They Could Never Know (Editing)

Part 13

The drive to the lake house was silent, and the silence continues as I dab Grant's face with a wet rag as we sit on the couch. I trail my fingers down his cheek, brushing my finger across his lower lip, "this is my fault." I whisper. Grant grabs my hand, "Don't ever say that again, none of this was ever your fault." His hand lingers in mine and I let it. I was struggling internally with hating him but at the same time wanting to comfort him. We both shower, and I meet him on the back patio, I wrap up in a blanket he set in a chair and take a seat across the fire pit from him. "When did you know it was me?" I ask, causing Grant to shift in his chair. I knew that this was an uncomfortable conversation, but it was one that needed to happen. "The day that you were at the fields with your brother when you met Liam." He replies, anger rises in my chest. He had known this entire time. "I told Liam not to go over there to you. I didn't want you to become a part of my life, but he wouldn't listen to me." he goes on, "when I saw you in the diner, really got to see your face, I knew I needed to resist the urge to talk to you." He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees and casts his eyes into the fire. "But you just wouldn't stay away, and I was falling harder and harder for you. I wanted to be a person who protected you and took care of you. After the trip to the river, watching your face of amazement when we stepped out of the car and the glistening of water droplets on your skin, I gave in." He picks a couple of sticks up from the ground and tosses them into the fire, causing embers to float into the air. "There were so many times that I wanted to tell you. And I'm so sorry Tess that I didn't. When I met your mom, I thought that maybe she knew me and knew who my dad was, so I freaked out that night. I was going to tell you everything but the next day you didn't seem fazed." I speak, finally breaking my silence, "she did know. She knew exactly who you were, but she was the one who took me there that night." Grant moves from his chair and falls to his knees in front of me, cupping my face with his hands, "Please tell me how I can make this up to you. I promise to never keep anything from you ever again and to never let someone hurt you again. I don't want to lose you, I love you. " I stay silent. "This is the part where you say, me too, or to get lost." My eyes meet his, "I...I don't know what I feel right now... what I do know is that I want you to come with me to report them. Both of them, my mom and your dad." I can see his hesitation, and I don't blame him. We would both be losing our parents, and there was always the possibility of the report reaching their attention, with no action taken, which would lead to the rath of our parents. Even though I had built so much hatred towards my mom, that didn't mean I wanted to completely lose her. But we both needed this, so that we could move on from this chapter. "Ok. we'll go to the local Dayley cove sheriff tomorrow. There's no point in going to our hometown sheriff, dad has him under his thumb." Grant pulls out his phone. "We can't go home, I'm going to call my mom, she's a lawyer, and get her to come here." He says as he dials her number. My breathing quickens, my brain is screaming at me that this was wrong, we shouldn't go through with this. He steps inside, talking to his mom, and my body succumbs to the panic rising within me. I needed to get Jackson and Stacey out of there before everything blew up. "My mom will be here tomorrow morning." Noticing the tears streaming down my face he pulls me to him. "It's my brother and Stacey, I need to get them out of there." I utter, Grant nods understanding that they shouldn't be there with my mom. "Is there anyone you can call to take care of them?" He questions. There were my dad's parents, I had been ignoring my grandmas calls since we moved here. They were the only family I could trust enough to get here and help us. I nod and pull out my phone, dialing my grandma's number, "Hey grams, I um...I need your help." 

.....

I wake up from a knock on the door. I lift my head from Grant's chest, we had fallen asleep on the couch, and gently scootch my body from his, careful not to wake him. My grandparents had already booked their flight and would be arriving early tomorrow morning. They booked a hotel that Stacey was already at with Jackson. I open the door to find a familiar woman standing in front of me, she was the same woman from the pictures that were hung in the lake house and Grant's room. "Ms. Wilkes" I breath, she drops her bags to her feet and pulls me into her. "Ann, call me Ann." Her scent surrounds me, and I fall limp at her motherly touch. I let her in the house, and she moves to Grant who is still sleeping on the couch. She strokes his face with her light touch, which wakens him from his slumber. "Hey, sweety." She says as he sits up. "I am going to make some breakfast, then we need to get to the police department." Ann gets up and heads to the kitchen and Grant pulls me to the couch next to him, "How are you feeling this morning?" I tuck my head into the nape of his neck and mumble against his skin, "awful, but this has to be done." Grant kisses the top of my head and Ann hollers from the kitchen that breakfast was ready. My phone pings, Grams.

We are almost to the Dayley police department. 

Ok, we will be heading that way soon. T 

None of us eat very much for breakfast, my stomach feels like it's in a thousand knots. Ann pulls into the parking lot of the police department, and I can see my grandma pacing back and forth as my grandpa leans against their rental car. We park the car and I jump from the front seat, running to my grandparents. When I reach them, I collapse into their arms. Grant and his mom appear behind us, and we turn to head in, I reach my hand back to Grant and he takes it. I needed him to do this with me. 

.....

"Ok, and can you tell us the details of this once again." The interview room is freezing, and this would be the third detective I have spoken to. My grandma rubs her hand on my back, they refused to let Grant into the room with me despite my pleading. I rub my hand across my forehead, I was exhausted from having to relive that nightmare of a night over and over. I retell how my mom had blind folded me and drove me to that house, how she led me through the door and sat me in a chair. Two seconds later my blindfold was tugged from my face, and he was in front of me, my mom was gone. I recall every detail, even sharing about the ringed groove and ash tray. I tell them about Grant and how he was there and then vanished. I told them about the beatings he endured from his father and the violence I went through at the hands of my mother. The detective scribbles fast on a notepad, taking down each word that I speak. I didn't understand why they needed to write this down when they were recording everything. "Can I see Grant now?" I ask. "I don't know if that's such a good idea honey." My grandma says as she continues to rub my back. I notice she exchanges a glance with the detective sitting across from me. I shrug my grandma's hand from my back and cross my arms, "I want to see him now."  The detective taps his pen on the table, "Listen Tess, we would advise that you cut complete ties with the Wilkes family. We can arrange to have a restraining order put in place against all of them, also adding your mother to that order." Anger rises to my voice when I speak, "You are more than welcome to write up a restraining order against Mr. Wilkes and my mother, but you will not include Grant or Ann." I push back from the table and stand up, dismissing myself. As I open the door the detective speaks again, "Tess you need to realize that this case is going to be a big one, Mr. Wilkes is the mayor, he's going to bring down his entire name once people hear this in the news." Grant wasn't his father. He was just as much of a victim to his father as I was, they needed to stop treating him as a villain in this story. I let the door slam closed behind me and make my way to the lobby looking for Grant. I catch a glimpse of wavy brown hair in the parking lot and run outside. Ann was already in the car and Grant had opened the passenger door, ready to step in when I catch him. "Where are you going?" I pant as I try to catch my breath from running. Grant shuts the door leaving Ann alone in the car. "We can't see each other anymore." When he speaks his eyes don't leave the ground. "What do you mean...why...I don't understand..." I'm stumbling over my words, speaking at a million miles an hour. "This is going to be big Tess. And with my name tied to his name, you can't be seen with me." He cuts me off. "Why because you think people will judge me? I don't care if they judge me. I need you with me through this Grant." A glimpse of anger is slipping into my voice. I didn't care what people would think, I knew that everyone would know what his dad did and what he didn't stop but the only person that gets to judge him is me. "I'm sorry Tess. There's a restraining order that will be put into place. This is the last time we can speak." Grant opens the door back up and slides into his seat. "No that's not fair. I don't choose that, they can't choose that for me!" I yell but he doesn't flinch. "Look at me Grant. Grant!" Ann and Grant keep their eyes ahead as he closes the door and she backs the car up. My world felt as if it was crashing down on me all over again. I whip my body around and march back into the station and swing the interview room door open. "Tess, you need to calm down." The detective demands. "Who put a restraining order in place." I seethe through clenched teeth. My grandma's voice cuts through the tension in the room, "I did honey and since you are a minor, it was our decision to make."