If I ran away, I'd never have the strength
To go very far
How would they hear the beating of my heart
Will it grow cold
The secret that I hide, will I grow old
How will they hear
When will they learn
How will they know
Madonna-Live To Tell
Drew and C.J. sat in the waiting area of the emergency department at the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, waiting on Cassie's parents to show up as "The Oprah Winfrey Show" was blaring from the overhead TV. C.J. just got off the phone with Mr. Phillips, letting Drew know that they were now in Queens and on the way to the hospital.
"So you were telling me..." C.J. started. "That those two bitches sent a hit out on my sister, to attack her in the bathroom just because she was hanging out with you? And on top of that, that bitch Ashley called her and my dad white trash?"
"Yeah," Drew replied. "And they had a front row seat to the show, 'cause right after I beat both their asses, I forgot my phone in the bathroom, and they apparently searched my phone for Cassie's number, to bully her more through texts."
"I could fucking kill them and go to jail," C.J. grumbled. "I don't care."
"No, Ceej, don't say that," Drew replied. "This isn't what your parents want, they've already been put through a lot, and once Cassie gets better, how would she feel?"
C.J. hung his head down. "You're right," he said.
Just then, Cheyenne came bounding in the room.
"C.J., Drew, are Mom and Dad here yet?" she asked.
"No, not yet, but they're in Queens though," C.J. replied.
"Did you tell them?"
"I couldn't."
"Good," Cheyenne said. "Mom's gonna have to sit down for this."
She sighed as she sat down across from Drew and C.J.
"I knew something like this was going to happen," Cheyenne said sadly. "I just didn't know that she would actually go through with it."
"Maybe it's because she got all of this stuff happening to her, and she wanted to find a way out," C.J. added.
"She did," Drew spoke up, looking up at C.J. and Cheyenne. "She had all this bottled up inside her, and because she was so scared to tell anyone, she had no way out."
Cheyenne sighed heavily as she burst into tears. "How are we going to tell our parents about this?"
"I don't even know," Drew replied. "We just gotta focus on Cassie pulling through this, and tell her that everything's gonna be alright, and we're gonna make those two bitches pay for everything they've done to her."
C.J. and Cheyenne nodded at this. Almost ten minutes later, Drew's heart literally shot out of him when Cassie's parents came in through the doorway. Mrs. Phillips looked distraught, while Mr. Phillips had his right arm around her shoulders to support her while looking distraught himself.
"Charles," Mrs. Phillips started, her voice broken. "The receptionist... she told us... that Cassandra suffered an overdose," she said. "Is that true?"
C.J.'s lips twitched, as tears streamed down his face, unable to speak.
"Yes, Mrs. Phillips, I'm afraid so," Drew replied lowly.
Mrs. Phillips winced as she unsteadily walked over to the seat next to Cheyenne and plopped down next her, while Mr. Phillips was right behind her, sitting down next to his wife and rubbing her shoulder to instill comfort as Mrs. Phillips breathed heavily.
"But..." Mrs. Phillips started, then scoffed in disbelief. "She's got parents and a huge family who love her and care for her... a--and she's so beautiful and so smart, w--why-why would she do something like this?" she asked.
Drew, C.J., and a tearful Cheyenne stayed silent.
"Well, this isn't a rhetorical question!" Mrs. Phillips said loudly. "Can someone tell me why?!"
"Shh, Ang, take it easy, babe," Mr. Phillips said lowly to his wife.
He turned to Drew, C.J., and Cheyenne. "And I'd like to know myself," he added.
Drew gulped while Cheyenne said,
"Dad, it's a really long story, and you're not gonna like it."
And so, much to their horror, Drew, C.J., and Cheyenne confessed to Mr. and Mrs. Phillips that Cassie had been bullied for two and a half years, this year being the most vicious of all, since her best friend Brianna had moved away, and she would be beside herself with no idea how to defend herself. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips did hear about Simone and Ashley giving Cassie a hard time before but were unaware of how severe the bullying was.
They also told Mr. and Mrs. Phillips about the name calling, dumping her books on the floor on the first day of school, the physical attack that left Cassie with a knot behind her head, making fun of Cassie being biracial while calling her white trash and putting her father in the mess, all leading up to them placing a hit on Cassie, by hiring two boys to assault her while she was using the bathroom.
"They paid two boys to assault my girl?" Mr. Phillips asked angrily.
"Yes, and that was the same day that Mom yelled at Cassie and C.J. over the note home," Cheyenne replied meekly.
"Oh, Father God, have mercy," Mrs. Phillips whispered, tears streaming down her face. "I should have known. I should have asked her what was really wrong, but I just yelled at her," she croaked out, turning to her husband. "Oh, God, Austin, what have I done?"
"Listen, honey," Mr. Phillips started, placing his hands on his wife's shoulders. "You had no idea that the incident happened, alright? Do not blame yourself for this."
Drew then felt Cassie's phone vibrate.
"Oh, God," he whispered.
"What?" Mrs. Phillips asked. "What's going on?"
"They're at it again, huh?" Cheyenne asked.
"Yeah," Drew replied.
"What d'you mean they're at it again?" Mr. Phillips questioned.
"Um, you see, Dad," C.J. started. "Cassie's been getting text messages from Simone and Ashley, and they're really horrible."
"How long have they been sending these texts to her?"
"Two weeks," Cheyenne replied. "And after she got them for the first time, she got so sick that she threw up and... she was just mortified."
"Let me see them," Mr. Phillips said.
Drew took a deep breath before handing Cassie's phone over to Mr. Phillips. He held his breath while Cassie's parents read the text messages.
"Oh, my God," Mrs. Phillips whispered shakily, covering her mouth in horror.
"What the..." Mr. Phillips started, outraged. " 'Did you choke yet?' 'Just kill yourself', 'no one will miss you', 'skinny bitch', 'white trash?!' Is this what Cassandra's been getting these past two weeks?!" he asked, irate.
Cheyenne sighed as tears streamed down her face. "Yeah," she replied.
"You knew about this for two weeks, let alone you and C.J. knew that those nasty little girls have tormented your sister for almost three years, three years, and you didn't think to tell me or your father?!" Mrs. Phillips shouted.
"Mom, it's not like that," C.J. protested.
"What do you mean 'it's not like that'?!"
"We didn't want to betray her," Cheyenne replied, her voice broken.
"So according to both of you, letting your own mother and father know that your sibling is in legitimate distress is betrayal?!" Mr. Phillips asked coldly. "That's like denying a parent's God-given right to know what's going on with their kids, in order to help them, to care for them, to defend them against the outside!"
"It was in Cassie's wishes to not tell you guys because she was afraid!" Cheyenne retorted as a fresh stream of tears came down her face. "She didn't want anything to escalate, because she saw you yelling at Marcus' parents, and with all due respect, Dad, although Marcus deserved all the verbal lashing he could get, you went way too far by threatening his parents!" she said. "And they seemed like decent people who had the disadvantage of having a son like Marcus!"
"And not even that," Drew spoke up meekly. "Cassie told me that she didn't have the heart to tell you because of the strife you two have been through regarding your jobs. She didn't want to be a burden on you guys."
"Oh, my God, I think I'm gonna be sick," Mrs. Phillips sobbed.
"Angie, you gotta calm down, you're gonna trigger your blood pressure," Mr. Phillips warned, holding her hands in his. "Did you bring your meds?"
"I don't know," Mrs. Phillips croaked out. "They chose my daughter for their cruelty."
Mrs. Phillips then slipped out of her seat onto the ground, alarming everyone. Mr. Phillips frantically knelt beside his wife, trying to comfort her in any way he could. When nothing worked, he yelled out,
"Get a nurse in here now!"
C.J. scrambled out of the room to get a doctor or nurse to attend to Mrs. Phillips. Drew watched in horror as Cassie's worst nightmare was unfolding before his eyes.