Alyssa Lies

Sammy got on the bus to head home with her head hung low. Her best friend Alyssa failed to tell her teacher what was going on. And on top of that she lied to the teacher about what happened last night. Sammy couldn’t believe that Alyssa wouldn’t tell anyone else what happened to her. Sammy tried everything to get Alyssa to say something but whenever she brought it up Alyssa would always change the subject and wanted to go do something else. Sammy knew that she needed to tell someone about it, but since she promised Alyssa that she wouldn’t tell anyone she didn’t know how she was going to do it.

“Momma?” Sammy called out as she walked into her house.

“Your mommy is at work Sam” Jason said to his seven year old daughter as he exited the kitchen.

“Oh ok” Sammy said hanging her head as she walked over to the couch. She sat down and started to take out her school books to do her home work.

Jason could tell that something was bothering his little girl and he wanted to find out what was wrong. He walked over to the couch, sat beside her picking up her agenda and read what work she had to do. Not really knowing how to ask his seven year old daughter what was the matter, he just sat with her and helped her with her homework.

“Remember that girl that I met last year at the playground, Alyssa?” Sam asked her father, her eyes never leaving her homework.

“Yea, I do honey how is she?” Jason asked hoping that their friendship had gone sour and this was the source of his little girl’s problems. Those two girls were attached at the hip ever since they meet each other between the tires and the swings.

“Well she…she” Sammy tried to find the right way to tell her father without breaking the promise that she made to Alyssa.

“She what Sammy?” Jason asked confused.

“Alyssa lies a lot” Sammy said knowing that that was the best way to say what was wrong.

“What does she lie about?”

“A lot of things and when I try to get her to tell the truth to the teacher she just either runs off to go play or goes back to doing her work” Sammy said as she looked her father in his eyes.

“Well maybe she just doesn’t know how to tell the truth just yet. Just give her a little while before you tell her to tell the truth again” Jason said stroking his little girl’s hair.

“Ok if you say so daddy” Sammy said hoping he was right.

Jason helped Sammy finish her homework and told her to go upstairs and wash up for dinner. After dinner Sammy got a phone call from Alyssa. Alyssa didn’t sound so good and Sammy got worried. Sammy told her that she was going to tell her daddy what was going on and Alyssa begged her not to. Sammy promised once again and hung up with Alyssa saying she would see her at school tomorrow.

After her phone call with Alyssa she couldn’t settle with her father’s answer anymore. She decided to ask her father again what she should do with Alyssa’s “lies”. She walked into the hallway and took a seat on the stairs.

“Um daddy can I talk to you again?” Sammy yelled as she sat down.

“Yea sure thing Sam” Jason said, taking a seat next to her once again on the stairs.

“So are you sure that if I give Alyssa some time to tell the truth that she will?” Sammy asked.

Jason was confused so many questions ran through his mind. Why would Sammy ask him this again? Is there something that Sammy wasn’t telling him? Is something bad going on with Alyssa that has Sammy so upset?

“Sammy you know you can tell me anything” Jason told his daughter hoping that she would tell him what was going on.

“I know daddy” she smiled and said looking up at him.

“Ok then,” Jason said hoping that maybe later she will tell him, “well like I said before honey just give Alyssa some time.” Jason smiled and sent her upstairs to get ready for bed.

As Jason walked by Sammy’s door he heard her start her prayers. He stood by her door and listened to her praying.

“God bless my mom and my dad. And God can you please bless my best friend Alyssa and watch over her. She is hurting really bad and she needs you to help her. Thank you. Amen.”

It was then Jason realized that he needed to do something to find out what was going on. His little girl was obviously troubled by what was going on with her friend Alyssa. That night he couldn’t sleep, he kept thinking about Sammy’s prayer and what he could do to ease her worrying. A seven year old little girl didn’t have anything to worry about so something must be very wrong to make her worry. He decided that in the morning he would go to Sammy’s teacher and try and find out what was wrong.

The next morning Jason walked into Sammy’s bedroom and woke her up for school. He told her that he would be taking her since he needed to talk to her teacher. After breakfast they got into his truck and went to school. When they got there her teacher, her classmates and their parents all looked sad, some were even crying. He told her to stand by the gate and wait for him while he figured out what was wrong.

“Excuse me” Jason said when he came close to the teacher.

“Mr. Carroll how are you?” Sammy’s teacher asked.

“I’m doing well. What is going on?”

Sammy’s teacher hung her head and told him the news. Jason couldn’t believe it, Alyssa was being abused and no one saw. No, that was a lie, one person saw…Sammy. All this time Sammy was trying to get her to get help but Alyssa was so afraid that she couldn’t. Jason walked back to his little girl heavy heartedly and hoped he could tell her the news.

“What’s wrong daddy?” Sammy asked.

“Sammy baby it’s Alyssa” he said as a lump formed in his throat and he fought back tears.

“What about Alyssa? Where is she daddy?” worriedly she asked. She knew something was wrong she could feel it.

“She won’t be coming to school today, or ever again. And you don’t have to worry about her lying anymore because she…she” he couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence.

“She what, daddy?” Sammy asked already knowing the answer.

“She…she’s with Jesus now honey” he said as he let the tears run down his face upon seeing his daughter break down.

“Why daddy?”

That was the last thing Jason remembered his daughter telling him.

Weeks pasted and Alyssa’s father was now sitting in jail for multiple accounts of child abuse and the murder of Alyssa. Jason knows there is nothing he can do to bring her back but knowing that he can get Alyssa justice was the first step in making things remotely better.