Let It Out
"She's fine." Thea nodded as Sam looked across at her.
"She doesn't look fine." Sam said, "Come on, Jude is annoyingly always the first person to arrive for Christmas. She loves giving her presents to people." Sam said, "She's not acting like herself."
"She's just not feeling well." Thea said.
"She didn't go home last night, did she?" Sam nodded. She wasn't stupid. She'd taken notice of how Jude was acting, especially when she first came into the house earlier. And she could see Thea constantly checking on her, whispering in the corner with Dominic every now and then. She knew something was wrong. Perhaps very wrong.
"Sam, what the hell do you care? Just… here… have another glass of wine and let it go over your head, ok?" Thea nodded.
"No, she is acting strange and there's obviously a reason." Sam said, "And you know the reason, I can see it on your face." She pointed as Thea shook her head, "So what happened? What's going on?"
"Nothing is going on." Thea said, "Jude was out last night and she came straight here. It happens. She's not feeling good and she's trying to push through it because she doesn't want to be rude." She said. She hated being in this position where she had to lie to her family, but her sister's confidentiality was more important to her right now. She was still having a hard time believing it herself.
"You're a big fat liar." Sam shook her head, pouring herself another glass of wine.
"Who is a big fat liar?" Punk asked, walking into the kitchen.
"Your daughter." Sam said.
"Which one?" Punk chuckled as Thea rolled her eyes.
"This one." Sam pointed to Thea, "Aren't you supposed to be a doctor?" Sam questioned as Thea screwed her face up, turning to Dominic, not sure how Sam's comment was relating to anything they were talking about.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Thea shook her head.
"I don't quite know." Sam admitted as Punk rolled his eyes.
"Maybe you've had too many of them." He nodded to her glass of wine.
"Maybe you've just had too little, baby." Sam patted his arm, walking back out of the kitchen as Punk widened his eyes and shook his head.
"Ok then." Punk said, "Moving on from Sam's annual drunk arguments, what's up with you two? I feel like I've barely saw you all day."
"Nothing's up." Thea shook her head.
"Why is she calling you a liar?" Punk chuckled a little, but still with some curiosity, opening up some leftovers to eat.
"She's drunk." Thea shook her head, "Hey is mom excited for Hawaii?" She asked, trying desperately just to divert the conversation, divert her mind, but Jude wasn't leaving it.
"Yeah, I think she's already packing." Punk chuckled, "She deserves it, you know? She's been working hard this past year."
"Yeah, I know." Thea nodded.
"So… do you know what happened with Jude last night?" Punk asked curiously, "It's a bit out of character for her to show up… like that." He said.
"She was just at a party." Thea said. She could barely bring herself to say it. To not be able to tell someone that her sister needed help was torture. She felt stuck between shock and not knowing what to do.
"She seems a little better now." Punk nodded to himself. Of course he was oblivious. He just thought his daughter maybe had too much to drink at a party last night and was feeling the effects of it this morning. Never would his mind have went elsewhere.
"Yeah." Thea just nodded, turning to Dominic who just sighed, "I uh… I might see if she wants to stay with us tonight." She said, "Where is James?"
"Cassie is playing with him." Punk nodded, "Are you guys gonna come in or stay out here all night?" He asked them.
"I suppose we have to come in." Thea nodded, heading through to the living room where she saw Jude sitting with Sean, acting fairly normal.
"Thea, you're up for charades." Dean nodded, "Go give us one of your finest performances."
"I think I'll bow out of this one." Thea nodded.
"No, go on." Dean said.
"I'm fine." Thea said.
"Go on." Sam encouraged.
"I don't want to play, alright?!" Thea said aggressively as Punk and AJ both turned to her.
"Thea." AJ shook her head, "Calm down."
"You know what… I uh… I'm gonna go feed James." Thea nodded, walking over and picking James up from Cassie.
"He's fine." Cassie said.
"Yeah well I'm his mom." Thea said, lifting James up into her arms, standing in the centre of the living room as they all watched her, "What are you all looking at?" Thea spat.
"Thea, what is wrong with you?" AJ sat up, shaking her head with confusion.
"Nothing is wrong." Thea said, turning to Jude who sat quietly, "Nothing." She shook her head, leaving the living room and going upstairs with James.
"What the hell was that about?" AJ turned to Punk who shook his head with confusion.
"What's up with her?" Sean asked Jude who just shook her head slowly.
"I don't know." Jude said.
"She's been acting weird since I got in." Sean noticed.
"She's just being Thea." Jude said in a trance, losing her train of thought every now and then as she got flashbacks of waking up this morning, her whole body freezing every time she thought about it, desperately trying to block it out and forget about it.
"Why don't you go check on her?" Sean asked.
"Who?" Jude turned to him.
"Thea." Sean said as Jude nodded to herself.
"Y-Yeah… yeah, ok." Jude nodded, standing up from the couch and leaving the living room.
She headed upstairs, checking her parent's bedroom only to find it empty. She then checked all the other rooms and realised her sister was gone.
"T!" Dominic walked into their house later on that night, putting down the gifts and bags he'd come home with from AJ and Punks house. He knew he'd have to make a few trips with how much gifts James had gotten.
"Thea!" Dominic called, walking through the house and towards the kitchen where he saw Thea sitting at the back door on the step, smoke blowing away in the dark air, "Busted." He smiled as Thea turned around.
"God, I don't even care." Thea shook her head, continuing to smoke her cigarette, "It was either this, or four bottles of wine on the way home."
"Yeah, thanks for leaving me to walk home with all the gifts." Dominic said, joining her on the step.
"I'm sorry." Thea sighed, placing her hand on his leg, "I just couldn't stay in that house a minute longer."
"Yeah, I figured." Dominic said, "Your parents were concerned. I had to tell them it was still kinda tense between you and Jude, from your fight a few days ago. I think they bought it but your dad was starting to look pissed. That's' when I obviously decided to come home." He said.
"When they find out about this my dad's gonna end up in prison again." Thea groaned, "For murder this time." She shook her head, "Maybe my mom will go with him too."
"That's not gonna be the case." Dominic said as Thea sighed, rubbing her forehead, "Now I'm hoping that you took our son home? I didn't forget him under a pile of wrapping somewhere in your parents' house did I?" He said as Thea smiled.
"He's in his crib." Thea smiled as Dominic nodded, "Dominic I don't know what I'm gonna do." She said, "What if it was that guy? Jeremy?" She shook her head.
"Jude said it was a different house. And I mean… it sounds to me like whoever it was, she didn't even know." Dominic said.
"All she remembers is waking up this morning. It could definitely be someone she knows." Thea said, "How was she when I left? Still acting like nothing had happened?"
"Pretty much." Dominic nodded, "Sam got progressively more drunk so your dad put her out."
"Well, it is Christmas after all." Thea said, "Happens every year." She nodded, "I just… I can't wrap my head around any of this. I mean… you hear about things like this and it's… it's bad enough, and you feel for those people who go through that sort of attack… but you don't really think it happens to anyone you know." She shook her head.
"Yeah, I know." Dominic sighed, "When you left I was sort of sitting thinking about it and I remembered you saying about the sexual assaults that were happening to girls at the institute." He said as Thea turned to him.
"Oh my God…" Thea realised, "I didn't even… I didn't even think about that." She shook her head, "Oh my God, you think it's the same person who's doing it?"
"Either that or it's a massive coincidence." Dominic said, "But if it is, this guy needs to be stopped." He shook his head.
"She doesn't want anyone to know." Thea said, "And I know my sister, she'll do everything to make sure no one finds out about this. I'm scared she just ignores it all together and pretends it never happened-"
"I don't think she'll be able to do that." Dominic said, "She needs to tell someone… or maybe we just go handle it ourselves."
"No… no, that is not our place. She was raped. I'm not going to take that information anywhere. That's up to her." Thea shook her head.
"I know that, but the more she ignores it, the tougher it'll get." Dominic said.
"I'll talk to her. I'll make sure that she knows she can go to the police in confidence. I think we just need to give her a day or two. She's… I mean she's not even registering what happened to her yet and I don't blame her. I have no idea how I'd react to what's happened to her." Thea shook her head, "I just… I feel guilty because I knew there was something weird about that guy-"
"Yeah and you told him off-"
"What if that provoked him?" Thea asked.
"Thea, you can't put blame on yourself for this. I'm not gonna let you do that." Dominic said.
"I'm her big sister." Thea shook her head, "I'm… I'm supposed to look after them." She sighed.
"You can't put this on your shoulders." Dominic said, "We're gonna be there for her. I know you wish you could do something to prevent it but what we gotta do is now be there for her now. Support her and assure with anything she needs." He said as Thea nodded, "And make sure she knows she's safe and she's not alone."
"Yeah." Thea nodded, "I just can't get it out of my mind." She shook her head, hearing a knock at their front door, "I'll get it." She said, putting her cigarette out, "It's probably gonna be my suspicious dad." She shook her head, getting up from the back step and walking back through the kitchen and hallway.
She made it to the front door, opening it up and seeing Jude standing. She had nothing with her, no bag, no phone or purse. Just the clothes on her back, which were actually Cassie's.
"Hey." Thea said, relieved to see her.
"Hi." Jude said, "Could I… stay here tonight?" She asked. She was finding it difficult to confront what happened to her, but what she did know was that she was frightened. The fact she didn't know what someone had done to her whilst she had been drugged was more frightening than anything.
"Of course you can." Thea nodded as Jude walked into the house, closing the door behind her as Thea watched her.
Jude looked at her sister, not knowing what to say next, not having anything to say. Thea looked back, watching her sister's eyes well with tears, being able to feel her pain just by looking at her.
"Come here." Thea sighed, wrapping her arms around her as Jude hugged her tightly, crying into her shoulder, the loudest she'd cried all day. The more time went by, the more it was sinking in. The more it was becoming real.
"I know." Thea held her tightly, "Just let it out." She nodded, tears in her own eyes as she did the only thing she could do for her sister right now. Be there.