Chapter 7

Serena’s POV

“Would you call Regina for me?” I asked, voice hopeful.. “I would to talk to her. Just for a few minutes. But only if you’re both willing.”

He agreed immediately to my surprise. Then he pulled out his phone, scrolled, dialed and put it on speaker. The ringing felt too loud in the small room.

On the third ring a soft voice answered.. “Jay?”

“Hey, baby girl. How are you?” Jason asked.

“Fineeee. This job makes me want to tear my hair outtttt. I’m going to commit homicide soon, I swear to GOD! Come be my accomplice.” The girl grumbled.

It made Serena smile.

Jason gave a nervous chuckle. “Uhmm.. before we plan anymore murders, I’ve got a witness here.”

Regina gasped dramatically. “Who is it?!? That cute Alpha boy you like?”

Jason’s eyes widened. “SHUT UP! I’M ON SPEAKER!! Ugh I hate you.”

Serena giggled hearing Regina’s infectious laugh on the other end. Jason’s face was a new shade of red. “Uhm… it’s actually Serena.”

“Who? Lesbian Serena or big boobie Serena?”

My brows lifted.

What??? Which one am I??

I stare down at my chest.

“GIRL, you are on SPEAKER?” Jason rubbed a tired hand on his face.

“Then be specific.”

“It’s McAllistair!!! Before you say something offensive!!”

“Oh? That Serena…. Hope all is well then?”

Jason looked at me. “Yeah… She wants to talk to you. Is that okay?”

A pause. Then: “Okay.”

He handed me the phone and I took it with steady fingers. “Hi Regina? How are you doing?”

“I’m fine. How are you? Jason’s been keeping me up to date on campus gist. Congratulations, girl. You made history.”

I smiled. “Thank you… it means a lot coming from you.”

I hear the smile in her voice. “You’re welcome. So you wanted to talk to me?”

I hesitated. “Yeah, I… I looked into your case earlier, at the health center. I read the summary they kept.”

I hear her breath hitched on the other end.

“I’m sorry…” I rushed the words out, before she misinterpreted my intentions. “I know it’s not my place to bring this up or reopen old wounds, but I just wanted to say I’m sorry.” I pause to take a deep breath, placing my words carefully.

Jason gave me an encouraging smile and nodded for me to go on.

“I know what happened, and how the school treated you like your body was the problem. I’m sorry they used the word biology to brush it under the rug, I’m sorry no one protected you, and I’m sorry you had to leave because of it.” My eyes darted to Jason. “I’m sorry you can’t be with your best friend because of it.”

The words landed hard and he looked away, eyes becoming teary again.

Regina stayed silent on the phone.

I kept going. “The system failed you. The adults who were supposed to help failed you. And people like me who didn’t care enough or kept quiet… we failed you too. And for that, I’m sorry. So that’s what I wanted to say.”

A long silence followed, heavy and tense.

Then I heard the sniffles from the line, her soft, broken cries making my throat close up. Next to me, Jason started crying too. He pressed the heel of his hand against his eyes, but the tears still slipped through.

His scent turned heavy with grief and regret.

Then Regina’s voice came through the phone. “You know, I believed them at first…” She whispered, voice frayed. “When they said it was my cycle, I thought maybe that’s was it was. Maybe I imagined the whole ordeal.”

I shut my eyes as the pain in her voice cut through me.

“But the longer the case went on, the more I was certain. I know what happened that day. I remembered how the scent cut through me. So despite the pressure, I didn't recall it. I told the truth. And no one listened.”

“I believe you…” I reassured. “I believe you completely.”

Her breath trembled, a heart crushing sound. And in that moment, all I wanted to do was reach into the phone, and give her a warm hug.

Regina cried harder for a moment, Jason openly crying with her, quiet sobs that shook his shoulders.

I looked up, my eyes burning with my own held-back tears, the phone trembling in my palm. The three of us stayed quiet like that, connected through a phone line and shared trauma.

When Regina’s breathing finally evened out, her voice came back softer. “Thank you. For calling. For believing in me.“

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“I do… No one looked at those records and still chose my side.” She said quietly. “So thank you. It means the world to me.”

I smile though she couldn’t see. “You’re welcome.”

She hummed softly, a deep sigh escaping her. “And once again, congratulations on the presidency. I couldn’t vote for you but if I had been there, I would have. I think if anyone can change that fucked up school, it’s you. I’m rooting for you. No matter how hard it gets, never give up.”

That broke the dam. My tears spilled over before I could stop them, staining my cheeks with mascara. “I will. I promise.”

I heard the smile in her next breath.

We talked a little longer after that— nothing heavy, just about life in general, shifting the air from heavy to something lighter.

When the call ended, Jason wiped his face with his sleeve and looked at me. “She’s much more open talking about it. I guess the therapist she’s seeing helps.”

I nodded, still wiping my own cheeks. “Good. I hope she’s happy.”

“She is.” He assured.

He walked me to the door afterwards. And I noticed how his shoulders still curled and his head bowed, refusing to meet my eyes.

He was still embarrassed about the locker.

I smiled and stared at him for a moment, my sisterly instinct tugging. “Let’s eat together when your suspension clears.” I said.

His eyes brightened. “Really?”

“Yeah… lunch is on you though. This president has no money.”

He blushed again, a pretty little thing. I pinch his cheek, adjust my strap on my shoulder and left the little white house.

The walk back to my home was long, but I felt like I was floating. Moments like this— the ones that felt like healing— they were what I lived for.

I took in every sight and surroundings like they were brand new, pulling in the neat crisp air into my lungs, as I decide to just enjoy the rest of my day and let tomorrow worry about itself.

I kissed my mom when I got home and she told me it made her entire day. Another small victory for me.

That night I couldn’t sleep. I had too much positive energy to sit still.

I got up, turned on the small desk lamp, and pulled my notebook from the drawer. I turned on my phone, reviewing all I’d found out from today.

Regina’s case wasn’t going to be easy as Nurse Alvarez’s words stuck to me.

As messed up as her mindset was, she was right. Not everything was black and white.

I would do more intensive research and work on a proposal that protects Omega’s body autonomy. As much as they call it instinct and biology, that made zero sense to me.

I've had intense heat periods publicly before. It's never made me want to go and assault somebody.

I breathe through my nose, the double standard irritating me.

For now, I would focus on Jason’s harrassment claims.

At first the words came slow. Then faster. I studied then wrote about the gaps in the current anti-harassment policy and how insubstantial it was.

When I finally put pen to paper, my notebook became half full and my eyes burned from exhaustion. But I still remained driven. I reviewed my work, manually typed each word into my doc, and cleaned out the errors.

Then I closed the notebook, turned off the lamp, and lay back down. Sleep still didn't come easily that night.

But when it finally came, it brought with it the certainty that tomorrow I would walk back into that council room carrying more than just a title. I would meet every argument with statistics. I would expose every flaw in their logic. I would wield my authority like a sword, striking at every angle they tried to take.

I wasn't going to accept a "no" simply because they didn't feel like it.

Not tomorrow.

Never again.