Unforgivable

Chapter 10: "The Final Storm"

A couple days later, Scott and Claire were watching a movie together in Claire's living room. During the movie it had started to rain softly, then heavier and heavier until it was a downpour, and Scott had stopped paying attention to the movie. Claire didn't say anything, but she had noticed he was becoming increasingly nervous as the evening went on.

Suddenly with a clap of lightening, the power went out and Scott yelped. They were left in complete darkness.

"Oh, a power outage," Claire said, exasperated. "Just a minute, I'll go get a flashlight."

But next a big roll of thunder roared, so close it felt like the townhouse was shaking. Lightning clapped, illuminating the room. Scott involuntarily jumped off the couch and slid down to the floor. In the fleeting light, Claire could see the look of panic on his young face.

She stopped short of leaving to get a flashlight. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

There was no answer, but in the dark Claire heard his shallow breathing.

"Scott, honey, it's just a storm, it'll be over in a little while. It's okay."

Scott sniffled in a way that sounded as if he was trying not to sniffle.

"I'm going to find a flashlight and light some candles so you won't be in the dark." She started to leave again.

"No!" Scott croaked. He couldn't help the way he reacted to storms, and he didn't want her to be able to see him.

"Okay," Claire slowly, standing in the middle of the dark room, creasing her brow. "I'll just stay here with you. Have you always been nervous during storms, Scott?" She purposely didn't use the word afraid, thinking she didn't want to cause him further embarrassment.

Scott shook his head, even though she couldn't see him. "No," he whispered.

Another roar of thunder, and Scott gave a strangled cry.

"Are you still on the couch, Scott? I'm going to come over there and sit with you."

"No," Scott whispered. "Please, please stay away."

"All right," Claire agreed feeling confused.

"No," Scott whispered again.

"I said I wouldn't-" Claire started to say, but was interrupted.

"No," Scott went on, and now Claire understood that he was not talking to her. He was speaking to someone who wasn't there.

"Please-" Scott moaned softly. "You promised you wouldn't do this anymore. You promised."

Claire could hear him crying. He's having some sort of flashback, she realized.

"Scott?" She said rather forcefully. "Scott, listen to me. You're in the townhouse, and you're safe. Nothing bad can happen to you here."

"But you promised I wouldn't have to do this anymore! You said so!" Scott started to cry openly.

Claire frowned. She guessed he was remembered some time that Martin had hit him, but it didn't sound that way at all. You promised I wouldn't have to do this anymore? Have to do what? She wondered.

She felt her way over to the couch, where Scott was on the floor, huddled in a ball. Claire placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Scott?" she whispered.

Suddenly Scott jerked away. "Don't touch me, you skank!"

Claire gasped and jumped back as if she'd been slapped. She couldn't believe Scott would say that to her. Unless…who else did he call a skank?

"I'll tell my dad." Scott said painfully.

"Scott!" Claire said, getting down on the floor and grabbing his shoulders.

Scott seemed to hear her. They couldn't see eachother's faces in the darkness of the room, but Scott blinked a moment and then stared around him as if remembering where he was. He breathed heavily for a few seconds, then, feeling Claire's hands on his shoulders, he felt filthy, and wriggled away from her touch.

"Scott? Are you with me? Can you hear me?" Claire asked, frightened.

"Uh-huh," Scott said distractedly.

"You were having…what sounded like…a flashback." Claire told him. "Listen to me. Nobody's here but us two. No one else will hear you. And we're in the dark so you don't have to be looked at. I want you to tell me what's going on. Who's hurting you?"

"No, no, no," Scott moaned, covering his head.

"Hey, listen to me," Claire said, grasping his shoulders again. "It's not your dad who's hitting you, is it? It's Elaine, isn't it? She's gotten violent, and you're afraid to tell your dad she's hurting you. Is that it?"

There was a pause.

Claire tightened her grip on him. "What's happening at home, Scott?"

She said it so forcefully, and Scott began to cry again.

"It's not my dad. It's Elaine, it's not my dad." He gulped, trying to get rid of the lump in his throat. "My dad doesn't really hit me, just a few times when I called Elaine names. But he doesn't…I mean, he's not like that, he doesn't really hurt me."

Claire nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "Elaine is the one who's hitting you. But your dad doesn't know."

"No!" Scott's whole body shook. Claire drew him closer, keeping her hands on his shoulders.

"Elaine's not hitting you? I don't understand, what's-"

"She comes into my room at night," Scott forced out, his teeth chattering.

It took Claire a minute to process that.

Her grip loosened.

"Oh, my God," she said as she exhaled.

Then, quickly realizing she needed to keep it together for his sake, she said, "I'm sorry, Scott, I didn't mean to sound so shocked. It's…it's…I'm so glad you told me. You did the right thing. When did she…when did this happen?"

Scott was still shaking. "It started…a couple months after they got married. She…during a storm."

The lightening outside clapped, and Scott jumped a mile.

Claire gripped him tighter, her hands on his shoulders becoming painful. "That's why you're afraid of storms," she realized.

"No." Scott said. "I'm not afraid of storms. I'm not, I swear."

"Okay," Claire accepted.

"She would come in…and say…she was scared…cuz of the thunder."

"Okay," Claire said again, waiting for him to go on.

But Scott started to cry again. "And…and she would…"

"Yeah?" Claire prompted, rubbing his shoulders.

"No, no, I can't." Scott said, shaking out of her touch. "I don't want to talk about this."

"Scott, honey, you don't need to feel embarrassed, okay? If something sexual happened between you and your stepmom, it wasn't your fault. Do you believe me?"

"I didn't mean to," Scott told her. "I didn't want to, I swear. I don't want it, I don't-"

"I know, I know," she consoled, "I believe you, I do. Have you talked to your dad about this?"

Claire could hear that in the darkness Scott had started crying again. "He won't believe me. He'll think I'm lying cuz I didn't want him to get divorced from my mom. And he loves Elaine-"

"He loves you, too," Claire reminded him gently.

"But I betrayed him," Scott said, with fresh tears, sobbing. "Elaine's his wife, and I-"

"Scott," Claire interrupted, "You didn't betray your father. Elaine did."

The thunder crashed close by and lightening flashed, illuminating the room for one split second before becoming dark again. Scott jumped.

"Listen to me, sweetheart," Claire spoke to him, forcing him back to the present. "Elaine married your dad. She's your stepmom. She shouldn't be doing anything sexual with you. It's wrong." Claire swallowed, then went on, "And, besides being your stepmother, she is an adult, and she should not be doing anything sexual with any child. You're sixteen, Scott. There are laws about this sort of thing."

"I know, I know. I know it's wrong," Scott said, sounding miserable. "I didn't want to, I swear-"

"No, Scott, you're missing my point. And you don't have to convince me; I already believe you. Elaine is the one who's guilty here, not you, ok?"

Scott finally seemed to register what she was telling him, and he nodded.

"Claire…please don't tell my dad. You won't, will you? Please?"

Claire paused. "Scott…honey…I can't- I can't keep something like this a secret-"

"No! Nobody can know!" Scott felt more afraid than he'd ever felt in his life.

"But this is – I know it might feel embarrassing, but- this is a crime, and it's hurting you, and the only way to make it stop is to tell the people who can really help."

"My dad won't believe me. I know he won't." Scott moaned.

"Is that what she told you?" Claire asked angrily. "Scott, all molesters try to make their victims feel like no one will believe them. That's how they keep them quiet. Just because she said it, it doesn't mean it's true. Your father loves you-"

"No!" Scott shouted, still terrified. "You don't know, you don't know-"

"What don't I know, Scott?" Claire asked gently.

"That…what she did…wasn't everything." Scott mumbled.

"Okay," Claire said acceptingly. She was trying to act calmer than she felt, because she didn't want Scott to think her anger was directed at him. "So what else was there?"

Scott's face burned. He put his head in his hands. "Please, please don't ask me that- I can't-"

Suddenly the lights flickered on- the power was back.

Light flooded the room, showing the two of them sitting knee-to-knee on the floor next to the couch, Scott's face flushed and streaked with tears.

Scott looked up into Claire's face, and in a split second, he had jumped up and ran up the stairs. A moment later, Claire heard a door slam. She sighed.

End of Chpt 9.