What I never told you

Part 29

Cole- We're going to have to talk to mommy about this later, okay?

Gracie- Is she gonna be mad at me? (cries)

Cole- No, hun...it wasn't your fault, she could never be mad at you for that.

Gracie nodded and curled into Cole's chest as he turned on Paw Patrol for her. She was smiling and giggling as she watched the show, but everytime Cole looked down at her, he couldn't stop thinking about what she had told him.

For a while he just held her and let her relax, but then Lili walked into their trailer with a smile on her face.

Lili- Hey guys!

Gracie- Mommy!

Gracie jumped up and ran to her mother. She raised her arms and to her and hugged her tightly as Lili picked her up, then she turned to Cole.

Lili- How was she today?

Cole- She was great, she had a great time earlier with Cami, Madelaine and Vanessa, and then we just relaxed here...but, we need to talk about something.

Lili- Oh, okay, is everything okay?

Cole- Everything is fine right now, let's just go home so we can talk.

Lili- But we still have some scenes to-

Cole- This is more important than that...I'll text Roberto before we leave but we need to go home.

She nodded, but she was a little confused and even concerned by what the issue could be. So while Cole texted Roberto, Lili packed up all of their stuff and brought it over to their car with Gracie...then Cole followed after them.

The ride home was silent. Gracie was still really tired so she had called back to sleep and Cole was stressed about the whole situation. The car ride which would usually take only 10 minutes felt like it took at least an hour with the deafening silence that was present. But once they arrived home, Cole grabbed their bags of stuff while Lili picked up her sleeping daughter. The three of them went up to their apartment, Lili brought Gracie to her bedroom and tucked her into her bed while Cole went into the living room and began pacing back and forth. As soon as Gracie was down Lili went to the living room to find Cole pacing, but that only made her more nervous.

Lili- Okay, Cole, please stop avoiding the subject...what is it?

Cole- (nods) We should sit down.

She nodded and went over to the couch. The two of them sat down next to each other, but before Cole began speaking, he took her hand.

Cole- Okay, um...

Lili- Please, Cole, just say it...you're scaring me. (softly)

Cole- (nods) When I was with Gracie earlier, I picked her up from Cami's trailer and she was really tired so I let her take a nap. But while she was sleeping she started tossing and turning, and suddenly she just started crying and saying things like: "stop" and "please don't do it."...I tried to wake her up and calm her down, but as soon as she woke up she started kicking and screaming to get away from me. She ran to the corner and started crying more so I went over to her and sat in front of her but then she said it again: "please don't do it". I asked her what she meant and she said she didn't want me to touch her "down there"...and she had her legs crossed. She told me that Carl raped her.

Lili- W-What? (tears)

Cole- She doesn't know that's what he did. But she explained to me what he did to her, Lili...he raped her, and I don't think it was a one time thing.

Lili- N-No...s-she, she's just a little girl! Why would someone do that to her?! (cries)

Cole- I don't know, but once she's awak, we really need to talk to her about it...we need to figure out as much as possible and see if there is anything that we can do.

Lili nodded and shut her eyes as more tears rolled down her cheeks. Cole sighed and wiped the tears away before kissing her cheek softly.

Cole- I know this is not something we were expecting, and the guy that did this to her is fucking insane but there is nothing we can do right this second so just take a deep breath...we'll figure it out.

She took a deep breath and looked into her boyfriend's eyes. There was sadness in them, but also hope.

Cole- She's a strong kid, Lil's. I'm not trying to justify what happened to her because what he did is never going to be right, but she will be okay.

Lili nodded and leaned into Cole, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her lower back slowly, but then they heard Gracie's voice.

Gracie- Mommy, Cole...

She ran down the hallway, over to them and snuggled in between them, making them both laugh...but as Gracie looked up at her mother, she saw her tears.