Chapter 3

Dean sat in a chair at Alex's beside. Jerry and Theresa had left to talk to Alex's doctor. Justin, Max, and Harper had gone to get food, leaving just Alex and Dean. He didn't want to upset her further or get her worked up, but there were a million thoughts running through his mind and he needed answers.

"I know you said you didn't want to talk about it, but you and I have to. We haven't had sex so please explain to me why you were taking a pregnancy test." Dean said. He was trying to be calm, but his mind was jumping to conclusions.

"Dean, please don't make me do this." Alex pleaded, her voice cracking mid-sentence.

"I need to know what's going on." Dean's voice was stern as he searched his girlfriend's eyes for guilt. He found guilt, but he mostly found hurt and fear.

Alex hesitated. "Do you remember your cousin's party when we got into the fight?"

"Yes." Dean nodded. He couldn't even remember how the fight started, but he recalled it getting heated and him leaving her at the party. Did she hook up with someone for revenge?

"T-things are kind of blurry from there…" She began as tears welled in her eyes. "I didn't drink anything but soda, but I…"

Dean waited for her to continue, but she remained silent; fighting a battle with her mind. His heart began to pound in his chest. He didn't like where this story was going. "But what?"

"I remember h-his hands all over me and…I couldn't do anything to stop it." The barrier had been broken; tears erupted from her eyes.

Dean swore his heart stopped. His mind had come up with a million different scenarios as to why Alex had taken a pregnancy test, yet never had this crossed his mind. He was suddenly wishing she had cheated on him.

"I…I was hoping it was just a nightmare, but I woke up in the middle of the night and I was still in the house and I was bleeding and…felt awful. He…he was gone after that…" Alex's voice trailed off as tears streamed down her pale cheeks. She took interest in her trembling hands. She couldn't meet Dean's eyes; she feared she would find disgust in them.

"Who is he?" Dean asked. He felt like he was trapped in some kind of nightmare right now.

Alex chewed on her bottom lip nervously. "M-Mason."

Dean clenched his fists and his jaw tightened. "Mason raped you?"

A sob escaped Alex's lips as she nodded her head. Dean's heart shattered at the sight of his sobbing girlfriend. In the year they were dating and nearly two years that he's known her he had only seen he cry a handful of times and never like this. He had a million questions, but he knew that's not what Alex needed right now. He moved to sit on the edge of her bed and gently pulled her into his arms. She buried her head in his chest soaking his shirt as sobs racked her weak body. He held her close, tracing soothing circles on her back. Guilt was beginning to swim in his stomach. He left her at that party. He left her alone and allowed that to happen to her. She was hurting because of him.

Her sobs quieted after several minutes. Dean softly kissed the top of her head. "Have you told anyone?"

She shook her head against his chest. It pained him that she was dealing with this on her own for the past two months. He only assumed this is what led to her dangerous eating habits. He should have pressed harder to find out what was going on with her. She had started acting strange after that night and after that was when her clothes became loser, the mood swings had started, and she had excuses for missing meals. Looking back, it all made complete sense, yet somehow he had missed all the signs until now.

"And you're not pregnant?" He asked.

She shook her head again before she lifted her head off his chest. "I took emergency contraceptive the next morning, but I never got my period and I was freaking out that I was so that's why I took the test. Of course the results were unclear so I went to Planned Parenthood to get tested for that and STDs, but everything came back negative."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?"

"Because I'm scared and disgusted and I wanted to just forget. I was afraid of what you would say; that you would be disgusted by me…" Her voice cracked as more tears stung her eye lids.

"Alex…" Dean breathed as his hand reached up to push her curls behind her ear. He then rested his hand on her cheek, his thumb gently brushing away her tears. "I'm not going anywhere. I love you and nothing is going to change that."

Alex nodded against his hand. She closed her eyes as he leaned in and captured her lips in a kiss. Dean remained with his forehead against Alex's after the kiss ended. "We're going to get you through this."

Alex flinched as the door clicked open and Dean turned his head towards the door. Theresa and Jerry entered the room both appearing exhausted. Theresa frowned when she noticed Alex's puffy eyes and dampened cheeks. "How are you doing, mija?"

"I'm okay." She whispered.

"Someone will be here in the next hour to transfer you to the psych floor." Theresa said.

"I want to go home." Alex told her mother.

Theresa smiled sadly as she walked to her daughter's side and placed a hand over Alex's hand. She noticed how cold her skin felt. "I know, mija, but you're very sick and you may have to stay here for some time."

"There's nothing wrong with me!" Alex shook her head. She couldn't stay here. They were going to take away her power. They would strip her of her control; the only control she felt she had left anymore.

"Alex, they've diagnosed you with Anorexia." Jerry spoke up softly. "You're starving yourself and you're very malnourished and dehydrated. You're anemic, it's starting to affect your heart. Your body collapsed because it can't handle the damage anymore. If you don't stop your organs will begin to shut down."

Alex remained silent.

"Sweetheart, why are you starving yourself? You're beautiful." Theresa squeezed her daughter's hand gently.

"Tell them what you told me." Dean said softly with an encouraging nod.

More tears sprang to Alex's frantic eyes as she shook her head again. "No, I can't."

"You've kept it a secret too long. You have to tell them." Dean's voice was soothing as he took Alex's free hand and intertwined their fingers. "It's okay."

"You can tell us anything, Alex." Jerry encouraged. His stomach was in knots. He didn't know how many secrets he could learn in one day.

Her eyes darted around the room. Her breathing hitched as her heart pounded in her chest. "I…I was…"

Dean saw her struggling for words. He reached up to brush a strand curl out of her smooth face. He had a feeling she had never actually admitted what had happened to her. "Hey, it's okay. You can say it."

Jerry and Theresa exchanged worried glances. They had just found out their daughter was starving herself, what more secrets could she possibly be hiding?

"I…was raped." Alex choked out. Her bottom lip quivered before the tears erupted from her pained eyes. Dean wrapped his arms around her again and pressed a kiss to her hairline. He wished there was something he could do to take away her pain.

Theresa gasped at her daughter's words, bringing a hand up to her dropped jaw. Her heart physically ached as she watched her daughter cry into Dean's shoulder. She felt like a failure. Her job as a mother was to protect her children and she had failed. Not only did she fail to notice her daughter was starving herself, but she failed to notice how badly she was hurting.

Jerry stood motionless. Nausea bubbled in his stomach as he tried to process his daughter's words. His jaw clenched and he tightened his fists by his side. Somebody had hurt his daughter; violated her in the worst way possible and they needed to pay. "Who did this to you?"

Alex kept her eyes glued to her trembling hands; refusing to meet the eyes of her parents. "M-Mason."

"I'm going to kill him." Jerry growled through gritted teeth.

Alex tensed in Dean's arms. Theresa noticed her daughter's increased fear at Jerry's reaction. "Jerry, you're scaring her."

"I'm sorry." His voice softened as he looked at his broken daughter. He hated himself right now. She had been suffering in more than one way and he continuously fought with her, failing to see that there was anything wrong.

"When did this happen?" Theresa asked. Was this the reason her daughter was starving herself? Was this what caused her to fall apart?

Alex hesitated and look up at Dean. This was all too much. She had kept this a secret for two months and now she was finding herself repeating it over and over. Dean pressed another kiss to her forehead and gently stroked her arm. "It's okay. You can tell them. Nobody is going anywhere."

She swallowed thickly and inhaled deeply. She finally looked up to her mother. "Two months ago…at a party. I only drank soda and things got blurry. I don't remember how, but I ended up in a bedroom and…h-he was there and I couldn't…I couldn't move."

Theresa closed her eyes as she brought a hand up to her forehead. "He drugged you?"

"I think. I didn't drink. I…I don't drink, I've never touched alcohol, I swear. But there's stuff I don't remember and then I ended up in the bedroom and I saw him and I wanted to scream or run or something, but I couldn't do anything." Sobs erupted from the trembling brunette once again as she recalled the worst night of her life.

Jerry felt physically ill by his daughter's words. The sight of her sobbing was more than he could handle. He had never seen her so broken. He didn't know how to solve this problem. When she was little and scraped her knee on the sidewalk, he would kiss it and put a band aid on it. When she was home sick, he would stay home watching her favorite movies. When she had a fight with Harper or an issue at school, he would take her out for pancakes. Even when she had her heart broken, he was able to cheer her up by buying her favorite ice cream. Somehow he didn't think watching movies or eating ice cream was going to help her this time. He wasn't sure there was solution to this problem.

The room was silent with the exception of Alex's cries for a brief moment. Nobody knew what to do or say. Alex wiped her at eyes, glanced up at Dean, and then looked back and forth between her mother and father. "I'm sorry. I can't…I can't even remember leaving my drink anywhere. I'm not…I didn't…"

"Alex, you do not need to apologize for anything. This is not your fault in any way." Theresa's voice was thick with sincerity as she looked into her daughter's tear filled eyes. "Have you been checked or tested?"

"I got tested for pregnancy and STDs after the pregnancy test came back unclear." Alex said. "This is why I took a pregnancy test."

Jerry's heart sank into his stomach. He hated himself for yelling at her. He only assumed it was a careless mistake; he never considered any other possibilities for a second. And yet she was completely blameless. "Everything was negative?"

Alex nodded. "Yes."

"It's good you were tested, but I think you also need to get checked."

Alex's breathing hitched. "No. Please."

"Alex, something could be wrong and…

"It happened two months ago! I'm fine!" Alex shouted frantically. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She didn't want anyone to touch her; the thought of a doctor examining her made her nauseous.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." Dean met Alex's eyes as he squeezed her hand gently. He could see her getting worked up. "Nobody is going to hurt you. It's a good idea to have a doctor look at you to make sure there's nothing wrong. But why don't we just tell the doctor first and see what they say?"

Alex nodded reluctantly, too exhausted to put up a fight. "Okay."

Thanks for reading! Another big secret revealed. Hope you enjoyed. Review!