Arabelle Lock (GirlxGirl)

Chapter 10

Arabelle's POV

I wake up the next morning with a well-deserved headache pounding in the back of my skull. Groaning, I roll over to my left side. I yelp as my weight presses down on my left arm, sending shocks of pain shooting up my arm. What the hell?

“Fuck!” I swear, quickly rolling back over. With this motion, I find myself directly on top of a... body? I open my eyes into thin slits, trying to let in as little sunlight as possible as I recognize Lily, who groans underneath me.

“Dammit Lock, if you don't get off of me within two seconds, I'll stew your first born child. I'll literally sneak into the hospital right after it's birth, steal it, and make a baby stew,” she threatens tiredly. I raise an eyebrow at her, opening my eyes fully when I realize that the sunlight isn't that bright, thanks to my black curtains.

“You're going to stew my child?” I question with amusement. She nods, opening her eyes into squints like I did.

“Yes. Is there a problem with that?” I contemplate her question before shrugging.

“Nah, it's cool.” We both chuckle as I roll off of her.

“Nothing like a nice morning death threat. How's your head?” she asks, slowly pulling herself into a sitting position.

“Hurts like a bitch,” I reply truthfully. Lily hops out of my bed, walking to my bathroom and returning moments later with a glass of water and three asprin. “Thanks,” I mumble, propping myself on my elbows while I swallow the pills and chug down the water.

“No problem. What do you remember from last night?” she asks hesitantly. I pause for a moment, recalling last night's events with a grimace.

“Everything unfortunately,” I sigh. She nods understandingly.

“It's going to be alright, we'll sort everything out with Marissa and Charlotte,” she reassures. I shrug, trying to push it out of my mind. The more pressing matter as of now is my parents.

At that moment, my dad opens my door and walks in looking tired. When he sees Lily sitting next to me, he sighs.

“Lily, please leave. We need to have a family meeting.”

Lily nods quickly, giving me a quick peck on the cheek before getting off my bed. She sends me one last worried look then exits my room, leaving my dad and I alone. I stand up slowly to accommodate my headache, then walk over to my desk chair as swiftly as I can to throw on my black hoodie to cover the bruises on my arm. Straightening it on my shoulders, I walk over to my dad. He turns towards my door, and wordlessly walks out while I follow him. As we walk down the stairs, I can't help but have the eery feeling of walking to my own execution. Entering the living room, my mom is sitting on the couch. Dad joins her while I sit down across from them on a smaller love seat. Dad clears his throat before beginning.

“I'm not going to let you blow us off this time, Arabelle. You're going to tell us the truth. We've stood by you the past couple of years, we've done all we could, yet you still seem to be on a downward spiral. You can't lie to us anymore. Please... just... tell us what happened. What changed you? Why have you been getting these screaming panic attacks? These nightmares? Why have you been drinking? And... how can we help you?” my dad asks softly. I close my eyes, feeling panic rising inside of me like a hurricane.

I can't face this right now.

My mouth goes dry and the back of my mouth itches.

I can't tell them. I can't tell them. I can't tell them.

“We thought it might have something to do with Lindsey and John passing away, since it started then, but we're not sure anymore. Mourning for this long doesn't seem... likely, since you weren't all that close to them to begin with. So what is it?” my mom adds. At the mention of John and Lindsey, Mom and Dad's eyes both visibly sadden. Lindsey was Mom's adorable mousey little sister, and John was her husband. Mom was as attatched to her sister as her sister was attatched to John; she was practically glued to his side. Mom and Dad were really close to them. They would all get together at least once a month to have drinks and eat dinner.

My hands grow cold at the mention of their names. They are reasons why I've become frigid, the reasons for why I don't like anyone touching me. The reasons for my panic attacks, my nightmares. The picture behind my dresser. His eyes...

“Arabelle?”

They wouldn't stop...

“Arabelle, can you hear us?!”

I was crying, but they wouldn't stop. Mom and Dad couldn't hear my screams because they drank too much, and were passed out together in their room. I never thought they would go that far... I never thought Lindsey would let him... They were Mom and Dad's closest friends, they trusted them. They trusted them. They trusted them.

“Thomas, She's hyperventilating!”

“Try to calm her down.”

They killed me that night. Not physically, but emotionally. I begged them to stop. I begged Lindsey to do something to stop him... sweet, devoted Lindsey... turned into a monster, just like he turned me into a monster.

“Stay with us, honey. Stay conscious. Everything is alright. Thomas, her lips are turning blue! Call 911!”

He always told me not to tell Mom and Dad, told me that if I told on them, it would destroy everything. That night they got in their car, they drove home, but they didn't make it. They died that night, and left me with the secret, left me to decide whether or not to expose the truth. If I were to tell, Mom and Dad would be even more distraught about their loss. They would have to live with the guilt of knowing that their only daughter was raped by their best friends. If I didn't tell, I would be the only one to suffer.

“The ambulence is on it's way, Martha.”

This secret is crushing me. I can't live with it. I can't hide it anymore.

I hear ambulance sirens faintly in the back of my mind. I can feel Mom or Dad shaking me. I can hear a ringing in my ears from not getting enough oxygen. I force my eyes open, and stare at my tearful parents. I can feel my lungs expanding and closing, tight and rapid, and my vision is fuzzing black around the edges.

“I'll tell you everything,” I promised in a forced whisper. That was when I passed out, knowing that when I wake up, there will be no more secrets.

No more secrets.