The Confession by Jeanette Muscella Read Free Book Online Page B

body
stiffened, as the anger crept up his back. He reached out to hold
Lydia’s hand and felt her shaking. A sob erupted from her, and she leaned against Adam. “How could he do this to me? We
were friends, and I thought he respected me. I told him I could not
return his feelings. I told him I loved you, Adam. How could he
rape me?”
    “Oh God, please tell me this cannot be
happening. Adam, I have been reliving this in my dreams. It is
always the same dream. Someone is holding me down, forcing himself
on me, but I can never see his face. It was John. It was John.”
Covering her mouth with her hand, Lydia ran to the bathroom and
became violently ill.
    Adam glared at his parents. “How could
you keep this a secret?”
    Colin became frustrated. “We reported
the crime. What else were we supposed to do? I wasn’t about to
advertise that our son raped someone.”
    “Did it ever occur to you that we, as a
family, had the right to know he committed a crime?”
    “At the time, no, I did not want to
share this with anyone.”
    “Do you still have the
letter?”
    Colin hesitated before answering. “Yes,
I still have a copy of the letter.”
    Adam shoved his
hands into his pockets to stop them from shaking. “I
want the letter in my hand before the end of the day.”
    “Why do you want the
letter?”
    “I don’t have to explain myself to you
or anyone else. I want the fucking letter!”
    Margaret covered her face
with her hands and cried. “Give him the letter Colin. Adam, you
must understand that without a name, we had no proof. John left home and we searched for
him for many weeks. He disappeared. We
never knew until today that John is Gail’s father. How could we
have possibly known?”
    Adam gritted his teeth.
“The fact that you kept this to yourself for nineteen goddam years
sickens me. How do you think my wife feels knowing my brother raped
her? The truth will scar her for the remainder of her life. You
should have told us the truth when it first happened. She may have
remembered, and we could have taken the information to the police.
Get out now before I lose my temper. I have to take care of my
wife.” Adam went into the bathroom and closed the door.
    Lydia lay on the cold tile
floor sobbing. Her body shook uncontrollably. Adam knelt in front
of her and gathered her into his arms. “It’s ok honey. We will
get through this. Nothing changes how much I love you. I am sorry
this happened to you. I don’t know why they kept the letter a
secret.”
    “They knew for nineteen
years that John raped someone, and never said anything. Now that I am aware he touched
my body, I feel dirty. How can you look at
me knowing he raped me? I cannot tell you how many times I have had
that nightmare. I had another one last night. What are we going to
do now?”
    Adam knew what he was going to do. He
was going to confront his brother. He prayed for strength because
he wanted to beat the shit out of him. “We are going to take care
of our children. Gail is my daughter. She will never know the
circumstances surrounding her birth.”
    Lydia clung to Adam. “I
love you, Adam. Please hold me. I need your
warmth. I feel
cold.”
    Adam lay down next to her and held her
until she stopped shaking.
    Colin and Margaret returned
to the waiting room. His once happy family would never be the
same.
    Colin sent a text to
Adam. Is Lydia ok?
    Adam responded
quickly. No, she’s not ok.
    I’m sorry Adam.
    No, you’re not
sorry. Please, leave us alone. Where is Bobby?
    He is sitting next to your
mother.
    Send him up to my office. Go
home. I don’t want you near us.
    Are you certain this is what
you want?
    Yes.
    Colin turned to face Bobby. “Hey buddy,
your mom’s a little sick, and your dad wants you to go up to his
office.”
    “Is she ok?”
    “She will be once your dad takes her
home. Go on up now. Gran and I are going home for a few hours. We
are tired.”
    Bobby ran up to his
father’s office and found his parents still lying on the