Breaking Free

Chapter 27: Present

"What did you say?" Wendy asks, with shock clear across her face.

"Can we talk?" I ask her softly.

She looks at me for a long moment, saying nothing before turning and disappearing to the back.

"That was Wendy?" Seth asks me.

"I have been watching her since we got here. She jumps every time the door opens."

Wendy comes back out then and beckons towards us. "Come on. There's a quiet room back here where we can talk."

"I'll tell Anna and Rick we will be right back," Seth says, and turns away to tell them.

Wendy watches him go with apprehension on her face.

"Don't worry. He's one of the good ones," I tell her.

Seth comes back, and Wendy leads us to a back room that has "Party Room" above the door. We sit down at a table in the middle of the room.

"How did you know it was me?" Wendy asks as soon as we sit down.

"The way you were acting every time the door opened."

Wendy sighs and brings her hands up to her forehead. "How do you even know about me?"

"I go to Baylor High and heard that you disappeared the year before I started. Only recently did I find out why you never came back to school."

"Who?" Wendy asks, without looking at me.

"Beth." Seth slides his hand in mine and squeezes gently, I squeeze back, appreciating him being with me.

Wendy looks at me sharply. "Is that bitch still roaming the halls like she owns the school?"

"Sadly."

I watch her swallow. "She still with Joshua?"

"Since they both disappeared, I'm going to guess yes."

"You don't know?"

I shake my head from side to side. "No, she stopped talking to me after I told her that Joshua was stalking me."

Wendy gasps. "He stalked you too?"

I nod my head. "Beth says he does it to all the new girls."

"Because of his past." She makes it more of a statement than a question.

"You know about his past?"

Wendy leans back in her chair and looks down at the table. "Who doesn't? Everyone thinks it's so sad. It's pathetic." I can hear the anger in her tone. "I don't care what he went through when he was younger. He had no right to do what he did to me. Every time I'm here, I keep my eyes on the door, praying it's not him. When I'm out shopping, I have to keep watching over my shoulder. I hate him."

She looks up then, tears rolling down her face. "I wanted to put a stop to him, but when I realized no one would help me, I left school. Everyone already thought I slept with him because I was secretly in love with him. I was never going back to that school where he was and where Beth was. So, I left and never went back."

She wipes her tears before continuing. "I started working here. I asked the manager if I didn't have to wear a name tag. Since the owner knows my family, they said it was all right. I work here full time."

"Did he give you GHB?"

"He might have wanted to. I'm not sure. When... when I walked into one of the bedrooms at the holiday party, I thought it was a bathroom. He followed me in..." She gulps. "He said no one would believe me if I told."

He said the same thing to me. "What about your parents?" I ask her.

"They disowned me," she says flatly.

"Why...?" I begin to say but am cut short by the sound of the door opening.

"Momma." A little girl with long blonde hair comes toddling in the room.

Momma?

The little girl pushes her arms up in the air, Wendy lifts her and kisses her on the cheek.

"Sorry," a voice says from the doorway. "They told me you were back here with someone, and I was going to wait until you got out, but Mary wanted to see you."

A boy that looks to be in his early twenties stands in the doorway, surveying us.

"This is why," Wendy says softly.

The little girl turns her eyes in my direction, and my blood runs cold. Dark brown eyes. Just like Joshua and his father.

"I found out I was pregnant a couple months after. I went to the doctor because I thought maybe he gave me an STD. That's when I found out about this sweet girl. This is my daughter, Mary."

Mary stares at me, then looks over at Seth. I stare at the little girl who resembles her father. Wendy got pregnant from her rape.

Wendy points over to the boy standing in the doorway. "That is my best friend, Sean. He is the owner's grandson. After my parents kicked me out, Sean and his family took me in. They gave me a job here, and I have been working to pay my hospital bills off. When I am done, I plan to move out on my own."

Sean still hasn't said anything, but I can see him watching Seth, who seems to watch him too.

"Sean. This is Paige and Seth. They know," Wendy tells Sean.

Sean walks into the room and comes to a stop next to Wendy. "She was raped too," Wendy continues.

"By the same guy?" Sean asks, eyeing Seth.

"You can relax. Seth is my friend," I tell him.

Sean relaxes somewhat but remains tense.

"Sean, can you take her out of here? I'm going to talk to them for a few more minutes, and then we can head home. We can even get a sundae before we leave."

The little girl smiles and squirms off Wendy, heading to Sean. Sean looks over at Wendy, and a look passes between them before Sean nods his head and leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

"Sean only knows I was raped. He doesn't know by who," Wendy says to us.

"Wendy, you have to come forward. This could put him behind bars for good," I tell her urgently.

Wendy shakes her head vehemently. "No. I don't want Joshua to find out about her. I don't want her to know what happened that brought her to me, ever."

I think back to something Joshua said to me in a text message not too long ago. "He already knows."

The color drains from Wendy's face. "What?"

"The first day I came here with Seth, Joshua followed us from the gym to here. He probably saw you at one point—"

Wendy stands up. "I have to go."

"Wait!" I grab for her hand as she walks towards the door. "Come forward. Please. He's already been arrested. The police just need more proof. I know they didn't believe you before, but there is an officer. Her name is Officer Cunnings. She has been helping me. She knows about your report. She wants to talk to you. Please. So, he doesn't get out and do this to someone else."

"You went forward?"

"Yes, I did. I didn't, at first, because I was scared, just like you. I was terrified, especially after he threatened to hurt my best friend if I told anyone. But after I told Seth, he helped me see that things will get better and continue to get better as time goes on. I will heal. It will take me a long time, but I know I'm on the right path to recovery. You aren't alone anymore, Wendy. Your parents may have disowned you, but you have your daughter and your best friend to think about. I know you want to stop looking over your shoulder every day. Your daughter never has to find out how she was conceived, but if she does, you can tell her you did the right thing. Please, Wendy, just think about it."

Wendy removes her hand from mine. "I will."

She leaves the room without a backward glance.