-1Finding to Telling
Landry knocked on the office of Mrs. Taylor. "Come in," he heard. Taking a deep breath, the boy turned the knob and slowly walked in.
"Landry," Mrs. Taylor stood to welcome him, "please have a seat." She watched his movements. He seemed nervous, not looking at her. "Somethin' on your mind?" She asked as she sat in a chair across from him.
Landry nodded and kept quiet for a moment. He knew this was the right thing to do and the right person to do it with but this was his dream girl. The only girl that would be hotter than the Maxim girls or any girl for that matter and he really didn't want to screw this up. Mrs. Taylor watched Landry. It seemed as if a thousand thoughts were rebounding in his head. She leaned toward him and folded her arms, allowing him to set the pace of the conversation. Finally, taking a deep breath, Landry spoke, "um, I have this friend and uh, well you see this friend was hurt." He looked up at Mrs. Taylor who nodded to encourage him to go on. In her mind, she believed Landry himself had been in some way injured. Time and compassion would hopefully coax the truth out of him. "There's a law right," he continued, "a law that says that if I tell you this friend, you've got to report it. Right. I mean you got to tell the police or someone."
Mrs. Taylor leaned forward in her seat, holding her hands up to stop Landry. "Please don't take this the wrong way but if you are your friend, I want you to know it's OK. If you've been hurt you can tell-"
Landry cut her off. "It's not me, OK." He looked past Mrs. Taylor, tears forming in his eyes. He couldn't tell her but he couldn't not tell her. "It's not me," Landry licked his bottom lip, "it's Tyra," he paused, "Tyra Collette."
Tami felt as if the breath had been sucked out of her. That explained everything. Tyra's absence from school. Her not returning Tami's phone calls. Tami inhaled deeply. "oh," she sighed. She looked over at Landry. He had his elbows resting on his knees and head hanging down. Gathering her own emotions together, Tami stopped down beside the boy. "Landry," she said. Getting no response, Tami placed her hand on his knee, "Landry, look at me." Landry drew his eyes to Mrs. Taylor's. "You did the right thing. I want you to know that." Landry nodded noncommittally. Grunting a bit, Mrs. Taylor stood back up. She walked over to her phone and dialed Tyra's number. Getting no answer, she set the receiver down. Leaning back in her desk chair, Tami folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot. The only solution was to go out and check on Tyra. "OK, Landry, I'm going out to see if she's OK. Do you want me to give her a message for you?"
Landry sat up, "I want to go with you," he said with resolve. Tami was about to argue but the mix of hurt and anger on Landry's face told her it was best to allow the boy to ride along with her.
Mrs. Taylor let the principal know she had an emergency to attend to. Angry at Eric, she didn't bother to let him know she was leaving. If he needed her, he'd find out. Grabbing her car keys, with Landry in tow, Tami made her way to the car. The pair got in and began the short drive to Tyra's place. As they pulled out of the parking lot Tami glanced over at Landry. He was slumped against the window, head against his hand. As they drove off school property Landry sat up, "please Mrs. Taylor, don't do this. OK. I'll, I'll watch out for her. Please don't do this. Please," he begged.
"Landry, she needs this," Tami assured.
"She'll hate me. I mean she hated me, she likes me now she'll hate me," Landry babbled on. "Please you have to go back to school and just don't-"
Mrs. Taylor cut him off, "Landry, if you hadn't told me, Tyra would have suffered with this for years. It would have affected everything. You did the right thing." She looked over at the boy who didn't respond. "Trust me, she's going to be mad at me too. She'll get over it. You did what was needed." Tyra's driveway came into sight. A collective sigh could be heard from both occupants of the vehicle. Mrs. Taylor stopped the car and turned off the engine. She looked over at Landry, patting him on the shoulder, "it's going to be OK," she siad again. He nodded. "Why don't you wait here and I'll go see her." Landry once again nodded and slumped against the door.
Tami stepped out of the car and slowly, yet determinedly made her way to Tyra's front door. She knocked and stepped back.
Who the hell is coming to the door? Tyra thought as she set down the cup and walked over to the door. Opening the door, Tyra squinted a bit before clenching her jaw. Didn't this woman ever get the hint. She'd called so many times. Tyra hadn't answered. Most people would understand that meant they didn't want to talk to them. Apparently not Mrs. T. Tyra folded her arm over the bruise to hide it from Mrs. T.
"Hey Tyra," Mrs. T said. Tami watched as the silent Tyra refused to give her eye contact. She saw her gaze turn to the car and noticed the anger and betrayal that flashed across Tyra's face. Thank God looks couldn't hurt of Landry would be in pain.
"Look," Tyra said with a shake of her head, as if she were trying to assure Mrs. T or maybe her self, "it's not that big of a deal. She stepped back a bit.
Mrs. T nodded, "yeah it is sweetheart." She watched as Tyra gritted her teeth and once again glared at Landry. Mrs. T put out her hand to Tyra, "come on honey, let's go get this over with."
Turning her glare to Mrs. T's hand Tyra shook her head, "I'm not going anywhere." Defiance and saddness marked her voice.
Slowly, Tami drew back her hand and leaned on the frame of the door so Tyra had no chance of slamming it. "Unfortunately, Tyra, that's not an option. How about you just coming down to the police station with me and Landry-"
"I'm not going anywhere with him," she spit out. Crossing her arms, Tyra unknowingly revealed the bruise.
On the outside, Tami kept her face passive but seeing in bruise on Tyra enraged her. "OK, honey, he doesn't have to come with us. Let me drive your truck and we can get this over with." Tami watched as Tyra walked over to the dining room table and picked up her truck keys. Walking past her, Tyra headed toward the truck.
"Fine," Tyra spat. "Whatever, but you're not driving."
Tami hid the small smile. The defiant spirit still remained. She walked over to her own car. "Landry, could you drive this to the police station. Let us get ahead a bit before." He nodded and moved over to the driver's side.
Tami climbed into the cab of Tyra's truck. According to Landry this was the scene of the assault and it looked that way. Tyra caught Tami examining her truck. "What you want DNA from here too?"
Tami didn't answer but shot Tyra an empathic look. She knew this would be super hard for a girl whose walls were thicker than those of reinforced concrete. Tyra pulled out of the drive way, "don't forget where we're headed," Tami tried to keep the mood light.
Tyra rolled her eyes, "yeah well it's not like I'd take you to the strip club or anything. It'd be a losing proposition for you," she answered.
Tami smiled to herself. If Tyra only knew. Tyra pulled into the parking lot and threw the truck's parking brake on. Tami opened the door to get out but looked over and Tyra's hands were still locked on the steering wheel. "It'll be OK, honey. You'll go in a room and a detective will ask you a bunch of questions. They may take some pictures and it will all be over." Tami paused watching Tyra bite the inside of her lip. "When you're done, I'll be right here waiting."
Tyra jerked her head toward Mrs. T, "you're not going with me?" She asked.
The vulnerability and fear in Tyra's voice made Tami's heart break. "Of course, if that's what you want. I'll be right there." Tami stepped out of the truck and waited for Tyra in front. She put her arm around her shoulder and the two walked into the police station. Tyra's arms had goosebumps and at times a shiver shot through her body. Tami squeezed her for support. Walking up to the front desk, Tami spoke to the receptionist. "Ma'am, we need to see someone to report an assault." Tami glanced over at Tyra whose face was very pale. Pulling out her ID and passing it to the woman, Tami kept her eyes on Tyra.
"Someone will be with you shortly. Please have a seat," the woman said.
Tami guided Tyra to the hard, plastic chairs. No words were spoken until Tyra had had enough of Tami watching her, "do you think I'm going to vanish into thin air?" She asked. Tami just shook her head and looked away.
"Ms. Collette," a detective called out.
Tyra eyed the man and was immediately wary. Still, she pulled herself up. When Mrs. T didn't follow, Tyra looked down at her, "aren't you coming?" She more begged than asked. Tami stood and began walking toward the man. She looked back and Tyra stood at the chairs. Tami walked back and took her hand. The two made their way with the detective. After about thirty minutes of answering why and how and where and what the man had done to her and she to him, Tyra was beginning to get exhausted. Every detail, she had to devulge and it was making her sick. Yes, he grabbed her breasts, yes he pulled at her pants. Each answer Tyra gave the man forced Tami to choke back tears. As Tami noticed Tyra's patience waning, she shot a look to the detevtice. "Are we done here?" Tyra asked.
Nodding, the man wrote one last detail, "we need a few pictures then you can go."
Tyra had survived the talking. That was the tough part. Pictures, she could do. Tami followed her into the hallway and sat on a bench outside the room. "I'm here if you need me," she said. Tyra nodded and followed the woman into the room. Each time she revealed a bruise Tyra wanted to let the tears that were dammed inside. Finally it was all done. "I need to go to the bathroom. You can go wait in the truck," Tyra told Mrs. T. Tami nodded and gathered her purse.
Walking out the door, Tami saw Landry sitting on the sidewalk. He held up her keys. "How about you take it back to school. Coach will be there. I think I'm going to ride with Tyra." Landry nodded. Tami studied the boy for a bit, noticing he had been crying. Bending down, she rubbed his back, "Landry, you are a good friend." With that, Tami went and sat in Tyra's truck.
Tyra walked out of the police station and the last person she wanted to see was sitting there. As Landry stood, Tyra wanted to release all the rage she felt on him. Only, her emotions were too raw. Calling him a smelly geek and saying she never wanted to see him again was the best she could muster. Tyra stomped off to her truck, got in and slammed the door. She revved the engine and spun out of the parking lot. Roughly wiping at the tears, Tyra glared at Mrs. T, "don't even ask," she dared the teacher to say a word. Tami nodded and looked straight forward. The two shared no other words until they both were sitting on Tyra's couch.
"Honey, you've gotta start dealing with this," Tami offered.
Tyra pursed her lips and swallowed the water she had in her mouth, "well Dr. Phil's a little busy."
"I don't think sarcasm is the best way to deal with this," Mrs. T. continued. "I mean, I can understand not wanting to talk to me about it but there are great therapists', support groups-"
Tyra cut her off, "I'm not sitting around with a bunch of crazy people talking about my problems." If she would share anything with anyone it would be Mrs. T. She was the only person that Tyra felt believed in her. Where was her mother? Who knew in reality. Here was Mrs. T. sitting beside her.
"You suffered a trauma, Tyra," Mrs. T continued. Tyra disputed the fact adamantly. "Well, I just would hate to see you lose all you've worked for."
"I don't care about that stuff. It doesn't matter," Tyra flippantly stated. God did it matter. To get a C on that math test, Tyra had looked at it for days so happy. Now though, she didn't care. She felt Mrs. T shift on the couch. "If I hadn't been studying, none of this would have even happened," she said
Mrs. T sat up, looking at Tyra as she refused to look at her, "hey sweet heart. You know that's not true. You could have gone in there for some ice cream."
"Could you leave now?" Tyra feebly asked.
Mrs. T wanted to reach out and hold her as she saw the tears swimming in her eyes. "You're not to blame for this.
A moment passed between them, "obviously." Tyra fought tears as Mrs. T. reassured her there was nothing she could have done. She was Tyra Collette there was always something she could have done. Her whole life had been a great screw up and she'd done nothing. Once again, she had done nothing. As Tyra told Mrs. T her true feelings about the cop's perception, she could no longer hold back the emotion. She stumbled for words and swallowed sobs. Mrs. T reached out and rubbed Tyra's arm as she explained that even if she was nice to him it didn't mean she wanted to sleep with him. Mrs. T whispered reassurances as Tyra's feelings welled out. "I'm sorry I left my notebook," was the last thing Tyra could manage to say as the tears took over.
Mrs. T held her as she cried. "Tyra, baby, I need you to hear this," she began. "This is not your fault. This is not your fault." Tami let Tyra cry until it seemed she could cry no more. Pulling back, Tami wiped the tears and drainage from Tyra's face. "Sweetheart, you're a brave girl." Tyra shrugged tiredly. "How about we go and you take a nap?" Too tired to resist, Tyra let Tami guide her into her room and lay her on the bed. Tami sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed Tyra's back like she used to do to Julie when she was scared. Tyra would never admit it but she appreciated it. Looking at the wall, sleep finally took over Tyra's body. As her breathing fell into a rhythm, Tami bent down and kissed the top of Tyra's head. Slowly, she stood up and quietly left the room. Glancing back, Tami offered a small smile as she watched Tyra finally a little more peaceful.