Withered

The Truth Never Set Me Free

//Mariska//

I knew something had happened to her the moment she walked into the door. She was almost completely black and blue, and then I got another call from Officer Brant saying what was on the toxin report. I had been in this situation hundreds of times on the show, but this time it was real. This time it was my daughter.

She looked at me with empty eyes, "I wasn't raped." Instant denial. "I wasn't." She shook her head.

"Addison, who gave you that pill? Just tell me."

"No one gave me anything, they must've made a mistake." She scooted away, clearly uncomfortable.

"They didn't make a mistake. Honey, you can tell me anything, you know that." I touched her arm, "It wasn't your fault."

She flinched, "I wasn't raped, so stop asking."

"Then answer this, why was a date rape drug found in your system?" She looked at me coldly.

"I probably took it by mistake when looking for some aspirin."

"Addy, we both know that's not true."

"You know what, my head hurts and I'm tired. Why don't you take your questions somewhere else? Thanks." She rolled over and focused on the wall in front of her.

I didn't want to let her push me away, but I couldn't force her to tell me. "Okay." I said, and walked out the door.

All havoc had broke loose downstairs. It was obvious that no one had gotten much sleep last night. Andrew was throwing a tantrum about who knows what, Amaya and Peter were asleep on the couch, and August was running around with a cape tied around his neck.

"I don't wanna take a nap!" Andrew screamed.

"Andrew Nicolas!" I walked over, "Why don't you come with me in my room? How does that sound?" He nodded through tears. I picked him up and brought him into Peter and I's bedroom. "Here," I said, slipping under the covers with him, "we can cuddle."

He wrapped himself up with the white comforter and I snuggled up next to him. Soon his eyelids drooped closed an he was out cold. My thoughts began to wander towards Addison and the last twenty-four house. The fact that she knew about Maggie, but I still had so much more to tell her. I remembered how when she was young, she would cling to me on set, begging me to play. I wish I would've. Would life be better for her if I was never on Law and Order? I had contemplated that question for the last ten years. I missed out on so many important things for the kids because of filming. My lids started to feel heavy as these thoughts swirled in my mind and I nodded off to sleep.

I quickly found myself in a dream, it was dark and I had no idea where I was. There was a small cabin off to my right, and I could feel wet grass squeaking under my feet. There were deep voices coming from the threshold, and they seemed to keep getting louder. Out of curiosity I wandered towards the noise, only to have it change. It was muffled, but obviously a female voice. Quickly, the voice began to morph into screams. It was Addison crying out. She was calling for help, she was calling for me. I tried running to her, but my legs seemed to sink further into the ground. Her peircing screams rang in my ears, but I couldn't move.

"Addison!" I tried to yell back, but my lungs wouldn't work. There was a crash and I heard Addy crying, yet I still couldn't move. The curtains fell down and I could see four dark figures holding her down, but the vision quickly disappeared as I jumped awake.

Addison was standing in the doorway, "Mom?"

I wiped the sweat from my forehead, seeing her alive and safe gave me relief. "Yeah?"

"If you tell me everything about Maggie, I'll tell you what happened."

"Deal."