Page 55 of Honest With You

Call the lawyer. Call Mr. Cain. Have Reese’s school pickup arranged. Run after my brother so he doesn’t get into another shouting match with Dad. Anything, other than crumple even further onto the floor, sobbing my fucking lungs out.

“Shhh.. baby. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” I hear muffled whispering behind me and when I look up from Jesse’s chest, I see all three of them checking their own phones now.

“I’m-I’m sorry… I didn’t-I don’t know.. I’m so sorry.” I cling to Jesse’s shirt, unable to calm myself enough to properly express my regret and apologize.

His phone starts ringing and when he answers, “Mom?” I cover my mouth to muffle my cries. I feel myself get lifted and before I can even contest it, I’m laying propped against the pillows on my bed with Vanessa sitting right beside me, and Jesse has my feet on his lap.

Ryder gives me a small smile, while whispering on his phone. I didn’t even realize his rang too.

Jesse starts rubbing my foot with one hand while he clutches his phone with the other.

“Yeah, I know Mom. And yeah, I can’t really talk about it. Yes, of course I did. Okay. I’ll see you. Okay. I said I will, Mom. She’ll be happy to hear that. Thanks Mom, love you. See you tomorrow. Bye.”

He reaches over, squeezing my knee. “Mom said not to worry. She said from her experience working for Uncle Luke, she’s seen worse from the artists from the label and that your dad has ‘fixers’ like Cain for a reason.”

I laugh nervously, trying to inject humor into this, now that I’ve somehow calmed down.

Then, I remember the most important thing and why I risked it all.

I glance over at Vanessa, who has her phone held tight in her hands while she stares down at her lap, tears still flowing down her cheeks. I gently put a hand over hers and lean over to catch her eye.

Her lower lip trembles and the next thing I know, she’s holding on to me tighter than she had with her phone. She’s crying uncontrollably, her words muffled on my shoulder but I can make some of them out.

Words likeI’m sorry, it’s my faultare flying out of her mouth. I do my best to rub her back and run my hands through her hair to soothe her aching heart while being mindful of the injuries she sustained at the hands of that abusive sonofabitch. I feel awful about making a spectacle of myself just moments ago when Vanessa is going through this. She should have been the first thing I thought of, the person I checked on before I did anything else today.

Jesse tightens his grip on my knee, sensing my inner turmoil. I meet his eyes and he tilts his head, giving me a smile of assurance as he rubs my knee with his thumb.

There’s a subtle change in the way he’s looking at me right now. There’s tenderness and something else that makes his eyes brighter. His smile is somehow fuller even with only a slight tilt. Before I can decipher it, Vanessa leans back into the pillows and I help her push her hair out of her face.

Her cheeks are a ruddy shade of pink, complimenting the tan of her skin.

Even with her red-rimmed eyes and pinked cheeks, she’s still absolutely beautiful. How could Dean hurt her? How could anyone hurt someone as wonderful as Vanessa is, both inside and out?

“Y–your brother told me what Dean did.”

I frown. “Do you not remember anything that happened last night?”

She shakes her head and puts a hand up, as if to correct herself. “Yes and no. I remember bits and pieces like before we started drinking and after, when we were at the police station. But the in-between is a little fuzzy. I was hoping when I woke up that what I did remember was a bad dream. I was hoping he really didn’t hurt you.” She sniffs, her hands pulling on mine. “The last thing I wanted was to involve you in my drama and cause all this to happen.”

I shake my head vehemently. “No. Stop that right now, Van.” I grip her hands tight in mine. “I would do it again in a heartbeat. Don’t you dare call your trauma ‘drama’. You hear me?” I shake my own head, the guilt causing my throat to burn. “What you saw just now is me simply feeling the gravity of it all.” I nod my head over at Jesse, who has moved behind me to put his hands on my shoulder. “Jesse’s mom is right. My dad has people for this kind of stuff. And besides–” I clear my throat, “--the truth would have come out sooner or later. I am a Torres, after all. Someone was bound to put it together.”

I try my best to smile away the fear I feel at the enormity of this situation I created, if only to pacify my best friend, who needs to come first.

“And we’re lucky, no matter what. You wanna know why?”

She shakes her head, smiling weakly through her tears.

“Because we have each other.” I pause and take her hand, “Vanessa?”

“Hmm?” More tears gather in her eyes and she sniffs again.

“What do you want to do?”

She doesn’t hesitate and grips my finger tight.

“I want to file charges. I don’t want Dean to hurt anyone ever again.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do. Our lawyer will make sure Dean pays for what he’s done to you. To me. And to anyone else he may have hurt. But most especially to you. I’ll make damn sure of it.”

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