Chapter 28: The Terrible Truth
*****Monday Morning*****
Sebastian Jaleno sat in a chair in the waiting room at the hospital. He was relieved that his daughter was going to be okay. His in-laws had come in last night to visit Jazmin, and they had already been by this morning. His daughter had promised to come home for Thanksgiving and the holidays, so they relaxed enough to head back home to Chicago. Both were convinced it was an accident. However, Sebastian had his doubts, so he wasn't taking any chances. He may be harsh, and he may be considered a tyrant by some. But he didn't care. Not when it came to his children, especially his daughter. She had always been the light of his life. Sweet and tender hearted, she was always a joy. The fact that some man had hurt her made Sebastian angrier than he had ever been.
When Joseph had caused her to fall down the stairs and miscarry, he had been angry. However, he had known that Joseph loved his daughter. He hadn't meant to hurt her but was stupid and foolish. Ultimately, unworthy of Jazmin. He could forgive Joseph, though, because he had honestly believed Joseph had been careless and not malicious. The loss of the grandchild hurt, but he had figured it was God's will. His daughter wasn't meant to be a mother so young. It was for the best. However, the marks now on his baby girl were indication of a deep malice. If this David fellow had done it, he had done it with hatred in his heart. He had meant to hurt and terrorize his daughter. That thought kept Sebastian at a boiling rage.
His son came into the waiting room. "The counselor has left. We can go in and talk to her now," Jason said.
"We should've been in there with the counselor," Sebastian said sternly.
"You know that's not how it works, Dad. Just be glad she agreed to talk to someone. It's obvious she needed to talk to someone long before today. I'm never going to forgive myself for not being there for her," Jason said.
"She is okay now, so forgiveness is yours," his dad said. They both knew it'd would've been another story if entirely if she had died. However, Sebastian was not one to dwell on the negative or hold a grudge. It's what made him a good businessman.
They walked to her room. She was sitting up and smiled at them. "I wish you guys would go home. I'm fine," she said.
"Not going to happen, sis," Jason said with a frown.
"I am not leaving until you are on the plane next to me," her father said.
"Please, don't," she said.
"Don't what? Don't be upset? Don't be worried? Too late!" her father exclaimed. "What is going on with you? No more lies! No more pretending! We know something has happened to you. We've seen the bruises, so don't try giving us the same bullshit you've been giving Eli."
Jazmin looked upset at his words and turned to her brother. He reached over and grabbed her hand. Her father moved to the other side of the bed.
"Jazzie, please talk to us. Tell us who has been hurting you. We love you, and we're worried," he said gently.
Her eyes filled with tears at his gentle tone.
"Is it that David fellow?" her father asked.
She looked shocked at his guess but shook her head. "I'm not going to tell you anything until you give me some promises. There were reasons I never told anyone what was going on," she said.
"We are your family! You should always tell us!" her father said, outraged at the insult.
Both children ignored him. Jason continued to speak in a soothing tone. "Jazmin, I thought you could tell me anything. It really hurts me that you didn't think you could come to me," he said quietly.
Her eyes reflected the guilt she felt. "No! It wasn't that at all! I know I can always tell you anything! I trust you more than anyone!" she assured him.
"Then why would you not tell me?" he asked.
"Because I knew you and Eli both would go nuts if you knew. I didn't want you to destroy your lives trying to retaliate. I was hurt. Someone hurt me terribly," she admitted. "I felt stupid for not taking steps to prevent it, but I never thought for one moment I couldn't talk to you."
"You could've called me. I would've taken care of the problem without involving your brother," her father said.
"And that's why I didn't tell you. I don't want you making some guy disappear on my behalf. I also was afraid you'd make me leave Hearst. I didn't want to leave Eli," she admitted.
"Maybe leaving this town would be the best thing, sis," Jason said
"No!" she exclaimed, upset. "I love it here! I have friends. Real friends. And I have Eli. Or I did until I ruined it with him. And the ocean. I love the ocean. Dick taught me how to surf. I don't want to leave Neptune."
"If you love it so much, why did you try to leave it permanently by swallowing a bottle of pills?" Sebastian asked pointedly.
"I wasn't thinking that. I really wasn't," she said. "I was just trying to stop feeling so awful. I tried to sleep so my mind could rest. I couldn't. I took a sleeping pill, and then it was like something came over me. I was in a frenzy. Before I knew it, I took the entire bottle. I thought, 'now I can have peace.' I wasn't thinking that I wanted to die."
"I can't believe you'd want to leave me," Jason said accusingly.
"I didn't. I don't!" she said emphatically. "I swear!"
"You know we love you, right?" Sebastian asked. "You know that we would be heartbroken without you. You are the heart of the family. We would never recover from your loss." He reached out and grabbed her other hand and kissed it.
Her eyes filled with tears. "I know, Papa," she said.
"You haven't called me Papa in a very long time," he said, smiling. "Tell your Papa who hurt you. I promise, mia cara, I will do anything you ask. I just can't bear you being in pain. I can't bear you wanting to end your suffering in such a dramatic way again."
"You won't make me leave?" she asked hopefully.
"I think it would be good for you to come home for a while. You only have a few weeks left of the semester. I'm sure we can get the doctor to write you a note. Finish your classes at home. You need to rest. I want you to see our doctor at home. You need someone to talk to, mia figlia. You have been silent too long," Sebastian said.
"I can return next semester? You promise?" Jazmin asked him.
"I promise. But on one condition. I want you to move back in with your brother," Sebastian said.
"What about Eli? He lives there. Grandmother won't like that," Jazmin said.
"He can move somewhere else," Sebastian said with a careless shrug.
"He's so mad at me right now I doubt he'll care," Jason said.
"I need you to promise me you won't go after the guy," Jazmin said. "And you will keep Eli from doing anything."
"Eli is his own man. I don't control what he does or doesn't do," Jason said.
"Promise me you'll try," she said.
"Fine. I promise to not kill the guy who hurt you or encourage Eli to," Jason said. "Now give me a name!"
"I don't want to tell the story twice," she said. "Call the Sheriff. Let him take a report while I tell the story."
"Anyone else? Your roommates? Eli?" Jason asked.
"Yes, Eli. But I'd rather you just call Veronica. She can tell Mac and Parker. I know that since they live with me they'll feel guilt they shouldn't feel over what happened. I think hearing it from me will be too upsetting. Veronica's tougher, though. She'll want to hear it firsthand," Jazmin said.
"Okay, I'll call them and see if they can get here before class," Jason said. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I'll be back in a bit."
Jazmin felt both scared and relieved. Telling what had happened to her wouldn't be easy. However, she was glad that the lies would finally be at an end.
*******The Beach House********
Keith stopped by his daughter's before going in to work. He needed to have a little chat with his troubling making little darling.
He rang the bell. Dick opened the door. "Mornin', sir. Are you here to see Ronnie?" Dick asked.
"No, I came to see you. Got some tickets you haven't paid," Keith said with a stern look on his face. He had to bite back a smile at the look of panic and alarm that came over Dick.
"What? No way! I always pay my tickets! I swear!" Dick exclaimed with wide eyed innocence.
Keith finally laughed. "Relax. I was kidding. Of course, I'm here to see my daughter," Keith said.
"Oh. Good," Dick said in relief. "Ronnie! Your dad's here!" Dick bellowed. "I gotta get to school. Later, dude."
Keith shook his head. No point in telling Dick to not call him "dude". He wasn't even aware that it was not polite.
Logan came into the living room. "Hey, Keith. She'll be right out," Logan said.
Veronica appeared a minute later. "Good morning, Dad. What brings you here so early?" she asked.
"You and I need to have a little chat, young lady," he said.
"I'll let you two have some privacy," Logan said.
"No. You should stay here. This concerns you, too," Keith said. "I know you probably heard about Madison and Lauren Sinclair getting arrested yesterday for drugs."
"Yes. I was with Mac when Lauren called," Veronica said.
"And?" Keith prompted.
"And what?" Veronica said.
"Do I need to start quoting Ricky Ricardo? You have some explaining to do!" Keith said with a frown. "Tazering Madison? Threats? Harassment? Turning my deputies into your own personal lynch mob? This is going to stop now!"
"Lynch mob? Aren't you being a tad melodramatic?" Veronica said.
"I can be melodramatic after getting yelled at for a half an hour by the Sinclairs," Keith said glaring. "Then your old pal Leo, who I'm thinking of suspending, confessed that you set certain things in motion."
"Dad-"
"Not a word, Veronica. All I want to know is who planted the drugs?" he asked.
"It wasn't me. I had nothing to do with that," Veronica said.
Keith turned to Logan and raised an eyebrow. "What? Me? I'd never lower myself to planting drugs," Logan said with a scoff. "How do you know they weren't hers?"
"Well, I don't for sure. I made her take a drug test. She tested negative for cocaine but positive for marijuana," Keith admitted. "I think that fact silenced her angry parents. I promised to drop the charges."
"Seriously?" Veronica asked in surprise.
"What do you expect, Veronica? Since my own daughter's involved to some degree, I couldn't in good conscience let it go any further," Keith said.
"Madison isn't even sorry that I lost my baby," Veronica said bitterly.
"Honey, some people never change no matter what you do. After what your own mother did, you should know that," Keith said. "Madison is who she is. There's no changing that."
Veronica glanced at Logan and then faced her dad. "Uh, Dad, about Mom. You should know that Logan tracked her down recently," Veronica revealed. "She's in Portland, and she's been sober a year."
Keith took a moment to process that and said, "Good for her. But it doesn't change anything, sweetheart. I still don't see her here being a mother to you," he said. "Sometimes you just have to accept people the way they are. No amount of wishing or wanting—or in your case—torture will change them." His phone rang. He held up a finger. "Give me a second." He answered the call. "Yes, I'll be right there. I am at Veronica's, so I'll tell her." He hung up and looked at Veronica. "That was Jason. Jazmin wants to tell her story, and she'd like you and I to be there. She doesn't want to tell it twice."
"I'll grab my things," Veronica said. "Can you drop me off on campus afterward?"
"Sure," he said. "And sweetie, lay off Madison. I don't want to hear any more about you pulling my deputies into your revenge plots. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes," she said. "But I hope you weren't serious about suspending Leo. He was just being a good friend."
"I am. If he's going to be my deputy, he is going to take his orders from me. Not my daughter. Maybe you should think about that the next time you try to involve him in your shenanigans," Keith said grimly. Keith looked at Logan.
"Hey, I don't have any relationships with your deputies that don't involve them putting handcuffs on me at one time or another," Logan said with a smirk.
"Keep it that way," Keith said.
"I'll meet you in your car," Veronica said. Her dad nodded and walked out the front door. Veronica went into the kitchen to grab her schoolbooks that she'd left on the table.
Logan followed her. "Do you want me to go with you?" he asked.
"No, go to class in case I'm late for the review," she said. "Mac's distracted and may not get good notes."
"This won't be easy for you, you know," Logan said with concern.
"I know," Veronica said with a sigh. "But she's my friend, and I want to be there for her."
"Well, I'll be here for you," Logan said. He pulled her in for a hug.
Veronica let herself lean against Logan a moment. Sometimes, she wished she and Logan could just go somewhere and stay just the two of them. Let the whole world disappear. At least for a while. She leaned up and kissed him. "I love you," she said. "I'll call you if I'm going to be very late for class."
She said goodbye and headed outside to her dad.
Logan wished he could prevent the pain he knew Jazmin's recitation would cause. He hated to think of what Jazmin went through. However, Veronica had gone through her own share of nightmares. Logan would give anything to protect her forever. One day, they'd have their happy ending; Logan would make sure of it.
******Back at the Hospital******
When Veronica and Keith walked into Jazmin's hospital room, Jason was standing on one side of the bed, and her dad was sitting in the chair on the other side.
Jazmin gave Veronica and Keith a nervous smile. Veronica went and gave her a hug. "Are you feeling better?" she asked.
"I am. Thanks. I'm really sorry for putting you and everyone through this. I don't want to die. I want you to know that. I'm not sure what I was thinking," she said with regret.
"You weren't. You were obviously traumatized over whatever's been going on. Talk to us," Veronica said. She squeezed her hand.
Jazmin looked over at her brother. "Where's Eli?" she asked.
"He's not coming because I couldn't reach him. I got a hold of Nico. He said that he and Eli were on a job and couldn't be here until lunch," Jason said.
Jazmin looked disappointed but nodded. "Okay. We'll I guess I'll just get started. I want you to know I'm sorry for not being honest," she said, looking at Veronica and then her brother.
"It's okay. I've been known to bend the truth a time or two for a good reason," Veronica admitted.
"A time or two?" her father said incredulously. Veronica glared at him and turned back to give Jazmin and encouraging look.
"Well, a few weeks ago I was on campus in the cafeteria doing homework and waiting for Eli to get off of work," Jazmin said.
"What day?" Keith asked.
"It was three Fridays ago. The day Piz flew in," Jazmin said. "I got a text message from Wallace telling me he needed to talk to me about Piz and Parker and wanted me to come by his room. Since Parker was torn between Duncan and Piz, I thought it was something to do with that and didn't think anything of it."
"We saw the text," Veronica supplied.
Jazmin nodded and continued, "When I got to his room, he wasn't there. But David was. He had the radio blaring. He told me Wallace stepped out for a minute but should be right back and invited me inside to wait. I didn't even think about it. I just stepped inside the room," Jazmin said, a hollow look in her eyes as she recalled the day. "He turned the music down slightly, but he didn't turn it off. I realize now that he had it on for a reason. He wanted noise to drown out my screams."
Veronica looked sick as her eyes met Jason's across the bed. Jason looked even worse. Veronica knew that however bad this was for her to hear, it had to be much worse for him.
Jazmin looked over at her father. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I was so stupid. He wouldn't let me leave," she said, her eyes filling with tears.
Sebastian got up from his chair, and Veronica moved to let him get to his daughter. He picked up her hand. "Don't you ever apologize to me! You have no guilt here, my dear," he said.
Jazmin gave him a grateful smile and wiped her eyes. "I tried to not panic and talked some sense in him. I kept trying to get to the door. He took my purse and blocked my way. When I finally realized his intentions were to harm me, I made a dash to the door, but he grabbed me and turned up the volume on the radio," she shared. "Then he pulled out this big hunting knife."
"Oh, God," Veronica said, sickened at the thought. She looked over at her own father, who was writing down what Jazmin said.
"He said a bunch of harsh things and threw me on the bed. I begged him to stop. He put the knife at my throat and threatened to kill me, so I quit fighting him," she said. "He raped me."
Jason knew the words were coming but hearing her say them destroyed him. He stepped away from her, unable to look at her.
Jazmin mistook his action. "I'm sorry, Jason. I tried to fight him, but he was so much stronger than me. He hit me once. That was all it took," she said, shame and guilt obvious on her face.
Her brother turned back to her. "Don't you dare apologize to me! Not ever! This is not your fault! You had every reason to trust Wallace's roommate. He did, and so did I. I never ever dreamed he was a threat to you," Jason said, holding her hand again. "I am the one who should apologize to you for not protecting you."
"I screamed for you. I screamed for Eli. For Wallace. For someone to come help me. But no one did," she admitted in a small voice.
Veronica started crying, her heart breaking as she pictured the scene—an all too familiar scene. But Veronica had been lucky. Someone had heard her screams. She had been saved—at least the second time. With Cassidy, she had both the blessing and curse of not remembering. Listening to Jazmin's tale, however, made her think for the first time that maybe ignorance really was bliss.
"I'm so sorry, sis. I am so sorry," Jason whispered, his eyes wet with his own tears.
"When it was over, I put my clothes back together. I made it easy for him by wearing a skirt that day," she said bitterly. "I asked to leave. He told me that if I said a word I wouldn't be believed 'cause there was no proof. He had worn a condom, and he hadn't hurt me. He actually believed that. He acted so casual about it like it wasn't a big deal. I realized then he was a true sociopath."
"The bastard!" Jason exclaimed. His rage and hatred for the man rose inside of him. He wasn't sure he could keep his promise to his sister. However, she knew him well. She looked at him with those eyes of hers—the eyes that had kept him in check his entire life. "You promised me. You promised," she said, knowing his internal battle. Jason couldn't give her the words, but he nodded.
"I was angry at his blasé attitude and told him that he would regret what he did. I told him that my family and Eli would kill him for hurting me," she said. "He seemed unconcerned about my dad since he was in Chicago. Then he told me that he'd kill Eli and Jason and make their bodies disappear if they came after him. He said he knew how close I was with Jason. Wallace talked a lot. He knew I wouldn't want to ruin my brother's life. And he was right."
"He let me leave, and I went home. I wanted to call you," she said to Keith. "I knew that you'd help me and that you'd put him in jail so he wouldn't hurt my brother or Eli."
"Why didn't you?" her father asked. "Why didn't you call one of us? It kills me that you said nothing to no one."
"I was afraid. I knew it would destroy Eli. He's such a fierce protector. He's like you, Papa. He'd never rest until David was punished. I love him," Jazmin said. "I didn't want him to carry that. I also knew how much it hurt Jason when Joseph hurt me. I know how much he blamed himself. I didn't want him to go through that again. Why should they suffer for my stupidity? I shouldn't have stepped into that room."
Veronica wiped her eyes and spoke up. "You had no way of knowing what was about to happen. None at all," she said. "Some people are good at fooling you. I had absolutely no suspicions of Moe, one of the campus rapists. He was so nice and sweet. I thought Mercer could be guilty, but it never occurred to me that there was two working together. And I never would've believed it was someone like Moe. He seemed so harmless. You can't always know, Jazmin. Dick's brother, Cassidy, was the last person I or anyone else would've picked to be both a rapist and a mass murderer. He was so good at pretending." Veronica recalled the night his mask had slipped. The night he'd used her own Taser on her, and the ugliness came spilling out. It was like he was a different person; one she neither knew or recognized.
"That's often the way it is with predators," Keith said. "They have two personas. One for the public and one they reveal only to their victims. Some of the worse serial killers in history were said to be the nicest guys by their neighbors and friends. No one suspected the darkness underneath."
"How did you get the bruises on you? If David only hit you once that day, how are you now covered in bruises?" Jason asked.
"I had a slight bruise on my cheek over where he hit me, but it faded after a few days," Jazmin said. "When I got home this Friday afternoon, David was waiting for me."
"He broke into your house?" Keith asked.
"No. The backdoor had been left unlocked," she admitted.
"This is why I want you to go live with your brother. He will make sure that kind of thing doesn't happen," Sebastian said.
"It's an innocent mistake," Keith said. "We can't always prevent bad things or protect our children."
"Well, encouraging them to go into the police field is one sure way to make sure they stay in danger their entire lives," Sebastian said judgmentally.
"Dad!" Jazmin said in embarrassment at her father's rebuke.
"Daughters should be kept safe and protected. Not encouraged to risk their lives in foolish pursuits," Sebastian said flatly.
"Some fathers believe that a strong, independent daughter is a good thing. They teach their daughter to think for themselves and to how to protect themselves. They know that predators can be found anywhere," Veronica said pointedly.
"Enough! Now is not the time to argue," Jason said to all of them. He looked at his sister. "Tell us what he did."
Jazmin nodded. "He was angry at me for what I had done the week before. I had run into him at the Java Hut, and my reaction to his presence wasn't lost on his friends. He said I embarrassed him and needed to be punished. He took his belt to me. 'Bad girls must be punished' he said like someone had trained him," Jazmin shared. "I bet his parents are real psychos, too."
"Why didn't you report it?" Keith asked. "Now we can at least get him on assault and breaking and entering."
"Not rape?" Jason asked.
"There's no physical evidence of a rape and weeks have passed. I doubt the DA will prosecute," Keith admitted. "I will get pictures of your bruises now, though, and issue a warrant for his arrest."
"So he's just going to get away with raping her?" Jason asked incredulously.
"I never said that," Keith said. "I will do everything I can to see him prosecuted fully. I will send a female deputy here to take the photos."
Sebastian said not a word. He had no faith in the law and was not surprised at the Sheriff's words. One way or another, the man would pay for hurting his daughter.
*******Eli and Nico********
Eli and Nico watched David's parents leave for work. They were across the street in a rental car.
"Let's go," Nico said, getting out of the car. They had decided to try the back door first, so they wouldn't be noticed by any neighbors. The backyard was surrounded by a privacy fence. It didn't take Nico long to pick the backdoor lock. Nico indicated they should take the stairs. There was a bedroom at the top of the stairs. He peeked in and saw David asleep in the bed. "Check the other rooms and make sure no one else is here," Nico whispered to Eli.
It didn't take them long to determine that the house was empty except for David. They quietly opened the bedroom door, and Nico took out his gun. Eli moved ahead, determined to be the one to get to David first. He punched him hard in the stomach. He woke up with a gasp and look of alarm.
"Make a sudden move, and you're dead," Eli said indicating Nico's gun. "Do you know who that is?"
David nodded recognizing the twins' uncle and Eli's business partner. He had spent the day at their work with Wallace when their commercial was filmed. "What do you want?" David asked angrily.
"We want answers," Eli said grimly. "We want to know what you did to Jazmin?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't seen her in a few weeks," David said sullenly.
"I don't believe you," Eli said.
David grinned. "I guess you're not as dumb as you look. To tell you the truth, the last time I saw her was about three weeks ago when she came to my room looking for Wallace. She was upset and needed a shoulder to cry on," David said with a smirk. "I was happy to supply the shoulder and offer her my comfort."
The sight of his smirk enraged Eli, and he hit David hard in the face. "Do that again and you better be prepared to shoot me 'cause I'm not going to sit back and let some dumb wetback give me a beating," David said angrily.
"Your death can be arranged," Eli said grimly.
"Back off," Nico said to Eli. He looked at David. "Did you touch Jazmin?" he asked him.
"Well, gee, sex usually involves touching," he said with a snicker.
The sight of his smug expression made Eli's vision dim. He snapped and jumped on David. Throwing punch after punch in a furious assault that left David little opportunity to retaliate. His hits were so fast and furious that David was unable to defend himself. Nico reached down and pulled Eli off him.
"Stop it! Now! Get control!" Nico ordered in a loud, stern voice. "This is not the time."
David spit some blood. "You're going to regret that," he said coldly.
"My only regret is that you're still alive," Eli said angrily.
Nico's phone rang. "It's Jason," he said. Eli looked at his own silent phone and saw he had some missed calls from Jason. "Answer it. My ringer was off. It could be about Jazmin."
Nico answered it while keeping the gun trained on David. "We're on a job. Yes, he's with me," Nico said. He looked at his watch. "Maybe by lunch." He disconnected. "We need to go. Jazmin needs you. She's ready to talk."
Eli gave David a satisfied smile. "Looks like your days are numbered. If you're dumb enough to come back to Neptune, you'll regret it," Eli said.
David watched them leave, rage filling him. The only thing he regretted was not killing Jazmin's boyfriend before she got so serious about him. Then maybe he wouldn't have had to force her. Maybe things would be different. David consoled himself with a thought. Who says things can't still be different? It's never too late to correct his mistake.
********Chapter End*********