". . . And you don't have to worry about Emily. I think she loves you more than I do."
Beca's eyes widened and she stared at Chloe.
"What?," Chloe asks.
"Oh," Chloe says, suddenly realizing what she said. "I meant, that Emily loves you, and you don't need to worry about her ever hating you."
"You said you love me," Beca says with a smirk.
Chloe blushes. "That's not what I said.
"I think it is," Beca said. "I kind of love you, too."
Chloe looked at Beca and Beca's eyes drifted down to Chloe's lips. Chloe licked her lips and started leaning toward Beca. Beca started leaning in to Chloe. There lips were just centimeters apart
"Beca!," Jesse yells coming into the room.
Chloe and Beca jerk back away from each other.
"Oh, hey Chloe," Jesse says not realizing what he interrupted.
"Hey, Jesse," Chloe says blushing slightly.
"What do you want, Swanson?," Beca says through gritted teeth.
"Sheesh," Jesse says. "What's got your panties in a bunch?"
Beca sighs and glares at Jesse.
"Okay, okay," Jesse says. "Sorry. I just have news about, um, what we found the other night."
He looks at Chloe, not sure if he should elaborate. Beca sees this.
"It's okay, Jesse," Beca said. "Chloe knows about the bones that were found."
"Are they Megan's?," Chloe asks Jesse.
"We're pretty sure they are," Jesse said. "The forensic testing isn't done yet, but we found a purse with her ID in it under the bones. But that's not all."
Jesse stands there looking at Beca.
"What else?," Beca asks getting slightly agitated.
"The construction company that was building the housing development are none other than Hawkins Construction," Jesse said.
"Tom's family?," Beca said.
"Yep," Jesse said. "We sent a bunch of guys out there with cadaver dogs, and like, sonar to see if there are any more bodies. We already found one body, rather the bones, and we think we may find more. Barden and Atlanta have a bunch of open missing persons cases and we think Hawkins and Stroma may have something to do with some of them. The construction on the property has been shut down for about 5 years now."
"Jesus," Beca said quietly.
Chloe had tears falling down her face. Beca pulled her up onto the bed and held her. Beca pulled back and put her hands on Chloe's face, using her thumbs to wipe away the tears.
Jesse stood watching this and suddenly his eyes opened wide. He just realized what he interrupted when he came barging into the room.
"Um, I'm going to just go now," Jesse stammered. "I'll, uh, check in with you later. Okay, Becs? Yeah, okay."
"You stay, Jesse," Chloe said pulling away from Beca. "I have an appointment with Dr. Posen in just a bit anyway."
"We'll continue our, um, talk, later," Chloe said giving Beca a kiss on the cheek.
"Count on it," Beca said.
Chloe left and Jesse ran over to Beca with his hand held up for a high five.
"Dude!," he yelled. "Don't leave me hangin'. You two are so getting together."
Chloe walked with Denise and Ashley to Dr. Posen's office. They entered were told to sit wherever they wanted. Chloe chose the chair and Ashley and Denise sat together on the sofa.
"Is everyone comfortable?," Dr. Posen asked sitting down in a chair across from the girls.
They all nodded and said yes.
"Okay, let's just jump right in shall we?," Dr. Posen said. "Chloe, you were held the longest. Is it alright if we start with you?"
"Um, sure," Chloe said. "How do you want to do this?"
"Why don't you start by telling us how you were kidnapped," Dr. Posen said. "And I'll ask questions to help clarify some things."
"Okay," Chloe said. She proceeded to tell her story of how she came to be in the house.
"You said you screamed for help," Dr. Posen said. "I saw pictures of the house and the neighboring house is very close. Why couldn't anyone hear you?"
"The window in the room was boarded up and room had been sound proofed," Chloe said.
"How long were you there before you became pregnant?," Dr. Posen asked.
"I think it was about two months, maybe three," Chloe said. "I'm not really sure. At first I couldn't tell day from night until I realized that where a small space at the bottom of the door and a little ray of sunlight could be seen. I started keeping count of when I saw the sunlight."
"How did feel about being pregnant?," Dr. Posen asked. "How did they feel about you being pregnant?"
"I didn't really know I was pregnant until I was about 3 months along," Chloe said. "Once I figured it out, I told them I was pregnant hoping they'd leave me alone. At first, they didn't believe me, so they made me take a pregnancy test. It was positive. They were ecstatic. I was sick about it. Me being pregnant didn't stop them from raping me. Although they did stop punching me. About a month later I started to show and they left me alone. I was so happy and even started getting excited about the baby. Which was weird since early on I tried to, um, hurt, myself so I'd have a miscarriage" Chloe had to stop as her tears made it hard to continue.
Denise rubbed her back and Ashley just sat quietly looking down at the floor while Chloe composed herself.
"When did Megan come into the house?," Dr. Posen asked.
"About a month after they stopped raping me," Chloe said. "Things had been pretty good for that month. They were giving me food and water regularly, got me prenatal vitamins. They were even nice to me. One day they divided the one large room I was in into three smaller areas. They put up some plywood and cut a doorway to get from room to room. I thought it was so that the baby could have its own room. But then they showed up with Megan. I watched as they carried her into the third room. I then I had to listen every day and night while they did things to her they had done to me. I felt so guilty. If I hadn't gotten pregnant, they wouldn't have had to get someone else to satisfy their sick desires."
Chloe stopped to collect herself. She cleared her throat.
"May I have some water, please?" Chloe asked.
Dr. Posen walked over and got a bottle of water.
"Thank you," Chloe said when Dr. Posen handed her the bottle. She opened it and took a long swig.
"Emily was born on March 9," Chloe continued. "I only know that because they told me that was the date. I think she might have been a little early because she was born exactly 11 months after I was taken. I could very well have been pregnant earlier than I had thought but I'm not really sure. After she was born they still left me alone. They still used Megan and I would hold Emily and sing to her when her screams became too much."
Chloe stopped and took another drink from her water bottle.
"I was surprised they let me keep Emily in the room with me," Chloe continued. "I guess it was because they wanted me to breastfeed her. Even though they also provided formula for her. She was a fairly quiet baby and didn't cry much except when Luke or Tom would hold her. They would get a little angry but they never did anything to her. Tom was actually gentle with her. It was hard to comprehend this man gently holding my daughter was the same man who would rape me and beat me. Emily was about a month old when Denise was brought into the house."
Chloe stopped again. She took a deep breath.
"Do we have to tell you all the things they did to us?," Chloe asked Dr. Posen. "I mean, they used things to rape us, they forced us to give them oral sex, they would sometimes make us watch while they did things to the other girls. I don't know if I can got into all the disgusting details about all that."
"I only want you tell me what you are comfortable with," Dr. Posen said. "At some point, all those disgusting details are going to surface and you may act out when they do. The acting out could be anywhere from harming yourself to harming someone else. If you ever get to the point where memories are getting to be too much, please, please, please call me or call someone. Can you promise me that?"
Chloe nods her head. "Can someone else go now?"
"Denise," Dr. Posen said. "You came to the house next. Would you like to pick up the story from there?"
"It's pretty much the same stuff Chloe already said," Denise told Dr. Posen. "I was raped daily. I learned quickly that the more I screamed and struggled, the worse it was for me. So, I would just lay there and let them do whatever it was they wanted. Sometimes, they would tell me to move and not just lay there, so I did. I felt so disgusting and dirty after. Megan was in the room next to mine and sometimes they would take turns with each of us. Megan always screamed. It was bad for her. Then one day, they stopped going to her. I think they realized she was pregnant. That's when they started using Chloe and me. Chloe knew it was going to happen and she begged them to let me or Megan take Emily in our rooms so she wasn't there. Luke didn't want to but Tom would take Emily to be with Megan while they were with Chloe. Chloe was the only one, they-"
Denise has to stop. She blinks back tears and Chloe grabs her hand and holds it.
"Go ahead," Chloe said. "It's okay."
"Chloe was the only one they made say things," Denise continued.
"Can you tell me what kind of things they made her say?," Dr. Posen asked.
Denise looked at Chloe. Chloe was staring at the floor. She looks at Denise and nods her head for Denise to continue.
"They wanted her to say things. If she didn't they would threaten to take Emily away from her, or keep food from Emily, me, and Megan," Denise said. "Some of the things I heard the make her say were "I love dick, especially yours," or "Thank you for fucking the gay out of me."
Chloe let out a sob.
"I'm sorry, Chloe," Denise cried "I'm so, so sorry."
Chloe grabbed Denise and hugged her. Dr. Posen let the two girls cry as she watched Ashley. Ashley had been sitting and listening, tears streaming down her face. Her expression never changed.
Dr. Posen grabbed a box of tissues and handed them to Chloe. She pulled back and took the box taking some tissues and giving Denise some as well. Chloe passed the tissues over to Ashley who took the box and just held it.
Denise and Chloe wiped their eyes and composed themselves.
"Denise," Dr. Posen called to her to get her attention. "Let's talk a little more about Megan. Is that okay?"
Denise nodded.
"Megan was maybe 4 months along in her pregnancy when one night I heard her screaming," Denise said. "It actually woke me up. At first I thought it was because Tom and Luke were in her room. Then I realized they had been leaving her alone while she was pregnant. Chloe heard her and we both went into Megan's room."
"Wait," Dr. Posen said. "You weren't chained to the beds at this point?"
"We were chained," Denise explained. "At first just to the bed. And then at some point after I got there, they put a longer chain on each us so we could go to the other rooms. This was mostly so they could have us watch while they were doing stuff to the others."
"Sorry," Dr. Posen said. "Please continue."
"Um, so Chloe and I went into Megan's room and there was all this blood," Denise said. "Chloe got Megan to lay down so she could find out where all the blood was coming from. Megan was having a miscarriage. Chloe tore up the sheets and tried to clear way some blood so she could see what was going on."
Denise stopped to wipe her eyes again.
"We thought the bleeding had stopped," Denise continued. "Chloe and I stayed with Megan through the night. She had a fever and was whimpering and moaning. By the morning her breathing was shallow and she was burning up with fever. The guys came in and when they didn't see Chloe right away they ran into my room and then into Megan's. They saw all the blood and Chloe told them she had a miscarriage. She also told them they needed to get her to a hospital since she had lost so much blood and had a high fever. They laughed and said it wasn't necessary. They made us go back to our rooms and they stayed with Megan for a little while. They came out of her room and told us to stay out of Megan's room. We knew what would happen if we disobeyed them so we stayed out. That night, we watched them carry Megan out. She was barely breathing and we thought they might actually be taking her to the hospital. That was the last time we saw her. The next day I heard them tell Chloe that Megan didn't have to worry about anything any more. They went back to the same routine as before only now it was just me and Chloe. Ashley was brought in about 2 months later."
Denise stopped and looked over at Ashley.
"I'll take my turn now," Ashley said quietly.
"Ash, you don't have to," Denise told her. "Chloe and I can fill Dr. Posen in."
"No," Ashley said. "I need to do this."
"Okay," Denise said.
"I figured out after a week or so being in the house, that Luke had drugged my drink the night I met him," Ashley said. "I know I was semi-conscious and was aware of the pain. They realized I was a virgin and they thought it was hilarious that Luke took my virginity."
Chloe and Denise both gasped.
"You were a virgin?," Chloe asked. She went over and sat next to Ashley. She hugged her and Denise joined her. Neither of the girls were aware the Ashley had been a virgin when she was raped. Chloe had been with a man before she was sure she was gay. Denise had been sexually active since her first boyfriend. They both remember the pain they endured; they couldn't imagine what Ashley had gone through.
"The first time, Tom took me from the back and Luke the front," Ashley said. "Whenever Luke tried to kiss me I moved my head but he would grab my face and forcibly kiss me. I got sick at some point and he stopped trying to kiss me. I wasn't in the house the first time. I woke up there but I'm not sure exactly how long I was there before I woke up. I was crying and Chloe and Denise came into the room I was in. At first, I thought they were going to hurt me. They talked to me and helped me calm down. They told me who they were. We never really spoke of how we came to be there. I heard a baby cry and Chloe left my room. She came back carrying little Emily. She was so cute. Chloe told me that Tom or Luke was the father. For the next couple of months, Tom and Luke would come in and rape one or all of use like every day. I got numb to it all. I just didn't care. We all lost food for a day or two because of me several times. Even though I was the reason we didn't get food, Chloe still shared what she was able to hide away. She never blamed me. But Chloe did get mad at me at one point, because they withheld food from Emily when I fought with Tom when he tried to force me to perform oral sex on him. She told me I had to be a good girl for them so Emily was able to eat. She said she wasn't producing any more breast milk so she had to rely on them for Emily's food. One night after they withheld food from Emily, she was crying and Chloe couldn't get her to stop. I felt so bad because I knew she was hungry and it was my fault. I became a good girl after that night and did everything they made me do."
Ashley stopped and took a deep breath.
"The day that we were found, Tom and Luke had fought," Ashley said. "Luke made some comment about how he couldn't wait until Emily turned sixteen. I wanted to throw up. He was so disgusting. Tom told him to shut up. The got in each other's faces and almost came to blows. They stormed out of the room and we heard doors slamming and knew that they had both left the house. We were allowed to shower that day so our chains had been removed. In their anger, they had forgotten to lock Chloe's chain. Chloe checked the door and it was unlocked. She told us she was going to see if she could find a way out. She grabbed up Emily and slipped out the door. We didn't know what had happened to Chloe until some strange men came in. Denise saw them first and started screaming. The backed away and then a couple of women came in and said they were going to get us out of there. The got the chains off of us and helped us out of the house. We were at the ambulance when Detective Mitchell showed up. And now we're here."
"I know that was hard for you girls," Dr. Posen said. "But, I also know that you skimmed over a lot. I know it's still fresh in your minds and you don't want to relive it. At some point you need to get rid of the bad stuff and let it go. I know it's easy for me to say. You will keep these memories inside and one day, like I said before, they will come out. You can talk to me one on one if that's more comfortable. Or you can talk to a family member. If you can't talk about it with someone, write it down. Keep a journal and write what happened. No one has to read it but you. Not to remind you of what happened, but to remind you of how strong you are. How you came through this alive and ready to move onto the next chapter in your lives."
The girls all were looking at Dr. Posen. Letting her words sink in and trying to believe that they could actually move on.
"I know you all are harboring some guilt," Dr. Posen said. "Chloe you feel like you should have been able to do more for Megan. You also feel like it's your fault she was there in the first place. And, Ashley, you feel guilty because you fought back and in doing so caused Emily to go without food for a day. Denise, you feel guilty because you don't feel like you did enough to help with Megan. And the guilt got worse when Ashley was brought into the house. If Megan had still been alive, Ashley wouldn't have been there. None of you have anything to feel guilty about. You survived and that you should never feel guilty about. You are strong, brave, capable women. And everyone who has met you or heard your story is in awe of you. They believe in your strength and your resilience. I believe in you, too. Now, you just need to start believing in yourselves."
The three girls were exhausted and it wasn't even 7:00. They went back to their room and all went straight to their beds. Chloe took Emily from her sister and laid down with her. They girls didn't want to talk and The Beales respected that. They quietly talked amongst themselves.
It was about 9:00 and the Beales decided they should go home for the night and leave the girls to rest. They all kissed Chloe goodbye and left.
The silence was broken a few minutes later by Emily calling out for Bec-bec. Chloe smiled.
"Go to sleep, baby," Chloe said. "We'll see Bec-bec in the morning. I promise."
Denise let out a loud laugh.
"I bet Emily isn't the only Beale hoping to see Bec-bec in the morning," she teased.
"I bet you're right," Ashley said also laughing.
"Shut up," Chloe said feeling the heat of her blush.
The laughter died down and the girls all fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.