morning was when Sky finally gave up on his attempt to sleep through his first day of suspension. Though, that was a futile hope anyway since he was now required to attend some sort of counseling or support group for at least the duration of his suspension. Though it was, again, ‘strongly recommended’ that he continue counseling after.

However, sitting on a shrink’s couch and talking about his feelings was something he would have dreaded even if he didn’t have to somehow explain all his deep-seated trauma while leaving out the horrors of his previous two lives. After all, if he started mentioning previous lives, the fear wasn’t exposing his alien origins as much as it was getting himself committed for delusional beliefs. So, he opted for the support group instead, hoping he could just sit there listening to the other victims and go unnoticed, himself. Not that he had any desire to listen to more horror stories that would be likely to make him mentally re-live his own; but if Star could endure the things in Curt’s head, as well as the heads of his various victims, Sky could at least endure hearing others recount their own experiences in their own words.

Though the night before, he had made the decision to go to the meeting of the support group that happened earlier in the day. He figured that way he could at least only have to hear the stories of other rapists like Curt, instead of having to hear stories of what Curt had done to his other classmates. He already had endured bits of those same stories about Curt’s other atrocities while watching Star scrawl them across the pages of her notebook. And forcing down all those triggers in his head was hard enough then.

However, going to the eleven o’clock meeting for the group was a bit more problematic than the four o’clock meeting, at least when it came to transportation. After all, Star now needed the car to get to school, as he definitely didn’t want her walking or on the bus alone He also voted against her just riding with Kole and Crista during his suspension, as Sky wanted to be sure she had those keys on her and that car nearby if she needed them for any reason. Of course, that left him without that emergency escape himself; but as he had told Burke, he had already endured Curt’s idea of fun, it was Star’s safety he was more worried about now.

So, he decided that instead of making his soul-mates miss any more classes, as they would all be lucky to pass this year’s classes at this point already; he decided on the one other person he was at least somewhat close to. Though that closeness was miles away from the levels of closeness he had with those who now shared he and Star’s soul, at least in some way and to some extent.

After taking a moment to hug the other pillow atop his bed to his face, taking in the smell of Star’s shampoo still lingering there, Sky finally made himself leave the bed and get dressed. He was finished dressing a mere fifteen minutes later, as he hardly wanted to get that dolled up when he would be trying his best not to be noticed during the meeting at all. He then made his way down the stairs only moments before the knock on the door.

He sighed heavily, peered cautiously past the curtain, and opened the door to Alana. She gave him a sad smile and a gentle hug in greeting. “I was so glad you texted me last night. I was freaking out about how you were after fifth” she told him softly.

Sky just looked down, still not all that comfortable being too open with Alana after she had gone to Burke, but he was going to at least make the effort, as he needed as many allies as possible right then, as well as a ride. “Yeah, I’m doing wonderful. Got my arm all bandaged and ready to go to my now mandatory rape support group. Life is great” he added sarcastically.

After finding a parking place at the community center, Alana looked over at him as he stared at the building, trying to talk himself into going inside at all still. She gave him another sad smile, “want me to go in with you?”

Sky just shook his head, “we’re really trying to avoid having anyone else need to go to this type of meeting, aren’t we?” he told her as he couldn’t help the memory of seeing Curt hurting her the way he had in that last life.

Once Sky finally made himself go inside, he took a seat in the corner of the room as he awaited the start of the meeting, fighting the urge to run right back out the door. His will to stay took a further hit when he realized that he wasn’t the only one of Curt’s victims who had opted for this earlier meeting either. Apparently Curt’s former girlfriend, Georgia, had also decided to be here instead of enduring another day of abuse at their school. As she stepped into the room and saw him there among the other early arrivals, she made herself force a smile. Sky tried to force the same as he looked back at yet another pretty blonde seventeen year old girl who Curt had ruined the life of.

If nothing else, Curt definitely seemed to have two distinct types. There were the pretty blonde cheerleaders who were allowed to sleep through most of his assault. Then there were the freaks like he and Sammi, and even Alana in that previous life; they were the ones Curt wanted to be awake for all of it. Then Sky couldn’t help wondering if he would have been left just as bloody and broken as Sammi had been if Mathis hadn’t interrupted after all. And on that thought, he couldn’t help another shudder as he bit back even more emotions when he thought of what would have happened to Star as well, in life number two, if he hadn’t arrived when he had. Or what could still happen to her or Crista, or Alana, or even Kole if they didn’t rid themselves of Curt once and for all.

It was only about two minutes before the official start of the meeting when Sky’s eyes turned to the door as Brandi and Raina also appeared. Raina was presumably in college, so her schedule was flexible enough that he allowed for the possibility of having to see her that day. Though luckily, she had no previous life’s memory of their intimate encounter in that coffee shop; so she likely would barely even notice his presence. But both of Curt’s exes, Georgia, and now Brandi too? That he was less prepared for.

Brandi and Raina then moved toward his seat as Brandi offered him a sad smile and greeted him, “you finally came? I was a little worried when I heard about something or other happening with you at school yesterday?”

But before Sky could try to find some response to her inquiry, he noted Brandi’s eyes darkening when she looked around the room and also found Georgia there. Georgia quickly looked away as the two noted one another’s presence. There was obviously something amiss between the two who seemingly had a lot more in common than most in that room. After all, they had both been willing girlfriends and lovers of Curt’s before he got impatient with them not so willingly giving into his more twisted desires. That, of course led to him forcing those desires on each of the girls who had trusted him more than any of his other victims, except perhaps his first, Caitlin; the other former girlfriend in the list.

But before any more questions could be posed or answered, the woman leading the group arrived and greeted them all as she took a seat in the circle of chairs in the middle of the room, and gestured for them all to do the same. Sky grudgingly followed the rest of the women in the room, most of whom were at least a few years older than Curt’s victims, considering most younger girls would be in school themselves that day. That was, those rape victims who even managed to stay in school, let alone stay alive at all; and that number was pretty low.

Georgia was surprisingly the first who spoke, “well I guess I can start, since all of Curt’s playmates seem to be here today” she said with a bit or sarcasm.

Raina then scoffed, “I hope you’re not lumping me in with the two of you. I was never his girlfriend. I was just stupid enough to take a drink from him at a graduation party. I believe it was while you were actually willingly dating him, Georgia. I guess I should apologize for your boyfriend cheating on you with me, but look how well that turned out. I’ve learned my lesson, to put it mildly.”

Georgia just scoffed, “I’m here too, aren’t I?”

“We all are” Brandi put in, “think we’ve all learned a lesson” she then took a breath and looked at Sky, “and that lesson is that Curt’s a monster who doesn’t care if you’re his girlfriend, or just a friend” she said as she looked at Raina. She then looked back at Sky, “or someone who hates him and would never date him, let alone go to a party or take a drink from him” she stated sadly, causing Sky to just look down, as he wanted no attention at all that day, let alone to be specifically singled to by another victim. “And he didn’t even get to sleep through most of it, like we did” she added more quietly, with a sniffle.

Georgia scoffed again, “I wasn’t asleep from him putting something in my drink though. I actually was going to willingly let him be with me that night, like that. After dating him for months, I was sick to death of hearing about how ‘Caitlin let him, and Chloe let him, and Raina let him, and Sarah let him.’”

“Let him?” Raina loudly scoffed.

“His words” Georgia returned, “all I knew was that he fucked you at that party and then you stopped talking to any of the squad and went all Elvira. I thought it was just cause you felt shitty over fucking my boyfriend. I know different now” Georgia added more quietly. She then made herself continue, “after hearing about how all these other girls let my boyfriend do it to them, like that. And after seeing the way he had been looking at Brandi while he was supposed to be dating me” she shook her head again, “I finally got drunk enough to agree, and I did let him put it in, like that. Briefly” she stressed, “then it hurt so fucking bad I screamed and told him to stop” she took a ragged breath as she looked up at Brandi, “I even told him that if he liked you so much, maybe he should go try to stick it in you like that. I didn’t know that he would, only a month later” she sniffled and made herself go on, “but after I told him to stop, and said that to him” she added quietly, “he still didn’t wanna stop, and told me to just shut up and let him finish, since he already had it in. That was when I tried to fight him, drunk though I was, and big as he is. That was when he put his hands on my neck and squeezed til I stopped screaming, and finally passed out. Then judging by how bad I hurt the next morning and how none of my insides would stay inside me anymore, for days.... I guess he got to finish doing what he wanted after all.” she sniffled again, “then he was done with me, and he moved on to you, Brandi. I’m sorry” she added in a near whisper as she looked down again, as Brandi did as well.

That was when the woman leading the group finally spoke up, “all four of you were violated by the same boy?” she asked softly as she looked between them.

Sky just shook his head, “at least he didn’t use his dick with me. But, like she said, I was awake for it. Take the good with the bad I suppose” he muttered as he looked away, having said more than he wanted to already.

“Please tell me something is actually being done about this boy” the woman, Maggie, turned the question to all of them.

Brandi answered sadly, “most of us are planning to testify, and Sky did at the hearing; but his trial’s still not for two more months.”

“Two months and five days” Sky corrected, “and lucky us, we’ll be back at school with him in ten days. Well, three of us and Chloe and Sarah” he added as he glanced at Raina.

Noting Sky’s eyes on her, Raina looked up, “guess I should be thankful he didn’t rape me til after I graduated. I don’t know how I could stand being in the same building as him ever again, let alone concentrate on any kind of education while there too.”

Maggie sighed heavily, “if you all file restraining orders, you might at least get them to force him to finish his school year from home or online. It’s worth a shot, right? I just worry for you gir--- all” she corrected herself as she glanced at Sky.

Sky then retorted, “and restraining orders can be broken. And who knows what he could get away with doing before the cops even get there to arrest him for breaking it...”

“Sky, you can’t think that way” Maggie returned softly.

Then Raina scoffed, somehow still feeling a bit of that empathy for Sky, even in this life, “what way? Realistically?”

Georgia then added, “something needs to be done about him. That’s all there is to it.”

“Can’t argue there” Brandi added more softly.

Sky then looked between all three girls, and held his tongue, though inside his head, he was just thinking, ‘something will be.’

Once the meeting ended, Sky looked at his watch as he got back into Alana’s car, “how bad was it?” she asked him softly.

“It’s almost time for lunch period at school, right?” was Sky’s only response.

“Yeah, I figured I’d drop you back home, then try to at least go to my afternoon classes” Alana allowed him the subject change.

“We can save time, just take me to school” Sky told her flatly.

“Um... What?” Alana asked, a little thrown, “one, you hate being there. And two, you’re not actually allowed to be there til Wednesday” she reminded warily.

“Kole’s always outside at the beginning of lunch, I can at least talk to him without even having to go inside” was the only explanation he gave.

“Then how will you get home?”

“I’ll manage. Now come on Alana, we gotta go if we wanna catch him before he heads back into the school” he told her with a bit of impatience. It was obvious that some sort of determination had taken up residence in Sky after that meeting. Though Alana had no idea what that was actually a determination to do; but she nevertheless just allowed a slight sigh and started the car.