Arianna's Tale: The Beginning Read online

Chapter 2

  Jason became my shadow over the next few days. Despite my attempts to get him to go off with his friends, especially with us moving so soon, and despite my assurances that everything was okay, he wouldn’t leave my side. Honestly, I felt safer that way, especially with Mark still coming over to the house every night and acting like everything was okay. I spent every night in Jason’s room, too afraid to be in my room alone again, though I’d insisted on bringing in the inflatable mattress and sleeping on it so he could have his bed back.

  Austin took control of the moving process just like he took control of everything else. He took care of telling Mom, she just accepted it without question, apparently he’d mentioned it to her previously; he took care of transferring our school records; he took care of getting the boxes and packing supplies and moving van. All Jason and I had to do was actually pack up our rooms, and with the two of us tackling each room together, we were packed up aside from our essentials by Tuesday.

  Tuesday night, Dad called, and said everything would be done Thursday afternoon. Austin scheduled the moving van, and Wednesday night, even the essentials got boxed up before I crashed on the inflatable mattress in Jason’s now-empty room.

  “How are you feeling?” Jason queried for the millionth time as he curled up in his sleeping bag on the floor beside me.

  “You worry way too much for a twelve-year-old,” I repeated yet again; we’d been back and forth over these lines a multitude of times since Saturday.

  “Nearly thirteen,” he faintly chuckled, reaching his hand out to brush my hair behind my ears, “Now… how are you feeling?”

  “A bit relieved, finally,” I admitted and he smiled softly, “We’ll be away from here tomorrow and I don’t intend to ever look back.”

  “What about Mom?”

  “If she wants him in her life… she’s losing me,” I muttered beneath my breath, “Not that I think she’d mind… she never has really gotten as close to me as she did with you and Austin.”

  “Anna… you can’t completely blame her for him…” he said it with disgust too.

  “I know, I know… What if I told her, and she didn’t believe me; or worse yet, believed him over me? I’d rather just skip the whole telling her part….”

  “Yeah, I got that… don’t tell anyone… I’ve kept my mouth shut,” Jason sighed, “I hate keeping my mouth shut… you should tell somebody.”

  “No… I want it to go away…” I uttered, but he suddenly grabbed my arm and my eyes widened as they darted to him.

  “It’s not going to go away,” he insisted sternly, “I’ve been quiet, because I love you; but it is never, ever going to go away. That’s something you can never get back again, Anna… and it’s something you’ve got to deal with, rather than turn your back on….”

  “You’re twelve,” I reiterated and he laughed and nodded, “You’re….”

  “Kids are growing up a lot quicker these days, didn’t you know that? Half of my class was already having sex when the school year ended,” he added with a shrug, his face going blank when I gawked at him. “I wasn’t! But most of my class was!”

  “You had better not be,” I hissed at him and he shook his head.

  “I’m not! Sheesh! Trust me,” he defended and I barely nodded.

  “I trust you… I’m going to sleep now…” I mumbled and he lightly kissed my forehead before I fell soundly to sleep.

  I was not only startled, but confused, when I woke up again and found Austin sitting cross-legged on the floor beside my head. His elbows rested on his knees and his chin rested in his hands and after slowing my racing heart, I looked at him curiously.

  “Why are you lying to me?” he asked simply and I stared into his blue eyes in shock.

  “Why are you so insistent on thinking I’m lying to you?” I countered and he laughed.

  “You finally asked,” he continued, crossing his hands over his lap and leaning closer to me, “Who empties the trash?” My face scrunched in even more confusion. “Let me put this very simply… I’m aware of when you’re having your girl problems because I empty all of the trash cans in the house; and your girl problems were the weekend before this past one. So why don’t you tell me the truth? You’ve hardly eaten dinner since Saturday; I doubt you’re eating much during the day, but since I’ve been at work, I don’t know for sure. Your friend came over with a prescription bag, for the girl who barely takes an aspirin when she’s got a headache. Jason has been attached to you like tape; you’ve even been sleeping in his room, though I’m thankful to see you’re not in his bed. I’d be an idiot if I didn’t know something had happened.”

  “It’s none of your business,” I blurted, jumping up from the inflatable mattress and heading for the door only to have Austin pin me to the wall.

  “And this completely freaks you out… that part really has me worried… You’re thin as a rail, Arianna… are you eating at all?” Austin pressed, but I couldn’t breathe until he stepped back away from me. “You don’t freak out when Jason hugs you, or touches you… but you freak out when I do… so why?”

  “Please let it go,” I whimpered, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor, “Please, Austin… it’s not like you tell us everything… you’ve said it twice recently… that you know stuff that Jason and I don’t… so please let this go….”

  “Dad’s going to tell you when we get moved in… Do I have to wait to find out what has you so upset that you’re not eating?” His voice was softer as he knelt down in front of me, “Haven’t you worried me enough?”

  “Why are you so worried about me? You’re the one who started the whole awkward phase… not coming into my room… barely touching me… you started it… so why are you worrying now?” I faltered, looking at him in genuine confusion.

  “Yeah… I started it… and I’m ending it,” he decided, falling onto his knees and hugging me tightly to him, “Please tell me what happened, Arianna….”

  “Moving truck’s here!” Jason called from downstairs and I tried to wriggle free of Austin’s hold, but he only held tighter.

  “I’ll wait, until we get moved… but you need to tell me… if you can’t, allow Jason to tell me… quit lying to me,” he whispered across my ear before completely letting go and grabbing up the boxes next to the door on his way out.

  “Brothers don’t act like that… do they?” I mumbled to myself, thankfully looking up in time to see just who was coming up the stairs so that I had enough time to slam the door closed and lock it.

  “Oh come on, beautiful,” Mark bargained, jiggling the doorknob unsuccessfully, “I just wanted to tell you goodbye.”

  I pressed my back solidly to the door because outside of it, he was fiddling with a bunch of keys. Phone, phone, phone.... I slid down the door and edged my phone closer with my foot, snatching it off the floor as he tried several different keys unsuccessfully.

  The front door slammed immediately after I sent the text message and running footsteps started across the front hall and then up the stairs.

  “Shit,” Mark grumbled, the keys fell to the floor and then there was frantic knocking.

  “Anna,” Jason called through the door, and I flipped the lock and backed away from the door. A second later he was inside and hugging me to him and I noticed the keys in his hand. “God, I’m sorry,” he whispered across my ear, “I’m sorry… I knew better… but I didn’t….”

  “Not your fault… Thank you,” I murmured, squeezing him back as tightly as I could, I realized then that I was weaker.

  “I’m not leaving you again…” he decided, “We need to pack up the rest of our things… I’m not leaving you….”

  “What is going on?” Austin demanded, standing in the open doorway, “You took off in the blink of an eye and I find you up here, with Anna?”

  “I… I’ll… I’ll let him tell you… when we get moved,” I stammered hesitantly.

  “Jason, load up her stuff, I’ll stay here with her,” Austin offered and Jas
on darted out of the room, but I flinched when Austin sat beside me and reached for my cheek, which only made his anger flare.

  “S… sorry…” I stuttered. I knew Austin hadn’t done anything wrong, but he was a guy, an adult guy, and I saw him as such, despite the fact that he was my brother; I didn’t see Jason as anything but my sweet little brother.

  “Truck’s loaded,” Jason announced, “Car’s ready too… bet you’re glad you took care of the other two cars already, huh?”

  “Yeah, I am,” Austin admitted, holding his hand out to me as I cautiously took it and he helped me to my feet, leading me through the house and out to my car. “You’re driving your car with Jason, I’m driving the truck. We’ve got a long trip, so let’s get going.”

  Hours later, with only a couple of stops for gas and such, we reached Dad’s house. Our new house, I guess, on Asena Lane. Jason and I had been talking practically the whole way over and I made him swear to keep his mouth shut, despite what I’d said earlier; at least until we found out what this big secret was.

  Dad came rushing out of the house with the biggest, goofiest grin on his face. Dad had aged a lot better than I thought he should’ve, being a workaholic and all. He and Austin had the truck halfway unloaded before I could even get around the house and back outside.

  An hour later, each of our rooms was piled with our boxes and Dad called us down to the kitchen for dinner, which was pizza; Dad never was much of a cook.

  “Hey, sorry kids, but there’s been a break in a huge case… You know your way around, if you need anything. I’m really glad you’re here,” Dad apologized with a faint smile before he darted out of the house and I gawked after him.

  “Hey, so… tell me what happened,” Austin interjected a moment later, but I shook my head.

  “Not until you tell me what you’re hiding from us,” I rebutted calmly.

  “Dad’s going to tell you.”

  “Dad’s not here. I’m definitely not going to tell you until I know what your secret is….”

  “I guess we’re at an impasse for the time being then,” Austin decided with a sigh, “I’m still surprised you chose to move….”

  “You don’t have control of this high school,” I commented with a faint smile, but Austin rolled his eyes.

  “I don’t, yet. I hope you don’t really think you’re going to get a boyfriend after all the trouble I’ve gone through… after your new classmates meet your little brother… And I will be making myself known as soon as possible.”

  I realized something, something that could be considered stupid, but it meant a lot to me. “I’m not going to get through my senior year without ever having my first kiss,” I announced. I didn’t have control over what had happened, but I wouldn’t lose my first kiss.

  “You might get through without it; you should,” Austin argued, but I shook my head.

  “I’m hopefully going to find a boyfriend and finally get my first kiss,” I concluded with a grin.

  We were standing around the kitchen eating the pizza Dad had gotten, so I was quite startled when Austin was suddenly beside me.

  “Arianna,” he whispered, sliding his hand across my cheek and softly pressing his lips to mine. Jason gasped, my plate that I had held fell on the floor and Austin chuckled faintly as he backed away. “Now you’ve had your first kiss.”

  “Brothers don’t kiss their sisters like that!” I blurted in shock.

  “And so we arrive at what I wasn’t going to tell you,” Austin calmly continued, “You were adopted, Arianna. You’re not our biological sister. Mom and Dad had me, and knew they wanted a second child, and tried for over two years to have another kid…. Fertility treatments and everything… but none of it worked and when I was three, and you were one-and-a-half, they adopted you. Two years later, completely unexpectedly, there came Jason.”

  “I’m adopted…” I repeated dumbly, staring across the kitchen with my hand covering my lips. Suddenly all of those things I’d attributed to Mom having had so many cosmetic surgeries and dying her hair, made a lot more sense. I didn’t look a thing like them, because there was no blood connection. I slapped Austin’s arm. “So to tell me I’m adopted, you have to steal my first kiss?!” One more thing stolen from me… and I had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last.

  “I’ve been wanting to do that for five years, so you’ll have to forgive me,” Austin reasoned, and that time he gently grabbed me and pulled me to him and kissed me again. “The awkwardness, as you called it, was when I got old enough to realize that us being so close wasn’t normal. I drove myself crazy trying to figure out why I couldn’t stand the thought of being away from my sister for any length of time… and finally asked Dad one day and he told me the truth… but also that I shouldn’t tell you… so instead I protected you.”

  “Tried to protect her,” Jason interrupted, there was fury on that young face again. “You should see her face under that makeup….”

  “Jay…” I whispered, “Please don’t….”

  “I know you’re upset Jason… but she’s not your sister… and I think you’ll discover that’s why you’re upset,” Austin reasoned, tilting my face back to him, “Wash off the makeup and let Jason tell me what happened.”

  I barely nodded and rushed out of the room, but the bathroom was close enough to the kitchen that I could still hear them.

  “I know how you’re feeling,” Austin comforted with a distant laugh, “I know… ‘cause I’ve been there… You were just starting to wonder, I could tell….”

  “Yeah, well, I would’ve protected her a lot better than you did,” Jason rebutted coldly, his eyes landed on me in the open doorway and I barely nodded my head. “Mark raped her, Austin.” He didn’t look away from me when he said it and I know he saw the tremor run through me at the thought. “That bruise is from him….”

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw Austin spin around to face me and heard him gasp at the black and blue mark covering my entire left cheek.

  “That’s what you weren’t telling me?!” he blurted in absolute shock, and I barely nodded my head, though I had yet to break my gaze from Jason’s, “That’s why Jason’s been by your side… why he bolted in the house earlier… What did Brianna bring you?”

  “Morning after pills… but she didn’t know why,” I mumbled, having to look at Austin then because he was standing right in front of me, “Jason only found out because he saw me when I left the bathroom….”

  “Arianna… we have to tell Dad,” Austin replied and my face blanched as I shook my head, “Why didn’t you go straight to the police? Why… didn’t you tell me?”

  “He said if I told anyone he’d hurt Jason,” I admitted, before biting my lip and slamming my hand over my mouth.

  “I’m calling Dad… is there anything anywhere that will help him?”

  “I put the sheets out at the trash bins,” Jason added, his voice a lot softer, “It was Saturday… obviously… so the trash hasn’t been picked up yet….”

  “We’ll go get them in the morning… you and me, not her,” Austin decided, glancing over his shoulder at Jason before looking back at me. His eyes kept shifting to the bruise on my cheek as he asked, “Are there any other bruises?”

  I barely nodded; lifting my arms up there was a yellowish ring around both of my wrists. “Ones on the insides of my… my legs, too….”

  Austin nodded and his eyes shifted down my cheek before he stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room. Jason rushed over and hugged me tightly.

  “Dad,” Austin had his stern voice, “Arianna needs you, now.” He was silent for a long moment, “Now, Dad.”

  “I could’ve taken care of myself…” Jason whispered, but he had no conviction, he knew it wasn’t true.

  “If you go with him… don’t let him do anything stupid…” I insisted and Jason nodded.

  “But I think it would be better if Dad and I went… the only reason I should go is I know what bag I threw out…” Jason explained and
I realized the house had gone oddly quiet. Austin wasn’t on the phone anymore, but he wasn’t coming back.

  “Find him,” I whispered and Jason sighed before he darted out of the kitchen. I sank into a chair at the kitchen table and rested my forehead on the tabletop. It was ten minutes before I heard them come back inside the house, bickering, Austin sounded… distraught….

  “I never thought…” Austin sighed, staring across the kitchen at me, “I mean… I knew I didn’t like him… but I never… never thought he’d do something like that….”

  “Dad’s on his way,” Jason included, crossing the kitchen to sit beside me, “You’re going to have to tell him what actually happened….”

  I furiously shook my head. “Not Dad… I can give a deposition… I’ll… I’ll make myself do that… but not to Dad….”

  “What’s going on?” Dad called as he came in the kitchen door from the garage. I slowly looked over at him and saw his step falter as his eyes widened. “My God, Arianna… what happened?”

  “Mark… raped… me…” I faltered across the words and Dad fell into the seat across from me.

  “You didn’t report it…” it wasn’t a question as he stared across the table, “All right… I need to get you to the station… what have you done since?”

  “She probably burned off a layer of her skin with that shower she took…” Jason muttered, Dad’s gaze briefly darting to him.

  “My friend got me morning after pills,” I included quietly, “It was Saturday… I don’t know what….”

  “Jason threw the sheets out, but the trash hasn’t been picked up, so they should still be at Mom’s… we’re going to go get them tomorrow,” Austin contributed, but Dad shook his head.

  “I don’t want you near that house, Austin,” Dad countered calmly, “Jason threw out the bag… so I’ll go with him… You take Arianna to the station, have her see Detective Gaines… I’ll call her tonight and give her a head’s up. Arianna… Detective Gaines will take you over to the hospital for them to do a work-up… they’ll need details… Call your friend, get her to get a copy of that prescription from the pharmacy… ask her if she’ll give a deposition on giving you that medication… or if she’d be willing to at least talk to our detectives.”

  “I’m sorry, Dad,” I whispered and he smiled softly, reaching across the table to hold my hands.

  “You have nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart. We’re going to get through this… we’ll get through it as quietly as we can… try to keep it out of your school… it’s a small high school though…” he thought aloud, “For the time being I’d feel safest if you weren’t left alone….”

  “Jason’s been attached to her, Dad, that’s not a problem,” Austin announced with a faint smile, “I told them… by the way….”

  “Oh… I guess that’s good,” Dad faltered, squeezing my hands, “I have the information on your biological parents, if you want it; if you don’t, that’s fine too. I got it so that if you ever wanted to know… it wouldn’t be so hard on you… But, I have always, and will always consider you my daughter.”

  “I know, Dad,” I quietly replied, squeezing his hands back before he smiled and took a deep breath.

  “Okay, I’ll talk to Detective Gaines… if you’re all right, I really need to get back to work,” Dad stated, “We’ll take care of everything we can tomorrow.”

  “We’re good here, Dad,” Austin finalized and Dad stared at me a moment longer before getting up and heading towards the back door.

  “If you need me, for anything, just call,” Dad added. He looked older walking out the door than he had walking into it and my gaze fell to the table as I realized that was my fault.

  “Anna… it’s late,” Austin whispered, gently resting his hand on my back, “Why don’t you go to bed?”

  I went into my new room distracted and tried to fall asleep in my new bed, but every unfamiliar creak or groan of the house had me bolting awake with a racing heart. As luck would have it, one of the many times I jumped awake wide-eyed, staring at the open door, Austin and Jason were walking past, and Jason came to a screeching halt.

  “You can sleep in my room,” he offered, Austin’s gaze falling first to his little brother, then following his line of sight to me.

  “Arianna…” Austin whispered, slipping into my room and falling to kneel beside my bed, “I’ll take you downstairs… we can all three stay in the living room tonight… okay?”

  I barely nodded, staring back into his blue eyes that worriedly inspected me. “I need to change…” I murmured, suddenly embarrassed by the pale pink silk nightgown I had put on, but Austin rolled his eyes, “I’m serious! I’m not a little kid anymore! You shouldn’t see me in my nightgown!” That had his cheeks flushing pink and I bit my lip with realization.

  “We’ll be downstairs,” Austin decided, his fingers lightly brushing across my cheek, “Don’t take too long.” He softly kissed my forehead before leaving with Jason and closing the door, but that kiss had my face beet red as I forced myself out of bed and over to my box of unpacked work-out clothes.

  I couldn’t help thinking about things then. Austin, my gorgeous, perfect big brother that all the girls swooned over, wasn’t my brother at all. He didn’t have to put it into so many words, his actions made a lot more sense then. The fact that he kept all guys away from me; that we had that awkward phase where he wouldn’t come in my room, or let me in his, or even hug me; the way sometimes he watched me, like at his graduation party; the kiss earlier in the kitchen, and the one just then in my bed….

  “Austin’s in love with me,” I whispered to myself while pulling a t-shirt over my sports bra and work-out pants. I also suddenly recalled Dad’s hesitation to let Austin go back to Mom’s house. “Dad knows Austin’s in love with me…” I murmured thoughtfully, pushing my feet into my favorite blue-flame house shoes before grabbing a pillow and blanket and starting for the door, but pausing with my hand on the doorknob. “I don’t know what to do about it…” I uttered before sighing deeply and heading downstairs.

  Austin’s blue eyes darted up the stairs as I started down them and I faltered over my step, nearly tripping myself as his eyes widened before falling to the floor. Whatever my face looked like, apparently told him more than I had meant for it to and I forced myself down the last few steps and into the living room where I piled my things on the loveseat. I was the shortest, so I’d sleep there, but as I went to sit down, Austin was suddenly sitting beside me and I realized Jason wasn’t in the room.

  “You’re a very smart girl, Arianna…” he started quietly as I actually settled onto the loveseat and let my eyes shift to his fidgeting hands, “You’re great with puzzles, too; which I guess is what all of these little things could add up to….” He paused and took a deep breath before looking so intently at me that I had to look up into his bright blue eyes, “Just because you know how I feel about you, doesn’t mean you have to change anything. I don’t expect you to feel the same, and I will be your brother as long as you’ll have me.”

  “You wouldn’t even let me have a date to prom,” I whispered, it seemed silly then, but true, “You didn’t keep guys away from me… because you were being an overprotective big brother… you kept guys away from me… because you didn’t want to share my time with anyone… but you’re the one… who put the space between us.”

  “It was much needed space, I assure you… or I wouldn’t have put it there… you and Jason are going to have to figure things out for yourselves… I did what I felt I needed to do, and I won’t regret it,” he continued softly, “Not that….” He sighed and shook his head, “I regret some other things I did… but not that….”

  “I don’t know how to react, Austin… besides the fact that everything makes a lot more sense now…” I mumbled while he reached out and lightly tucked my hair behind my ear and my eyes flickered to the floor before looking at him again, “Like the way you find little ways to touch me… like tucking my hair behind my ear�
��.”

  “Would you two just kiss again already?” Jason blurted with a hint of anger in his tone while he loudly plopped a large bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and a few canned drinks, two of each of our favorites, I noted. “Even I know you love her, Austin… but I’ve known that for a while now… since my classmates started dating… I started recognizing the way you treat her as more than brotherly.” He chuckled distantly as he fell onto the sofa, staring at the can he opened. “Besides… if you two get married… we won’t ever have to be apart….”

  “We need to go to sleep… we have a lot to do in the morning… and I won’t lie, it’s not going to be an easy day,” Austin evasively added before climbing into the chair beside the loveseat, his feet resting on the ottoman while Jason started one of our favorite horror flicks.

  “You sleep,” Jason countered with a smirk, “I’ll sleep after the movie ends and this popcorn is gone.”

  I laughed and jumped onto the sofa beside him, grabbing the popcorn from the table and setting it between us on the cushion but Jason set it back on the table and scooted over to close the distance between us, his arm wrapping around my shoulders.

  Austin started to say something, I saw him move like he was upset, but instead he shook his head and curled up in the chair. I heard him mumble something beneath his breath; something that sounded like “It’s not my business.”

  The last thing I remembered was Jason and me laughing at the really fake blood that was ‘gushing’ out of the neck of the ‘slaughtered’ victim in the movie. The next thing I knew, Austin was gently shaking my shoulder to wake me up. As I moved to settle deeper into the warmth of the sofa, I realized it wasn’t the sofa that was warm and my eyes widened. Austin laughed distantly and nodded over my head while I woke up enough to realize that Jason was stretched out on the sofa behind me, his arm draped over my waist.

  “Yeah… I’d say you two need to figure something out pretty quickly,” Austin faintly remarked, a distant smile on his lips, “We have to get to the police department to meet with Detective Gaines. Dad called and said we should be there within the hour.”

  “You think he…” I trailed off. I didn’t even want to be considering that idea and pushed it out of my mind before carefully slipping out from under Jason’s arm and heading upstairs. “Give me about fifteen minutes,” I stated and Austin nodded, not moving from his spot on the floor.

  “Jerk,” Jason grumbled, not moving anything except the eyes which he opened and shifted to his older brother, “What’s wrong with liking my not-sister?”

  “Oh, is that how you’re going to reason your way through this?” Austin chuckled, ruffling Jason’s hair which sent a scattering of dried gel flying. “You’re too young, for one, little brother, to be chasing after our ‘not’ sister. For another, she’s not going to immediately stop seeing us as her brothers.”

  “I’m not that young, Austin,” Jason growled back, “It’s my thirteenth birthday next week.”

  “It’s her seventeenth birthday next month. It’s four years difference, Jay,” Austin laughed faintly, “But that isn’t even the point… I’m sorry I haven’t been paying better attention… I should’ve realized you were going through this….”

  “Jason! We need to leave soon!” Dad called while he closed the door from the garage to the kitchen and Jason groaned as he pushed himself to sit up.

  “I’m guessing you didn’t get much sleep,” Austin quietly commented but Jason laughed and stared into Austin’s eyes.

  “I slept better than I’ve ever slept in my life and I do not regret it at all,” Jason clearly recited, his blue-green eyes intense, “Butt out, Austin… it’s really not your business….”

  “I know you feel that way, but I’m here if you decide you want to talk, or need to talk… the only thing I really want you to understand, is this isn’t just about you and your feelings, you have to remember Anna,” Austin insisted before standing up and heading to the bottom of the stairs. “We need to leave, Anna!”

  I hesitated at my bedroom door, feeling the ghost-like sensation still around my waist from Jason’s arm. I sighed and took a deep breath before heading downstairs and following Austin to his new car in the garage.

  We didn’t talk much on the way to the police department, I was too nervous about having to give a deposition, and going through whatever hospital inspection I would have to go through; but I was curious why Austin was being so quiet and finally had to ask.

  “I’ve got a lot on my mind, I’m sorry,” he answered quietly, briefly darting his blue gaze to me, “I know it’s not right to ask of you… but do you ever think you’ll stop seeing me as your brother?”

  See Austin as just another guy… could I do that? I didn’t know, couldn’t know, couldn’t imagine him not being around. I eventually shrugged when I realized the silence had stretched on for a long moment.

  “Nobody here has to know you’re my sister…” he murmured and I barely heard him as he pulled up at the station, “But you’ve got to be careful with Jason, Anna… He really likes you… and you’re aware that he’s not actually related to you.”

  “You’re blowing things out of proportion,” I argued, taking a few deep breaths to prepare myself for what I was about to do. Just as I reached for the door handle, though, Austin leaned over and pulled me back to him, softly kissing my lips.

  “No, I’m not,” he rebutted, my breath catching in my throat, “Sorry… I don’t really mean to keep doing that… We should get inside.”

  I jumped out of the car before he could say anything else and was halfway to the front doors before he caught up to me and walked in at my side. He didn’t say anything else, or do anything else until we got to the front desk and the young woman behind the counter smiled up at him.

  “Wow! Look at you, Austin Gray! You’ve grown up a lot!” she greeted cheerfully and I noticed the soft wrinkles around her eyes when she smiled.

  “Yeah, I just graduated high school. Arianna has a meeting with Detective Gaines,” Austin prompted and the woman’s gaze fell down to me with a soft smile in her brown eyes.

  “Sure, I’ll let her know you’re here. You can wait for her in interview room two,” she responded, looking back at Austin, “Do you remember the way?” Austin nodded and took hold of my wrist as he started down a side hall.

  He led me into a room that I was thankful didn’t resemble the ones on t.v. with the gray walls and two-way mirror. This one looked more like a regular office room with a large oak table and cushioned chairs around it and actual windows that looked out on the parking lot. I fell into one of the chairs and Austin sat beside me before I looked at him wide-eyed.

  “You can’t stay,” I stated in a breath, the thought of him hearing utterly terrified me, “I can’t tell her with you in here….”

  He stared back at me for a long moment before nodding. “I’ll leave when you get to that part then…” he conceded, smiling faintly, “When we leave, we’ll go by the ice cream shop.”

  “Are you trying to bribe me?” I goaded and he chuckled and shrugged, “I can’t have you in here, Austin… I’m sorry… but ice cream would be really nice….”

  “I know,” he laughed, gently grabbing my hand and squeezing it, “I know you love ice cream when you’re upset… I know a lot about you, Arianna….”

  Just then the door opened and a middle-aged woman walked in, her graying brown hair pulled back into a sharp bun and her eyes only briefly passing over Austin before landing on me. She had great emotional control, I couldn’t read her at all.

  “Arianna Gray?” she asked and I barely nodded, “I’m Detective Gaines, you can call me Mary. Detective…” she paused and almost laughed, “Your Dad asked me to talk to you today… did you want your brother to stay or go?”

  I shot Austin a look and he took a breath before standing up and letting go of my hand at the same time.

  “She said she’d be more comfortable without me here. I’ll just be in the lobby; ple
ase let me know when I can take her back home,” Austin requested and Detective Gaines looked at him closer before looking at me again.

  “We’re going to have to go to the hospital… normally, I’d just take her to Doctor Wayne, but your father wanted to keep this as quiet as possible… which means going to the hospital,” Detective Gaines informed him and Austin barely nodded.

  “Am I allowed to go with you for that part?” Austin queried, glancing back at me, but my wide-eyes made him chuckle, “I’ll be here when you get back, then….”

  He left the room and Detective Gaines took the chair across from me, waiting a moment longer before she looked up at me.

  “I’m not going to lie to you, Arianna… you should’ve reported this immediately… there won’t be as much proof now and it’s going to be a lot harder to put this creep behind bars where he belongs. But you have some proof. I know you’re wearing makeup to cover your bruise, but we’re going to have to take pictures of any bruises and document it. We have to document everything… details… bruises… we’ll have to subpoena your doctor records… When was the last time you saw a gynecologist?”

  I stared at her blankly for a long moment, forcing myself to sort through my thoughts and suddenly thankful for my mother’s obsessive behavior.

  “My yearly check-up was last month,” I told her and saw the relief flood her eyes, “Why?”

  “Your father implied a lack of sexual activity in your life…”

  “Oh… I…” I faltered, biting my lip and taking a deep breath, “I am… was… a virgin….”

  “That will show up in your file,” she stated with a soft smile, “It’s a good thing… because the hospital will show something different. Do you have a boyfriend?” I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me and she looked startled.

  “Like Austin would ever let me have a boyfriend…” I muttered more to myself, “No, Detective Gaines… I’ve actually never had a boyfriend, and didn’t even have a date to prom… you can ask anyone at my old high school about that….”

  “But you just said: ‘like Austin would ever let me have a boyfriend.’ Why did you say that? You were talking about your brother, Austin, weren’t you?”

  “Detective Gaines… I guess my Dad never told you… but I was adopted… they’re not blood relatives at all,” I mumbled, glancing at my fidgeting hands, “I always thought that Austin was just being overprotective… but… it turns out it might have been more than that… he made sure our entire school knew that I was off limits; he’s always done that, so I’ve never had a boyfriend.”

  “I see… I need you to tell me the details on what happened with…” she paused and looked down at her notepad, “Mark Owens? Is that the right name, Arianna?”

  She spotted the tremor that ran down my spine before I nodded and took a deep breath. “It was Saturday afternoon… I guess right around noon, really… I like to sleep in on Saturdays… Mom was at her boutique… Austin was at work… Jason was… down the hall in his room, playing video games or something… he always plays video games with headphones on, ‘cause Mom complains about the noise…” I paused and took a shaky breath as I forced myself to remember, “I’m a very light sleeper… so I heard the door click closed and it woke me up….” A sob shook my body and Detective Gaines produced a Kleenex from her pocket and passed it to me.

  “I need to know what happened, Arianna… I know it’s difficult, but take your time and tell me…” she prompted while I wadded the Kleenex into a ball and unfolded it repeatedly.

  “Mark was at the door… he told me to keep quiet, but I screamed… that’s when he… he hit me.” My hand involuntarily darted up to my left cheek, “He threatened Mom and Jason… and shoved his tie in my mouth to keep me quiet… I remember… it tasted like sweat… it was gross… unnecessary after he threatened Jason…” I paused again and took another deep breath, showing her the bruises on my wrists, “He pinned my hands above my head… I have bruises on the inside of my thighs from his having to pry them apart… and then he just… God it hurt… I blacked out for a minute which was scarier than anything else….”

  “What was he wearing? Did he completely undress? Did he undress you?” she asked the questions without pause and I had to think harder.

  “He was wearing what he always wore… black slacks and a white button-up shirt for work… the tie was all that ever changed… it was…” I paused to focus harder, “The green one with the blue-plaid design on it… He… usually wore that one on Wednesdays… it’s kind of weird that he was even in his work outfit on a Saturday….” My mind focused almost completely on that for a long time until I made myself look back at Detective Gaines. “He only unzipped his pants… he ripped off my nightgown completely….” My gaze fell to the balled up Kleenex again. “There was blood and… semen… all over my sheets… Jason had thrown them out… but he and Dad went back to get them today….”

  “I’m going to leave the room for a while… I want you to write out and sign a deposition… think about what you’re writing, put in as much detail as you can remember,” she instructed before pushing a notepad and pen across the table to me, “Take as much time as you need. I’ll be back to check on you soon. I’m going to talk to Austin for a minute.”

  I took the notepad, but my eyes darted up to her curiously with that last comment.

  “Why are you going to talk to Austin?”

  She hesitated at the door and looked back at me, “It would help if he’d confirm your information about his not letting you have a boyfriend… any corroboration will be helpful… it will make the situation easier, more believable if there are more people involved… that’s all.”

  It wasn’t all, but I wasn’t about to argue with her and instead only nodded and started writing. Just as I was finishing up, she came back with Austin beside her and I scrambled to flip the notepad over and cover up the writing.

  “I’m not going to look, Anna,” Austin assured, sitting back in the chair beside me but spinning it to face me, “I never thought my wanting you to myself would end up being anything helpful… but I guess stranger things have happened before….”

  “I think it would be good to have Austin follow us to the hospital and wait outside of the exam room so he can take you straight home afterward,” Detective Gaines included, but my focus remained on Austin and I lifted a single eyebrow at him; I knew what he’d done, but still.

  “Okay… but can you leave so I can finish signing this?” I requested and Austin spun his chair away from me to face the detective.

  “I called Mom and got the number for Arianna’s gynecologist. I’ll have to let Dad make the call to request the paperwork, if we’re keeping this all quiet, that is,” Austin recited while I flipped over the notepad, re-read my three pages of scribble and signed and dated the bottom. I loudly slammed the notepad back on the table facedown, making even myself jump before I looked up at Austin and the detective wide-eyed.

  “I’m ready,” I announced, sliding the upside-down notepad across the table to the detective and she discreetly flipped it over and read over the three pages quickly and I spotted her chewing on her bottom lip.

  “All right, I’ll meet you two out in the parking lot,” Detective Gaines announced, standing up from her seat and waiting for us to leave the room in front of her before she stepped out and closed the door.

  “I admit… I wonder how horrible it was… I wonder how badly I should really want to hurt him…” Austin murmured while we headed out the front doors, “But at the same time, I’m afraid to know the truth because I might act on my anger… Dad was right not to let me go back to Mom’s….”

  “Did you… did you tell her…?” I faltered, darting my gaze between him and the curb repeatedly.

  “Arianna…” he started and my gaze fixed on the lines in the cement.

  “She didn’t believe you… she doesn’t… believe me…” I whispered, biting hard on my lip to keep myself from crying.

  “It doesn’t m
atter what she thinks,” he insisted, pulling me into his arms and hugging me tightly to him, “It doesn’t matter, Arianna… she’s selfish… you know that… she doesn’t want to lose her precious boyfriend….”

  “She doesn’t believe me,” I whimpered, shaking my head back and forth against his shirt, “She’d believe some guy that’s been in her life for a couple of months over the daughter that she raised?! I get that I’m not her flesh and blood, but….”

  “She’s a bitch, Anna…” Austin hissed beneath his breath, but I gasped and backed away from him to look up into his eyes and he chuckled distantly. “Sorry… but I can’t stand her sometimes… and she is my flesh and blood.”

  “It’s time to go,” Detective Gaines clearly recited, allowing plenty of time for Austin to step further away from me before she started towards her personal, unmarked car. “We’ll meet back up at the hospital after her exam.”

  Austin lightly hugged me again before smiling faintly and heading off to his car while the detective and I climbed into hers. She passed a bottle to me while she pulled out of the parking lot and I flipped it over to read: makeup remover.

  “There’s napkins in the door,” she directed and I pulled one out before squeezing some of the liquid onto it. “Arianna… it’s not your fault… nothing that happened is your fault… and despite the fact that you should’ve immediately reported the incident to the police, I think you handled it better than I’ve ever seen anyone handle it… but you should’ve reported it… and that second almost-incident never would’ve happened.”

  I silently, and carefully, wiped the makeup off of my face, which was still quite sore; it had just become a pain I was nearly used to feeling. I had almost all of the makeup off when we stopped at a red light and Detective Gaines gasped in shock.

  “How much longer til we reach the hospital?” I mumbled and she repeatedly blinked her eyes before refocusing on the road and the light which had just turned green.

  “It’s still about ten minutes away… if we stayed in town… someone would see you… we’re still running the risk of running into a parent from your high school… Arianna… it’s not a huge city, despite its looks… and you’re new… and you’re really a rather pretty girl… and this is a pretty huge deal what has happened to you. Your father wants to keep it quiet so that you can have a… semi-normal senior year. Not that high school around here is very normal…” she seemed to say that last part more to herself which had my eyes darting to her curiously.

  “What do you mean high school here isn’t normal?” I pressed, feeling a knot form in my stomach, all I wanted was one normal year of high school, was that really so much to ask?

  “You’ll see when you get to class in the fall,” she dismissed, pulling up outside of a large white building that was clearly marked ‘Eastside Hospital’ and parking in front of the ER doors. “Now, you’re not exactly an emergency case… but the best doctors are in the ER here… and they’ll know how to properly document everything. Don’t be scared, Arianna… you’re safe here.”

  I smiled faintly and only followed her inside, thinking all the while that I should’ve been safe in my own home with my family, but that wasn’t safe, so why should I think of a strange hospital as safe. I had to give them credit, the ER people did a lot of double takes at my face, or more so at the purplish bruise on my cheek, but they didn’t stare, and they didn’t come rushing over like there was something they could actually do to help with it. I guessed the not rushing over had a lot to do with my police escort, though, and not so much with their respectfulness.

  Doctor Hershel ended up helping, or really, she was the one poking and prodding, swabbing, and documenting me into the system while her assistant, Nurse Rency, took pictures and offered me pain pills that I turned down.

  “I don’t really take much medication,” I tried to explain to her, but she looked relatively confused before shrugging.

  “That’s fine, Arianna,” Doctor Hershel told me, “We’re not going to make you take the pain meds… you just look like you could use them.”

  “It’s not as painful as the migraines I get sometimes, and I don’t take anything for those either,” I countered with my own shrug, “Thanks, though.”

  “Tell you what, though, to make us both feel more comfortable,” Doctor Hershel started, pulling out her prescription pad and quickly scribbling on it before handing me the top sheet, “If you decide you need them, this will get you just some high strength Ibuprofen, but if you decide you don’t, you can shred it and forget about it.”

  I barely nodded and accepted the paper, really just intending to go home and rip it up, but she was being really nice, so I thought I’d hang onto it for a few days.

  “That should be everything, Arianna… we’ve got all the documentation we can get. If you’d like to use the bathroom to change back into your street clothes, I’ll talk to Detective Gaines,” Doctor Hershel offered and I quickly gathered up my few clothes and little purse and darted into the bathroom.

  “Did everything turn out okay?” Detective Gaines queried as my eyes darted to the door between us.

  “Better than I wish it had…” Doctor Hershel replied, “It is obvious there was force used… the bruises on her wrists and thighs are so bad that we might be able to get handprints from them to compare sizing. We did the swab, but I doubt with the morning after pill and the passing time that anything will come of that… The bruise on her face… as horrible as it is, will be extremely helpful, because… I can say with certainty, that that bruise was caused by an adult male hand.”

  “Her father called… he and the youngest Gray were able to retrieve her sheets… I’m sure that will provide the last bit of proof we need,” Detective Gaines reported, but her gaze shifted to the door as I pulled it open and stepped out in my jeans and shirt with my bruise covered again.

  “Can I go home now?” I queried and they both nodded, the detective holding the main door open for me.

  “I’ll take you to Austin, he’ll take you home,” she stated and I slipped out of the room, watching her feet more than anything else while we made our way through the hospital to the waiting room.

  I sensed him before I looked, and when I looked, Austin was sitting alone in the room, despite the other people nearby. He was giving a very fierce ‘stay away’ vibe, and that was what I had felt; but when his eyes landed on me, the vibe went away and he smiled softly as I heard the squeal of girls in the room. Squeals which turned to whispers when he got up and walked quickly over to me.

  “Let’s go home,” he insisted and I only nodded, glancing at the detective who smiled and nodded.

  “You’re good to go; there’s nothing else we can do right now,” she explained and Austin led me out to his car and got it started away from the hospital before he spoke again.

  “Dad and Jay got the sheets,” he remarked; I already knew that from overhearing Doctor Hershel and Detective Gaines. “I messed up, Anna…” he murmured and I bit my lip as my eyes shifted curiously to him, “Mom thought it was some big joke… and told Mark… and he bolted. He’s nowhere to be found….”

  I stared at him silent and wide-eyed. “She… I hope you don’t ever expect me to see that woman again…” I managed to say, though fear had wound my stomach into knots, “Austin… he knows where we live now….”

  “You really don’t need to worry about your safety… none of us will let anything happen to you,” Austin swore seriously and I did feel a twinge of relief, but Mark’s threat to Jason echoed in my mind.

  “Can we just go home?” I whispered and Austin glanced at me.

  “No,” he rebutted, pulling into a parking lot only a moment later, “I know you… I know you better than I know anyone… we’re stopping for ice cream….”

  “It’s not just that… Detective Gaines… she said this high school isn’t a normal high school… it’s got me all curious and worried about school…” I faintly admitted and Austin rolled his eyes before jumping out
of the car and darting around to pull me out of my seat.

  “Stop worrying so much, Anna. I’m sure she didn’t mean much of anything by it; ask Dad when we get home,” he directed, almost pulling me into the old-fashioned ice cream parlor where I instantly noticed tension. I let my eyes dart around the parlor and the knot in my stomach tightened further.

  There were several groups of teenagers inside, lining the tables near the front windows, and it was more than a little obvious that they’d been watching us since we were outside. They were silent and staring as Austin led me over to the counter, completely ignoring them; I say ignoring the staring, because Austin always knew when he was being watched, and his shoulders were tense from his annoyance with being watched.

  “Austin Gray! Look at you!” the woman behind the counter greeted and the silence spread into whispers while I looked curiously at Austin. Here was yet another person in Dad’s town that knew him.

  “How’s the business, Leah?” Austin replied genuinely curious and I looked up at him to spot a glimmer in his blue eyes.

  “Oh, business is the same as always. What can I get for you today?” Leah questioned while pulling out ice cream scoops from the water they were kept in, “And who is this with you?”

  “This is Arianna,” Austin told her, his hand lightly resting on my shoulder clenched when the whispers grew louder. “And I’ll take a scoop of butter pecan in a waffle cone.”

  “And for you, Arianna?” Leah inquired while I was looking through the glass at my options.

  “Turtle?” I whispered and she smiled and nodded, “A waffle cone is fine.”

  “You two can sit down and I’ll bring them out to you,” Leah offered and with his hand still on my shoulder, Austin led me to one of the old-fashioned two-seater high tables and sat across from me, his back to two of the groups of teenagers.

  “Anna,” Austin beckoned, and I pulled my gaze away from inspecting them back to Austin, “Ignore them or you’re going to draw more attention to yourself.”

  “More? Why am I drawing any attention to myself?” I pressed, but I stared into his blue eyes intently.

  “You’re new, they don’t know you… it’s not a huge town to begin with…” Austin reasoned with a shrug, “The city is huge… this is not part of the city… and it is not huge… everyone knows everybody else.”

  “Speaking of… why does everyone know you?” I pestered and he chuckled softly.

  “I came to visit Dad a lot when he first moved here… during summer break when you and Jason were at summer camp, I’d come visit Dad for the summer,” he reasoned with a shrug, “I’ve always liked it here, that’s why I decided to try for this college. It’s really difficult to get into, actually….”

  “Is that why your grades improved so much?” I laughed and he nodded seriously just before Leah brought over two waffle cones and handed them to us.

  “You two enjoy, and don’t let those other kids bug you,” Leah commented with a grin, her eyes flicking to me before lingering on Austin, “She’s pretty, Austin. Good job.”

  “Thanks,” Austin chuckled and Leah walked away again while Austin looked over at me with a twinkle in his bright blue eyes. “Arianna, you’re blushing,” he whispered which only worsened the heat in my face while I darted my attention to the table.

  “We’re still legally brother and sister,” I mumbled, eating my ice cream slowly while my attention wandered to the groups of teenagers again and my gray eyes met a pair of bright emerald eyes. “And everyone’s still watching us….” The emerald eyes were partially hidden beneath shaggy blonde hair, on the face of a rather gorgeous guy; a guy wearing jeans and a plain t-shirt, but he somehow stood out from the others and looked like a model.

  “Anna,” Austin beckoned and I pulled my attention away from the staring emerald eyes back to him curiously. “Don’t… not the ones here… please….”

  “What?” I pressed and he sighed.

  “Please don’t fall for some guy here… there’s some guy behind me and you think he’s attractive… right?” Austin wondered and I blinked in surprise before shrugging.

  “There’s a guy behind you that stands out and is staring at me, and he has really pretty eyes,” I retorted simply, “I hadn’t thought too much past that. Austin… since you never let me have a boyfriend, I kinda stopped letting myself get my hopes up that some guy was going to ask me out….” I paused for a long moment before sighing. “It was like… why get interested in a guy and get to thinking about ‘ooh, maybe he’ll ask me out’ when I knew that was never going to happen?”

  “Then please don’t stare at him… he’ll think you’re interested, and come over here,” he stopped mid-sentence because the emerald-eyed guy had gotten up and left his group to walk over to the table.

  “I couldn’t help but overhear,” he started in a sweet, melodic voice, “Are you Arianna Gray? Detective Gray’s daughter? And Austin Gray?” He only let his gaze wander to Austin briefly, focusing intently on me, but I darted my eyes between him and Austin before staring into my ice cream.

  “Yes, we are,” Austin answered with an edge to his voice, “But Arianna is adopted, not exactly my father’s daughter.”

  “I see,” the guy remarked, laughing faintly, “Austin Gray… I’m Jack Clayborne, and I’d like to show your adopted sister around town, if that’s all right.”

  I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing, but I couldn’t stop myself from smiling and chancing a glance at Jack who was smiling kindly at Austin, but winked when he glanced at me.

  “I’m sorry, but my dad wants her with either me or my little brother at all times,” Austin countered with his fake friendly smile.

  “Jason Gray, right?” Jack questioned and a tiny giggle passed my lips, “We can show him around, too. I’d offer to show you around, Austin, but quite frankly, I remember when you used to come visit every summer.”

  “Yeah… how’s Patrick?” Austin evasively asked.

  “Patrick’s fine. He graduated salutatorian from our high school this past semester. He’s going to Berringfield University this fall,” Jack explained and I spotted the tiniest twitch in Austin’s left eye.

  “Arianna doesn’t date, Jack,” Austin coldly announced and Jack smirked and shrugged.

  “Who said anything about a date? I just wanted to show her around. Does Arianna talk?” he lightly laughed and I giggled again, biting harder on my lip when Austin shot me a look.

  “I can talk,” I whispered, looking over to meet Jack’s curious gaze, “I choose not to talk very much… and you showing me around town, sounds like a date.”

  “I never said it would just be me,” he corrected coyly, “I could get a whole big group together if you’d like. Actually, there’s a group of us headed out to the lake tomorrow night for a bonfire; we were curious if any of you Grays would care to come along.”

  “We’ll see,” Austin nonchalantly answered while Jack fished in his pocket and pulled out a pen and then pulled my hand gently over to him.

  “Call me,” he began, jotting down his name and number on my palm, “No matter what you decide; so I know whether or not to keep an eye out for you.” He met my gaze for a long moment before glancing at Austin again, “You’re all invited.”

  His fingers curled my hand into a fist as they slid to the table and he headed back to his group of friends.

  “Do you want to leave?” I inquired, chancing to look up at Austin who looked probably normal to someone who doesn’t know him, but he was definitely barely containing his anger.

  “No… you don’t walk away from a Clayborne…” Austin uttered beneath his breath, “If I’d known who you kept staring at… we would’ve left earlier… I want to scrub your hand clean….” I unconsciously curled my fist tighter and pulled it into my lap, only realizing I’d even done it because Austin’s gaze darted down to follow my hand. “God… you want to go….”

  “He said no matter what our decision was… to call and let him know… it wo
uld be rude to just not show up…” I countered, uncurling my hand in my lap to keep from smudging the ink, “And I do think it would be fun if all three of us went….”

  “I don’t want to share you,” Austin rebutted almost silently while my gaze fell back to my ice cream, “I certainly don’t want to share you with a Clayborne….”

  “You’re going to have to explain that to me at some point,” I mumbled, looking up when Jack’s group got up to leave the ice cream parlor and he smiled and waved at me before following his friends outside. “And I do want to go… I think it would be fun.”

  “We’ll see,” Austin dismissed, but anger flared like heat inside of my chest.

  “I’m not a little kid, Austin… and you’re not my boyfriend… if I want to go, I’ll go, and you can’t stop me,” I uttered, being sure to keep my voice between the two of us and not let the nearby people hear me.

  “We’ll see what Dad has to say about it… about that Clayborne and his friends and if it’s safe to go,” Austin countered stubbornly, “Let’s get home, Anna.”

  I only nodded. I’d just finished my last bite of waffle cone; so we headed out of the ice cream parlor, not unnoticed, and got in his car, still being watched, and started towards home.