"he knows" Alex muttered to himself as he paced his room. He was panicking because Marco knew he was a drug dealer and he knew Marco could use it against him.
Marco had assured Alex he wouldn't tell anyone but advised coming clean but Alex wasn't ready for his family to see him as a criminal. They were looking for him thinking he was the enemy, he was unsure whether they would treat him as the enemy once they knew.
A small knock interrupted his thoughts. He put on his usual smile, he had to be strong for Skye and James. Even they couldn't tell he wasn't okay anymore. He had perfected acting okay. He had perfected turning off any emotions as they were taught emotions were weak but unlike Skye and James, if he showed emotions when outside, he was dead.
They both entered nervously. They were going to tell everyone the truth.
"Are we telling them all" James asked. They originally thought it best to tell just Rafael but they were reconsidering it, thinking it might be best to tell them all.
"I think we should tell them all, they will all find out, Marco and Lorenzo already know we were abused" Skye said.
"Yeah I agree, it will be easier to get it over with. But I don't know how they are going to react" Alex said.
"I spoke to Marco he's okay with us telling them anything. I didn't want to say something that might expose something he wants kept secret" Alex stated.
"Okay so we tell them we were kidnapped by the gang, kept in a basement and abused. We never went to school, Skye and I never left the basement?" James suggested, he wanted to get it over with as quick as possible.
"Yes let's just leave the never leaving the basement thing out, I don't know if I'm ready for them to know they are hunting me" Alex agreed.
"What if they ask if it was sexual?" Skye asked.
Alex and James couldn't help their facial expression turn cold. They hated knowing what Skye went through.
"It's your story to tell Skye. If you're ready for them to know...." Alex started.
"We will be behind you all the way" James finished Alex's sentance.
When the brothers were in protective mode they often had the same thoughts leading them to finish each others sentences.
"Whatever you decide well support you" Alex added when he saw she was unsure.
"Let's see how it goes" James said putting his arm around Skye.
"And if this doesn't work, we can leave" Alex stated. He already had multiple escape routes planned.
"Let's get it over with" James agreed.
The three of them went and found Rafael.
"Hello you three, is there anything I can do for you" he asked.
"We want to talk" Alex stated.
"You have my full attention " Rafael said.
"Actually we rather not repeat ourselves so we were hoping we could tell you all together " Alex said.
"Of course" Rafael took out his phone and messaged his other children.
A simple message.
Come to the living room now.
"May I ask what this about" Rafael asked as he walked with the triplets to the living room. He already had an idea but he wanted them to come to him.
"We were abused, we want to get everything out" Alex told him.
Rafael paused for a moment. He knew they had been, he wanted them to admit it, they had been released from the hospital so he knew they had no life threatening injuries so he knew they didn't need rushing to the hospital because of the abuse. He didn't put it together as soon as his eldest son. Lorenzo had suspected soon after knowing them but he never did, simply because he knew the fear he caused people. And they were just three 14 year olds meeting strangers. He expected them to be scared.
He knew Alex had been overprotective but he passed it off as they were strangers, why would he want his sister being carried by a stranger.
Rafael truly didn't know what to say. How could he? He had never dealt with a situation like this. "Well whatever you tell us, just know we love you regardless. You are all strong for going through such a shit thing. We will all listen and no one will judge" he told them.
It seemed to work because the three looked more reassured and less on edge.
Once they got to the living room, they didn't have to wait long.
Lorenzo showed up first. He looked at the sofa, the triplets were sat as close as possible to each other. His father was on one armchair, he walked in on his father reassuring them.
He knew then that it was the abuse. So he sent them a smile and sat on the other armchair.
Leo and Nico came next and they were confused but took a seat on another sofa.
Marco knowing exactly what had happened to them took his time because it was just a reminder of what had happened to him and he needed to compose himself. In the end he had told himself how he was 18 and shouldn't be acting so childish.
Marco sat next to Nico and waited patiently.
"The triplets have something to tell us" Rafael said.
Alex had made sure to sit on the sofa closest to the door for a quick escape.
"I can just tell them if you want" Alex told them.
"No we're in it together" James said knowing Alex couldn't do it alone.
"So as you all know we were kidnapped" Alex started.
"We were never put in a home or anything, we remained with the people who kidnapped us" James continued.
"They abused us" the three said together.
There was different reactions to this.
Rafael and Lorenzo looked livid, they thought it was a foster home that abused them. Knowing they were trapped with their kidnappers didn't sit well with them.
Leo was angry at alot of things but mostly at the fact they had been abused, unlike his older brother or even father he hadn't been aware.
Nico felt guilty and wanted to hug his three younger siblings. He was upset.
And Marco, he felt sick, he knew what was coming but as they admitted it, he felt angry and guilty. It was his fault they were abused.
"Will you tell us more about what they did to you?" Rafael asked wanting to get a better understanding of the trauma.
"They beat us, starved us, hurt us in front of each other so we had to see each other get tortured" James stated.
"They broke bones if we resisted" Skye added.
"The day before we were saved, I didn't say thank you because the bread was mouldy and so they beat us for that. I should have just said thank you" Alex stated.
"Were you sexually abused" Rafael asked.
Skye looked at Alex and James and then at Marco who was looking at her. He knew the anwser but he didn't want to hear it. It was torture to him.
"I was" Skye whispered, admitting it, tears ran down her face.
Alex and James tried to whisper positive things but that didn't work.
Marco opened his arms though and Skye was quick to go to him. Marco hugged her tightly and she curled up in his lap crying into his chest.
"Do we need to know anything else?" Rafael asked. He wanted everything to be out before he jumped in.
"They would break my bones for the fun of it. They didn't really have use for me so I got beaten so much" James said adding something personal.
They used Alex for drugs
They used Skye for their own pleasure.
But James didn't really have a use so they hurt him alot more than the others, physically. They did alot to him and he always felt so weak not being able to defend himself.
"They made me commit a few little crimes" Alex said knowing his siblings shared something personal. He didn't know if he could admit it yet.
They had unknowingly made him their enemy.
"What sort of crimes" Leo asked.
"Drug dealing" Alex stated.
"They were the drug gang that was shown on TV, they were the ones who kidnapped us"Â he continued looking down in disgust.
"They only let Alex leave the basement, we were never home schooled, just prisoners" James added.
"So you know our story now " Alex ended it.
There was silence.
Everyone having similar thoughts. They wanted those responsible dead.
"Can I tell them it was him who kidnapped us" Marco whispered so only Skye heard. She nodded.
"Dad there is something else, the man who kidnapped us , he was part of the drug gang, "
Rafael nodded knowing if the man had tracked them down it could mean there was more out there ready to track them down.
Everyone was silent still.
"I'm going to kill them all. How fucking date they" Lorenzo finally snapped.
"Not if I kill them first" Leo added.
"Boys I think it's best we focus on the triplets. What I said still applies. No one will ever lay a hand on you again. You are all so brave for going through this and thank you for telling us all this, you are brave and we love you" Rafael said addressing everything at once.
"We are going to fix this as a family. No one will suffer again " Rafael added.