Home > Chloe (Made Men #3)(12)

Chloe (Made Men #3)(12)
Author: Sarah Brianne

Chloe didn’t respond, continuing her silent cries.

Taking that as a yes, Elle asked a different question, “Will you tell me what happened?”

Again, no response.

Elle took a deep breath. “I come home every day and lie straight to my parents’ faces, telling them about all my friends and how I had such a great day at school. It’s a heck of a lot easier than telling them how scared I am at school to even use the girls’ bathroom.

“When the kids started getting violent, that’s when I told them I joined the soccer team. It helped explain why I was getting bruises every time I was pushed into a locker or whatever mean thing they had planned for me that day.

“My parents believe whatever lie I tell them because they haven’t figured out how to handle my father becoming paralyzed yet. My dad’s addicted to his painkillers, so it’s like he’s not even here, and my mom is working as much as she can to support us all, along with caring for Josh and now Dad. I help with whatever I can when I get home, but I mostly fade into the background. I can care for myself, and I pretend that everything is fine.”

Chloe looked up to see that some tears had fallen down Elle’s face.

“I have a feeling that whatever happened to you doesn’t compare to what happened to me behind the school that day. But I do understand what you’re going through more than anyone else probably.

“When I came over to your house yesterday, I thought your dad’s drinking might be like my dad with painkillers, but now I’m not so sure. I asked my dad to take it easy since you were coming over, and he did. His pills also don’t make him mean; they just make him non-existent.”

Chloe didn’t know what to say.

“Now that you know all my secrets, whatever you tell me about what happened to you or about what it’s like at home, I swear that I will never, ever tell anyone. I lie and pretend every day, too, and I don’t want my parents to suffer with the truth, and I definitely don’t want Cassandra or Sebastian to find out that my dad is addicted to pills. I wished every night to find someone to talk to so I know that it’s real, and now I can with you.”

So I know that it’s real … That was Chloe’s problem; she was stuck between realities, questioning if her nightmares or what they said in the papers was real.

It was as if Elle could read her thoughts.

“What everyone is saying happened to you isn’t real. The car wreck wasn’t real. No one knows what really happened to you, but now you can tell someone you can trust.”

Chloe knew, if she were going to ever tell anyone, it would be Elle. She believed her when she had said she would never tell, and they did relate to each other in many ways. She’d had no clue of the extent of Elle’s suffering, and she was glad she had told her everything.

Chloe wanted to tell her, but she was afraid to, because once she said it out loud, she couldn’t take it back. Once the words were spoken… Then it is real.

“What really happened to you, Chloe?”

Taking a deep breath, she mustered up enough courage to unzip the thin jacket she had worn to bed. Slowly, she removed the jacket and revealed the various scars that marked her arms. This was the first time she had revealed the fact that she wasn’t just marked on her face.

Elle covered her mouth in shock, having no clue Chloe had been hiding further injuries.

Wiping away the tears on her face, Chloe rested the back of her head on the wall. Then she looked up at the white ceiling, her nightmare starting to play from the beginning.

“T-The day you got beaten up was the n-night … I got my scars.”

Twelve

The Murder of Elle Buchanan

The crazy events of the weekend had come and gone, just like their last week of school. Sitting in science class, the final class of the semester, they turned in the project they had finished at Elle’s.

Chloe had an emotional breakdown that night after she had awoken from her nightmare and become vulnerable enough to reveal her dark secrets. She had ended up telling Elle everything that had happened to her that horrible night. She had also told her about her parents and what it was like for her at home. Thankfully, Chloe didn’t regret it. She and Elle were in the same boat of secrets and had nowhere to turn except each other.

She’s the only one I will ever tell.

Chloe looked up to Elle. She was strong, whereas Chloe was not. She didn’t show her fear to the world, whereas she did. Therefore, she found herself depending on Elle to survive this hell and to keep her sanity. At this point in her life, at its lowest, the most important thing to her was their friendship.

Brrring.

Quickly, all the students ran out of the classroom, eager for Christmas break. Even the teachers were scurrying to leave.

Elle and Chloe continued to stay put, waiting for the hallways to clear. They were being extra careful because, now being two, their target was bigger.

“You’re going to come and spend the night at my house during the break, right?” Elle asked.

Um …

Laughing, Elle could see what she was thinking. “Next time, we can stay up all night, watching movies. We will just pull all-nighters, so no need to sleep.”

Chloe’s lips turned up into a smile. “Okay, deal.”

“I think it should be good now.”

They both stood, gathering their things, and ventured out into the hall. Chloe followed a step behind her, and even though the hallways were pretty much cleared out, she still kept her head toward the ground. The science class was in the back of the school, so they had a good distance to go, and Chloe didn’t want to take the chance of someone mocking her face on the way out for the last time.

   
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