“I don’t know, sweetie, but we are going to take care of it,” Caroline answered with a hard edge to her voice and an even harder look to her eyes.
“I asked Deputy Strauss to come down and talk with them,” Andrew interjected. “He’s real good at his job and he owes me a favor.”
“Can they be prosecuted for what they’ve done?” Elliot asked, glad to hear the Thornton Police was going to be involved somehow. He was sick and tired of these two girls causing so much upheaval in so many people’s lives and having no consequences taken seriously.
Grace and Dalton entered the room before anyone could respond. They both moved to Elliot immediately. “Oh my God, honey! Grace grabbed to her son and held tight.
“I didn’t know you guys were called.” He pulled out of his mother’s embrace to look at his parents. There was a hard line to Dalton’s face, something that Elliot couldn’t ever remember seeing, not even with Christie acting the way she had been
“Christie called us. Told us to get down here immediately because something very, very bad had happened and we were needed. She said there are stories going around the school. Stories about something having happened to Gemma,” Grace answered. She looked at her son, as though checking him, and then she looked at Gemma in anguish. “Is it true?” she whispered.
Pulling out of the embrace she was still cradled in by her parents, Gemma acknowledged Elliot’s parents. She could see tears brimming in Grace’s eyes, which only made her sobs return harder. She didn’t know what Grace knew, but it didn’t matter, her agony was all of an answer Grace needed. “I’m sorry.”
“I… we were going to tell you soon. We had just been waiting for the holidays to end. We didn’t want to ruin it for everyone.” Elliot looked at his mom, his eyes pleading with her to understand. Pleading with her to not be mad at them. “It shouldn’t have happened this way. None of this should have happened.” Elliot sat down heavily, gripping Gemma’s hand tighter.
“Oh my poor girl,” Grace wept, moving to join in on the embrace of Gemma. “I am so sorry, child. So very sorry,” she said, stroking Gemma’s hair.
While the action should have been a comfort, it was anything but. And too soon, unwanted images were barreling through her mind. Gemma could feel three pairs of hands caressing at her, and she could feel her breath pick up. A panic attack was quickly closing in on her. Gripping Elliot’s hand as hard as she could, Gemma tried to get him to help her.
“Gemma?” Elliot asked, his hand starting to hurt. He couldn’t see her face, but the way she was grasping onto him, surrounded by her parents and his mom, confused him. And then he heard her whimper. Without another thought, he pulled Gemma to him swiftly, yanking her out of the parental embrace and right into his lap. She instantly wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in the crook as sobs overwhelmed her small form.
He couldn’t even take pleasure in the thrill of having her in his lap. Four sets of eyes were staring at him. “Sorry. She was getting scared.”
“Scared?” Andrew almost bellowed, but calmed after a stern look from Caroline. “Why would she be scared of us?”
“It was… it was three guys who hurt her. The three of you, being so close, were making her remember,” Elliot barely whispered. His mom looked completely heartbroken and he knew she didn’t know much. After Gemma had passed out, after he once again carried her away, while waiting for her to wake, Elliot had made Christie tell him what she knew. All Christie knew was Gemma was seen leaving the office of a therapist that dealt with sexual assault and that Penny had seen her on more than one occasion, which was what prompted her to find out more. She didn’t know any of Gemma’s story, but decided, “just for the fun of it” to tell anyone she could that Gemma was seeing a shrink. The idea that Gemma was a “head case” was all Penny needed to spread her rumors. And she’d managed to let slip the exact type of shrink too though she didn’t know any real information outside of that.
It was enough to break Gemma regardless.
He decided it was up to Gemma to tell Christie anything more. Right now, he had to contend with the parents. “She doesn’t mean to make you feel bad,” he sighed heavily. He was stroking her back, his fingers threading through her hair. Only marginally was Gemma calming, and while he loved being able to help her, his heart was shattered. “She doesn’t mean it.”
Grace sat down heavily, and looked up at Dalton. “Did you know?”
Elliot watched his father, who had been watching his interaction with Gemma. “Yeah,” he answered finally. Removing his eyes from Elliot, he looked toward Grace. “It was after Christie and Elliot fought. He needed to talk to someone and you had told me to talk to him.”
His mom just shook her head. “I can’t believe… what is going to become of these girls? And how did they find out to begin with?”
“Christie said Penny asked the receptionist at the office what the doctor specialized in. They don’t know anything more than Gemma was seeing a therapist for assault cases. Well, not even that much. They just know she was at an office where that is practiced.” Elliot could feel Gemma’s breathing hitch again. She was trying so hard to be strong. “They made up their own minds with the reason why on their own.”
Dalton sighed. “We’re going to have to talk to the receptionist. Whether she knows it or not, she violated HIPPA law.” He sat down beside Grace. “Just because she didn’t give any personal information, she did reveal something that would otherwise be kept confidential.” He looked at Elliot then, his eyes forceful. “I’ll call the board and get things started as soon as we leave here.”
“Is that why you wanted to see her too?” Grace asked softly. “The therapist, because of what happened to Gemma? I know how close you two are, best friends, so I can only imagine how horrible this has all been for you.”
They were talking about her as though she wasn’t present, but Gemma was too tired, too overwhelmed to care. Reaching out, she grabbed for her parents’ hands. She didn’t want to move from Elliot, but she needed her family closer.
Elliot watched Gemma, watched the way Caroline and Andrew remained silent during this talk, watched how devastation didn’t even seem like enough of a word to describe what they were feeling, as they moved closer to their daughter. He waited for Gemma to settle again before answering. “No, that’s not the reason.” He looked briefly at his father, before moving his eyes to the floor. “I was there,” he began and then regretted the wording because the look of horror that crossed his mother’s face nearly crushed him. He could only imagine the horrific scenarios running through her head. “I mean after. I was there after. I found Gemma after she was attacked.”
“You found her?”
“It was Homecoming. I made a horrible mistake and was trying to right it, so I went to the Fairview, where everything happened, to talk to her.” He brushed his lips across her head, trying to keep the images at bay. As much as he didn’t want to say and relive them, he even more wanted to keep them from returning to Gemma’s mind. “She was…stumbling out of an alley. Hurt.”
“He saved me,” Gemma whispered on a sob.
“Three men attacked Gemma. Elliot got a look at them before they… he found her, got her to go to the hospital and helped make sure she made it home to us,” Andrew’s gruff voice declared. “I don’t know what I’d have done….”
“Elliot has been so wonderful to and for Gemma. You are raising an amazing young man,” Caroline interjected, her usually sweet southern voice filled with sorrow.
“She wouldn’t have had this happen if I hadn’t been such a fool,” Elliot whispered low enough so that only Gemma heard him. She shook her head no, but he wouldn’t be swayed. He knew it was the truth.
“That’s why you’ve been spending even more time with Gemma than before.” Grace shook her head, tears still present in her eyes. “That’s why…” She stopped and looked at her husband, a question in her eyes. “That’s why you kept your distance from Gemma during the holidays, isn
’t it? You’re not usually so quiet around her. And she’s never really been quiet around you either.”
“I didn’t want to make Gemma uncomfortable. I wanted her to come to trust me on her own, not because I was someone she knows and should trust because of that,” his dad answered, his normally calm voice gravelly.
“I can’t believe this.” There was a hint of desperation in his mother’s voice that was breaking his already broken heart. “How could this happen? What do you know about the three? Have they been arrested?”
Andrew cleared his throat and Gemma tensed. “We’re still waiting for any word. So far, no one seems to know who they are or come forward yet. The Broomfield Police assures me they are doing everything they can. We’ll see, though.”
There was silence after that. No one knowing what to say or how to say it. The six of them just sat and waited to hear from the principal, who was still speaking with Penny and Cassie and their parents. The air was tense, filled with agony and hurt. But there was no way to fix it.
After several more excruciating minutes passed, the door finally opened and in walked Deputy Strauss and Principal Sloane. Gemma tensed up immediately. While she had grown more at ease being at school, it helped tremendously having her sister, Trent and Elliot around to keep most everyone away. But they couldn’t help her in regards to Deputy Strauss. He was a deputy, someone her father knew and trusted, but he was also male, and Gemma could not differentiate in her mind in that moment that he was not a threat.
“First and foremost, I want to tell you how very sorry I am for this,” Principal Sloane began. “I am sorry for whatever it was that happened to you, Gemma, and for what these two girls have put you through, not only today, but for the last few months.”
“What’s going to happen?” Andrew asked, getting right to the point. Gemma knew he was doing it for her, her hand was squeezing his very hard, after all.
“After talking with both parents, alone and with the girls, we have decided it would be best if they find a different school to attend.”
“What does that mean? Are they leaving voluntarily?” Grace asked.
“Due to the nature of their actions, not just today, but over time, both are going to be expelled,” Principal Sloane answered. “We will not tolerate behavior that not only has intent to emotionally and mentally hurt, but also violates the privacy of others.”
“Unfortunately the law can’t really touch them here,” Deputy Strauss jumped in. “They are going to have a court date for vandalism, but because they didn’t have enough information, and didn’t physically harm Gemma, there is little I can do. If they continue to harass her, or continue to bother her in any way, then I can step in.”
“So they just get away with it?” Grace screeched. “From my understanding, they think everything is joke, how is this going to teach them anything?”
“Ma’am, I really wish there was something I could do,” Deputy Strauss defended. “Fortunately, we were told both families intend to move away from Thornton. And not to the same locations. The girls will be split up.”
“As long as they’re gone, right?” Gemma spoke up. She wanted them to be punished for “outing” her secret, or a version of it. She wanted something severe so they could finally understand how what they did hurts others. But if she couldn’t have that, at least she could have them not around anymore.
“As long as they’re gone,” Elliot agreed. He hugged Gemma feeling her relax into his embrace.
After that, the parents, Principal Sloane, and Deputy Strauss left to speak privately.
“I’m afraid of what people are to going to think of me,” Gemma murmured after a few moments passed. “What do they know, or think they know? Will they say anything?”
Before Elliot could answer, there was a knock on the door to the nurse’s office. It opened, and to both Elliot and Gemma’s surprise, Trisha Scott was standing on the other side. “I hope it’s okay that I stop by. I thought you could use…” she trailed off as she looked at Elliot, her eyes momentarily uneasy, but then she squared her shoulders, and marched on with her thought. “I thought you could use support from someone who understands.”
“What?” Elliot exhaled. He was surprised twofold. First, he didn’t know Gemma really knew Trisha at all, or had spent any actual time with her, especially since he now understood how much Gemma despised hearing about the other girl. And then he was surprised by what she had said. She understood? How? Why?
“It’s okay, Elliot, you can close your mouth,” Trisha laughed lightly, and he snapped it shut instantly, his cheeks tinted pink. She sat down in front of them, and reached out to take one of Gemma’s hands. “I am so sorry they did this to you, Gemma. I can’t even imagine how you must be feeling,” she sympathized. “I can tell you the rumors going around, they’re not that bad. In fact, since Penny and Cassie didn’t know any of your particulars, all they had to go on is a doctor’s professional specialty. No one knows the why’s of your reason for seeing Dr. Archuleta. Or even if you were seeing her to begin with. So what you were at the medical office. There are other doctors there, or she’s a friend of the family.”
“You know Dr. Archuleta?” Elliot found his brain was not keeping up.
A sad smile covered Trisha’s lips. Gemma was finally going to find out why Trisha was seeing the doctor. And that bothered her immensely. “Yes, I know her. When I was seven, my mom and dad divorced. It happens, and while I was upset, it wasn’t the end of the world. But then my dad’s job moved him out of state, to Virginia, so I didn’t get to see him as much, just summers or some holidays.” She stopped, took a moment to collect herself, and then continued. “During one of my trips, one of my dad’s new friends was over. It was the 4th of July, my dad was having a barbeque, lots of people around. I had been staying with my dad for two weeks by then, knew who the guy was, but didn’t have any kind of feel on him. Anyhow, during the barbeque, I had to use the bathroom, so I went to the room my dad had set up for me. It had its own bathroom.
“I loved that. At home, with mom, I share with her, so it was cool to have my own space.” Tears formed in Trisha’s eyes, but they didn’t fall. “I didn’t know it, but the friend had followed me. He’d come into my room, locked the door, and waited for me to get out of the bathroom. When I stepped out, he was there, standing right at the door. He grabbed me, and…hurt me.”
“Oh God,” Gemma sobbed into Elliot’s chest. She didn’t want to know anymore.
“When he was…done, he left and went back to the party like nothing had happened. I was crying, screaming, and bleeding. I walked back outside, found my dad, and broke down.” A few tears managed to fall then, but Trisha maintained her composure. “My father almost killed this man as he beat him so severely. The police were called, reports were made. He was arrested, and thankfully convicted to prison. I was twelve years old. And every day I fight to get back to who I was, to what I had before this man destroyed my life. While I don’t know how it feels to have my secret exposed like this, I do know how it feels to have everyone know when you don’t want them too.” As she finished she looked at Elliot with a sad smile. “That’s why I know Dr. Archuleta. I’ve been seeing her for a few years now. And that’s why my mom started her shelter project.”
“Wow,” Elliot blew out. “Wow,” he repeated.
“Thank you for telling me that,” Gemma cried. “I’m sorry it happened to you.” She was trying to gain the strength to tell her story too. “It was at the Fairview, near that old bar not far from the theater. There were three guys. Elliot found me.”
“Oh sweetie. You don’t have to tell me anything. I didn’t tell you my story just to get yours,” Trisha soothed. “I just want you to know you’re not alone.” She looked at Elliot again, a sweet smile playing for him, before returning her attention back to Gemma. “I’m glad you two have each other. It’s a long battle, but I have faith you will both be okay. Take strength in each other.”
“Thank you, Trisha.” He’d found
his voice, and his mind had finally calmed to normal. He may not have feelings for Trisha like he thought he’d had, but he definitely had respect for her.
She nodded, then stood. “I need to get back. Jake is waiting on me in the lobby, but I just wanted to tell you… I wanted to tell you I’m here for you. No matter what.” With that, she walked out the door.
“Wow,” Gemma breathed as she sat up in Elliot’s lap. She was starting to feel a little ridiculous still sitting on him, but when she tried to move, he just held her tighter to him. Rather than fight it, she just stilled. Her mind was still trying to comprehend everything Trisha had given to her. While she knew there had to be a serious, and no doubt horrible reason for the senior cheerleader to need to speak with a therapist that mainly handled sexual assault cases, Gemma never imagined that reason would be what it was. “I never would have imagined. I mean this was someone her father no doubt trusted! And to betray it like that? I just, I can’t imagine.”
Elliot nodded. “I know.”
“It gives me hope though,” she whispered, looking deep into his eyes, wanting to show him she meant her words about hope. “Maybe I can be somewhat normal again too. Trisha seems so well put-together, so much more in control of who she is, so strong. I don’t know, maybe that can be me again.”
In that moment, the words ‘I love you’ wanted to escape. It felt right, it felt true. But Elliot kept them to himself. While it may have felt right, he knew it wasn’t the right time. Especially after how tumultuous the day had been thus far. So, instead, he said the other thing on his mind. “You are strong. You are probably the strongest person I know. You are normal. But I know what you mean. And I know you’ll get there.”
She didn’t argue that she didn’t feel strong. Her secret had, in a way, been exposed. At least words were out that would lead to speculation. But instead of wanting to hide, as her initial reaction had been, after hearing Trisha talk, Gemma wanted to strive to be as brave as Trisha too. “I’m glad I have you.” She relaxed back into Elliot’s arms, letting the feel of his comfort wash over her and steel away any sadness or fear she may have had.
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