Author: Liz
E-mail: [email protected]
Rating: PG-13
Category: J/H
Summary: Jake is raped one night and later finds out she is pregnant. But is the baby Hamilton�s child�or the person who raped her?
Disclaimer: Thanks to my Frannie Bee for help with ideas and the baby names and Maggie for help with Jake�s middle nameJJ
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Bella walked over to Will and Sarita. �Guys, is this him?�
�Yeah.� Sarita said softly.
�I thought you were giving him up.� Scout said walking over followed by Jake and Hamilton.
�Yeah, well, we decided to keep him. Will offered to help me out.�
Bella raised her eyebrow at Will.
�It was all her, Bella.�
�Right. Well he is the most cutest thing I have ever laid my eyes on!�
Sarita laughed.
~*~
Bella looked out the window of her classroom and sighed. It had been a week since the babies were born. Every time they held the baby, they looked to see if there was something that would freak one of the girls out. Scout noticed an unfamiliar birth mark and Jake didn�t know. But mostly the baby looked like Sarita and Will was wonderful with the baby.
Jake and Hamilton�s daughter Ayesha had been showered with gifts. No one could get enough of her.
They had all gone back to school, except for Sarita and Jake, whom stayed with Hamilton�s mother. Bella usually drove to get the girls so they could play with the babies before the guys got there to watch them.
Bella looked over at her teacher and listened to what he was saying. She couldn�t help but think of everything that had happened these past months. She felt like a whole new person because of this.
�Oh Bella?�
Bella shook her head and looked up. �Yes Miss. Martin?�
�I was asking what you were going to write your essay about?�
Bella almost asked what she meant but she didn�t want to make the teacher keep her after school and ask if she was all right, because she was.
�Oh, I�m still thinking about.�
�Maybe something that happened in your life. What�s been going on these past few months?�
Bella looked over at Sean. He shook his head. Bella looked back at the teacher. �A lot.�
After class, Bella walked to her car and Sean walked up. �So.�
�English essay, I forgot. How can I write about these past few months? I�ve been dealing with my friend who was raped, then pregnant and�this is too much.�
�Hey, don�t make me call Scout and get him here.� Bella laughed. �Just, write what you think of their strengths. I got to go. Have Will call me.� She nodded and he ran off. Bella pursed her lips then got into her jeep. She drove to Hamilton�s house and saw Sarita outside holding the baby close to her.
�Hey.�
�Hey. How�s he doing?� Bella stroked the baby�s head.
�He�s fine. How was school?�
�Really weird. Come on, let�s get Jake and I�ll tell you.�
She smiled and Bella went inside to get Jake and the baby.
While she drove to the gas station, Bella told them all about the essay while the girls came in with suggestions.
�Just write what you want from the heart. It�ll come to you.�
Bella nodded. �You�re right, Jake.� Bella already had an idea in mind.
~*~
Jake walked over to Rawley Boys and sighed. �Where oh where did Scout go?�
She kept on walking until she hit the docks. She nodded seeing him throwing rocks. She bounced downstairs and went over to him. �Hey.�
�Hey. Where�s your adorable baby?�
�Hamilton has her. What are you doing here all by yourself? Bella�s making dinner for all of us.�
�Just thinking.�
�About?� Jake made a face.
Scout breathed out. �A lot of things. Like the trial. Do you really want us there? I mean, you have to recount everything.�
Jake sighed. �You don�t think I know that.� Scout didn�t say anything. �Look, I told the police what happened the first time. Since then I have remembered more things and I write them down. I know you guys don�t want that memory but even though I hate it so much, I need you guys there. For me. For Hamilton, for Will. He�s going to blame himself again. Scout, just promise me you�ll stay strong, for me and for everyone else who was raped by that guy.�
Scout looked at her and hugged her close. �Let�s go home.�
Jake smiled. �Good idea. Bitch pad?�
�Oh God.� Scout laughed and raced Jake to the motorcycle.
When they got to the gas station, dinner was served, they were just waiting on Jake and Scout.
They all sat down to eat.
�Okay, so my lawyer called me. He asked me if I remembered anything else about that night.� Jake sighed. �I said I couldn�t and he asked me if Sarita did.�
Sarita shook her head. �Not really. Just that he hit me a few times and I blacked out five times.�
Jake sighed. �Oh well, maybe it�ll come to me. Anyway, Bella how is that essay going?�
�All written and handed in to the teacher.� She didn�t say anything more.
�Oh, come on! Don�t we deserve to know what it�s written about?� Hamilton asked.
Bella laughed and blushed. �It�s a surprise.�
�I like surprises.� Sarita grinned.
They heard crying.
�It�s yours!� Jake and Sarita said together.
Jake listened. �No, it�s yours.�
�Nuh-uh.�
�Uh-huh!�
Scout rolled his eyes and got up. He went upstairs and when he came back down, he handed the baby to Sarita.
Jake laughed. �I told you!�
�Oh, stuff it.� Sarita smiled and grabbed a baby blanket.
~*~
There were some good things about trial dates. One, it didn�t interfere with graduation and two, it gave rape victims for time to prepare. While the guys stayed home to watch the kids, Bella took Jake and Sarita to a meeting. While they all talked in a circle, Bella sat along the wall, not really listening but just being a presence for her friends. Jake would turn her head to make sure Bella was still there.
A week before graduation at Bella�s school, she got an announcement about there being an assembly. According to the bulletin she got, the best essay was to be read.
Bella opened up the second envelope. It was from a letter from Miss. Martin. She had submitted her essay into the Principle�s box and he decided hers was the best and she could read it out loud.
�Oh God.� Bella ran into Friendly�s and told Scout. She didn�t tell him what the essay was about, just that it mentioned the rape. Scout didn�t get mad, he just breathed and they both told Will.
�This is pretty private.� Will said as he cleaned the stove.
�I know just�where�s Hamilton?�
�He�s down at the lake with the baby and Jake.�
Bella sighed. �I gotta go.� She ran out of Friendly�s.
She raced down to Rawley Boys and found her friends. She ran onto the docks and sat down.
�Hey, remember my essay I told you about?� She put a hand on the baby so if Hamilton went into shock, the baby didn�t fall into the water. �My teacher sent it in to the Principle and I have to read it at an assembly. It mentions the rape.�
Jake just stared. Hamilton looked down then back up.
�Are you mad at me?�
�No, never just, I don�t know what to say.�
�Neither did Scout. Where�s Sarita?�
�She�s with my mom at the house.�
�Great.� Bella jumped up and ran. Jake and Hamilton looked at each other.
�I just didn�t want anyone to know.� Jake stroked the baby�s forehead. Hamilton kissed her, gently.
~*~
Sarita walked into the MP and looked around.
�Sarita!� Sean yelled.
�Hey.� She walked over to him. �Where is everybody?�
�They�re over there, come on. Will has the baby, he�s sleeping.�
�Okay.�
They walked over and sat next to their friends. Jake was breast feeding Ayesha, but a blanket covered her chest. Brett was sleeping in his carrier. Sarita sat in between Will and Scout and waved to Bella. Bella smiled and waved back.
A little bit later, Bella�s name was called and she stood up.
�My name is Bella Banks. I wrote this essay to talk about the accomplishments and trials me and my best friends have gone through these past months. I have witnessed horror, realization and self-discovery in one short year. All thanks to the power of one man who felt the need to harm my best friend by stalking her without her knowing then doing the unimaginable. My friends are important to me and I would give my life for them.
At Rawley Boys Academy, there are four young men, one a girl, I will explain later, whom I have befriended and loved. One of them actually used to go here. My best friend Jake, or Jacqueline, went to Rawley in the Summer of 2000 dressed as a guy to get her mother�s attention. It didn�t work very well. She kept the charade up for four years, until the events of July 14th, 2004. My best friend was walking through the woods one night after making a delivery for my friend, Will. She always went on this route at night, she felt safe because people thought she was a boy. But one guy saw through her. One evil person took away her innocence. He grabbed her from behind and dragged her off the path. He beat her with a stick and a screwdriver to keep her from fighting back. Then, he raped her. The next day, she couldn�t sit in a class full of men, she called me from her dormitory. I still remember what I was doing and it haunts me. I was sitting there, reading a novel and I was about to go get something to eat at Friendly�s until that fateful call. She didn�t tell me what happened but I knew something was wrong. I ran all the way to the Boys school and when I got to the dorm, I saw her battered body and tortured soul. It broke my heart in more ways than I thought possible.
I took her to the hospital then the police. We told my friends Scout and Will, then her boyfriend Hamilton. She was scared of them at first but she got comfortable. Then, days later, she discovered she was pregnant, not knowing if the baby belonged to the man who hurt her or the man who loved her. We later found out the baby belonged to her boyfriend. But through all of this, my best friend, Jacqueline Pratt, was able to get through this with us. She never hid what she was feeling and she didn�t let this man control who she was. She has taken control and I love her for that. Now she has a beautiful baby daughter, Ayesha and a fianc�e, Hamilton, whom I know, who will bring her back to life.
Then there is Sarita. The same man raped her at a party just days before Jake. We first saw her at the window of the police station when Jake had to identify the man who did this to her. She was also pregnant and alone. She had nobody. Until we took her under our wing. The baby, unfortunately, belonged to the rapist. At first, she was going to give him up and we all understood that. We were going to help her because she went through what our best friend went through. Then, unbeknownst to Jake, Hamilton, Scout, or I, when Sarita had the baby, her and Will, who is now her fianc�e, were with the baby and Will wanted to help with the baby, even though she wanted to give him up. But she wasn�t sure either. Then when a nurse asked her, she said no, I am keeping my baby. Every day, we looked into the child�s face to see if there was some resemblance to him. You all know who him is by now. There isn�t any, he looks exactly like his mother. Sarita and Jake are the strongest girls I have ever met.
Will Krudski, my best friend for life. The moment he found about Jake, he blamed himself. A lot of people can blame themselves for something that happened but the truth is no one is to blame and it only makes things worse if you place blame on somebody. He is a great person and I am so lucky to know him and on behalf of Jake and Sarita, I say there is no blame in this part. The only thing we can do is regret and live for what comes next. As Will once said �I am going to exceed my expectations.� We�re going to do just that at the trial in three months.
Scout Calhoun, my best friend and my boyfriend. When we first met, it was love at first sight, until my father shocked us by saying we were brother and sister. I was devastated. I didn�t want it to be true. We finally came to accept this, with heavy hearts, and continued our friendship. When Jake was harmed, we became closer. One day, the rapist escaped prison and came back to Rawley. He came to my father�s gas station and I recognized him immediately and called Scout. He said I would have been next. Because of that, I threw away four years of questioning and kissed Scout. The next day, we drove out to Carson to visit my mother, whom abandoned me when I was 6. We asked her the hard question. The moment she said no, four years of pain and questioning was gone. I looked towards my future with the one I loved most.
Finally, Hamilton Fleming, the Dean�s son at Rawley. He is the coolest guy I know and he is able to keep a secret, which is why Jake isn�t in some other school trying to get her mom to notice her. Every day for the past years, I have seen Hamilton fall even more in love with Jake and be a great friend to each of us. When this horrible thing happened, he was there for Jake and never left her side. He didn�t make her talk about it, he just sat back and let her come to him and when each of us hurt, he hurt with us. In this past week, I have seen him interact with his tiny baby girl. When she cries, he is gentle with her. He is a loving person and I am proud to know him.
These are my best friends. We care about each other and if something is wrong, we�re always there for each other. I don�t know what I would do without them and I thank each and every single one of them for bringing their hearts and personalities out to me and being great friends. Thank you.� Bella wiped away a few tears and looked up. Everyone clapped wildly and she could see tears in Jake and Sarita�s eyes.
She walked down and went towards them. Jake and Sarita jumped up and Bella ran to hug them tightly.
�That was beautiful, Bella.� Sarita sobbed gently.
�That was�wow.� Jake couldn�t speak, just buried her face in Bella�s hair. Bella smiled at the guys and they smiled back while Bella stroked her friends� hair.
~*~
Will looked down and smiled. �What are you looking at Mister?� He picked up the tiny child and held him close. �Are you hungry? Come on, let�s go find mommy.�
Will walked downstairs and looked out to see Bella admiring Ayesha�s new summer dress. He smiled and walked into the living room to see Sarita laying on the couch, watching a movie while Scout sat at her feet.
�Hey, I think he�s hungry.�
�He likes to eat. Come here baby.� She sat up and took Brett from Will.
Scout sighed. �The trial�s tomorrow.�
Will and Sarita looked at him. Scout licked his lips slowly.
�What will you do?�
�He was tried in four other cases and found guilty. Now it�s time for ours. I don�t know if I can do it.�
�We�ll all be there, baby. We won�t leave.�
Sarita looked down at the baby in her arms. She fingered his soft cheek and sighed. �For three months, I�ve been trying to harbor the pain. Now, I can�t. Don�t let him see me cry.�
�Sh, it�s okay.� Will sat beside her and held her close.
Jake walked in holding the baby upright. She sighed. �I had a nightmare.�
Will, Sarita and Scout looked at her. Jake gulped.
�Scout, Will, could you guys go? We need to be alone.� Sarita said softly.
�Of course.�
�Here, take your baby.� Sarita pulled the baby from her breast and handed him to Will.
�There�s some formula in the fridge, I�ll make him a bottle.� He headed there.
�Hey, I�ll take her.� Scout walked over and took Ayesha from Jake.
�Thanks.� Jake licked her lips and sat next to Sarita.
�One year.�
Sarita nodded. �One year.�
�We went through one year of torture, think we can get through this?�
Sarita looked at her. �I know we can.�
Jake held out her hand and Sarita took it. They hugged each other tightly.