Remmington's School for Troubled Teens

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

We sat there for a while, I'm not sure how long exactly. I thought about Aaron the whole time. He wouldn't leave my mind. And that scared me.

If Luke thought my dad's actions were appalling, what was he going to think when he found out about Aaron? Would he be mad at me for not telling him? Would he be upset that I lied?

The whole situation was a mess. A complete mess. All because of Aaron. The second man that attributed to the ruining of my life.

"Luke! Dude!" I heard Javier call from behind us. I felt Luke turn his head and I quickly buried my face into his chest to hide the fact that I was crying. And god, I'm so sick of crying...

"What do you want?" Luke asked annoyed. He began to play with my hair, lightly scratching the nape of my neck in an effort to console me.

"I wanted to apologize. I didn't know he was going to ask her that...If I did I would've stopped him. I don't blame you for what you did. But he's pissed. Like, 'ready to kick your ass,' pissed." Javier said in a worried voice. But I could tell that Luke didn't care. He didn't start breathing heavily or get hot with anger. He just sat still, continuing to run his fingers through my hair.

"I don't want your apology. What I want is for him to apologize to her. That was extremely disrespectful and I'm not gonna let him continue to get away with acting like a narcissistic asshole to her. This is the second time that it's happened." Luke said calmly to his brother.

"Is she asleep?" Javier asked, referring to me. I probably looked it. I was cuddled into his chest, eyes closed and breathing evenly.

"Yea. She's asleep." He said to Javier.

"Why is she always sleeping, Luke?" Javier questioned Luke. And I was waiting for what Luke was going to say back, but I was terrified to see where this conversation would lead to.

"Because she's tired, Javi..." He said, sighing sadly and rubbing my back with his other hand.

"She's depressed, isn't she." Javier replied, saying it more as a statement than a question.

I wanted to jump up and run. I wanted to yell at Luke not to reply. I wanted to drown myself in the pool. This conversation can't be happening. Why was it happening? I didn't understand how he could pick up that vibe from me. I had been smiling and laughing with them all day. I wasn't moping around or acting sad...How did he know that?

"She isn't, she's just-"

"I saw, Luke. When I held her hand at the dinner table. Her sleeve rose up, only a little bit, but it was enough..." Javier's voice was solemn when he spoke this. Like he dreaded the idea and wanted to stay away from the subject. Like talking about it was the most unhappy thing in the world. I could feel the terrible sadness that he spoke in, as if it were his family he was talking about... But maybe I was his family.

My breathing hitched when he said those few sentences. Chills ran down my spine and I felt the color drain from my face, almost completely. This had to happen. Of course this had to happen. Of all things, he had to see my wrists...He knew. And now I felt exploited and vulnerable. Which made me want to crawl in a hole and die.

Luke's breathing caught as well, but he recovered quickly. He knew there was no hiding the truth for me anymore. It was out in the open now, buzzing around the dark back yard and hanging over our heads like a chandelier, about to fall and crush us all.

"Javier I swear to god if you tell anyone, especially mom..." Luke started, but trailed off, then his voice grew sorrowful.

"I didn't know until she," he took a deep breath, "she um, she almost died...I thought I was going to lose her..." Luke said, and I could feel him looking down at me, then move my hair from my face.