Marlena
Prompted by 'Guest': what if, on the 13th January 2014, John Paul had confessed his attack to Marlena after she washed his clothes?
John Paul stared at his clothes in horror. It seemed like a strange thing to be so disturbed about but the newly clean clothes meant that he had lost the last of the evidence to prove he had been sexually assaulted by one of his students. Now that his Nana had washed them, all traces of Finn's DNA had been removed so John Paul had no proof that anything had happened. All he had were the painful memories that no amount of washing would ever make go away. Devastated, John Paul slowly raised his head to look at Marlena.
"Do you have any idea what you've done?" he cried unwittingly
Marlena looked offended, "You should be thanking me for sorting out your dirty washing!" she retorted, "What were they doing stuffed in that bag anyway? I would have thought you'd put them in the machine yourself. After all, you're usually the responsible one"
John Paul shook his head, "Doesn't matter" he murmured
Marlena crossed her arms, "It obviously does otherwise you wouldn't be so highly strung about it"
There was a silence as John Paul tentatively fingered the folded clothes, memories of the attack flooding through his head. He squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to block it out and Marlena grabbed his trembling hand.
"What's wrong, love?" she asked worriedly
John Paul took a deep breath, "There was a kid in my class" he began quietly
Marlena looked confused and interrupted him, "Some specifics would help, you know"
John Paul swallowed, "Finn" he whispered, "He was the one who attacked you the other night"
Marlena took a step backwards in shock, "Finn?" she exclaimed
John Paul nodded, "I found out about it and tried to call the police"
"But…?" Marlena prompted
John Paul looked down, "He stopped me"
"What do you mean?"
John Paul licked his lips nervously, "He, uh, he chucked m-my phone across the room" he stammered, images of the previous night flashing in front of his eyes. Concerned, Marlena carefully stepped forwards and John Paul met her eyes.
"I tried to do something, I really did" he whispered tearfully, "But he… he knocked me out"
Marlena gasped in shock and John Paul shook his head to signal that he wasn't finished, "Then he…" John Paul exhaled shakily and closed his eyes, "he attacked me"
"Attacked?" Marlena echoed, "You mean he hit you?"
John Paul shook his head, "No. He attacked me…sexually" he breathed
Marlena's face turned pale and she covered her mouth in horror, "No" she replied flatly, "He couldn't have"
John Paul wiped his watery eyes with his thumb, "That's what I've been telling myself" he whispered, "Anything to stop myself thinking about it"
Marlena approached her grandson, "Come here" she instructed gently and wrapped her arms around him, "You're gonna get through this, I promise"
John Paul shook his head, "I don't know if I can" he uttered tearfully into her shoulder
"You can" she reassured him, "It's gonna take a while but it'll happen"
John Paul let out a breath of relief and hugged his Nanna tightly.
xxx
Robbie, standing only meters away, overheard most of the conversation and was absolutely disgusted by Finn's actions. However, he realised with dismay that he caused the situation by forcing Finn to confront the teacher and stop him from reporting him to the police. If he had known what Finn would do, he never would have made the young man go back inside the school that night. Determinedly, Robbie entered the kitchen.
"John Paul" he began firmly, sounding more confident than he felt.
John Paul quickly pulled away from Marlena's embrace and spun around to face Robbie, wiping his tears away quickly, "What are you doing here?" he hissed
"I was helping Marlena with some jobs" he replied meekly, "But I overheard what you just said, and I am so sorry for what Finn did"
Marlena shook her head, "You don't need to apologise, that's Finn's job"
Robbie hesitated, "Actually, I do need to apologise" he admitted, "I sent Finn back inside to stop John Paul. If I hadn't then this never would have happened"
Both John Paul and Marlena stared at him in shock before Marlena sighed, "I don't think I can take any more surprises today. I've had enough to last me a lifetime"
John Paul and Robbie couldn't help but chuckle at Marlena's attitude despite the situation.
There was a long pause before Marlena suddenly asked, "So what happens now?"
John Paul and Robbie glanced at each other hesitantly.
"You need to go to the police" Robbie instructed
"I already have" John Paul replied quietly
"Then why is Finn still hanging around?" Robbie argued
"Because I didn't tell them the full story" he admitted, "I was ashamed of what they'd think"
"Why?" Robbie asked
"Because I'm his teacher" John Paul responded dejectedly, "And I'm a bloke. We're not supposed to be victims"
Robbie glanced away, reluctantly in agreement. It wasn't really heard of for a grown man to be sexually assaulted by a younger person and he could only imagine the shame that John Paul would have been feeling.
"That doesn't matter" Marlena broke in, "These things need to be reported"
"Exactly" Robbie agreed, "And I can vouch for you"
"Really?" John Paul asked, surprised by the boy's sudden transformation
Robbie nodded guiltily, "Yeah. After all, you probably wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for me"
Marlena nodded at Robbie's words. When she knew that Robbie was partly responsible for her son's attack she was absolutely disgusted, but the sudden responsibility and remorse that he had shown had warmed her heart somewhat. Marlena was desperate for John Paul to report everything to the police so that Finn could be punished, but she understood his state of mind. After all, she herself had been a victim of sexual abuse and had never told anyone about it, but because of that she would hate for her grandson to have to experience the same trauma that she had been through.
John Paul thought to himself for a few moments, "If you're sure you want to own up" he told Robbie, "You don't have to, and I wouldn't blame you for keeping quiet"
Robbie shook his head, "No, I have to do this whether I want to or not" he declared, "Finn's not the only one who needs to be punished. If I hadn't turned him into that monster then he never would have done what he did"
John Paul nodded gravely, "Ok then, if you can admit the truth then so can I"
Marlena watched the men proudly, then stepped towards John Paul to hug him once again.
"I'm so proud of you" she whispered before pulling away, "Now you go and tell the police everything"
John Paul's face suddenly turned pale, "Everything?" he gulped
Marlena nodded, "I know you don't want to think about what happened, but they're going to have to get all of the information so that they can arrest him"
The mere thought of reliving his ordeal sent shivers down John Paul's spine and he felt sick. Robbie touched his arm gingerly, "You can do it" he murmured before smiling reassuringly. John Paul returned the smile and took a deep breath.
"Ok, let's do this" he uttered determinedly
Marlena watched after the men as they left the house and there was a deadly silence once the door had shut. After a few moments she perched herself on a chair and let the tears - that she had managed for a while to hold back - fall from her eyes.
Thanks for reading, and thanks to 'Guest' for the prompt: I hope this is close to what you were expecting. I wasn't sure how far I should take the one-shot, but I only really wanted it to be based around Marlena and to touch upon her experiences (which were mentioned on the 29th August episode) so it seemed appropriate to end it where I did. Anyway, as usual, if anyone has any more ideas for one-shots, then let me know, and remember that reviews are always welcome!