When sexual assault victims are unable to speak for themselves, who should do it for them? Willa wakes up confused, in pain, and with the word slut written on her hip. She may refuse to believe it, but she was raped. So who should stand up for her? Who is responsible to do the right thing in this situation?
It is obvious that what Cully and the other guys at the Lawbourne's house did was wrong. However, those who did not participate in the rape knew that there was a younger girl upstairs, under the influence of alcohol, with senior guys. These guys, Dex and Snow, should be the ones speaking for Willa and coming forward with what happened. Dex knows Willa and knows that she is not the "kind of girl" who would willingly sleep with all those guys. Snow even says to Dex, "You know Willa Lambert? Seems like she has a few drinks in her, for sure" (103). If a girl is alone with several guys and has a few drinks in her, the right thing to do is to interfere and make sure she's okay. Snow is completely indifferent to the situation on hand.
Once Dex finds out the girl is Willa, he refuses to believe it. He is shocked, because he knows her and knows that she would not "offer herself to just anyone." Dex should have listened to his gut feeling. He knew something was not right about the situation. He is even so upset that he leaves the party and does not return to school for the rest of the day. Dex should be the one to speak for Willa because of their previous friendship and his knowledge of what went on in the Lawbourne's house.
Willa is unable to speak out for herself about what happened to her. She does not completely understand what was done to her and is left blaming herself for the unnerving situation. Dex, however, has an idea on what was going on and that it was wrong. Because of this, and the fact that he cares for Willa, Dex needs to do the right thing and speak for her.
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