Hi Babes!
This chapter...is a lot. Bare with. Fair warning that sensitive topics will be mentioned in vague details, thank you!
Enjoy...maybe.
I am asking you nicely to please read the author's note at the end, I know it's a little long but it explains things to do with this chapter. Thank you in advance xx and don't be shy to comment I would appreciate your thoughts.
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The front door was unlocked when I got home later that night. My parents' voices were easily distinguishable as I entered.
"You cannot keep doing this, you are going to burn yourself out," my mother said in a tight voice like she was speaking through gritted teeth.
There was a scuffle of feet. "We both have demanding jobs, Clara, you can't expect me to leave my clients high and dry. You would never do that," my father argued, his voice unreadable.
A huffed breath. "I am saving lives, there's a difference, I have to be on call for life-threatening emergencies, your client can wait until the weekend is over before calling you about a sex scandal in his company."
Clearly, my parents hadn't heard me come through the door. They never fought in front of us.
"That is not fair, you know how hard I work and I may not be saving physical lives but I am saving companies from ruin and destruction. I keep reputations intact and you know just how important that is to most people," my father declared, his voice growing more agitated.
I held the door in its exact position, scared that if I opened or closed it an inch it would squeak, alerting my presence. My thoughts jumbled, unable to know what I should be doing right now. I had never been pulled into this position, petty disagreements between them, yes but not full-on arguments.
I had never wished for my siblings to be here more than right now so that I didn't have to go through this alone. The urge to leave the door as is and run back to my car was strong but I couldn't do that, I was rooted in my spot.
"I never said that you don't work hard, all I said was that our jobs are different. I cannot, as a doctor, sit here and watch you kill yourself with all these unplanned trips to see clients, they are not worth your health," my mother said, her voice starting to hit a higher pitch the more emotional she got.
"For the amount they pay me per hour for a meeting, I would fly across the world to meet with them for it," he stated his tone back to monotonous.
My mother didn't seem to enjoy the blankness of his tone. "You need to call Richard and have him cancel your meeting this weekend, tell him to tell your client to find a weekday to pencil you in."
"He has meetings back-to-back all of next week-"
"If he's really concerned about his business then he can pencil in his fucking lawyer over the week!" My breath hitched at the yell my mother just released and I swallowed down a hiccup.
My father cleared his throat and a sound of a dinner plate being set down on the kitchen table roughly. "I am not going to have this argument with you about the things that are expected of me in the line of work that I am in, it's impractical and frankly it's getting us nowhere."
"Switch off the lawyer tone for a second and speak to me like my husband would," she snapped. Those words hit harder than I thought they would. People often said the same thing to me.
It was that moment that I decided to act, there was a pause of silence in the air before my father replied and so I slammed the door shut loudly. "I'm home!" I called out with a cheery expression, shoving all the pent-up emotions down.
"Honey!" My mother called in her own enthusiastic voice. "How was school?" She asked and I dropped my bag under the foyer table and strolled into the kitchen.
My father stood at the oven, pulling out a hot pan that had Ellie's famous lasagne on it. He placed it on the counter without turning to face me.
I glanced back at my mother with a smile that was identical to hers. "School was great, SJ and I went to Rosie's work afterward because they were having this major sale."
My mother sat down in her regular seat and placed a hand under her chin, enraptured by our conversation. "Did you buy anything nice?"
I shook my head, taking a sip of water from my glass. "It was a madhouse, I had to tell everyone to shut up just so Rosie could ring up her customers."
She winked at me. "That's my girl." She looked up to where my father stood by the double ovens. "Love, is it cooked through?"
My father cleared his throat and folded up the sleeves of his button-up until they were at his elbows. "Yes, I'm bringing it now."
Her smile faltered slightly but she pasted it back on when I faced her. "So, honey, have you spoken to Tess lately?"
My father placed the lasagne in the middle of the table. Before he could sit down, he placed a hand on my mother's shoulder causing her to look up at him. He bent down until their lips were touching. He whispered something to her and she nodded her head, replying in a quieter voice than him. "I love you," he mumbled, kissing her lightly.
My gaze snapped away from them, feeling awkward from witnessing such an intense and personal moment. "Uh, no I haven't really had the time to chat to anyone this week, it's been a little crazy."
She nodded slowly, using a spatula to cut up squares of the lasagne and place it on each of our plates. "She called me today and said that the others had been trying to get hold of you all week with no luck so I thought I would at least ask, I didn't know you hadn't spoken to them this week."
I waved a hand dismissively and picked up my fork. "Really not a big deal, I'll text her later when I have a chance." She smiled back at me and started eating. "Oh, you'll never believe what happened after school today."
My mother watched me with a raised eyebrow while she chewed slowly. My father cut into his pasta and held it to his mouth. "You failed a test?"
I gasped in mock shock. "Never. No, Mia's lawyer approached me as I was leaving the school."
My father set his knife and fork on his plate. "She did?"
I nodded my head with a smile. "Yeah, she wants me to be a witness on the stand for the trial."
My mother opened her mouth and quickly shut it, exchanging a glance with my father. "What did you say?"
I swallowed my piece of pasta. "I said yes, obviously."
Another exchanged glance. "No."
My fork froze as I lifted it to my mouth and stared at my father. "No what?"
"No, you are not doing it," he said calmly, lacing his fingers together and resting them on the table.
I set down my own cutlery and said in a relaxed tone, "I already told her that I would do it." My eyebrows furrowed.
"Was it put in writing? Did you sign a contract?"
My mother sat silently in her seat.
"No, but we have a verbal agreement," I answered, using little legal jargon.
My father's fingers relaxed. "Verbal agreements are as effective as handshakes. You will not do it."
My mouth popped open. "I can and I will, you don't get to decide that for me." I turned sideways in my seat to face him fully.
"As your father, I can decide anything as long as your best interest is in play," he pointed out, flicking his gaze to me.
I bit my tongue at the words wanting to leave my mouth and instead thought it through. "As a matter of fact, you can't stop me seeing as how I am eighteen now and am entitled to take the stand freely without permission from a parent and or guardian," I stated in a formal tone as if I were reading it straight out of a textbook. One that I had practically memorized by the age of fourteen.
My father blew out a slow breath before turning to my mother. "She knew." My mother pursed her lips in concern. "She knew when her birthday was and waited until after it to approach her. I told her not to contact her and she decided to go over my head. She will be getting a phone call in the morning."
"What?" I asked loudly, my eyes trained on my father.
He didn't back down from my glare. "Eloise contacted me two weeks ago asking if you would take the stand and I said no."
My eyes widened and my mouth popped open. "Are you kidding me? Why would you do that, I am the only witness that can testify against William, you're hurting Mia's case."
"Mia's case is fine, especially after those other girls stepped forward, offering to tell their own stories."
"You and I both know that those accounts will mean shit if there is no physical evidence, like a witness," I said in a strained voice, gesturing to myself.
My father sat forward in his seat, placing one hand in between us on the table. "If they speak about those incidents under oath then it will have to be taken as true."
"A credible witness would work better for the case, you know this!" I stressed the words, wanting to wring his neck. "Why are you trying to stop me from speaking the truth?"
My mother laid a hand on my arm gently. "Maddie, honey, we're only trying to protect you."
"From what?" I asked loudly, getting more agitated than I should have.
"Can you say that you are mentally and physically prepared to be drilled with questions from William's defense attorney? Because let me tell you, he will rip your whole statement to shreds if you get up on that stand," my father said in a low voice, staring down at me with a dark look on his face.
"I can handle a defense lawyer, all I have to do is tell my story and be done with it," I explained, raising my arms slightly.
My father shook his head. "Not good enough. What happens when he says you're biased because you are family friends with the plaintiff? Or if he says that because you saw him touch her leg that it doesn't technically mean that he was going to rape her, then what?" My father's tone was more annoyed than angry.
"Then I would tell them that I am not biased because whether or not I am a family friend, I believe in the justice system and what I saw was not consensual and if her dress being completely ripped up was not good enough then the was she was screaming at him to 'get off' should be!" I yelled, my blood boiling and my cheeks flushed.
"Be careful Maddie, you're letting your emotions show, they will tear you to shreds if you show an ounce of emotion that isn't full of sadness and tears. Anger gets you screwed," he stated, his index finger pressing down on the table. "What if they ask you why you were even going up those stairs into the private sections of the house? What if they ask you if you know the dictionary definition of consensual sex or not? Or if you heard her wrong? They'll argue that she wanted it because she was a young girl enraptured by an attractive young man." His fist slammed on the table making my mother jump.
Before he had finished his badgering questions, I had pushed my chair back, letting it scrape against the floor, and stared down at my father. "Then I'll tell them that I know exactly what the definition is since I am personally familiar with non-consensual sex."
I couldn't stop the words before they left my mouth. I was so angry that I blurted it out like it was nothing. He had gotten me so riled up that I didn't have a chance to think.
I knew the words hit my mother first when her knife and fork clattered onto the plate and a soft gasp left her lips. My father sat frozen in his chair. "I-," I tried to speak but my throat felt like it was closed up.
My mother sat straight in her chair, her whole body shaking. Her mouth was like it was sewn shut and tears pricked her eyes. She lifted a shaking hand and lay it over mine. "Maddie-"
"It's not important," I said in a tone the demanded the conversation be over and pulled my hand away from my mother.
"What?" My mother's question was quiet. Her face was confused as she stared up at me. My father remained silent, his eyes wide as he stared at the table, his hand still balled in a fist. I kept my mouth shut. "You were sexually assaulted and you're telling us that it is not important? Your safety is supposed to be our biggest priority and you were assaulted," she whispered the last word, silent tears trailing down her cheeks.
"I didn't want to tell you like this," I said softly, my tone pleading. "I'm sorry."
"Do not apologize, you have nothing to be sorry for," my mother ordered, glancing at my father but he still hadn't moved, I wasn't even sure if he had blinked yet. She visibly swallowed and stood up, moving around the table, brushing a hand over my father's shoulders before coming to stand in front of me.
She kneeled on the floor, wiping a hand roughly over her face, smearing the tears everywhere. She reached out a hand the touch me and quickly retracted, unsure if it was okay. I grabbed her hands and squeezed them tightly, giving her a small smile. She held my hands in hers for a few quiet moments, passing everything she couldn't say aloud. I squeezed back harder.
Once her breathing was calm again she took a deep breath and stood up, brushing a hand through my hair gently. "What was his name?" she asked in a deadly quiet tone, one I had never heard from her before. "Or her name? What was their name?" The questions came out more frantic and firm. She slapped a hand over her mouth. "Grayson didn't-?"
I held my hands up waving them frantically. "No, never-he would never." No matter how much I didn't want to hear his name right now because it just made me think about the fact that he was the only other person that knew, I had to defend him.
My mother placed a hand over her heart, sighing in relief. "How-how long ago?" She asked timidly.
I twisted my fingers together in my lap, something that I hadn't done since I was a small child. "Freshman year."
My mother sucked in a sharp breath and the table made a squeaking sound when my father dragged his fist over the table and into his lap. "And-um-and it was...?" she trailed off, biting her lip.
I licked my lips and cleared my throat. "A senior from school but at a party."
She nodded slowly. "Okay, well-" she was abruptly cut off when my father pushed out of his seat and left the room without a word. "Peter," my mother called, watching him disappear around the corner. She gave me an apologetic look and I shook my head giving her a close-lipped smile.
"It's okay, I would have done the same thing," I stated, holding her hand.
My mother pulled my father's vacated seat towards her. "Do you want to talk about it?"
I shook my head slowly. "I know this sounds terrible but I would rather talk to someone not family about it, if that makes sense," I rambled, "It's not that I don't trust you or anything but it-it's hard saying this-"
"Honey," she gave me a warm smile, "I completely understand, telling your family anything is hard whether or not it's good, if you need to talk to someone else, then talk to them, don't worry about my feelings, you are the only priority right now so whatever makes you happy."
I smiled at her gratefully. "Thanks, mom, and can you please not tell any of the others until I'm ready, please."
"Of course, we won't say a word," she promised. My eyes flicked to the doorway my father had walked out of and my mother followed my line of sight. "He'll be okay, he's just in shock." I raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm a doctor, remember?" she teased halfheartedly. I chuckled.
"Right." I nodded my head. "Would you go make sure he's okay?" She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "I'm going to make a phone call, can they stay the night?" I asked, alluding to the person I was going to call.
"Absolutely, I'll be right upstairs if you need me." She stood up and brushed a kiss over my head. "I love you, Munchkin."
I closed my eyes and savored the warmth from her body. "Love you too."
She left the kitchen shortly after, promising to check in on me later and I waited until her door shut before I pulled out my phone and scrolled for the number.
They picked up on the third ring. "Can you please come over? I need a hug."
I had a short conversation with my mother and helped her clean up the kitchen. She said that dad was okay but not in any position to hold a conversation but he said that loved me. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulder that had been pressing down for over four years now.
Less than fifteen minutes later, the front door slammed open and I got off the living room couch, heading for the hallway that led to the front door.
"Hug delivery!" I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped my mouth.
Isaac shut the door and rushed forward, wrapping his arms around my body tightly. I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly.
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Please feel free to reply to the authors note, I would greatly appreciate your feedback.
Isaac is like her spare big brother in this situation.
This was not Maddie's breakdown chapter. I didn't want Maddie to burst into tears over Grayson when having this moment with her parents, it's not fair to the trauma she went through. Also, we already know that Maddie is strong-willed so I made a point of not making her cry with this because she wants to look strong for her parents, also if they had made her describe the incident, then there would have been tears for sure.
One thing: The reason her father was 'bullying' her with questions was that that's exactly how certain lawyers do it, they ask you so many confusing and invasive questions, making unnecessary noise like banging, etc, that by the end of it you're blurting out the truth. This was also why Maddie couldn't stop herself from admitting to her rape because she just wanted to show him that she could do it.
If I'm being completely honest, I didn't have a plan on how it would come out to her parents that she was raped. Every time I thought about it, I blanked. But that's when I realized that it was supposed to just happen because there will never be a perfect time to say things but I am happy with this chapter.
I tried to think of ways to make it happen during the trail and it just seemed too obvious and didn't make much sense especially since I want this trial to be Mia's moment not Maddie's, Maddie is support it's not about her.
And do not be upset with her fathers' reaction. This is his baby girl and frankly, right now he is in shock. He already isn't good with emotions and to have his daughter in danger where he did nothing to help, kills him.
And let me say: when I had to tell my parents, over Skype, when something had happened to me while I was in the US, my parents didn't freak out, they were calm the whole way through, calmly asking careful questions, etc so don't expect all parents to scream and cry and go on a rampage, they are there for their daughter, not to make a scene.
Love to all,
Sammipott xx