Chapter 8

It had been several weeks since Lana’s traumatic encounters, but little did the Society realize that their problems were only beginning. One quiet day as Jeremy sat in his room, he knew something was wrong. He knew that it was happening before it happened. There had been an unusually quiet afternoon around his house as Jeremy settled into his room to do homework. Kyle wasn’t home from Jr. high school yet and wouldn’t be for a few hours, but on a usual day Jeremy could hear loud sounds coming from his parents’ room. That particular afternoon, however, there was only silence. Sometimes silence is worse than sound.
The boys had been called into the living room by their mother and were instructed to sit down on the couch while their mother sat in a separate chair from their father. Jeremy could almost hear the words come out of his mother’s mouth before she said them.
“Your father and I are filing for a separation,” She said. “and it does not mean that we don’t love you and that we won’t do everything that we can for you. We just need some time off.”
“You guys and your Mom will stay in this house.” His father cut in. “I’m going to move into an apartment for awhile, but I’ll be over to visit you a lot and I’ll take you to my place some weekends.”
Jeremy suddenly got a picture in his head of a stale and generic one-bedroom apartment and his heart sunk quite low into his chest. He knew it was going to happen. At some points he’d even wished it would happen. Yet now that it was happening, the reality of the situation weighed on him like a heavy cloud over his head.
His mother looked worried. “Jay, sweetie, this will probably be temporary. Your father and I are going to try counseling.”
Jeremy looked at her with the little life he could conjure from his awkwardly broken heart. “I need to do homework now.”

* * * * *

“I’m sorry, Jay.” Isabella said
“Me too, Jeremy, that’s really awful.” Lana said from the study room couch in her mansion of a house. The study room, since their first meeting, had become a regular meeting place.
“That’s nice, you guys, but you don’t have to act sorry for me. I know it’s not that big of deal.”
Isabella frowned. “What the hell are you talking about? Your parents are separating, it’s a huge deal. It’s going to change all sorts of things in your life, and you don’t think it’s a big deal?”
Jeremy simply shrugged, but Aden spoke up. “I think what he’s saying is he thinks it doesn’t compare to a parent dying or nearly being raped. Not to mention Lana’s accomplishment last night, having convinced her mother to go to a shrink.”
Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Thanks, buddy.”
Aden smiled sarcastically back. “Anytime, Jay boy.”
“It doesn’t matter if it compares or not, Jeremy, the point is we understand. Your home-life as you know it is starting to break apart, and you have a right to be upset.” Lana said
“And you have a right to be hurt.” Isabella put in. “We’re not just giving you sympathy, Jay, we mean this. That’s why you’re part of the society, asshole.”
Jeremy nodded. “Thanks guys. It’s really not that much of a crisis, they’re only separated and they seem to want to try and work things out if they can.”
“That’s good.” Lana said. “We’re here for you, though, if you need us.”
“By the way, Lana, get a diagnosis yet?” Aden asked, stretching himself over the entire length of the couch he was sitting on.
“Bi-polar. As if I hadn’t called that years ago.”
Jeremy nodded. “Meds?”
“Plenty, but she’s good at taking meds, so I’m not too worried. The psychiatrist seems to think an anti-depressant and some sort of tranquilizer will help her symptoms, as well as several years of therapy. Seems to think it may have been brought on by severe anxiety and family history. I guess my grandpa was bi-polar.”
Isabella smiled. “You called that one too.”
Lana simply shrugged. “What can I say? I know my mother.”
“You should be a pharmacist.” Aden said, smiling at Lana.
She made a face at him. “Maybe if I was actually into that type of thing. I think I’ve seen enough little white pills for one lifetime.”
“Doesn’t Rash Hashanah start today?” Tia said suddenly, startling the group.
Aden nodded. “Yeah, it does. I didn’t know you knew Jewish holidays, Ti. Tried to get my Mom to go to the synagogue but she thought I was being crazy, we haven’t gone since I was little.”
Isabella frowned. “You’re Jewish?”
Aden raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I told you guys that.”
“I thought you were being obnoxious.” Isabella said, surprised. “I didn’t think you were actually Jewish.”
“What’s the matter, don’t want to admit that I’m a minority too?”
Isabella rolled her eyes and made a face. “Shut the fuck up, you are hereby forgiven for being white but not for being male.”
“Hey,” Aden said “I thought being a minority forgave me from everything. What about Jeremy?”
“No, he’s not forgiven for being male either. But he’s not as crude as you so he gets brownie points.” Isabella said, playfully.
“I respect women, flipping femanazi.” Aden mumbled, pretending to feel rejected and clearly enjoying Isabella’s twisted expression.
“For someone who is Jewish you were quick to use the word ‘Nazi’” Lana said, shaking her head. “How did you know it was Ra…how do you say it?”
“Rash Hashanah.” Tia said. “I’m interested in other religions and stuff. Just because I’m Mormon doesn’t mean I don’t know about other religions, plus Jesus was Jewish.”
Aden nodded. “Fuck yes, he was.”
“Don’t be an ass.” Isabella said, rolling her eyes.
Jeremy smiled. “It’s his only gift, don’t take it away from him.”
“Touché.” Aden said, eyeing Jeremy. “Did I not mention my other gift? Because I’m hella hungry.”
Isabella snorted. “Good luck finding edible food in this house, and eating does not count as a gift.”
Aden nodded slowly. “Guess I’ll have to stick to being an ass and complain about how hungry I am.”
Lana sighed heavily. “I’ll be right back.”

* * * * *
“Wait up, Ti!” Aden yelled out as he saw Tia began to disappear around the corner of Lana’s driveway. She had been avoiding him for awhile now, and at first he had been a little angry at her so he didn’t make much attempt to try and talk. Yet, the distance had begun to put strain on him, and he realized that it was more than likely she really hadn’t meant her recent behavior.
Tia stopped, and turned slightly to look at him. “Yeah?”
“I want to know.” He said, walking up to her.
“What?”
“I said I want to know. No games anymore, Ti, this is getting ridiculous. What’s wrong?”
The look on her pale face pained him. “I told you, Aden-”
“No, you can’t tell me that. Don’t tell me that you can’t tell me.” He said, methodically putting his hand on her shoulder. “Ti, please.”
She looked into his eyes, and for a moment he thought she would tell him, but to his disappointment she shook her head. “I just can’t.”
“What if I did something?” Aden asked. “What if I stood up for my Mom tonight? If I do that you have to tell me.”
“Aden-”
“I’ll show my Mom that we shouldn’t take it from my Dad anymore. I’ll do it. Then you need to tell me. You told me that just sitting around wasn’t doing anything, and you’re right. I’m going to do something about it tonight. But Tia, sitting around and not telling anyone about what’s wrong is not getting you anywhere either. You can let someone abuse you, but what’s the point? You have people who love you and the last thing they want is for you to be getting hurt. And if it’s someone you love who is doing the hurting, then they probably shouldn’t be in your life. Just because you love someone doesn’t mean that they’re good for you.”
Tia was looking at him very strangely, and Aden couldn’t identify the look. Without even realizing, his hand went from Tia’s shoulder down to her tiny hand. He slowly felt her fingertips against his own, and then slid his palm into hers. At first she looked down at what he was doing, but once he’d held her hand she carefully looked back up into his eyes, her expression unreadable.
“You don’t have to do this on your own.” Aden said softly. “That’s what the Society is here for. Let me help you. Let us help you.”
She didn’t say a word, but her face expressed the thousands of emotions that Aden was unable to identify or even begin to understand.
“Don’t get hurt.” She whispered.
“Is that a yes?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m still not telling you. But I know no matter what I say you’re going to do what you want to do tonight. Just please, don’t get hurt.”
He smiled oddly. “I can’t promise that either. Physical wounds heal, and no matter what happens tonight I’ll be fine. Emotional wounds can stick around longer than scars, though. We don’t need to see the bruises to know that about you, Ti.”
Tia frowned, and the hand Aden was not holding shot up to rub her forehead in frustration. “That’s not fair, I told you, I just-”
“Tia.” Aden interrupted, grabbing her hand and gently pulling it away from her face. “I’ve made up my mind. Some how or another, I will find out tonight.”
She could only stare at him then, and somehow she knew that he was right. Still, she was determined not to let him know that he just might win. He couldn’t find out, he just couldn’t. She didn’t even know why she couldn’t let him, she had grown to trust Aden more than she trusted anyone. Yet there was something within her screaming to run away, to hide, and to never let anyone know. She couldn’t tell him, not then at least.
“Don’t get hurt.” She whispered again, looking away to hide her face.
Slowly, carefully, he turned her head back towards him, resting his hand on the side of her face. She looked back at him, suddenly noticing the deep green shades in his multi-colored eyes. It was then she realized the way he was looking at her. He leaned towards her, bringing his face very close to hers, and stopped when his lips were barely an inch away.
“I can stop.” He said quietly.
To his surprise, she smiled and said. “Don’t stop.”
Smiling back, he closed the gap to gently kiss her lips. Pulling away, he couldn’t hide the happiness on his face, and to her surprise she was just as happy. She looked down to hide her smile, embarrassed that he had distracted her from trying to convince him to stop his plan.
“I’m serious, Aden, don’t do anything that you’re going to regret.”
He only grinned back at her. “I don’t do anything that I regret. I’m sure about this.”
With that, he quickly kissed her again before turning to walk towards his house. She sighed, and watched him leave. She had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

* * * * *

Late that night, Aden heard the noise he’d been waiting for. Somehow, he didn’t understand why he hadn’t planned to do this so many times before. It was clear in his mind now, though he didn’t quite know how he’d come to this realization. All he could remember was the look in Tia’s eyes, a look that he had seen in his mother before. He wouldn’t let it happen anymore. He couldn’t watch two women in his life suffer from something they didn’t deserve. No one deserves to be hurt.
He anticipated the crash before it happened, but sure enough the front door slammed open and he heard several grunts from his father. Aden got up from under his covers, fully dressed, and slowly opened his door to creep out where he could see what was happening.
His mother was sitting on the living room couch, watching t.v. She looked nervous, but she said “Hi Jim, how was your day, honey?”
His father grunted. “Fuck you, Claire, fuck you! I work all day and I come home to see you watching this bullshit?”
His father began to reach for her, and Claire flinched, but Aden had a plan. Before his father could grab her he yelled out “Stop! What the hell are you doing, you asshole!”
Confused, his father turned to look at him through the doorway of the living room. “You little fucker, what are you doing out of bed? I’ll teach you…”
“No!” Claire screamed. “Don’t touch him! Don’t hurt him!”
But before Claire could get up to try and stop him, Aden’s father was walking towards him full speed. Aden stayed put. He didn’t try to get away, he didn’t even raise a fist. He braced himself for what he knew was coming.
The blow hit him a little harder than he expected, but his father was large and very strong. Aden had been in fights before, but with kids his own age, and in those fights he’d fought back. This was different. Aden lost feeling on one side of his face, then quickly felt a throbbing start to echo across his skin radiating to his nasal bone and cheekbone. He could no longer see out of his left eye, and time seemed to slow down very suddenly.
He watched as his mother ran up to his father, pulling with all her might to get him away from Aden. He saw his father turn and throw her off in a more intense fury than he’d seen him in for a long time. Suddenly, time sped up again, and Aden took action. He ran past his father who was about to attack his Mom, who at this point was laying on the floor. Pushing his father as hard as he could, he grabbed a hold of his mother and pulled her with him out their front door.
Claire was sobbing, and Aden saw that her head was bleeding. Quickly and quietly, he picked her up and began running. He could hear his father in the background yelling and screaming. The left side of his face was still throbbing, but he didn’t care. He needed to find help. He hadn’t planned that far ahead, but all he knew was he needed to get as far away as he could.

* * * * *
When Tia opened the door of her house at eleven that night, she was somehow not surprised to see Aden with his mother in his arms. She hadn’t expected anything less from Aden: when he told her he would do something, she knew that he would. Though she didn’t know why, she also knew that he would come to her house for refuge. She had even warned her mother.
Tia’s mother came up behind her in the doorway and said quietly “Oh no, come in Aden.”
Half of Aden’s face was bleeding and bruised. It looked like the blow had been intended for the side of his head, but it was clear that his father’s fist must have been very big. His mother was bleeding from her head and quietly crying into Aden’s shoulder. Calmly, Tia’s mother told Aden to put his mother down and she would take her to the upstairs bathroom to look at her head.
“You take Aden to the hall bathroom and help him clean up his face. If there’s anything that looks like it needs stitches let me know and we’ll bring them to the hospital. I have a feeling I’ll want Claire to go the hospital just incase she has a concussion, but I’d like to talk to her first.”
Tia obeyed her mother and led Aden to the bathroom just down their hall. She sat him down on the toilet seat and began searching the bathroom drawers for rubbing alcohol and bandages, very noisily.
“You let yourself get hurt.” Tia said, angrily.
“I had to.” Aden said, his speech a little slurred from the cut on his lip.
Tia frowned at him, and grabbed his chin to take a look at the cut. “You’re lucky he didn’t knock out any teeth. You’re lucky if you ever see out of that eye again, too.”
“My Mom wouldn’t have left if he hadn’t hit me, Ti.” Aden continued, ignoring what she’d said. “He’s never hurt me before. I’ve never let him hurt me before. But that’s why she left with me. She’s a stronger woman than she looks, she could have gotten away if she wanted.”
“Is that why your dad hasn’t killed her yet?” Tia said, irritably.
“Actually, yes.”
She looked at him, and quickly looked away when she saw how he was looking at her. She felt a tear in the corner of her eye but quickly regained her composure. “I’m mad at you for getting hurt, still. You didn’t need to get hurt.”
“Tell me.”
She knew the question was coming from his look, but she didn’t want to answer it. “Aden, that’s not fair.”
“Yes it is, Tia, because I’ve been thinking about it, and you haven’t been hiding everything. You’re like a puzzle, but now is when I figure out the last piece. This is it, Tia, it’s your turn. We can help you through whatever it is, you don’t even have to tell the rest of the Society right away.”
“Aden, I just-”
“It has to do with your Uncle. He’s the one who has been hurting you.”
Her head snapped over to looked at him, very surprised. She didn’t know he knew about her Uncle.
“But he isn’t hurting you in the same way that my Dad has been hurting my Mom.” Aden continued “You told me that. You’ve been sick a lot too, you know it’s crazy, Jeremy said one time you were acting like you were pregnant.”
She knew the look on her face gave it away, but she couldn’t help it. She had no idea that he had been trying to piece the situation together, or that the Society had been talking about what they knew of her. The look was unconscious, but it was all Aden needed to figure out exactly what was happening to her.
“You’re Uncle-”
“Aden!” She whispered harshly. “Don’t talk too loud!”
He brought his voice down to a whisper as well. “Tia why couldn’t you have told me that? You’ve been sexually abused and you’re just dealing with it? We need to tell your parents!”
“No!” Tia said “You don’t understand, it’s a sin-”
“What he’s been doing is a sin, you’re a victim, Tia! Your parents of all people would understand that! God would understand that!”
“Aden please,” Tears were coming to her eyes. “This is hard, okay? I don’t know what to do, and I know you guys want to help me, but you finding out is bad enough. Please give me some time, just a little bit of time.”
“How much time do you need, Tia? Another year? Two years? This is fucking ridiculous, you need to tell someone-”
“One day.” Tia said, harshly. “Give me until after winter formal, it’s tomorrow, right? Give me until then, we’ll have a meeting on Sunday and I’ll tell the Society. You just have to promise me, Aden, you have to promise me that you’ll give me that and you won’t tell anyone.”
She was crying, and the look in Aden’s eyes was very strained. “I promise. But I swear to God, Tia, this is not your fault, and we’ll work through this. We’ll help you through this, I promise you.”
He pulled her into a hug, which at that point Tia needed more than anything. Her secret was out. Her emotions were running wild, and she wasn’t sure what to do. Pulling away and wiping away tears, she opened the rubbing alcohol and said with a teary-eyed hiccup “This might hurt a little.”
“Tia, it’s okay.”
“No, it’s not okay.”
Aden flinched as she began to wipe away blood. “Let me see you tomorrow morning. Meet me at the park down the street just for ten minutes. Tell your Mom you’re going for a walk.”
Tia nodded slowly, and as she did her mother popped her head into the bathroom. “I’ve cleaned up your Mom, Aden, but she’s told me she’d like to stay with your Aunt while she figures everything out. After Tia finishes cleaning you up I’ll drive you guys over there. I’m going to insist that your Aunt bring your Mom into a clinic in the morning, I’m very worried about that bump on her head.”
Aden nodded and smiled. “Thank you Mrs. Bennett. Thank you so much for taking care of us.”
Mrs. Bennett smiled back. “No need for that, Tia tells me all about how good of a friend you are to her, and I’ve known Claire for awhile from back when you two were in kindergarten. You get cleaned up now, and we’ll head off.”
Tia’s mother left, and Aden looked at Tia again. “Tomorrow at eleven. Please, Tia.”