When Joe saw Scott later that day, all rational thought left him. He walked into their room to find Scott sitting at his desk, poring over calculus questions and tapping his fingers to a tune on his Discman. Joe shut the door, then walked quietly over to Scott.

"Scott," he said harshly.

Scott looked at him and grinned, not noticing the rage behind his eyes. "Hey Joe," he began, taking off his headphones and setting them on the desk. "What�" At that moment, Joe punched him solidly in the jaw. Scott jerked back in his seat, his hand automatically flying to his mouth.

"You asshole." Joe stood over him, clenching his teeth. "How could you?"

Scott stared at him with a look of disbelief on his face, then stood and pushed Joe out of the way, still holding his jaw. "What is wrong with you?!"

Joe glared at him, feeling his anger building inside him; he was going to explode any second now and he could feel it. He no longer had any control over his actions. Some primitive animal emotion was driving him. He looked at Scott and a wave of disgust and hurt rolled through him. He couldn't stand the sight of Scott, with his sandy brown hair, blue eyes, and muscular, tanned body. He could have any girl he wanted, but he had to have the girl he couldn't. Joe had never hated anyone before, but at that moment he hated Scott. The ball of anger in his stomach pressed outward, and he lunged at Scott, tackling him to the carpeted floor.

Scott was more surprised than angry, and he simply held his arms in front of him as Joe pummeled him with punch after punch. "Joe!" he yelled repeatedly, trying to get Joe to stop, but Joe was blinded by fury and wasn't hearing him. They rolled around on the carpet, knocking Scott's desk chair over. Joe repeatedly tried to smash Scott's head into the floor; when he succeeded, Scott grimaced.

"Okay, that's enough," he said. He grabbed Joe's wrists and twisted them slightly so that Joe would stop struggling. Then he pushed Joe over and pinned him down. "Now, what is your problem?" he asked him, leaning down in his face.

Joe set his jaw and glared at Scott. Scott rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. Don't tell me. I don't need to know why you're trying to kill me. Dammit, Joe, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Joe sneered at him. "You know."

"No. I don't. Tell me."

Joe tightened his arm muscles, but Scott was stronger than him and he wasn't going to let him go yet. "You raped her!" Joe snarled.

Shock flooded Scott's face. "I what? What are you�" He stopped and understanding flashed across his face. "Oh God. It's Lorna, isn't it? Damn her!" He let go of Joe and stood, tightening his fists and shaking his head furiously. He kicked the bed, then turned to Joe, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. "She told you that, didn't she?"

Joe sat up slowly, rubbing his wrists. "Yes, she did. You're going to go to jail for what you did." His voice was calm, but it was laced with a quiet fury.

Scott slashed the air with his fist. "Joe! I never did that to her! She's lying! Dammit, I'm sick of this."

"She said you did, Scott! Why would she lie?"

Scott sat on his bed and took a deep breath. "Listen to me, Joe, because I'm only going to say this once. I never raped Lorna. We went on one date. One! We went to a movie and I took her home. End of story. Then she suddenly came out and told people that I had rapedher! God, even the jury knew she was lying." Scott stared at Joe for a few seconds, then leaned over and grabbed the phone. Here," he said, holding it out to Joe. "If you don't believe me, make some calls. Call the local police department. Ask them about Lorna. They'll tell you about the little nervous breakdown she had. How her parents ignored her. How she liked to tell lies to get herself in the spotlight. How she had to go through therapy afterward."

Joe stared uncertainly at the phone in Scott's hand. He didn't want to believe him, but he sounded deadly serious. Not like a person who was making up things. But then, neither had Lorna. "She told me her parents made her have therapy because they didn't want to deal with her," he said softly.

"Oh no," Scott said, shaking his head. "She started therapy because the court told her to. It obviously didn't work." He paused, then continued. "Would you like me to call some people for you? They'll back up everything I just told you."

Joe narrowed his eyes at Scott. This could not be happening. What was the real truth here? He didn't know. All he knew was he couldn't stand to be around Scott at that moment. He stood and walked out the door without a word, leaving Scott staring after him in disbelief.

He found Lorna sitting on the footbridge over the Little Nile. She sat with her hands folded in her lap and her feet dangling mere inches above the running water. She looked as beautiful as she had the day he met her. She didn't move when he stepped up beside her, just stared at the water. Joe stood there for a few minutes in silence, closing his eyes and feeling the cool breeze across his face. It helped dispel some of the nervous energy he still carried inside him. Then he cleared his throat.

"I talked to Scott," he said carefully. "He said he never raped you, that you were lying."

Her face turned slightly toward him, but she still didn't look at him. "And you believed him?" He could hear the hurt in her voice.

"I . . . well, I don't know." He fumbled around for the right thing to say and was unsuccessful.

"You think he would actually admit it to you? Come on, Joe, think about it."

Joe opened his mouth to reply, but shut it again. She made sense. He didn't know who to believe. Both stories sounded equally believable. He wanted to believe Lorna, because he didn't want to believe that she could be capable of something so cold and calculating as lying about a rape. Not his Lorna.

But for the few months that he had known Scott, he had never struck him as the type that would do something like this. Scott was strong and he was aggressive, but Joe didn't believe that he was a violent person.

Lorna took his silence as affirmation. She nodded. "He lied to you because he doesn't want to get into trouble after he's already escaped it once." Her face grew angry and she glared at Joe. "I can't believe you listened to him, Joe! I thought you were my friend!"

"Lorna, I . . ." Joe paused. He didn't know what to say to her. He couldn't tell her that he still didn't quite believe her, but he also couldn't tell her that he did when he really didn't.

Lorna stood and stared at him, her eyes flashing with anger. "What? What are you trying to say, Joe?"

Joe shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know what to believe, Lorna."

"Believe the truth."

He wished he knew what that was. Then he looked at Lorna and realized that she was glaring over his shoulder vehemently.

"What?" Joe turned around, wondering what she was looking at. Scott stood behind him, just before the path curved around the knoll. He looked at Lorna, not moving. Their eyes were locked in an icy staredown, and Joe stepped back, startled. "Um, guys," he started to say, then stopped when he realized they weren't listening to him anyway.

Scott spoke first. "Well, look who's here. Poor little Lorna. How convenient." He smiled insincerely. "How are things going with you?"

She smiled sweetly back at him. "I'm doing just fine now, no thanks to you."

Scott shook his head and turned to Joe, who was staring at them incredulously. He had never seen either of them act this way. "I was just coming to find you because I know you didn't believe me," Scott said. "I swear, I never touched this girl."

"Don't listen to him, Joe. He's lying!" Lorna pleaded with him. She grabbed his lower arm and looked up at him, asking him with her eyes to believe her. Scott sighed and looked away, his jaw clenched.

Joe looked back and forth between the two, not knowing what to do. Each wanted him to believe them and not the other. But who was telling the truth? His mind went back and forth over the facts, not coming up with anything conclusive. Then he hit upon an idea.

"Alright," he finally said. "One of you is not telling the truth. I don't know who, and I don't know how to find out. So, unless one of you decides to come clean, I'm staying out of this. I don't know how I got dragged into this to begin with." He turned and walked toward Scott and the knoll.

"Joe?" Lorna asked, sounding confused. "Joe, where are you going?"

Scott stared at Joe as he walked by, looking slightly shocked. "Hey, man."

Joe just shook his head and kept walking until he went around the curve by the knoll and the two were out of sight. Once they couldn't see him, he turned around and edged back until he got to the thick lilac bush growing next to the path by the curve. He crouched down behind it, breathing deeply the strong aroma of lilac surrounding him. Through a hole in the bush, he could see Lorna standing there motionless. He couldn't see Scott, but he could hear both of them and that was what mattered.

"I can't believe he just left like that," Lorna said, sounding hurt.

"Well, what do you expect?" Scott snapped at her. "You're the one that brought this whole mess up again. I don't blame him for wanting out of it. I want out of it, but you won't drop it. I never did anything to you to begin with, Lorna. Why are you doing this?"

Lorna shook her head and looked at the ground. "It could have happened."

Joe raised an eyebrow and leaned forward. What was she talking about?

Scott groaned. "Lorna! It never would have happened. I would never have done that to you, or anybody for that matter." Scott suddenly appeared in Joe's line of sight and grabbed Lorna's arm. "Why did you lie about it? Why me?" he demanded, squeezing her arm.

Lorna grimaced and tried to back away. Joe could see that tears had sprung to her eyes. He positioned himself to jump out if he needed to, realizing that if Lorna had been telling the truth, leaving her with Scott probably had not been the best idea. Nobody else had even walked by on the path, so chances were that Joe might be the only thing stopping Scott from hurting her.

Scott shook her slightly. "Why, Lorna?" She closed her eyes and bit her lip. Joe was just about to stand up and get her away from Scott, when she spoke. Her words froze Joe to his spot.

"I don't know, Scott. It just sort of happened, okay?" Her voice was broken by sobs. Joe's jaw dropped. It seemed the truth had just reared its ugly head.

"So you finally admit it!" Scott's voice sounded triumphant. He let go of her and stepped backwards, staring at him with pain written on her face.

"Yes," Lorna said softly. "I'm sorry." Joe felt as if he'd been slapped. It had been Lorna all along. He shut his eyes and hung his head. He had hoped she hadn't been lying, but now he knew she had. There was nothing more final than a blatant confession. He felt like he was going to be sick. Swallowing and taking a deep breath, he stood up and stepped out from behind the bush. Lorna gasped as she saw him.

"Joe!" she exclaimed, wiping absently at the tears on her cheeks. "You came back!" Her face fell when Joe just stared at her. He felt sure that disappointment was written on his face. Scott turned to him, and a small triumphant smile crossed his face. "How long have you been here?" Lorna asked nervously.

"Long enough." Joe's voice came out sounding cold. Fresh tears welled up in Lorna's eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Joe. I didn't mean any of it."

He shook his head. "I just want to know why, Lorna. Why did you lie about Scott?"

"Obviously, she's insane," Scott volunteered.

Joe waved him off. "I want to hear it from her, Scott." He still had hope that maybe she really hadn't done it out of spite and malice. That didn't make it excusable, but he thought it would be easier to forgive her if she really hadn't meant to do it.

Lorna looked at the ground, fiddling with the strings on her jacket. A full minute passed before she finally said softly, "It was a dare."

"What?!" Scott exclaimed, and Joe just stared at her in disbelief.

"A dare . . ." he repeated slowly, making sure he had heard her correctly.

She nodded and looked up at them. Her face was red and tears ran down her cheeks. "Yes, a dare. My best friend Sarah dared me to accuse him of rape, right after we went out. It was just a joke, at first. But once I'd done it, I couldn't take it back and everything just got worse and worse. I had to stick to my story or I'd get in trouble." She looked at Scott. "I'm sorry. It had nothing to do with you personally."

Scott grimaced in disgust and turned away.

Joe knit his eyebrows and stared at her. "How could you, Lorna? Why did you accept the dare?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, really. I guess I thought maybe if I did it, my parents would have to notice me. I hoped maybe they'd feel sorry for me, and want to take care of me for once."

"So why did you bring it up again when you were talking to me?"

"I don't know. It just came out and I couldn't take it back. I don't know. Really." She hung her head and covered her face with her hands, her blond hair falling over her hands like a curtain.

Joe shook his head again. "Well, I guess that's all I needed to know. Scott," he said, turning to him. "I'm really sorry I didn't listen to you."

Scott shrugged. "It's okay. You didn't know who to believe. I'm just glad she finally came clean. And this bruise will heal." He touched his jaw gingerly, where it was beginning to turn a dark purple. He gave a half smile.

Joe's stomach dropped. "Oh God. I forgot about that. I'm so sorry! I can't believe I did that. I'm not normally the type to just go around hitting people."

"Hey, I said it's okay. Don't worry about it." Scott turned to go. "Well, I don't want to stand here with her anymore, now that things are cleared up." He stopped and turned around again. "Hey Lorna," he said. She looked up, her eyes still big and teary. "You're a real bitch." Then he turned and stalked off down the path.

Joe looked at Lorna for a second, then turned to follow Scott.

"Joe." Lorna said softly.

He turned around. She walked up to him and grabbed his right hand, looking up at his face.

"Please forgive me."

Joe set his jaw. "I don't know if I can, Lorna." He shook off her hand and walked away without another word, leaving her standing alone in the middle of the path.

Finally able to tear his eyes away from the photograph, Joe grabbed the trash can sitting next to him and shoved the frame in. Then he dumped the rest of the papers from his drawer on top of it. He wouldn't need that picture any longer � he was through with Lorna, who he hadn't even seen since the day he left her at the Little Nile. He found himself absently wondering what had happened to her, then shrugged and closed the drawer.

As he was carrying a few of his boxes out to the parking lot, he passed Scott in the hallway. "I'm almost done with my boxes, how about you?" he asked jokingly. He knew Scott still had to pack most of his belongings. He had been too busy playing basketball that morning to bother packing much.

Scott grinned at him. "Yeah, almost done. Just had to finish some more important things first."

Joe shook his head and pushed open the door. "I'll be back up in a few minutes to get my last boxes." Scott nodded and headed up the stairs.

As Joe walked toward his car, he became aware that someone was standing in front of it. He sighed and walked over to Lorna, setting his boxes on the roof and turning to her.

"Hi Joe," she said, leaning against the car and crossing her arms.

"Lorna. What are you doing here?" he asked her. Funny that she was here after he had just been thinking about her.

"I just wanted to say goodbye. I'm not coming back here next year."

He nodded. "Alright, goodbye." He turned to the car and unlocked the back door.

She touched his shoulder. "Joe. I just want you to know that I'm getting help. My parents took me to a psychiatrist and he said that I've been unipolar."

Joe wrinkled his brow. "You've had depression?" When she nodded, he asked, "But why didn't your other therapist tell you that?"

She smiled guiltily. "He wasn't a very good one. I ended up paying him to tell my parents that I was seeing him regularly and that everything was just fine. They believed it. It was what they wanted to believe, because it was so much more convenient for them."

He shoved one of the boxes into the back seat and looked at her again. "Are you seeing one for real this time?"

She nodded. "Yes. I'm tired of feeling the way that I did, always wanting to hurt myself and other people. He's been a big help so far." She stared at him for a second, then said. "I wanted to thank you for trying to be my friend, even though I didn't do a very good job of repaying that friendship. It meant a lot to me that you were interested in what I had to say. And without you, this whole mess wouldn't have been fixed. Thanks."

He broke her gaze, not sure of what to say. "You know, Lorna, I always wished that you wanted me as more of a friend. Sometimes, you were all I could think about. It really hurt to find out that you weren't who I thought you were."

"I didn't know," she said softly. "I'm sorry. For everything. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I want you to know that I really am sorry."

He nodded, staring at his reflection in the car window without really seeing it. "I really should get going, Lorna. I have a few more boxes to load."

She was silent for a moment. "Yes, I need to go too. My parents and I are moving to Florida. They want me to get better down there. We're leaving this afternoon."

They stood without speaking for a few minutes. Joe felt the familiar longing he used to feel when he looked at her, but it wasn't as strong anymore. He thought that it would probably disappear completely with time. Lorna was no longer goddess-status to him. She was just a normal girl with some problems, just like everyone else, and he could deal with that.

"Alright, well, I guess this is goodbye then," Lorna said.

He nodded. "Yes, I guess so. Goodbye Lorna. Good luck."

"Goodbye Joe." She waited a few seconds, as if hoping he'd say more. When he remained silent, she turned and walked off.

He stared at her back as she walked across the parking lot. When she was about thirty feet away, he called after her.

"Lorna!" She turned around. He suddenly felt embarrassed. "I forgive you," he said, just loudly enough for her to hear it.

She smiled. "Thanks." Then she turned and walked away.

This time, Joe let her go. He didn't see her get into a car and drive off. He smiled sadly to himself, then turned to the last box on his car.