1 week Later:
Bayley sat silently at the kitchen island, pushing the eggs around on her plate, not having actually taken a bite of them yet. She'd gone to the doctors a few days ago, the doctor confirming yet another nightmare; that she was, indeed, pregnant. The bags under her eyes were all the proof anybody needed to know she wasn't sleeping again, and struggling once more to eat. The eating was a control thing, as she'd learned in therapy, but it didn't make it any less unhealthy. Just the thought of eating made her want to gag at the moment, sending a wave of anxiety coursing through her veins.
Her mind wandered, wondering what she was going to do now….now that it was real. She didn't want this baby. She couldn't keep it. She knew that much. It was already destroying her.
"Bay? Honey, you haven't eaten a single bite of breakfast sweetheart. You need to eat," reminded Sasha, entering the kitchen, having just gotten dressed for the day. Bayley shook her head, pushing the plate away from her. "I'm not hungry," she muttered, getting up and heading towards her bedroom. Charlotte saw her, calling out to her, but she ignored it, shutting the door behind her as she reached her room.
"She didn't eat breakfast," muttered Sasha, starting to clean up as Charlotte and Becky joined her in the kitchen. "Or dinner last night, or lunch yesterday... She's back to square freaking one. Not eating, not sleeping, not talking. She skipped both of her therapy sessions this week, refusing to go," said Sasha, trying to keep busy as her mind tried to figure out how to help Bayley. She had made so much progress. She had come so far in the last 2 months. This couldn't undo all of that progress. It just couldn't!
Becky sighed, wrapping her arms around Sasha and pulling her away from the dishwasher she was trying to load. "She's gonna be okay, alright? She got through this before, she'll get through it again. It's okay. She's gonna be okay," assured Becky, forcing Sasha to take a seat. Sasha just shook her head, running her hand through her hair.
"Steph and Hunter are stopping by this afternoon. Bayley's going to have to tell them about the pregnancy. I don't even know what she wants to do…" Sasha continued to fret, beginning to pace around the kitchen. "God, I can't even get her to talk to me. She's just a….zombie, again! Ugh!"
Sasha grabbed a glass from the sink, throwing it in a fit of anger across the room, flinching as it hit the wall and shattered into pieces before sinking to her knees, sobbing. Becky and Charlotte immediately reacted, Charlotte pulling her into her arms even as Sasha began shoving her away, her fists hitting her as she tried to break free.
"Sasha," said Charlotte softly, holding her wrists in her hands, trying to get her to make eye contact with her.
"It's not fair! IT'S NOT FAIR! SHE DOESN'T DESERVE THIS!" she cried, breaking free from Charlotte's grip, choking on her tears as she bolted for the backdoor, Becky and Charlotte letting her go.
Becky sighed, carefully starting to pick up the pieces of glass that lied now on the kitchen floor. "Sasha held it together pretty well the first time. I don't see that being the case now, though," she muttered, Charlotte nodding in agreement as the two silently cleaned up the mess in the kitchen, opting to give both Sasha and Bayley their space for the time being.
Stephanie and Hunter rang the doorbell to Bayley's home, offering Charlotte a gentle smile as she answered the door, making way for her bosses to enter. "Welcome to the mad house," she joked, offering them both a sarcastic laugh. Steph raised her eyebrows. "What's going on?" she asked as the trio made their way to the living room. "Where is everybody?"
"Uh, well….Becky is currently checking on Bayley, who has been in her room all morning refusing to come out and Sasha is….having a rough day as well," said Charlotte, letting out a small laugh, if only to keep herself from crying.
Hunter frowned. "What's going on? What happened? I thought Bayley was doing better?" asked Hunter, concerned about what sounded like backwards progress. Charlotte shrugged. "She was," she whispered sadly, thinking about what it was that had made her revert back.
"Charlotte? What are you not telling us? What's going on?" asked Stephanie softly, Charlotte shrugging. "I can't really say. Bayley should be the one to tell you," she whispered, Steph nodding.
"Well, we came by to talk to Bayley….about the possibility of pressing charges. Dave needs to be punished for what he did to her. It's not fair that she's suffering while he's walking around without a care in the world," said Hunter, Charlotte nodding.
"I agree," she said softly. "But getting Bayley to press charges, especially right now? Good luck," she whispered, looking at Hunter. "It's not good, guys. It's not good at all. This….this is gonna destroy her, I can already tell. And it's gonna be worse than it was when the rape first happened," admitted Charlotte.
All three stopped talking when they heard footsteps entering the room, both Becky and Bayley quietly meeting them in the living room, taking a seat on the chairs currently unoccupied. Steph and Hunter could tell Bayley had been crying; her pale face and red rimmed eyes immediately giving it away. Steph offered her a gentle smile.
"Hey sweetheart," she whispered, Bayley forcing a return smile.
"Hi," she whispered softly, her voice hoarse from spending most of the day crying.
"What's going on, Bay? I thought things were getting better sweetheart?" asked Hunter, Bayley swallowing hard. "So did I," she muttered.
Hunter sighed, leaving his spot on the couch and kneeling in front of Bayley, reaching out to rub a comforting hand on her knee. "Then what happened to change that?" he asked, gently brushing a strand of hair from her eyes, tears pricking at Bayley's eyes once more, glancing at Charlotte who only offered her a gentle, reassuring smile.
"It's okay, Bayley. You can tell us anything. We're just here to help," offered Steph reassuringly.
Bayley nodded, wrapping her arms around her waist, closing her eyes as she thought about the horrible truth she was living with right now, trying to find the words to tell the two people who she looked at as a mother and father figure what was really going on.
She stayed silent, the tears now slipping unchecked down her face. She wrapped her arms around her legs, curling up into a ball as she cried. Hunter pulled her into his arms, hugging her gently as she cried.
"I know this has been really hard on you, Bayley," he whispered. "But I also know how strong you are, how strong you've been trying to fight through this, baby girl. You are so brave and so, so strong," he whispered, Bayley clutching onto him as she continued to cry.
"Just let it out, Bay," whispered Becky, knowing that Hunter and Steph were going to find out eventually.
"I can't. I can't say it!" she cried, her anxiety getting the best of her as she started crying even harder. Hunter tightened his grip, holding her close, rubbing his hand down her back as she cried.
"It's okay, Bayley. Whatever it is, we're not going anywhere, okay? You're not alone; not now and not ever," he reassured her, continuing to hold her until the crying slowly tapered off, pulling her away just enough to lift her gaze to meet his eyes, wiping at the tears still trailing her face.
"Just tell us, just let it out, okay? We'll be right here when you tell us, alright?" he offered, Bayley whimpering as she nodded, closing her eyes once more.
"I…...I… I'm…..I'm pregnant," she whispered, breaking down into sobs once more as soon as the words left her mouth.