Chapter 10 - Memorable Scars

Chapter 10

Memorable Scars

DISCLAIMER: This chapter contains talk about sexual violence.

When the girls went downstairs, they saw Hank and Bill working on something on the coffee table, Ashlynn reading her book, and Brie watching the guys. It didn't take long for Hank to know who was coming downstairs without looking up.

"We were wondering when you girls would come downstairs, you've been so cooped up in that bathroom, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine, Dad." Meredith responded in a neutral tone.

"That earthquake last night made national headlines," Bill mentioned.

"It should, it just came out of nowhere. I just hope it didn't stir up those volcanoes on the islands feeling how strong that was despite it being a short time. Last thing we need is a state emergency and lava coming to this place."

Meredith shrunk back a little feeling guilty to have caused the earthquake in the first place.

"Hank, by any chance did you turn down the thermostat?" Brie asked.

"No, why?"

"It was freezing going up those stairs, the boys were also complaining that it was freezing and their room was cold indeed,"

"Darn thermostat, I'll have it looked at later on in the evening. Last thing we need is an electrician when we don't need one,"

Amelia and Lyn looked grimly at each other reminiscing last night.

"You girls are really quiet, are you sure nothing is bugging you?"

"Well -" Meredith looked like she was going to spill something.

"It's okay, hon, you can tell us," Brie encouraged her.

"It's school,"

Amelia and Lynae breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Ah, I see now. Don't worry, we'll go get your school supplies before you go back," Hank remembered.

"No, it's not that."

Hank was a little confused, but Brie had an idea of what she was going to say.

"Is there any way I can be homeschooled this year?"

"Meredith, you're starting high school, it's going to be a different environment from your old school," Hank mentioned.

As Hank said that to Meredith, Brie couldn't help but ask another question to Meredith.

"Honey, is there someone at school that was giving you a hard time?" Brie glared at Hank after asking directly to Meredith.

Before Meredith answered that question, Amelia heard something in Meredith's voice but it didn't come out of her mouth though.

"I'm scared that I'll be targeted like Lynae especially worse now with this going on."

Amelia asked herself after she overheard Meredith's thoughts, What did that mean? What did Meredith mean when she said in her head 'targeted like Lynae'?

"The kids over there are mean, Dad. Plain and simple." Lynae intervened in the conversation.

"You two are going to have to deal with these bullies. They'll end up in a local market selling pineapples after high school anyway," Hank said.

"Hank, if your kids are having issues, shouldn't you talk to the principal?" Bill intervened as well.

"Kids will be kids, I dealt with my bullies in high school and in boot camp, these girls can do the same,"

Slut. Whore. Skank.

These voices were not familiar to Amelia, but she looked at Meredith when she heard those words thinking that maybe those kids were calling those things.

"You know you wanted this. You were asking for it all night."

Amelia had tears coming up to her eyes as she heard a male voice speaking. She knew exactly what went on when that male said those words, she didn't need to go further using her imagination.

"Amelia, what's wrong?" Ashlynn looked distressed seeing her daughter tear up.

"I can't believe you. I can't believe you would say that when you have no idea what is going on with your own daughters! Can't you see they are hurting? They are hurting in the most unspeakable ways and all you can say to them is to 'suck it up'?" Amelia clenched her fists.

"Amelia..." Bill tried to tell her to stay out of it.

"What is going on? Did one of my daughters tell you what happened? Is there something going on that I don't know about?" Hank crossed his arms.

Amelia then remembered that these were memories and not something the girls told her. If she told him what she had heard, one of them might feel embarrassed and betrayed that she revealed a secret that she wasn't supposed to tell. But she found out one thing for certain, she could read the minds of others while having telekinetic powers as well.

"No, but I can guess that they are hurting from the looks of their faces and body language."

"If they were hurting and if they were harmed by anyone, they know they could come tell me,"

Yeah right. Amelia thought in her direct mind alone. After the speech Hank gave about dealing with bullies, she knew for certain that the girls don't want to tell him anything, and she didn't blame them one bit. Then all of a sudden, Amelia couldn't help but defend her cousins from her uncle's ignorant statements.

"You don't sound very convincing to me," Amelia blurted out.

"Amelia!" Bill and Ashlynn shouted at her.

"Look, as far as I am concerned, I am the parent, I know my children a lot more than you,"

"Could have fooled me," Amelia stormed off back upstairs.

"Amelia, come back down here this once!" Bill scolded her as she had her back turned.

Amelia sat down and cried on the floor over what she heard. She couldn't believe that someone was assaulted and it was someone close to her as well! Following her upstairs was Lynae and Meredith confused about what went about downstairs.

"What the heck, Mia?" Meredith asked in concern.

"Why did you go off on our dad like that?" Lynae asked in curiosity.

"You were hurting, you still are hurting..." Amelia sniffled.

"What are you talking about?" Meredith asked.

"Why didn't you tell him what went on before? That night?" Amelia directed towards Meredith.

"What do you mean?"

"You were raped, weren't you?" Amelia looked dead in the eye with Meredith.

"What?! No, I wasn't, where did you get that idea?! I'm still a virgin!"

"But I heard the voices in your head, that night when that guy saying you know you want it, those kids that were calling you those names..."

Silently, Lynae started letting tears roll down from her eyes.

"But I'm telling you the truth, I wasn't sexually assaulted! Why would you think I was?"

"Because she heard it in my head..." Lynae said with her face down.

"L-Lyn..." Amelia faced her with more tears flowing down.

"Those weren't Meredith's memories – they were mine,"

As those words stunned the girls after a grueling confession from Lynae, Amelia rushed to hug Lynae after admitting what she had kept in for so long. She misread those thoughts to be Meredith's at first, but it made sense now why she denied it. She thought she was still reading Meredith's thoughts, but she actually read Lynae's thoughts and memories instead.

"H-have you seen a doctor?" Amelia asked.

"That time that my dad said I snuck out when we got caught sneaking out that one night, I snuck out to go to the doctor after what happened the other night." Lynae explained why she snuck out.

"You shouldn't be going through this alone, Lyn," Amelia said hugging her tight.

"But no one believed me before, and no one would believe me now," Lyn said with tears streaming down.

"I believe you, and not because I saw what happened in your memories, but because you're my cousin,"

"H-how did you find out about this? I never told anyone," Lyn stated.

"I didn't mean to, it just happened all on its own. One minute I hear you guys moving your mouth, then the next I hear voices but it wasn't yours and I didn't know where it was coming from,"

"I'm guessing you haven't told mom or dad yet?" Meredith asked.

"How could I?"

"I know Uncle Hank is insensitive which I know now that he really is. But you have to tell them sometime, let them know, they love you no matter what and they wouldn't judge you like your classmates,"

"How do you know?"

"Because they are your parents, Lyn; they would do anything to protect you and help you. I know my parents would want the same for me,"

"I-I can't," Lynae said trembling.

"You don't have to do it alone, I'm right here if you want me to be,"

"And you have me too, sis," Meredith chimed in.

"Do it on your own terms, not because you were forced," Amelia advised.

"Wh-what if he blames me?"

"If he wasn't so much of a jackass as he was downstairs, then he wouldn't because you're his daughter,"

"You weren't better," Lynae wiped her eyes.

"Yeah, I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree now does it?" Amelia laughed it off.

Later that evening, the girls went downstairs. Lynae decided it was time to tell her parents what's been on her mind for months now. Lynae called her parents to the living room to talk. Meredith and Amelia followed behind her.

Amelia began speaking to her telepathically.

No matter what happens, we have your back. You can do this.

Lynae nearly teared up from what she heard on Mia's message, but she knew she had to keep her composure. She met them back in the living room gathering their attention. There was silence in the room, then Hank spoke up.

"What is it you wanted to tell us, Lyn?"

"I – uh...."

Deep breaths, say it in your mind if you can't do it or if you want me to speak for you...

It's okay, I'm just keeping it together. Thank you.

"Lyn?" Hank called out to her.

"Couple of months ago, that night I went out. I was on a date with a boy at school. I thought he wanted to go out with me because he liked me... But I was wrong. I was cornered at the back of a building and... and... that's when... he..." Lyn explained couldn't keep the tears in.

"What did he do?" Hank's eyes widened after he saw Lyn crying.

I can't say it, Mia. I can't... it's too hard to say it. It hurts.

Amelia jumped in after hearing what was going through her mind.

"She was raped, Uncle Hank," Amelia said in a cold tone.

"Oh my god," Brie was shocked hearing this. Her mother trembled as she heard those words gaping with her hands across from her mouth.

"The night she snuck out, she wasn't going out to hang out or anything. She went to a hospital to make sure she was... okay," Meredith stepped in.

Everyone was shocked at this point. Hank began shaking as he heard the words he thought he would never hear come out of one of his daughters' mouths.

"Lynae...I..." Hank started crying.

"The kids called her names like slut, whore, and a whole lot of other mean things after this had happened. She tried telling someone about it, but she got blamed for it instead," Amelia explained further.

"Who did this to you?" Hank asked.

"Juan Tihmahala,"

"That bastard, thinking he can get away with hurting my little girl like that! I'll kill him!" Hank yelled as he slammed his fist on a nearby wall.

"Hank, please -" Brie pleaded while crying.

"I'll kill him! I'll kill..." Hank broke down into more tears holding his daughter tight in his arms.

After gaining back her composure, Lynae and Meredith's mother spoke up once more.

"Lyn, you're not alone in this. We want you to know that you've done nothing wrong. We're here to support you, and we'll get through this together," Brie talked through to Lynae.

"Your mother is right, you did nothing wrong. I suppose it took a lot of courage to speak up about this. I'm sorry, I'm sorry I didn't listen. I should have known," Hank held her tighter.

"We should go see a doctor," Brie suggested.

"But I was checked out okay,"

"No, not that, to see a therapist, to get you help, and how to go about this addressing it to the school," Brie continued on.

"We're also going to having a talk with your principal about this as well,"

"What, why?"

"Lyn, that boy not only hurt you, but what he did was a serious felony, and that they need to know that the police will be involved," Hank stated.

"Why are you getting the police?!"

"Lyn, like your father said, he broke the law, and you did the right thing going to the doctor because now they have DNA to prove it was him,"

"B-but what if I don't want the police involved?"

"Lyn, I know you're scared, but we promise we won't escalate it to be out of control or let anyone hurt you in retaliation," Brie attempted to reassure her.

"Lyn, they're right, you need to report this. Otherwise, he's going to keep harming other girls like he did to you," Amelia stepped in.

"How would you know? You didn't know I was... and now you want to make it worse!" Lynae snapped.

"Lyn, we need to do this so no one can hurt you anymore. I'm sorry I didn't make you feel comfortable enough to tell me all of this. I'm sorry I jumped the gun when you girls said you were uncomfortable going back to school. Please, let me make this right for you two. Otherwise, I'll never forgive myself for failing you two." Hank apologized profusely showing guilt all over his face from everything he has said to them.

The girls didn't say much more after. "Tomorrow, we're going to the station and then the school to address the situation."

"What if they won't listen?" Lynae asked.

"They will if they don't want a lawsuit on their hands." Hank said predetermined he would get through to them.

After they finished talking, Amelia saw something like she never did see before. She found herself in an office. The principal was dismissive about the situation. Hank and Brie were shouting at him. She felt disappointed from the premonition, but she wanted to help in any way possible.