Twisted Deception

~𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 67~

chapter 67
———

Third Person POV
"HE WHAT?" Zane angrily asked.

"Xena, you're telling me that Lyone went as far as rape?!" Jane asked. "And how old were you?"

"...Fifteen" Xena answered. "We were the same age."

"You're telling me that there is a rapist going to our school?" Isaac asked. "And nobody believed you? Not even your own family?"

Xena shook her head.

"It was because of what he did that Halloween night three years ago that changed my entire life" Xena continued. "He...lied to the entire school and made them think I was a lying slut. And what's worse is...they all believed him. My friends turned on me and I was teased to the point where I just skipped school all together. Somehow, the news made it to my parents and even they believed it. No matter how many times I tried explaining to them that it wasn't."

Xena stroked her hair.

"But the damage had already been done. My parents kicked me out the house, and sent me to live with my aunt Jenna in NorthPort." Xena bit her lip. "Aunt Jenna didn't make things any easier for me, either. She started slut shaming me, forced me to cook and clean her house, and always threatened to throw me on the street if I didn't obey her just because she "put a roof over my head". Not only that, her boyfriend Jackson makes me uncomfortable to a point where I bribed a mechanic to put a key lock on my door so Jackson wouldn't try to break in."

"I...I don't even have words that could describe what I'm feeling right now" Isaac said. "I feel disgusted, horrified, enraged....I don't even know what to say right now."

"...I hated Lyone since then" Xena gritted out. "But...I hated myself more. My face, my hair, my body, I hated every aspect of it because it was the reason why I was shunned by everyone. I just....wanted to be different, I wanted a reset so I could just...numb everything. So, I started being a different person. I dyed my hair blue, I-I threw out my clothes and bought darker colors, I sprayed my skin so it'd be whiter, I did everything I could. But no matter what I did to look different, act different, nothing changed. And then walking into a new school where I had to see him act as if he didn't ruin my life....made me feel even worse about myself. So, I did the only thing I could do at that point."

"...That was?" Jane asked.

"Be the person that I wanted to be" Xena answered. "The person no one knows about, the person no one talks to, the person who doesn't speak. That's how the mute Xena Goodfell came to be. That's...the person you know sitting in front of you today."

Tears filled Xena's eyes until they felt like they were burning and she couldn't stop herself from crying once more.

Sofia took a leap of faith and gave Xena a big hug, holding her tight as if it would be the last time she would see her. It was at that moment where Xena completely broke down, clenching her eyes tightly as she wrapped her arms around Sofia. She sobbed loudly into Sofia's shirt as Sofia slowly ran her fingers through her hair.

"I'm here, Xena" Sofia murmured. "You're safe. We believe you, wholeheartedly. We're not going anywhere, okay?"

Xena nodded into her shirt, still shaking as she tried to calm herself down.

"I still can't believe he did that" Isaac said. "I knew he was a piece of shit...but this is just...oh my god."

"So, this is why she always tensed up when they were around" Lucas pointed out. "It was because of Lyone."

"I have never felt...more sick than I do right now" Nathan mumbled.

"Why would Lyone do something so...vile? What did she ever do to him?" Emma asked.

"....It all makes sense now" Sofia mumbled.

"Sofia, what are you mumbling about?!" Isaac asked. "If you have something to say, say it now!"

"...I don't know if I'm right or not on this" Sofia started. "But...I may know why Lyone did what he did."

"What?!" Zane asked.

"Sofia, what are you talking about?" Nathan asked.

"What would you have all said, if I told you that this isn't the first time this has happened? And that....it directly ties into my past?" Sofia asked.

They were shocked once more.

"Sofia, are you saying that you have an answer as to why Xena suffered what she did?" Zane asked. "Because if you do, you better speak up, now!"

Sofia let out a long sigh. "Geez, this is so fucked up."

"How?" Emma asked.

"In order to talk about my theory, I have to give a brief summary on the Matthew story" Sofia explained. "And how I tie into this, as well."

"Alright then, we're ready to hear it" Zane said.

"But, I still don't know if I'm right about this" Sofia pointed out.

"Please Sofia, you're the only one who may have the answers I've been asking for" Xena pleaded. "So, explain however you can."

Sofia took a deep breath and sighed slowly. "...I was fourteen when I started dating Matthew while he was sixteen. At the time, we had a private relationship so of course no one knew about it. And...Matthew had been friends with Tod and the other boys when they were still no named delinquents. However, our relationship soon turned...violent."

Sofia's tired gaze soon turned into a sharp glare as she stopped stroking Xena's hair.

"...Sofia?" Isaac asked.

"....Matthew started hurting me, a lot" Sofia continued. "Bruising me, calling me names...he did it with no remorse. And all because I told him I wouldn't let him have sex with me. I got...I got scared, I w-wanted him to stop, s-so I...I just...agreed. I, didn't like it."

Nathan felt something in his heart crack as he listened to her stutter over her sentences. The group was left in utter disbelief as to hearing the traumas that the girls faced in their pasts.

"Like Xena, I hated myself for what happened" Sofia added on. "I hated the fact that I let him do that to me. I let him violate me, I agreed to—"

"You were scared" Nathan cut her off.

Everyone turned to him.

"You were scared that he would hurt you again" Nathan argued. "He forced you into something you didn't wanna do. No matter what shape or context it is, it's rape. Don't ever tell yourself otherwise."

Sofia stared into Nathan's icy blue eyes as he stared back at her with a dark glare on his face.

"Sofia, please get back to the main focus" Zane pleaded.

"Right" Sofia agreed. "Onto my theory."