The secret - an Evansson story

9

~September 2009~
The six year old girl awoke to the sounds of yelling from downstairs. Every so often she could hear glass shattering and fists banging against the walls as the fighting between Scarlett and Ryan continued.

Aleah tip toed out of her bedroom and down the stairs as quietly as possible, trying to avoid the creaking in the floors. Although, the commotion was so loud, she was sure no one could hear the slight creaking sound of the fourth step on the stairs.

"...You disgust me!" Ryan's voice carried throughout the house, slamming his fists onto the counter of the kitchen before walking into the living room.

Aleah quickly ducked into the shadows, sitting on the very bottom step of the stairs as she listened.

"Keep your voice down!" Scarlett said angrily in a hushed voice, following behind Ryan as they made their way into the living room.

"Fuck you! You don't even want the kid!" He bellowed. "You just want Chris in your pants!"

"That is not true!" She screamed defensively. "It just happened!"

Ryan grunted, throwing his fist into the wall beside him, leaving a hole in the wall.

Aleah started to tear up, fear overcoming her.

"You don't cheat on someone you promised yourself to!" Ryan roared, holding his fist in pain as it began bleeding at the knuckles.

"Where were you?" She screamed, following Ryan back into the Kitchen where he ran his fist underwater. "You just left and didn't say a thing!"

"That's none of your damn business!" He yelled.

Aleah could hear heavy footsteps coming toward her, knowing it was Ryan, she sprinted back upstairs and into her room.

The door was left cracked open as she had no time to close it all the way. She struggled to get back in bed, as the bed was high off the ground. Once in bed, she quickly pulled the covers over her just in time to hear the door squeak open.

The same heavy footsteps that followed her upstairs, came closer and closer to the bed. The little girl could feel the man's heavy breath on her face as he leaned down.

The pungent smell of alcohol filled the little girl's nostrils when suddenly she heard another pair of footsteps running into the bedroom.

"Get out." Scarlett's husky voice filled the quiet room as she grabbed Ryan's hand and forcefully pulled him away from the sleeping child.

"You ruined everything we had, just because of this little brat!" He shouted, pointing at the girl who still had her eyes closed.

Scarlett looked past Ryan, expecting to see the six year old wake up from the yelling but her eyes were kept shut.

She knew Aleah was awake.

"Get out of my house!" Scarlett yelled, pulling him out of the little girl's room.

"This is my house!" He bellowed, yanking away from Scarlett's grip. "It's under my name, and I don't want to see Chris or that child here ever again!"

Scarlett's face immediately went pale. He was right, the house was under his name.

"I want you out by tomorrow." He said sternly, walking into his bedroom and slamming the door shut.

Scarlett sighed before walking back into the child's room and closing the door behind her. She climbed into the bed beside Aleah, laying on her back and staring at the ceiling.

There was no possible way she could find a new home in less than a day. She couldn't go to Chris as he was still in a hotel. Although he was looking for a house so he could stay in New York and be the father he always wanted to be.

Scarlett's only option was to stay with her own mother. However, her mother knew nothing about Scarlett's pregnancy or Aleah.

After finding out she was pregnant, she finished filming The Perfect Score and immediately left for the Netherlands to film The girl with the Pearl Earring.

Scarlett had told no one about her pregnancy, and stayed in the Netherlands until after the birth of Aleah.

Suddenly, the 24 year old felt a small body snuggle into her side. Without thinking, Scarlett wrapped her arms around the child and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.

"I knew you weren't asleep." She whispered, smirking.

"Where's Chris?" Aleah's small voice asked as she looked up at Scarlett who was still staring at the ceiling, stressing about the situation she put herself in.

Scarlett looked down at the six year old and smiled, pulling the girl closer to her body.

"He left a while ago, baby." Scarlett whispered, brushing Aleah's hair out of her face.

"Are we leaving?" She questioned, playing with the rings on Scarlett's fingers.

The 24 year old let out a sigh.

"How would you like to meet your grandma?" She asked.

Aleah's face lit up as she nodded her head excitedly.

"Get some sleep, we have to leave in a few hours." Scarlett whispered, playing with the girl's hair as she noticed the time. 4:27am.

The 24 year old could feel the little girl relax in her arms as Aleah fell into a deep slumber.

Scarlett stayed awake for a while longer, staring at the ceiling and worrying over what her mother was going to say or do.

As she listened to the soft breath of the little six year old asleep in her arms, Scarlett began to drift off as well.

God, this was going to be one stressful week.