Chapter 47- Bullies

Nina arrived home from the office to find Willow curled up on the couch, staring at the wall.

"Hi Willow." She sat beside her. "Where are the kids?"

"Oh, hi. Amelia is sleeping and Wiley's playing in his room."

"What's wrong?" Nina asked.

Willow shrugged. "Just thinking about Carly and Michael. They're both very powerful. They have the Quartermaines and Sonny behind them. And they have a lot of influence. They had a lot of influence over me for the longest time. I don't know what I'll do if I lose the kids. They're everything to me."

Nina reached for her hand. "I won't let that happen. Don't forget, your mom has power and money too."

"But no one wins going against Carly," Willow said. "It shouldn't even be about Carly. This should be between Michael and me."

"But it's never just about Michael. It's always about Carly too."

Willow nodded.

"I'll call Martin tomorrow and we'll come up with a game plan," Nina said. "If Carly's fighting Michael's battles for him, then I'll fight yours too!"

GHGHGH

"How are you feeling?" Carly asked Josslyn when they got home.

"I don't know," Josslyn said. "I'm ticked. I'm hurt. I feel used."

Carly hugged her. "Dex hurt you."

Josslyn started crying. "But maybe this is what I deserve after cheating on Cam."

"We talked about that. That wasn't your fault."

"And I don't know what to think about Esme," Joss said. "She was downright awful to us. She acted guilty."

Carly nodded. "She did. You still have the right to hate her. Look at Nelle. She was abused too. That doesn't give her the right to hurt people."

"I just wonder if Cam would take me back. Did you hear that he's transferring back to PCU?"

"That's great news," Carly said. "Well, he better take you back. You did nothing wrong. But there's other guys out there too."

"I guess I have a lot to think about."

Ring. Ring.

"Hello?" Carly said, pressing her phone to her ear.

"Hey Carly, it's Sonny. How was the trial?"

"Exhausting. Shocking."

"What happened?" Sonny asked.

"Esme got community service and court-ordered therapy as her punishment," Carly said.

"You're kidding," Sonny said.

"Joss and I don't know what to think. Esme revealed on the stand that Ryan was sexually abusing her."

"What?"

"At first we didn't believe her," Carly said. "Why would we? She's always cried victim. But then they brought in new evidence that proved she was telling the truth with the rest of her testimony."

"What evidence?"

"Video footage showing that Dex was behind drugging Trina and filming Cameron and Joss," Carly said. "He was blackmailing Esme, but Esme couldn't go through with it all. At least that's what Esme claimed."

There was a long pause before he responded, "Dex?"

"We're shocked too," Carly said. "Josslyn is really hurt. There's a warrant out for Dex's arrest but he is MIA after stabbing Felicia."

"I think I might owe Esme an apology then."

"Why?" Carly asked.

"Business."

Carly sighed. "Okay. How's Donna?"

"Not good. I had to pick her and Avery up from school early."

"Why?"

"They locked Scout in the janitor's closet and the school couldn't find her for over an hour."

"What?" Carly asked. "Are they sure it was Donna and Avery?"

"I wondered that too," Sonny said. "It doesn't make sense. They're good kids. But the principal showed it to me on the surveillance camera."

GHGHGH

"Scout, baby?" Sam knocked on her bedroom door. "Dinner's ready. Do you feel like coming down?" She walked in to find Scout lying on her bed on her side, staring at the wall.

Scout shook her head.

Sam climbed in beside her and wrapped her arms around her. "Are you ready to talk about it?"

She shrugged.

"Maybe if I ask you questions and you can answer?" Sam suggested.

"I guess."

"Did Avery and Donna force you to go into the janitor's closet?" Sam asked. "Or did they lure you in? How did they get you in there?"

"They said Wiley was stuck in there and he needed our help," Scout said. "When we got there, Donna opened the door and Avery pushed me in. Then they said I took Wiley's lunch box and I had to stay in there until I told the truth. But I didn't, Mommy, I didn't."

"It's okay, it's okay, I believe you." Sam held her close. "Even if you did, that's an extreme reaction though. And it sounds a little too familiar. What happened next?"

"I think they left because I couldn't hear anything. I called out for help, but it took a long, long time until Mr. Barrie found me. It was dark in there and I was scared."

"I'm so sorry, baby. I'm going to talk to Sonny and Carly about this."

GHGHGH

Robin, Emma, and Esme arrived at the hospital to find Maxie and Cody outside of Felicia's room.

Maxie smiled at Esme.

"You're hurting my mother…."

"I don't know how she could ever want you when your monster father forced you onto her!"

"…your father raped my mother and you were the result!"

"It's not my blood, Mac… It's Mom's… Dex Heller stabbed her…."

"It's my fault she got stabbed. She's gonna die because of me. I don't want to lose her…."

Esme's eyes burned and her throat tightened. She turned and jumped back onto the elevator.

"I—I don't know how to fix this," Maxie said. "The way she looked at me…."

"Esme! I'll go find her," Cody offered and took the second elevator.

Mac stepped out of the room.

"How is she?" Robin asked.

"All things considering, not too bad," Mac said. "Finn said the wound isn't deep and it didn't hit any arteries or organs. She's asking about Esme. She's not here…. Was she sentenced?"

"She only has to do community service and the court has ordered her to go to therapy," Robin explained."

"Oh, that's great news," Mac said. "But where is she?"

Maxie frowned. "She left. Because of me…."

"Because of you?" Mac asked.

"None of you were there," Maxie said. "But I'm the reason Esme had that breakdown. I pushed her right into it. The things I said to her… they were awful. But I didn't realize… I didn't know everything."

"It's okay, Cody will find her," Robin said.

"She's been through a lot," Mac said. "Maxie, why don't you go see your mom next?"

Maxie nodded and headed in.

Felicia lifted her head a little. "Maxie?"

"Hey, Mom." She sat on the chair and held her hand. "How are you feeling?"

"The pain meds are kicking in. Maxie… did you get the flash drive there in time?"

"Yeah," Maxie said. "They played it right away. The judge declared Esme guilty for what she did to Ava. And guilty for aiding and abetting Dex with the rest."

Felicia's breathing sped up and she grabbed her stomach. "What? No… she's not… did they take her to prison?"

"No! Sorry, Mom, I should've started with that. The judge sympathized with Esme. She's not going to prison. She just has to do community service and the judge mandated therapy for her."

Felicia sighed in relief. "Thank God."

Maxie nodded. "It's concerning though…. Esme said she'd rather go to prison than go to therapy."

"It's hard for her to talk about things…. Is she here?"

"Well, she did come here with Robin and Emma," Maxie said. "But when she saw me, she bolted. Cody went after her."

Felicia squeezed her eyes shut. "Maxie, we need to discuss what happened at the courthouse today."

"Yeah, I know."

"I'm very grateful that you found me and were able to get the flash drive to the courtroom in time to help your sister," Felicia said. "But how could you verbally abuse Esme like that and push her into a nervous breakdown? You knew she was about to testify. She never did anything to you. Telling her that Ryan forced her onto me and that you don't know how I could ever want her? Maxie, you don't understand what I went through after Ryan raped me. I didn't want to continue on. I was having breakdowns and I didn't want you girls to see me like that. I thought you were better off without me. But when I found out I was pregnant, it gave me hope and purpose. My baby didn't have anyone else but me, so I knew I had to be strong. But not only that, my baby growing inside me made me remember when I carried you and Georgie. I knew I had to keep going so I could be there for all three of you when everything was safe. Don't you ever dare say anything like that to her again. And to even plant a seed of doubt that I could ever want her, that is beyond cruel, Maxie. It is unacceptable and I won't allow you to treat your sister that way."

"I know, Mom," Maxie said. "I feel awful. I don't know how to fix this. But I really thought Esme was guilty. I didn't know what Ryan did to her or that she desperately tried to find you. Everything I heard about her… it was awful. I thought she was going to hurt you or my kids or Georgie."

"That's just it, Maxie. You didn't know. You based your feelings on what you heard about her and because you were mad at me you took it out on her. You trusted others' opinions about her, but you wouldn't trust mine. And you wouldn't even get to know her for yourself. She already had insecurities with me, so now they're probably on overdrive. Going through the trauma of a sexual assault is devastating. The shame that you feel, the hopelessness you experience…. Now imagine when it's…" Felicia choked up. "Your own… father… it's got to be an infinity times worse. And she was 15! 15 and alone! She didn't have anyone to turn to until now. She can't be hearing the flat out lie that could never want her."

"I'm sorry, Mom!" Maxie cried. "I really am. I want to fix this. I want to make it up to Esme. And to you too…."

"Okay, just be kinder to Esme. But she'll probably need some time."

"Okay, I will do that."

GHGHGH

Esme went out the front doors of the hospital and plopped down on the cold bench. She stared off, her mind moving a mile a minute.

"You okay, Esme?"

She jolted and looked up at Cameron Webber standing there.

"You—you here to berate me?" Esme asked. "Because I'm not in prison…."

"No. I'm actually on my way to an interview."

"You're not going back to Stanford?"

"I transferred back to PCU," Cam said. "I wasn't planning to until the spring, but I was summoned to testify at your trial, so I decided to just move back now. And for the record, I believe your testimony. I don't think you deserve to be in prison."

"Really? That's… kind of you."

"I never did trust Dex. It all makes sense to me," Cam said. "So, how's your mom?"

"I don't know…." She lowered her gaze and cried.

"You haven't had a chance to see her yet?" Cam asked.

"I—I left. It's all my fault."

"Why do you think it's your fault?"

"Dex attacked her, because of me. She won't want me there."

"Well, I haven't really seen you with her, except at the courthouse, so I'm maybe not the best one to make a judgement. But the way she responded during your testimony, I don't think she'd blame you for Dex attacking her. And I'm sure she would want you there. But I guess the question is, do you want to be there?"

"Honey, no, you are not hurting me. Yes, your father hurt me but that in no way is your fault. I am so glad that you are here and I looked for so long to find you too. Please hear me when I tell you that you are NOT responsible for what Ryan did. You are my child too and I love you."

Esme nodded through her tears. "I do want to be there…. And I don't want her to die."

"Then you have your answer," Cam said. "And I think it's great that you have Felicia. She'll be good for you…. I need to head to my interview now. See you around, Esme."

She smiled slightly. "See you around."

After Cameron disappeared inside, Esme took a deep breath and went into the lobby. She pressed the button for the elevator and scrambled inside but froze.

Maxie smiled a little. "Hi Esme. Are you going to see Mom?"

Esme's chest went heavy, and she tried to jump out, but the doors closed.

Maxie bit her lip. "I can ride up with you. Mom will be really happy if you go see her."

Esme stared ahead, watching the floor number rise.

"You know, maybe when things calm down a bit, we can take the kids to the park or something," Maxie suggested. "We can hang out while they play.

Esme's eyes moved her. "NO."

The elevator shook and the lights flickered. They each grabbed onto the handrails to steady themselves.

AN: Do you guys think Sam should pull Scout from her school and transfer her somewhere else or should she teach her to stand up to Donna and Avery and not run from the situation?