Take This to Your Grave

I looked at the door and then back at Pete; another knock sounded and I went to answer it. I looked through the peephole and saw a police officer. I frowned slightly and then I opened the door; Pete had moved to stand behind the door.

"Can I help you?" I asked softly.

"I'm looking for Naomi Valentino; you're her, aren't you?" The officer spoke in a nice way; not the way you'd expect a cop to.

He was tall, quite handsome.

"Yeah, I'm Naomi. Is something wrong?"

He shook his head, "No, miss, I need to take you down to the station. Your dad has already been notified."

"What did I do?" I asked with confusion.

"Nothing, you just need to come down, this is about your situation with Seth Matthews."

I blinked, "Uh, okay. Gimme a sec, I need to get my keys."

He gave a nod and stepped back on the porch and then headed towards the steps. I turned back and looked at Pete, then whispered; "You need to go out the window. We'll talk later."

He didn't say anything, he just began to go up the stairs. I grabbed my keys from the stand next to the door and stepped out. I locked the door behind me, "I'm ready." I said to the officer.

"Follow me."

He led me to his police cruiser and let me sit up front. He went around the other side and climbed in; "I'm Officer Ward, by the way."

"Oh. What's going on?"

"It's best if you wait until we get to the station." He said this shortly.

I didn't respond; I tugged at my lip, wondering what could possibly be wrong now. I looked out the window, keeping quiet; not long later, the police station came into view. Officer Ward parked up front and then we unbuckled our seat belts and got out. "Follow me, Naomi." He instructed.

Following him inside, I spotted my dad's truck across the parking lot. Officer Ward opened the door for me and I went in first, waiting for him to lead me on. He began down a dimly lit hall, walking past doors with and then stopping at one; I didn't notice what was printed on it. He opened it and let me in; I saw my dad sitting at a table across from a man in a suit. "Have a seat next to your father, Naomi." The man in the suit said.

I went over and sat beside my dad; he looked just as confused as I. The man in the suit had papers on the table, he cleared his throat; I noticed that Officer Ward was gone. "I'm Bob Harris; I was Seth's appointed attorney."

I cocked a brow, "Was?"

Bob nodded and let out a small sigh, "Last night Seth committed suicide."

My eyes widened, "What?!"

My dad put his arm around my shoulder, "Why?" He asked Bob.

Bob answered, "Jail got to him...he couldn't wait until the trial."

I was in complete shock. My dad did all the talking; "What now?"

"Charges are obviously dropped. I just need you all to sign these forms."

I blindly signed my name were it was highlighted and then I asked how he did it. Bob gave me a look, "What?"

"How did he kill himself?"

"Naomi," my dad said my name shortly, "You don't need to know--"

I cut him off and looked at him, "Yes I do. He was a coward, a fucking monster. I want to know." I then looked over at Bob, "Tell me."

He gave a small sigh, "He hanged himself...with bed sheets."

For some odd reason, I felt like sobbing. I got up and left the room, bolting down the hall and outside. I nearly tripped off the curb from my eyes watering; I sat down on the curb and placed my palms against my face and cried, sobbed.

Moments later, I felt arms around me; I smelt sawdust and aftershave. My dad picked me up easily, like I was a baby, cradling me. "Stop crying, Naomi." He whispered quietly.

I sniffed and wiped my eyes. My dad slid me into the truck through the driver side; I scooted to the passenger seat. He climbed in and sat there a moment, his keys dangled in his right hand. "Why are you crying?" He asked me curiously.

"I was robbed." I muttered. "He does something horrible to me and when I finally get justice for it, he takes an easy way out because he couldn't handle being in a cell."

"You should be glad that be can't do that to anyone else, Naomi." My dad reasoned.

"He couldn't do it in prison!" I wiped my eyes, "This is fucked up."

My dad turned to face me, "Yeah, I know it is...I feel cheated, too."

I swallowed the lump of anger and sadness in my throat; "You do?" He nodded. "I'm sorry."

He smiled softly, "You have nothing to be sorry about." He leaned over and kissed the side of my head. "Let's go home and eat."


The next morning, Mike picked me up for school; everyone had found out about Seth. His parents were angry with me, so I was sure lots of other people were mad at me, too. I knew school would be a challenge this morning.

"Hey babe." Mike said as I climbed into his car.

"Hey." I murmured.

Mike drove off, "Don't worry about it, alright? You're the victim, he wasn't."

"Then why do I feel guilty?" I muttered; I hadn't even realized I felt guilty until that moment.

Mike was silent, thinking; "I don't know...you shouldn't."

"I know I shouldn't," I was gonna cry, "I...it's not about anyone else, it's about us; Seth and I. I felt like he ruined my life for...how long? 8 months?" Mike hummed, answering a yes. "8 months, and then yesterday, I didn't feel that...I felt like I was robbed and now I feel guilty."

"Naomi," Mike stopped at a red light, "You were robbed, you were violated and you should be happy he's rotting in hell."

"How sure are you he's in hell?" I muttered; I couldn't tell if I was joking or not.

Mike scooted closer, "Because he hurt you."

I frowned a bit, but I felt a little better; "Thanks, Mike."

"You don't need to thank me." He smiled and leaned over to kiss me; but a car behind us honk the horn.

"Someone's in a rush." I muttered, quickly pecking Mike's lips.

He sighed defeatedly, sat up straight and drove off; "Jerk."


The school day was harsh; kids once again stared at me, a few boys called me a killer and girls snarled at me. To say the least, today was not my day; my teachers all told me that I needed to keep my head up and that school would be over in 3 short weeks. Those words helped me get through the day; I only had 3 weeks left.

When school ended, I met Mike and he started to drive me home. I was tired and needed a nap; "You look wiped out, baby." Mike said softly.

"I am." I practically whispered and then I yawned. "I'm sorry, I just want to go home and sleep."

Mike smiled, "It's cool, Naomi; call me later."

I nodded shortly as he pulled up in front of my house. I leaned over and gave him a kiss and then I climbed out. I waved as I started up the pathway; I pulled out my keys and unlocked the door once I was to it. I tossed my rucksack by the stairs and went to the kitchen to get cookies and some milk; I had one cookie shoved into my mouth when I heard a loud thud upstairs. Sighing, I abandoned the idea of milk and cookies and started up the stairs, bringing my backpack with me.

"Fuck!" I heard Pete hiss.

Pushing open my door open, I found him on the floor rubbing his head; "The hell?"

He looked over and smiled at me, "You got up here quick." He then looked at his palm, checking for blood.

I went over and helped him up; "Are you okay?" I asked.

He nodded, "Just hurts."

I went to my desk and grabbed some generic Vicodin; I gave Pete a little yellow pill; "These are my dad's; he hit is head back in February and took a few...long story short, his head felt better."

Pete took the pill and swallowed it, "Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem." I took one myself and went and sat on my bed.

I kicked off my shoes and began to take my jeans off and then Pete sat down next to me. "Can I finish what I was telling you yesterday?"

I stood and shimmied my jeans off, "Seth killed himself." I said quickly, kicking my jeans away.

His eyes widened, "For real?"

I nodded and sat back on the bed, "Everyone hates me."

"Fuck 'em." He said heatedly, "Isn't your fault."

I ran my hand through my hair, "I know, I know. I don't want to talk about it, I just want to forget he ever existed."

I lay back and exhaled deeply; Pete looked over at me, "Well, he's fuckin' dead now, don't worry about it."

"I'm not."

Pete scooted closer to me and then he laid down next to me. His hand fell onto my stomach and then trailed down, slipping under the hem of my shirt. I sighed, "Pete, I told you--"

He cut me off, "I know what you told me. Did you hear what I said yesterday?"

"You hate everything but me." I relayed his words back to him.

"Yeah. I love you more than I love myself...still that isn't enough."

The pill made my veins warm and my heart pound slowly; "Why?" I asked.

"Because you get me." He rubbed up and down my sternum.

I was feeling bold because of that fast acting pain reliever. I leaned over and kissed Pete; my hand grabbed a fistful of his shirt and tugged him closer to me. Pete's hand slipped my my shirt down to my butt; his finger teased the hem. We kissed so passionately, I swore I was going to throw up butterflies and lady bugs and whatever cheesy feelings I had. I wanted him so badly, I just didn't care anymore.

I tugged at his shirt and broke our kiss; Pete looked so confused and I let go of his shirt, "Get on top of me." I ordered in a husky tone.

Pete bit at his swollen bottom lip, "What for?"

I smirked at him, "I want you to fuck me."