Chapter 80

FRANKIE'S POV
This wasn't even about how annoying sisters were and how it was a struggle to get them to shut up, this was about how badly I wanted to stuff one of Danny's D&D dice in Maddie's mouth to shush her, my head was aching badly and I was irritated but she kept on rambling away.
I couldn't help but wish sisters had off buttons like those high tech barbie dolls, I mean, they were as cute as the dolls, why not have the same features the dolls had? It would save me the stress of telling her I'm not interested in her conversation and watching her sulk the rest of the way home.
When she finally shifted her attention to Jay, I was both relieved and cautious. If you've lived with Madison Swift for as long as I have, you'd notice one thing about her that I both hated and liked, the girl didn't have filters.
Maddie was ready to blurt out whatever she was thinking without settling to think about the consequences of her actions, it might have been good in most situations but as she conversed with Jay, I wanted to give her one of her smacks.
It was obvious Jay wasn't interested in her fights, knowing Maddie, I could sense she was looking for another target as her eyes darted towards Clarence. Great, I thought, why not bully the quiet kid?
'What is your relationship with Jay Harley? It doesn't seem like he's your father after all" she slightly poked the kid to get his attention. Whatever she had in mind wasn't something Jay wanted to involve himself in, it wasn't something anyone should want to involve their selves in.
Removing my mind from Maddie's interrogation, I couldn't help but drift back to the encounter with Luke and Damian. I usually hated dwelling on things I had no control over but ever since Stacey, I had been doing more thinking than acting and it felt both strange and new.
Finding her on the bathroom floor wasn't part of the things I had checked in my to do list when we left the house in the morning but it somehow made it way into the list without my consent. The altercation was the most I had seen her talk since the brief conversation we had in the bedroom after her bath.
Stacey had looked me in the eyes and asked, 'Is it right to wish for your parent to die?" The question was odd and I wanted to ask why she would have such thoughts but I had an idea why. Unlike everyone else in the family, in both families, I knew more about the relationship Stacey had with her dad.
According to her, it was a one time mistake that evolved into a regular, traumatizing experience for her. The thing about sexual assault is that the victim had to go through so many emotionally exhausting processes before the culprit would end up punished.
Stacey had made mention of the threats of divorce her parents were dishing out already, wouldn't her reveal just be like adding petrol on an already lit fire? She didn't want to be the reason her parents would split, it usually would affect way more than we were thinking.
'He didn't just hit me, Franklin" she had whispered as tears flowed down her cheeks. It had taken over 30 minutes for her to wash up but she had finally gotten out of the bathroom and we were alone in the room. It was easy for me to believe all women had the same programming because just like Aunt Mel and my mum, Stacey would have exploded if she voice out what she was thinking about.
I had allowed her to cry for a while before I wiped her eyes and urged her to go on, 'What happened, Stace?" My voice was a mere whisper as i held her hands in mine. Seeing her cry had broken my heart but I needed to know the complete story. How else was I going to help if I was kept in the dark?
Sniffling loudly, she had continued in a hushed tone, 'He had forced himself....on...me again" she choked on the words as she clung tightly to me for the second time that night. It was at that point I drew the line, I made up my mind to tell the adults about what had been happening. A divorce wasn't looking like a bad idea anymore, it was going to be beneficial.
'You should be strong, Stace. Hold on for just a little longer, everything will be fine soon" my voice echoed in my head as Jay finally pulled over by the side of the room. We had sped past two red lights and Stace was still struggling to breathe.
'We won't make it to the hospital on time, stop somewhere, Jay!" Danny had spoken up as we clamored around in the SUV, making attempts to wake up Stacey and so far, they were all failing miserably.
Maddie had been terrified when we laid her on the pavement on a makeshift blanket of our cardigans, 'What are you doing?!" She yelled as Jay tried to open the buttons of her shirt. My brain wasn't working as fast as I wanted to and i was grateful an adult was with us.
Without looking at Maddie, he replied, 'She needs air!" Turning to Danny who was removing her shoes and massaging her feet, he yelled, 'We can't let her feet go cold, she could go into shock. Give her space, she needs air!" The command was given again and this time around, I understood it.
Air? I thought, that was exactly what she needed. My brain sent the signal quickly this time around and without waiting for my body to hold the meeting of acceptance with my brain, I went on both knees and joined my lips with hers. CPR had been annoying to learn at such a young age but at that moment, it was the only tool I had to save the most important person in the world to me.