Chapter 39: Chapter 39

39. The Truth (Part 2)

Dillon

Dillon's house was located on a hill with a long driveway leading up to the large house. The grey house went well with the bright green hedges alongside the driveway and house, as well as the colorful roses Dillon's mother groomed. He used to love running around on the lawn in the back, the lawn as large as a football field, and play with their dog and his friends. Endless water balloon fights had been held there and when he thought of it he smiled.

Dillon had been driving for hours until he got there around lunch time and he was tired and upset. The conversation he'd had with Libra yesterday echoed in his head and washed over him like a wave. Jason had told him Libra had called to fish for information and then another girl, he bet that was Laura, and as soon as those words had been uttered he panicked. Libra was investigating him and that's the secret she'd been holding on to – she didn't trust him. She has no reason to trust you, he reminded himself.

She had wanted him to confess in her room but he just couldn't bring himself to do so. He needed more time to figure out how to explain himself and also keep her around. The Libra he had come to know was a person he admires and respect, not to mention has feelings for, and losing her would be his greatest mistake. Or one of many mistakes his made. He's tried to tell himself that this could bring them closer but he doubted it – once the truth was out there she would be out of his life for good.

Dillon exited the car and sighed as he looked at his childhood home. He needed to start here to find the right words, he had to start with the mistake that launched all of the others – and his parents had to be the ones to find out the truth first. With shaky hands he rang the doorbell, knowing full well the house wasn't open, and waited patiently for someone to open.

To his surprise his mother opened the door and she seemed equally as surprised as him. Her shoulder length blond hair was up in a delicate bun and her nude lipstick perfectly placed as always. She was wearing the baby blue 1950's dress that she loves to wear when she's hosting something –Dillon winces as he realized he's come at a bad time.

"Oh my word, Dillon what are you doing here?" She says stunned and opens the door wide to let him in.

He's met with the smell of lemon pie and the sweetness of different fruits. Most likely his mother was hosting one of her famous brunches today – he should've called first. Dillon scratches his neck from the lack of words and his mother is still in shock. Quietly she observes him and tries to see what's wrong with him. She's already going in to 'fixer' mode.

"I should've called, mom. I didn't realize you were hosting something today." He mumbled.

She shook her head and embraced him lovingly. His nose instantly was filled with her soft perfume. He closed his eyes and told himself that everything could still be alright.

"Don't be silly sweetheart, I'm happy to see you—just a little confused. Come on in and get cleaned up in your room – you'll join us for brunch!" His mother said and hurried to the kitchen where she resumed watching over the chefs.

It was strange how normal this felt. Heading up to his room to go change and knowing that shortly thereafter fresh sheets will be placed in his room. He was home now and protected here and it was a consoling feeling to have. His room still had the posers from various soccer players from England and his old Pioneer DJ table was shoved in the corner, where he'd last left it. His mother had promised not to remodel his room or touch it at all – and she had kept her promise.

He put his bag down and placed his shut off phone on his nightstand before locking himself in the bathroom and taking the longest shower of his life. He needed to feel absolute relaxation, or as close as he could come to it, because after today it would be chaos for a long time.

Brunch had been surprisingly nice. His mother's friends were always polite and after grabbing a plate for himself he'd eaten in the kitchen among the chefs. Now he was helping cleaning up while observing his mother out on the patio, she was conducting a speech with her mimosa raised high.

"She's something else your mother," a voice interrupting him suddenly said, "I've always marveled at how that woman can run around here barefoot from stress and five minutes later be so put together."

Dillon turned his head and saw his father standing there in front of him. He looked tired with his navy suit jacket in hands but his smile was pure excitement! Dillon could tell he was happy to see him and it was mutual. He walked up to his father and embraced him tightly.

"What on earth are you doing here son? Not that I'm not happy to see you, but semester isn't over yet right?" His father asked and smiled as he released him.

Dillon watched Jonah, his father, grab a grape from the fruit bowl and eat it quickly. Seeing as his mother was busy hosting he would have to start with his father. He recalled how angry Jonah had been last they spoke of this topic but he hoped that had calmed down now, he was doing better now. Of course it would be a tough pill to swallow that he was now dating the girl who was investigating him.

"I had to come home for a bit and sort something out. School is fine so don't worry about that. I just—I need to talk to you and mom about something." Dillon said vaguely and saw his father narrowing his eyes at him.

He knew the drill; Jonah's had a long day and the last thing he needs is more stress – he'd heard that before.

His father nudged in the direction of his study, from them to talk privately, and without a word Dillon followed. He saw Jonah grab a handful of grapes before exiting the kitchen.

Jonah's study was dark and he preferred it that way. He hardly worked in here but would lock himself in whenever he was stressed or angry to either read or pretend to work. Paperwork was spread out on the wooden desk and Dillon assumed he'd started actually using the room for some good now.

"Please tell me that you haven't gotten a girl pregnant or are planning to get married?"

"No dad it's nothing like that at all! Why would you think that? But it has to do with a girl..." Dillon murmured and took a seat in front of his father.

"—and what about this girl, Dillon? Does she want something—"

"—no! She doesn't want anything but the truth and I owe her that." Dillon said and felt his hands starting to shake.

His father got a look of confusion on his face. Perhaps too much time had passed for Jonah to remember what happened. To him the scandal had just been dust in the wind and only a nuisance for a moment, especially since it had been so easily fixed. Dillon recalled the day his father knocked on his door and told him he was heading to the police department for a brief conversation. Dillon had waved good bye as he played on his Xbox and never wondered what the conversation led to because he knew his father would fix it somehow. It was only now that he was standing in front of his father that he recalled it and realized it might have done more damage than good.

"The truth about what Dillon – and who is this girl you're talking about?" Jonah said and neatly tucked the papers into a drawer before putting his elbows up on the desk.

"L-Libra Jones, dad, she's the girl I'm talking about. Do you remember Libra Jones, dad? She was the girl locked in the shed on prom night, the one I was investigated for." Dillon said and heard his voice grow louder.

The more he looked into his father's eyes he realized his parents had been instrumental in continuing this lie. They had gone to the police station and spoken to the chief about something and after Dillon was suddenly no longer a suspect. Back then he'd been relieved and just wanted to forget about the ordeal – but seeing it from Libra's point a view had changed everything. Now he was more aware of the heavy secret he was keeping and wanted nothing more than to liberate him from it.

Jonah shrugged his shoulder and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment," You're telling me you've driven from college to talk about a matter that is no longer relevant? Dillon please let's have this conversation after dinner—it's been a long day and I need to finish up some work."

Dillon nodded in silence despite his father not looking at him. Around dinner would work fine for him actually; both parents would be there and he would get a chance to address them together and then there would be no room for lies.

The chefs had made an incredible feast for Dillon's arrival – on his mother's request. They were serving steak, smashed garlic and butter potatoes and blackcurrant jelly on the side – one of Dillon's favorites. Tonight was tough to enjoy his favorite meal because of his pressing matter of business here and his parents could see it. Dinner had been silent for the most part after they gotten Dillon's grades out of the question.

After plates had been taken Adele poured herself a fresh glass of rose and looked curiously at her son. She had understood from the looks that Jonah had given her that something was wrong but she had no idea how serious it was yet – and that part worried her.

"I've understood that you want to tell us something, sweetheart. Would you like to share?" She sipped some more wine and felt the calmness take over for a second.

Dillon was anything but calm when his mother was done speaking. She sounded more annoyed with his business than concerned for him – things changed quickly once Jonah's got a hold of the information. His heart thumbed so hard he felt his blood do the same for each pump and it made him dizzy, but he pushed through.

"It's time to come clean about what happened that night on prom, mom," Dillon said soberly, "I can't keep this inside me anymore and I don't want it to go away – the truth has to come out."

"Dillon Holden what are you going on about? Your father and I took care of that for you and Charlie then, we spoke to the chief and told him you being a suspect were a mistake!" Adele exclaimed and pushed her wine glass further from her.

Dillon watched his mother's eyes grow wider and saw the worry manifest itself. His father had most likely told her not to worry but Dillon wanted her to worry – he wanted to see them be concerned. Was he that much of golden boy that they couldn't even admit when he was doing wrong? He had done many wrongs in his life and hadn't been aware of consequences until recently – until that night.

Parents will do anything for their children to be safe and Dillon's parents were no different – but they never bothered teaching him about what happened when a mistake had already been made. Everyone suffers consequences to every action, good or bad, Adele and Jonah just never had to face any of their own.

"Mom and dad I have to tell you something," Dillon said with shaky breaths. He knew that after this confession everything would change between them and he could no longer ask for their protection, because it just wasn't right. He saw Libra's teary face in front of him and closed his eyes to shy away from it. "That night at prom, I was the one who locked Libra in that shed."

Once the words left his lips it felt good; it was finally out there now. The shock on his mother's face was unbearable to watch but his father looked less than surprise – almost like he'd known all along. Dillon looked at his father with calm eyes and saw him nod a few times in silence.

"I'd been taking such a fucking beating from the teachers, principals and you guys too about my grades," he continued, "the final straw came when Principal Judd told me to take notes from Libra that I became pissed. Libra always made me feel like shit in class, like I wasn't smart, so when I saw her at prom I wanted her to pay for the way she'd made me felt." Dillon finished.

His anger had been so fresh then but now he couldn't think of a reason why he would do something that awful. Libra may have made him feel bad about his grades but he'd made her feel worse way before that – she was only retaliating.

Adele got up and left the table soon after but Dillon's father stayed put and finished his whiskey slowly while shaking his head.

"You don't think I knew that, son? And now you want to come here and fuck everything up – I've helped you put that behind you instead. Forget about the truth now son, it's forgotten."