The Secrets, The Lies | Three

|Chapter Seven|

Previously in The Secrets, The Lies: The police show up at Demi's house to speak with Alaya. After Alaya gives her statement, Eddie overhears what happened and ventures down to the school.

Demi

Devastated. That was the only word that even came close to describing what I was feeling right now. Through the entire fifteen, almost sixteen years of my daughters life I had told her never to let anyone treat her how she doesn't deserve to be treated. I'd told her to come to me if anything like this ever happened to her, she swore to me that it wouldn't because it 'doesn't happen to people like her'.
Having to hear from the police that my daughter had been raped felt like someone had stabbed their hand through my chest and ripped my heart out. I knew that I needed to be strong for her. I knew I needed to support her and hold her up through this. I know it sounds selfish, but I couldn't help the feeling of absolute horror and sickness that spread throughout my body after hearing what had happened to her as she held my hand in tears. Never had I seen her so utterly broken.

I knew that I would spend the next however many years picking her broken pieces off of the floor and sticking them back together with tape and glue. My little girls life was never going to be the same again. Growing up, Alaya was a happy child, she's always had a spark in her eye. Today that spark disappeared. When I picked her up from school yesterday, that spark was gone. I knew something more was going on, I knew there was, but I didn't go with my gut because I had told her so many times not to be afraid to come to me about anything like this. We taught them as young kids not to listen to empty threats, they can't hurt you again once they're behind bars.

"Mom..." A choked up voice said as my bedroom door creaked open, Bindy ran in as Alaya stood there. It was the first time I had seen her today without tears streaming from her soft brown eyes. "Are you mad at me?" She asked, walking in and closing the door behind her. The side of my bed dipped as she sat down. Seeing her wince when she sat down made me feel like my heart had stopped beating.

I shook my head, "Of course I'm not mad at you"

"Not even for not telling you I had a boyfriend?"

I shook my head, "I would have liked to have known, but I'm not mad at all"

"Okay" Alaya sighed, "Can I lay with you for a bit?"

I nodded as the fragile girl snuggled up against me and I wrapped my arms around her torso. The moment was short lived as my mobile phone began to ring. I groaned and rolled over to answer it.

"Hello?" I said,

"Mrs. Valderrama? Your son was involved in a fight at school involving two other young men"

I frowned in confusion, "Eddie isn't at school today..." I trailed off, rolling off of the bed and walking towards Eddie's room, the phone still against my ear. Upon swinging the door open, my stomach dropped to see that he wasn't in there and the window was open. "Oh Lord..."

The man on the phone cleared his throat, "Yes, so we will need you to come down here to discuss the situation and what has happened"

I walked back into my bedroom to see Alaya now cuddling Bindy on the bed, "I will send my husband down, right now I have to spend some time with my daughter"

"Wilmer" I called, a heavy sigh leaving my lips as I hung up the phone. I heard a faint 'yeah' as I headed down stairs, "Eddie got into a fight, I need you to go down to the school"

Wilmer looked at me confused, "Eddie doesn't get into fights"

"Apparently he does now" I sighed,

My husband nodded, "Are you alright with Alaya"

"Yeah" I smiled as he pecked me on the lips, "Thank you"

By the time I had reached back upstairs, Alaya had moved back into her bedroom. I felt somewhat uncomfortable leaving her alone so I opened her door ever so slightly to see her snuggled up in her bed. Her breathing relaxed and even as she held the blankets up against her chest. I smiled at the sight, she looked peaceful.

Third Person

Eddie sat in the principals office, blood seeping out of his knuckles and splattered over his clothes.
"Jesus Christ" Wilmer sighed as he made his way into the office, taking a seat next to Eddie and across from the principal.

"Please tell your Father what happened" The man of authority spoke.

Eddie let out a heavy breath, "I heard Alaya talking about what happened. I heard their names, so I went and found them"

"And what did you do when you found them?"

"Broke something, hopefully" Eddie smirked as the principal shot him a disapproving look, "I beat them both. They deserved it"

Wilmer wasn't quite sure what to think. He felt wrong for being proud of his son, but at the same time, he was also tempted to go for the two boys who hurt his daughter. He knew that if he were to see them for even a second, he wouldn't be able to control himself.

"Good job" Wilmer finally spoke, Eddie let out a chuckle as the principal raised his eyebrows, "I don't understand why we're here. Two boys sexually assulted my daughter in school grounds, the last place that something like that should happen, and instead of calling their parents in here, you've called me in. You do understand that not just one, but two of your senior students raped someone in your school?"

The principal tensed up at the confrontation, "Yes, but we will deal with that later"

Wilmer nodded, "I don't know if you have children, sir. But what would you do if one day your little girl comes home and tells you 'Daddy, when you dropped me off at school this morning I got raped during my free period. By not just one, but two older guys'?" Wilmer asked, tears welling up in his eyes as he quickly blinked them back. The principal didn't reply. "I guess us being here is holding you up from more important things. Have a nice day" He said, standing up from the seat and leaving the room, Eddie following behind him with a smug grin on his face.

"Dad, that was so cool" Eddie said,

Wilmer sighed, "Yeah, doesn't mean that what you did was the right thing though"

"You would have done the same thing, I'm surprised you didn't"

"True" Wilmer replied, "Just please don't do anything else like this right now. Your Mother and I already have enough on our plates with what happened to Alaya"

"Right, got it" Eddie nodded.

..

"The principal called again, said you walked out of his office before he could tell you that Eddie had been suspended for the rest of the week" Demi said as Eddie and Wilmer entered the home.

Eddie narrowed his eyes as a confused expression came over his face, "It's Thursday, that's like a day and a half"

Demi shrugged, "It's what he said. Long weekend for you, I guess"

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll be so fun" He responded sarcastically before walking upstairs.

Wilmer sat on the couch next to Demi, pulling her into his side as she collapsed into tears. "How could we let this happen?" Demi sobbed, gripping onto her husbands shirt as the tears continued. "We're meant to protect her. We couldn't even do that. Where did we go wrong?"

Wilmer shook his head, running his fingers through his wife's hair, "We didn't go wrong. Some things happen in life, we can't know why, and God, I will never understand why this had to happen. But we will overcome it, stop blaming yourself"

Demi lifted her head, wiping her tears as she pressed her lips against Wilmer's for the slightest moment. "I love you so much"

"I love you too, Demi"