The Boy Who Couldn't Save Me

Chapter 2: A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

if there's anything i've learned in the past few months, it's that people wear their skin as a disguise but that's not to say that their skin always belonged to them...
sometimes we borrow the flesh of others because we're too afraid to show the world who we really are...
she was never afraid, but he was...

The ticking of the clock sitting on Sheriff Banks' desk was so loud that my voice seemed tiny compared to it.
Sheriff Banks sat across from me with a pen in his hand and he was writing down what I was saying - just like he was when I gave my statement.
"Okay, Bailie so you say the abuse started when you were about seven?"
"Well, I mean that's how far back I can remember. That's around the time his drinking got worse and he became physically abusive."
"Was Hunter ever present during any of this?"
"Yeah, I mean, he saw it a lot growing up. At first, he tried to protect me but after a while he learned not to."
"What do you mean?"
"There was a time where my dad pushed him back when he tried to stop him from hitting me. After a while, he became so numb to it, it was like it wasn't even happening."
"Okay, so let's talk about what happened after Frankie's party."
I looked down and prepared myself for this conversation.
"Alright."
"So, tell me what happened."
"Well, I wasn't aware that I was spiked or even dropped home by you, I didn't know how I got home. When I heard about what happened to me, I spent the night at Zack's. I knew my dad would be angry about this because people were talking and that would have embarrassed him. When I got home, Hunter was there and my dad dragged me to the kitchen. He pushed me over the island table and held me down on the table and raped me."
Sheriff Banks' long eyelashes touched his cheekbones as his eyes went back down to his notes. He wrote for a few minutes then looked back up at me.
"What did Hunter do?"
"Nothing," I told him. "He just stood there and watched. He didn't even try."
He looked at me again. His eyes became sadder and then he blinked it away.
"Was that the only time it happened?"
"Yes," I answered. "Hunter said if I tried to tell anyone about it, he would protect my dad over me."
"Okay, thank you," he quietly said then adjusted himself in his chair. "So, do you have any other information on your dad that will help your case?"
"Yeah. All those charity events he's been hosting these past few years, he used my mom's name. Only thing is, he took the money people donating and it went straight into his own pocket and my mom's not dead."
"She's not?"
"No, she left to get away from him," I told him. "He tormented her for years. She only recently came back into my life."
"Do you think she'll tell me her story? It will definitely help."
"I don't know," I said, suddenly regretting saying anything at all because I didn't wanna put her in the same position Zack put me in.
"Talk to her about it, if you can."
"So, are you gonna arrest my dad now?"
"I'm gonna gather as much information as possible on him first."
I nodded my head.
"What's gonna happen with Hunter?"
Sheriff Banks looked up at me and then put his pen down on top of his notes.
"Well, if the medical report comes back to prove what you and Frankie told me to be true, then the charges against Zack will be dropped. I can't say for sure what will happen to Hunter."
"Sheriff?"
"Please, call me Cody," he said and I nodded my head.
"Cody, I just wanna say thank you for everything."
"Sure," he smiled. "Do you want me to leave you home?"
"No, that's okay. Thank you though."
We smiled at each other again and then I left. The bus ride back to home was quicker than I wanted it to be. I wanted more time to think about everything and think about what I was gonna say to my mom. I really didn't wanna have to ask her to relive everything she's been through with my dad, whether she's healed from it or not.

There was laughter coming from the living room when I walked through the front door. I closed the door and leaned against it with my eyes closed, counting my breaths before destroying the happiness in the next room. I slowly pushed the door open and everyone looked around at me. There were playing cards around the coffee table and laughing with each other. Even Sadie was laughing.
"Bailie?" my mom said and then Zack stood up and walked towards me.
"Hey, where you been? You been gone for ages."
"I went to see Hunter," I admitted and his eyes widened. "I wanted to find out what he was up to."
"What did he say?"
"Nothing new. Just kept going on about how much you're pulling me away from him."
"Fucking piece of shit," Zack rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"I also went to see Sheriff Banks. I told him everything about my dad and about what happened after Frankie's party."
I looked at Frankie who for some reason had guilt written all over his face. Zack touched my hand.
"Bailie, I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry for telling him. I was just so angry about everything and it just slipped out. By that time, it was too late to take it back."
I put my hand on his face and he closed his eyes.
"This had to be done," I told him. "It's the only way to fix everything."
He opened his eyes again and looked at me.
"So, what are they gonna do? Are they gonna arrest him?"
"Not yet. Sheriff Banks said he wants to gather as much information as possible before doing anything."
I looked at my mom who tucked her hair behind her ears.
"Sheriff Banks knows you're alive," I told her. "He thinks if you tell your story then it'll help the case."
I waited for her to refuse and to call me selfish for even asking her but she didn't.
"I will do whatever I can to see that bastard have to watch his empire burn to the ground."
"Are you sure you wanna do this?"
"Definitely."
I nodded my head and then sat on the couch next to Dina. I rubbed my eyes and Zack looked down at me.
"Hunter was handcuffed to the bed when I saw him. I guess my dad hasn't been visiting him to bail him out."
"Good," Frankie finally spoke. "I hope that bastard rots in a cell for what he did."
"Well, Sheriff Banks said that if the medical report proves our statements to be true, then the charges against Zack will be dropped."
Zack's eyes lit up to this and he tilted his head.
"But, they don't know what will happen to Hunter if that's the case."
"I didn't even know he had a gun," Zack said.
"He didn't," I accidentally said out loud and Zack gave me a strange look. "It's my dad's."
"What?"
"Just before my mom came back, I went around to my dad's to pick up my stuff while he was in Medina. I went to his room looking for some information on my mom. That's when I found the gun."
I looked down at the floor before saying the next thing. "
I wanted to kill myself," I closed my eyes and listened to the silence that followed. "It was fully loaded and I put the gun to my head but then I saw Hunter standing behind me. After daring me to do it, he told me not to be stupid. He took it from me and took out five of the bullets, spun the cylinder and put it to my head. That's when I started to freak out. I begged him to stop but he said I wanted to die so I should. He pulled the trigger."
The silence was too loud. Everyone's eyes were on me.
"When no bullet came out, he then put the gun to his own head and pulled the trigger again. He seemed disappointed that neither of us died and said maybe next time we'd get lucky."
"What the fuck is wrong with that guy?" Zack gritted his teeth and anger was painted on his face. Tears formed in his eyes but he blinked them away and shook his head.
"How did you even cope with something like that?" Frankie asked.
"I don't know," I laughed. "I still hear those clicks sometimes. But, I know if I didn't find that gun, he never would have shot himself and Zack would never have been arrested."
"This isn't your fault, Bailie," my mom told me but she was wrong. Everything was my fault.
"I'm just glad I finally got to see him for who he is."
Zack looked at me when I said this.
"You did good, Bailie," Dina smiled at me as she put her hand on my back. "Everyone is finally gonna see him and your dad for the monsters they are and you'll be free of them."
"I don't think I'm ever gonna be free of them," I admitted to her and put my hand on my head. "They're always up here."
She rubbed my arm and my mom had the most annoyed look on her face.