~You're My Favorite Secret~

Chapter 30

Aria's POV
After Freddy's we all just went back to my place to hang out.
"Gwen, you have been quiet this whole time. What's up?" I asked
"Oh, I'm fine"
"Sure" I said but dropped the topic

We continued to talk but Gwen was still sitting there in her own world. Is she hiding something from us?
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Gwen's POV
I sat there in a pool of my own thoughts, I wasn't listening to anything they were saying. Tears started to well up in my eyes and I excused myself to the restroom.

I walked into the bathroom and tugged on my hair as I tried not to scream.
*Flashback* (when her parents divorced)
I sat in my room while my parents yelled and screamed at each other. I heard my dads hand made contact with my moms cheek, it echoed through the house. I started crying harder so I thought of the only thing to do and went into my contacts on my phone. I clicked on Ross's contact and pressed call.

"Hello?" Ross said through the phone.
"Ro-oss?" I said in a shaky voice as tears streamed down my face.
"Gwen! Are you ok? What happened?"
"M-y d-dad just h-hit my m-mom and t-they a-are s-screaming at e-each other" I cried

"Do you need me to come over?"
"Could you please? You can sneak through the window" I cried harder
"I'll be there in 10 don't worry stay there" he hung up and I sat there on my bed as I waited for him to come.

Ten minutes later I heard a tap on my window so I walked over and opened it.
"Hey" he smiled
"Hi, thank you so much for coming" I attempted to smile
"Hey, it's no problem"
I heard another scream from my mother, I cried harder knowing I couldn't do anything about it. My dad wouldn't listen to me.

Ross pulled me into a hug as we sat on my bed.
"It's gonna be ok, shh" he whispered
*End of Flashback*

I thought back to that time where he helped me, I'm so happy I met him, he makes me feel safe and protected from my father. My mom did everything in her power to let me stay with her but she couldn't, dad had basically convinced the judges that I shouldn't stay with her because he threatened my mom that he would kill her if she didn't allow me to stay with him.

I told my mom to go, live her life and that I'll be fine, hoping to convince her.

So, yeah, I have been abused by my father ever since. Ross is the only one who knows and is trying to do everything in his power to help me, but he's only a teenager so he really can't.

I met Ross after I met Aria, I ran into him while shopping.
*Flashback*
I walked through the town as I looked for places to shop. My mom wanted me to pick up some clothes for myself she said I needed some more.

Suddenly, all of the bags that I was carrying fell and I ran into a hard chest.
"Oh, I'm so sorry" a deep voice said
"No, I'm sorry I should have watched where I was going"
"No, your fine" I looked up to see a man who looked to be about 18-19, with brown hair.

"Hi, I'm Gwen" I said sticking out my hand.
"I'm Ross" he said taking my hand. My eyes widened.
"You ok?"
"Your Aria's brother?"
"Oh yeah, you know her?" he looked at me with confusion.

"Yeah, we met the other day"
"Oh, well, yes, I'm her brother, I know we just met but want to get some Freddy's?"
"Yeah sure" I said
After that we spent the rest of the day together, playing 21 questions, just getting to know each other better.
*End of Flashback*

Ross and I started hanging out more and soon became close friends in a short amount of time. When he went into the hospital I was devastated, it was all my fault.

*Flashback*
It was a regular day at school and I was sitting in class next to Ross. I asked my teacher if I could go to the bathroom and walked out of the classroom. Once I finished, I washed my hands but right when I was about to walk out when suddenly, the principal's voice came on the intercom,
"Teachers and students there is an intruder in the school, the school is now on lockdown, this is not a drill!"

I started to freak out, I was in the bathroom while an intruder was in the school. I walked into one of the stalls and waited. At sat there for a few minutes before I heard someone come in. It's the intruder, it's got to be, I thought.

"Gwen, are you in here?" when I heard Ross's voice I instantly relaxed.
"Yes" I replied, "please help"
I walked out of the stall and saw him, he had his hand outstretched for me to take. We made our way out and back to the classroom.

"Hey! Both of you, stop where you are right now!" we heard an unfamiliar voice and we froze.

We turned around a saw a man with a gun in his hand. I was beyond scared.
"Take me, not her" Ross said
"I want the girl, we could have some fun" the man winked at me. I looked at him with a disgusted look.
"No, take me" Ross repeated

"Give me the girl or I will shoot her" anger was clear in the mans voice.
"No" Ross said once again
The man shot, I watched as the bullet flew towards me, but before it could hit me Ross jumped in front of me.

"NOO!" I screamed as Ross fell to the floor. I heard the police come as the man ran away knowing my scream would be heard. I fell to my knees right next to Ross and cried. I watched as the the police came over to him and picked him up, carrying him away from me.
*End of Flashback*

I cried even harder thinking of how it was my fault that this happened to Ross, and if Aria ever found out, she would hate me. Ross could have died and it was all my fault.

"Gwen? Are you ok?" Aria asked
I wiped my tears and responded,
"Yes, I'm ok" even though deep down I was not ok and probably never will be again.
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Well....what did y'all think? Didn't see that coming did you? Well it did and I'm very proud of this chapter but I do apologize for all the flashbacks😅 Anyways, like I always say, thank you guys for reading, means a lot!