Chapter Twelve

Rory pulled into the garage at five and slipped through the kitchen. Her mom was waiting for her in the family room, dressed casually in jeans and a tank top. “Where have you been?” she asked levelly when Rory went rushing by.

Gulping, Rory turned around slowly and went into the family room. “I was with Carson,” she answered honestly.

Leigh frowned. “Suspension is a punishment, Rory. It's not an opportunity to sneak around with your boyfriend.”

“When should I see him then?” Rory exploded. “If I take him around town and Dalen sees us, he'll go nuts. I won't be responsible for Carson getting hurt again, Mother. If this is my only time to see him, I'm going to take advantage of it. How do you think things will be when we return to school next week? Dalen will follow me around, and I won't have five minutes alone with Carson, let alone a whole day!” Rory collapsed into an armchair.

Frowning Leigh answered. “You have to tell Dalen you're not interested. You can't pussyfoot around or try to be nice. Just come out straight and tell him you want to be with Carson. He'll have to accept your answer.”

Sadly, Rory raised her head. “Do you really think that will work, Mom?” she asked. Leigh nodded decisively. “Then you're a fool,” she denounced, ignoring Leigh's shattered look. “I have told him no, I've resisted his advances, I've avoided him. I've tried everything, but he won't listen. For god's sake, he thinks he owns me.”

Rory burst into tears, and Leigh approached her. “Oh, Rory, I'm sorry. I didn't realize things had gotten that bad.” She squatted down in front of Rory and took her hands. “I'll have Dan speak with Dalen.”

Bitterly, Rory snapped. “Haven’t you noticed Dad thinks the world rises and sets in Dalen? Ricky adores him, and even you seemed to like him. It won't do any good, Mom.” She looked into her mother's concerned eyes and said shakily, “It's too late anyway, Mom.”

She couldn't continue. “What do you mean, Rory?” Leigh prompted. When Rory remained silent, she said. “I know things have been different lately, Aurora. We haven't talked much, but I want you to know you can tell me anything.”

Rory hung her head, grasping her mom's hands. “At the party Friday night, he or one of his friends drugged me.” She took a deep breath. “I don't remember what happened, but I know he violated me. He admitted it to me later.”

Her breath hissed out as Leigh collapsed forwards. “Oh, god!” she cried. “I made you go out with him last night. I invited him to dinner. Oh, my poor, poor darling,” she whispered, running gentle hands through Rory's hair. “We have to call the police.” Rory told Leigh about Korith's experience and about Dalen's “game”. She listened, growing more ill with every word Rory spoke. When she realized the police were not an option, she felt helpless.

Even in Los Angeles, where crime was a way of life and you had to be careful everywhere you went, the police were there to protect and serve. Here in the small community of Breckridge, they protected and served the Hudsons only. She and Dan had chosen to move here to guard their kids and give them a better life. The irony was too difficult for her to absorb at the moment. “Did you see a doctor?” she forced herself to ask.

Rory nodded. “I went to Planned Parenthood. When the doctor heard what happened she knew it was Dalen. I could tell by the way she acted that she knew it was Dalen.”

Leigh closed her eyes with pain. Her daughter had been forced to endure it all alone, even the doctor's exam after the rape. “Were you okay?”

Rory nodded. “I called for results Monday. Everything looked fine, but they want me to come back in six months for another exam and an HIV screening.”

Leigh blanched when hearing those words. “Umm...when was your last period?” she forced herself to ask. god, if Rory had to endure a pregnancy...

“I finished it yesterday.” Rory averted her eyes. “They gave me some emergency contraceptive.” Rory felt very close to her mother at that moment, and she wanted her to know that not everything had been bad and painful lately. “If I were pregnant, it wouldn't be Dalen's.” Leigh frowned. “Carson and I...you know...today,” she muttered awkwardly.

“It sounds crazy, but I'm relieved,” Leigh confided. “I'm sure one of the worst parts of being raped would be recovering from the trauma and having a normal relationship.”

Rory laughed a little. “If Dalen will leave me alone, I think Carson and I can have a normal relationship.”

Mouth tight, Leigh stood up. “He’ll leave you alone,” she vowed. “Your father and I will have a discussion with Shuler tonight. That will be the end of all this, I promise you.” She looked down at her daughter. “I promise you something else. Things will be different between us, Rory. We've grown apart, and if I hadn't let that happen you could have told me about this sooner.”

“I'd like that, Mom,” Rory agreed shakily as they heard a car pull up in front of the house. It wasn't Dan's Cadillac, and Leigh looked out the window.

“It's Dalen, with Ricky,” she told Rory. “Head upstairs, and I'll send him away. Tonight, we'll talk with his father.”

Rory bit her lip. “Don’t antagonize him right now, Mom. He's dangerous and none of us are a match for him.”

Leigh saw the terror on her daughter's face and took her warning seriously. She nodded and Rory ran upstairs as the front door opened.

“I'm home,” Ricky called as he came into the family room. Dalen was behind him. “Hi, Mom,” he greeted.

“Hello, Ricky,” she said with a gentle smile. She hadn't grown as far apart from him, but there was damage to be repaired with her son as well. “Dalen,” she greeted coolly. “Rory is upstairs,” she said firmly. “She's been grounded, so I'm afraid you won't be able to see her right now.”

Dalen plastered on a charming grin. “Ah...please,” he cajoled. “For just a minute? I haven't seen her all day.”

Leigh struggled not to let her disgust show. It made her ill to stand here talking to him when she wanted to inflict some harm on him. She'd love to see how he liked receiving pain, rather than dispensing it. “I'm afraid not, Dalen. Her grounding will be lifted after she returns to school. You'll have to wait until then to see her. She's also not allowed to have phone calls,” she added.

Dalen lifted a brow and shrugged. “Okay, Mrs. Abramson,” he conceded. “Please tell her I said hello,” he added. “See you later, Ricky,” he told him before leaving. Leigh waited until he was in the car before fastening the deadbolt on the door.

Ricky watched her with apparent surprise. Since moving to Breckridge, they rarely locked the doors, and certainly never the deadbolt. “Is everything okay, Mom?” he asked.

Leigh smiled. “It’s fine, hon. How has school been for you?” She wanted to see if he was as miserable as Rory.

“It's great,” he enthused. Blushing, Ricky shifted from foot to foot. “I have a date Friday night.”

Leigh smiled. “That’s great, honey. Who is she?”

“Her name's Moriah. She's a freshman, and a cheerleader. I think you met her. She came over to see Rory last night with Korith, but Rory was out with Dalen.”

Leigh could vaguely remember a small girl with dark-red hair, whose eyes shyly followed Ricky everywhere. “Oh yes,” she nodded. “She's very cute. Have a good time, Ricky.” She looked at her son. “Do you need a ride Friday?”

“Nah, we're going out with a group of people,” he explained. “Thanks though.” Ricky ran upstairs to get started on his homework, and Leigh watched him go. So, her son loved Breckridge, and her daughter hated it. She didn't want to force Rory to go back to that school but she didn't want to yank Ricky out since he was so happy.

Dan's car pulled into the garage, and Leigh waited for him to come in. He swept her into his arms for a passionate kiss, and she realized their relationship had suffered lately as well. How long had it been since they'd made love? Two years ago, they were talking about having another baby and then the success began. “I love you,” she told him fervently.

“I love you too,” he answered, looking a little bewildered. “What brought that on?”

“Deep reflections,” Leigh explained. “Come with me to the bedroom,” she said, pulling on his hand.

“Whoa,” he stuttered. “Shouldn’t we wait until later?”

Leigh shook her head. “We need to talk,” she explained. Dan followed her upstairs to their bedroom. Leigh waited until he was sitting before she spilled the whole story for him, omitting Rory had slept with Carson. That was something Dan didn't need to know.

Dan looked stunned. “Honey, I don't mean to be a doubting Thomas,” he said, “But are you sure? Maybe she went farther than she planned to and now feels guilty. Sometimes girls—”

Leigh glared at him. “How can you think such a thing, Daniel? She's your daughter, and she's always been truthful. She's deathly afraid of Dalen, and I'd say with good reason.” She shook her head. “I can't believe you would say that.”

Looking uncomfortable, Dan mumbled, “I signed the contract today with Shuler Hudson.”

“What?” Leigh demanded shrilly. “You agreed to wait for me to look at it too.”

“You weren't there,” he defended. “You were the one who stayed home to get caught up on stuff today. He'd driven all the way to the city to meet with his attorney. They called me for lunch, and I couldn't just put him off because you weren't there. He wouldn't have understood.”

Leigh shook her head in disbelief. “So because he drove forty minutes, you couldn't put him off another day? He wouldn't understand waiting for me. Why is that?” Her eyes narrowed. “He has an office in L.A.,” she pointed out coldly. “You were suckered, Daniel.”

Clearing his throat, Dan responded. “He’s old-fashioned. He doesn't believe women belong in business. If I'd insisted on waiting for you, it would have reflected badly on me and the company.” He shifted uncomfortably. “Er, I'd forgotten Hudson Industries is in L.A.,” Dan admitted with discomfiture.

“I've been married to you for nineteen years, and I never thought I'd say this, but you're an ass! You cared more about his opinion than mine. Well, you have done some serious damage to your marriage and to your family today, Daniel Abramson. Do you know what this does to Rory now? Dalen Hudson has another weapon to hold over her head, and you just handed it to him on a silver platter.”

Dan was ashen. “I'm sorry,” he confessed miserably. The phone was ringing, but neither of them answered it. “I made a big mistake, honey, but it shouldn't be a problem. I'll talk to Shuler and ask him to have Dalen back off some. If he's trying to get Rory to fall in love with him, this isn't the way to go about it. I'll point that out to them, and I'm sure Dalen will rein it in. If he truly loves Rory, he won't want to scare her away any farther.”

Leigh stared at her thick-headed husband. “What we need to tell them is Dalen doesn't have a chance with Rory. He raped her, for god's sake, Dan,” she reminded him. “We need to mention lawsuits and police and bodyguards if the harassment doesn't cease immediately.”

“I'm still not convinced it was rape,” Dan said firmly. “Let's face it, honey. Rory says she was drugged, but she admitted to you she'd drunk a beer.”

“To avoid drinking anything he gave her, and she only had a few sips,” Leigh interjected.

Dan sighed. “She may not have been honest, Leighanne. More than likely, she got so drunk she didn't realize what was happening. She said herself she couldn't remember anything. Who's to say anything happened? That condom could have been left by another couple. Dalen probably just took her upstairs to sleep it off so she wouldn't get in trouble for coming home drunk.”

Leigh looked at Dan and saw a stranger. “I don't know you like this, Dan. You're more concerned about your deal than your daughter. I can't believe you're making excuses for him. You're shifting the blame to Rory and denying anything even happened. I'm ashamed of you,” she told him.

There was a knock, and Ricky poked in his head timidly. “Mom, Grandma's on the phone for you. She sounds real upset.”

“Thanks.” She reached for the extension. “Hi, Mom,” Leigh said into the receiver. “This isn't a good time,” she started to say. “Can I call you—”

“Leighanne,” her mom said, through a storm of tears. “Your father is in the hospital. He had a heart attack this morning. The doctor doesn't know if he's going to make it.”

“God,” Leigh said as she sank on the bed. “We'll be on the next flight,” she promised. She got the particulars from her mother and then told Dan about her dad. While he called for tickets and saw to packing, Leigh went downstairs. She found Rory in the family room. “Honey, can I talk to you?” she asked.