I'm back! Things will still be a little on the crazy side until Tuesday and then things will calm down. So expect chapters to be on the shorter side until Wednesday and then should be at least a little longer than they have been.
If you've been to the DeGrassi Saviors site and seen the calendar you know that next week is a normal schedule. Then the 4th-11th is One Shot Week which is actually eight days. After that the rest of July is Short Story Month. I will be putting up August and September Calendars sometime after One Shot Week.
Also readers of dragonsprit's stories he will be updating Stairway to Paradise this weekend. See his page on the DeGrassi Saviors website for updates and news for his stories as well.
Ch. 20 All Those Things that were Hidden Away
(FITZ)
"Jake, Clare you're coming with us now," their parents demand. When they came through the basement door everyone froze and our hearts were pounding so much the sound practically resonated through the room.
"Over my dead body," Owen growls being the first to break the silence. He stands up clenching his fists and standing in front of Jake.
"You're not taking them anywhere," Drew says standing with Owen.
"We're taking our children," Glen commands stepping forward.
"NOOO!" Clare screams picking her head up from my chest. Now it's her parents who go silent and their faces turn white. Clare's scream also brings Audra, Grey and Daisy running down the stairs again.
"You two have to leave now," Audra asserts.
"We came for our children," Helen responds in a cold voice looking away from Clare to glare at Audra.
"I'm Daisy Foley from Children's Aide. Jake is old enough to move out on his own and he's chosen to do so I have all the paperwork. Clare is being removed from your custody we're on our way to the judge now."
"I suggest you both leave now as you are trespassing and as far as I'm concerned you're endangering these kids," Grey tells them.
"You have three seconds to get off my property or I'm calling the cops," Audra asserts.
"You can't keep us from our children," Helen growls.
"Actually we can," Grey responds.
"Adam call the police," Audra says.
"We're leaving but we'll get our children," Glen replies and they leave. If they could have slammed the sliding glass door they would have.
"Drew lock the basement door in case they get any ideas about coming back. I'm going to call the cops anyway and report it," Audra tells us and the adults go back upstairs.
Clare is shaking again and hides her head on my chest. All I can do is hold her tight and remind her that I will never let her parents get her again. Anyone that hadn't heard her speak before is looking at her both stunned and happy.
"I want to go home, there must be…" Jake is saying when Clare gets out of my arms and runs to him shaking her head rapidly at the thought of him going home. "If they killed Randall in the house then there's evidence and they can be arrested," Jake clarifies as I get up and walk over to Clare. She's so agitated I'm worried she's going to have a panic attack.
"Nnnn…" Clare tries but it's still hard for her to get words out. Owen hands her his phone so she can type.
If you go home I'll never see you again. She types rapidly with desperate tears in her eyes.
"The cops will investigate but Clare's right we need to keep both of you away from your parents," Owen says.
"I'm not going, I wouldn't do that and definitely wouldn't go back to the house alone but I just want to go find evidence and have them arrested. I want to be done with them for good, I'm ashamed to even call them my parents. I'm not really sure how they kept from killing us years ago if they would kill Randall to stay together and we've always just sort of been in the way. Thinking back on all the things they ever did or said, the way they treated you, so much of it seems to be just to protect themselves and nothing was for our benefit," Jake sighs hugging his sister as calms down a little.
"You guys can stay with us until you get a place of your own or figure out where you are going to stay. Neither of you should go back to that house with your parents there, at least not without an army of cops," I comment.
"Yeah I know I just want them gone, I never want to see either of them again," Jake remarks.
Now that she's sure Jake isn't going home Clare relaxes just slightly and I take her hand so we can sit down again. For a while we just sit there in relative silence, every so often someone will say something under their breath or get up to use the washroom or something. The silence is only broken when Grey and Audra come downstairs.
"Jake you've been granted emergency custody of Clare and she's been removed from your parent's custody and the house. We are working at getting you permanent custody so that your parents can never get her again. Your paperwork has been filed and you can move out on your own and never go back but because of Clare's selective mutism and her history of psychiatric care they might try to have her declared incompetent or mentally unfit. Your parents are being charged with suspicion of murder and will be formally charged tomorrow morning and taken to the station for questioning. They can only be held for so long on suspicion and hearsay but they will be held and during that time Jake and Clare you will be escorted to the house to pack up as much you can. I know you can both stay at Fitz and Bianca's apartment and Audra and Omar have offered for you to stay here as well until we can find you a suitable apartment. Jake I'll need to speak with you a moment," Grey tells him.
"I think you should sleep at Fitz's place tonight. I'll stay here, we'll both be safe," Jake tells Clare and she nods.
"It's going to be okay, you and Jake are going to be safe," I smile at Clare when Jake has gone upstairs with the lawyer and Mrs. Torres.
She smiles and puts her arms around my neck joining our lips for a tender kiss.
(CLARE)
"You need to sleep. Your parents have been arrested you're going to be safe," Fitz tries to assure me.
"Ss…still worried," I say quietly. When I first spoke it was difficult, the whole act of speaking. I'd barely opened my mouth in eleven years and hadn't made a sound, not even when I was alone. Getting a sound to come from my vocal chords to my tongue and through my lips was hard enough, but I practically had to push the words from my tongue. It was using muscles that hadn't been used in years, it was hard to form words I almost didn't remember how. I still have trouble getting the words out, making them form and sound right but it feels good to talk again.
"Jake is fine he's at the Torres house and if anything happens they'll call. Get some sleep, tomorrow you'll be going to that house for the last time. You have to sleep, tomorrow will probably be a very long day. The cops will be at your house looking for evidence of murder and you'll need to pack all that you want to take," Fitz insists as he begins stroking my back softly. Fitz continues talking, not about my parents but about all the things we'll do together in the coming months. Things just the two of us will do and things we'll do as a group. I begin to picture these things, I stop fretting over my parents and eventually fall asleep. We wake up to Fitz's phone ringing and he answers it.
"Yeah?...Okay we'll meet you there," he yawns and hangs up. "Your parents have been arrested and are at the station. Audra, Omar and the Torres boys are taking Jake to your house to pack up. The three of us can meet them there."
I nod and get of bed. Fitz gets up and goes out to make sure Bianca is awake and knows what's going on. When he comes back in the room I'm getting dressed. Once the three of us are ready we leave for my house and I hope I never have to see this place again after today. Jake and the Torres family are already here and we go into the house together.
It feels very odd to be back here now that the secret is out, and it doesn't help that there are police everywhere but mostly in our parent's room. They're spraying the walls and furniture with something. Some furniture has been moved and when they move the nightstand they find a stain on the wall and immediately begin swabbing it with something.
"Here's some boxes, pack what you want to take. We'll help you both," Audra says.
I take a box and go into my room, Fitz and Adam come in with me to help me pack. I mostly nod yes or no when they point to things wondering if they should be packed. I take clothes and my books, some pictures but nothing with my parents. Drew and Bianca help Jake and we get packed pretty quickly. As we're leaving I see that the door to our parent's room is closed and it seems to be very dark in there.
"Why don't you all come back to the house for lunch," Omar suggests as we're leaving.
"Yeah good idea I'm hungry," Fitz comments as we set the stuff in his car.
Adam rides with us this time and we all go back to the Torres house. Audra orders us pizza as a late lunch/early dinner.
Are Mom and Dad in jail? I type on my phone and show it to Jake while we wait for the pizza.
"They're being questioned right now but they'll need evidence before they can be arrested," Jake says.
Adam puts on the TV and we wait for the pizza. Audra and Omar bring the pizza down and they have the same sort of look on their face that makes me think something happened.
"What's wrong?" Fitz asks before I can say anything.
"Nothing is wrong exactly, Glen and Helen have both been formally charged with murder. They found sufficient blood evidence in your parent's room to prove a murder happened. On Monday Grey will come to get a DNA sample from you so it can be typed against the blood and that way they can prove the blood belonged to your biological father. They are still being questioned but they have been placed under arrest and won't have a bail arraignment until at least Monday. Jake is welcome to stay here again and Daisy will be over tomorrow to have you look at apartments."
"Thanks," Jake smiles. Audra and Omar set down the pizzas and they go upstairs.
Are you moving into your own apartment?
"I'm looking at apartments for the two of us to move into together. Now that Mom and Dad have been arrested Grey said the judge would grant me permanent custody. We'll have our own apartment and she's helping me find a permanent job. Audra and Omar have filed to be our sponsors, basically means they'll look in on us and we get some money from the government but I'll still need a job."
"Good," I smile and the word comes out strong and clear on the first try. Everyone else smiles and we start eating the pizza.
I feel as though an immense weight has been lifted from me. This secret that I've been holding since I was four years old, fractured memories that gave me nightmares and made me fearful of my parent's room, it's all in the open now. It's not my secret to hold anymore, it's not holding me down or holding me back. My parents can't get me anymore and I can speak. I have a voice now and I will no longer be silenced.
Look I didn't end on a cliffhanger at all let alone a really terrible one. There are one or two more chapters left in this story. There's an update next Sunday which will jump ahead just a bit to Clare and Jake moving into an apartment.