Never Ending (in editing as of 2018)

Chapter 4: Police Station

Tara's POV

My hand goes up to cover my mouth. I can't look away from the screen. I almost can't believe that it's me I'm watching. This couldn't be me. 

"Emily," I choke out as my eyes fill with tears. "How did you get this?" It scares me to think about the people who could have access to this. It's humiliating, painful, and most importantly, a huge crime with my name written all over it.

"Don't worry about how I got it," she says. "Why were you with Blake?"  

"I didn't know he was there," I whisper. "I thought I was meeting up with Kim."

"Barger?" She questions, and gasps when I nod my head. "That's a load of trouble from the start."

"I know. She made Blake rape me," I cry into my hands. Emily pulls me towards her and I sob into her shoulder.

"You shouldn't of gone," she tells me, but I don't respond. I already know that it was dumb of me to even consider going to Kimberlynn's. 

"He did what to you?" Tom yells, slamming open my bedroom door. He must've followed me upstairs and listened through the door. He's fuming. Tom's outrage makes me cry even harder, and Emily strokes my back comfortingly. 

"I'm gonna kill him!" Tom yells as he pulls at the hair on the back of his head. His face is red from his outburst. I've never seen Tom this angry before, and with all of his anger, I'm not really sure what he was capable of doing. 

"Tom! Stop it!" Emily cries, but he just shakes his head and runs from the room. I hear the front door slam shut and I already know that he's hunting down Blake. 

"Tarabeth," Emily sighs.

"Don't. Please," I whisper. 

"We can't just let them get away with this," she says, standing up and pulling me to my feet with her. 

"What are we gonna do? Get him locked up?" I exclaim, throwing my hands up, tears still falling down my cheeks. I think she's forgetting that these people run the school. Trying to get them in trouble with this would result in torture to me at school. 

"That's exactly what we're gonna do," Emily says. "I'll never let him by you again. Meet me outside of your house, tomorrow morning, 10 o'clock, and we'll go file a report." 

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When we get to the police station, I almost don't get out of the car. Filing this report could result in so many bad consequences on my part. I already have to see them every day, and reporting this, I'm practically begging for death. 

Emily drags me out of the car and I let her pull me behind her to the front desk of the station. A man sits behind the desk, kicked back in his chair. He sits up straight when we get closer to him and he puts down a magazine. 

"We'd like to report a rape," Emily tells the officer. 

"Alright, I'm going to need you to follow me," he says and Emily grabs my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze as we follow the officer to a private room.

I explain that I was the victim and he tells me to give him every significant detail. 

"It was last night," I tell him. "Friday around 5 pm. I thought I was just meeting up with a friend."

"And who would that be?" He asks. 

"Kimberlynn Barger." The officer writes something down; I'm assuming it was her name. 

"When I got to her house, she wouldn't let me leave. Then her boyfriend, Blake O'Hair, took me upstairs and that's when it happened." 

"That one's been in for a rape case last year," he explains, and my eyes widen. I don't know how people don't know about this, and especially how he isn't in jail right now. 

"He recorded it secretly and anonymously emailed it to a bunch of friends, who took the file and posted it on a website." 

"Can we see the evidence?" The officer asks, and Emily nods and hands him her phone. I look away as he watches the video. So many people could have already seen this. I'm probably the talk of the school. 

"We'll bring him and his girlfriend in for questioning." 

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Emily's POV

I stay at Tara's house after I take her home from the station. She said Tom got home around two in the morning and didn't come out of his room at all before we left. 

Tara helps me sneak upstairs and I knock on his bedroom door lightly. He doesn't answer so I walk in myself. The room is dark but I can see his figure lying in his bed. 

"Tom?" I whisper. Tom flips over in his bed and sits up quickly. 

"Em?" he asks. I walk over and sit down on the edge of his bed. He grabs me and pulls me to him close. 

"What happened?" I ask. 

"I beat the shit out of him, that's what," Tom replies. 

"Did you get hurt?" I ask, knowing that Blake is still a muscular guy and can fight. 

"The bastard didn't lay a finger on me. I didn't let him," Tom says. 

"Well, me and Tara went to the police station. She's going to press charges and he damn well better get arrested," I exclaim. Tom presses a kiss to my cheek. 

"Thank you for helping. I appreciate it and so does Tara," he says.

"You guys are my family now; I couldn't just be a bystander. Speaking of which, are you planning on telling your mom about the baby?" I ask, earning a sigh from Tom. 

"I don't know how she'll react. She doesn't even know that we're dating," he states. 

"Tom, it's important to me that she knows. I want her acceptance," I say. I hate the fact that Tom has kept our relationship a secret from his mom. Now that I'm pregnant, he either has to tell her soon, or I will.

"We can tell her together, but right now, let me start by telling her that we're in a relationship. I don't want to lay it on her too fast," Tom explains, and I settle with his plan.