Chapter 8 Chapter 8: Becca’s Secret

Damon caught Becca's unconscious body in his arms right before she collapsed to the ground. He cursed under his breath and gave Becca his blood.

Elena barged inside the bathroom. "What happened?" She asked when she found Damon was holding Becca in his arms.

"She collapsed. I've already gave her my blood, Elena," Damon told her as Elena crouched down and checked on Becca's pulse. Several seconds later, Becca gasped and opened her eyes.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Elena asked and gave her a quick hug.

"I'm fine," Becca said while getting up on her feet.

Becca looked at Damon who was staring at her with a worried look on his face. "I'm fine, Dad, really," she assured him.

"Why don't you guys go downstairs. I'll change my clothes and I'll be there in a minute, okay?" Becca said.

Damon was about to say something, but Elena took his hand and dragged him out of Becca's room.

Becca closed the bathroom door and let out a sigh. That was very close, she thought. She quickly took out her make-up bag. She rolled up the sleeves of her pajama shirt and stared at the scars and cuts. There weren't a lot of them, but they were noticeable. She quickly covered some of the scars with the make-up. She had already learned how to do that from the internet.

Then she changed her clothes into a long-sleeve blouse and a pair of jeans. She walked downstairs to the living room and found both Damon and Elena sat on the couch.

"I'm sorry for being disrespectful and made you worried," Becca said while walking toward them.

"Why don't you take a seat," Damon said, motioning to the other couch in front of him.

Becca sat down on the couch. Knowing what Damon would ask her, she took a deep breath. There was a short silence and Damon just looked at Becca worriedly.

"Rebecca, may I ask you why your arm covered in cuts and scars?" Damon broke the silence.

"What scars?" Elena turned her head to Damon. She had no idea what Damon was talking about.

"I had a little mishap when I was still in the orphanage. I fell down from the tree and some twigs cut my arm. It's nothing to worry about, Dad," Becca lied smoothly. She was a good liar. She always was. She always came up with the same story every time someone asked her about her scars and cuts. Damon, of course, didn't believe her.

"Show me your arm," he said softly.

Becca sighed, but rolled up the sleeves of her blouse and showed them her arm, which some of the scars had been covered with make-up. Little scars and cuts left on her arm and she made it believable to the story she made up.

"I saw lots of scars and cuts on your arm before," Damon stated and looked at his daughter.

"I think you didn't see it well, Dad. These are the scars and cuts you saw," Becca said, tried to assure him.

Damon looked at her for a moment. "Okay. But I want you to know, you can always talk to us. No keeping secrets, okay, Becca?"

"Sure, Dad," Becca answered, shrugging her shoulders.

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Couple of days passed without Becca got into any trouble. She was still having attitude, but didn't get a serious spanking from Damon and it looked like both Damon and Elena dropped the issue about the scars and cut on Becca's arm.

It was Friday and Becca had permission to go to the Mystic Grill to meet Sarah. Damon drove her there and dropped her off, giving her the time to catch up with her friend.

"You look... Confused and anxious. Are you okay?" Sarah asked Becca after they greeted each other, hugging, and took their seat inside the Mystic Grill.

"Why would you say that? I'm fine S," Becca told her, trying to hide her anxiousness.

"You can't lie to me B. I knew you since we were 5. So, tell me what's on your mind girl," Sarah said.

"I'm just nervous that we're going to attend a new high school on Monday," Becca stated.

Sarah let out a scoff. "Really?! You could've come up with something better than that B. You can't fool me. Tell me the truth," she said.

Becca sighed dramatically. She knew Sarah too well. She wouldn't stop until she got the truth out.

"Fine… I tell you, but don't freak out, okay?" Becca said finally and Sarah nodded her head. Becca rolled the sleeve of her jacket up to reveal her cuts and scars. Sarah looked at her arm with wide eyes and mouth slightly open.

"Are those…," she trailed off.

"Yeah…," Becca said, rolling back the jacket down.

"Why do you do that B?" Sarah asked sympathetically. She couldn't believe what she saw.

"Besides the obvious? You know me Sarah… And I think you know why I do that," Becca answered.

"But you have a family now Becca… You don't have to do something like that anymore. You can finally be happy," Sarah

told her.

"I lied to my Dad and my Mom…," Becca said, fidgeting with her fingers, "My Dad saw the cuts two days ago and I made up story and he believed that. I feel so bad lying to them after what they've done for me."

"I think they deserve to know the truth," Sarah stated.

"You don't get it, Sarah… They will hate me if I tell them the truth. They will send me back to the crappy orphanage or even leave me on the street," Becca said.

"Listen to me B…," Sarah said, putting her hand over Becca's hand, "They are your parents now. They won't do that. They won't send you back to the orphanage or leave you on the street. I saw your Dad. He's a nice person and obviously he loves you. Believe me B… You tell them the truth and everything will get better."

"You think so?" Becca asked, uncertain of Sarah's statement.

"I know so," Sarah said and Becca gave her a weak smile.

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"Mom, Dad… There's something I need to talk to you about," Becca said when she finished her dinner.

"What is it, sweetie?" Elena asked.

"I was hoping we could go to the living room and talk," she said.

"Uh-oh. This is serious. You killed someone?" Damon asked, try to lighten up the situation.

Becca chuckled. "No, Dad, but you're right. This is serious," she said and made her way to the living room. Damon and Elena trailed behind her.

"So…," Becca broke the silence, "I've been thinking… A lot… And I came to a conclusion. You're right, Dad, honesty is the most important thing. I lied to you about something and I don't think you will like hearing the truth, but I have to tell you the truth because if we want this family thing to work, I need to trust you."

"Okay… I start to think you're really killing someone," Damon said while raising his eyebrows.

Damon's statement brought a little smile to Becca's lips. She shook her head. "No… But do you remember the cuts and scars on my arm?" she asked.

"Yeah. You fell from the tree and some twigs cut your arm," Elena said.

"Yeah… That's not what really happened," Becca said, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, "I cut myself." Her voice was barely above a whisper. Damon and Elena just looked at her, waiting for Becca to tell them more.

"You're not surprised," Becca said, furrowing her eyebrows.

"We’d figured that out," Elena said and took a deep breath.

"You knew the whole time? And you didn't force me to tell you the truth?" Becca asked, feeling confused of the situation.

"Yes, we knew the whole time. I know what I saw the first time I saw it, Becca," Damon told her.

"… and no. We don't to force you to tell us the truth. We want you to be able to come and talk to us, to trust us and we can't force you to do that. So, we wait until you're ready to talk to us and tell us the truth," Elena explained.

"Now that you're ready, you come to talk to us and that's what family is about; trust and honesty. Even when you do something really bad. I know it took a lot of courage to tell us the truth and I'm very proud of you to do that," Damon said next, stood up and approached Becca. He crouched down and took her hands in his.

"Why are you hurting yourself? Why would you do something like this?" Damon asked, looking into her eyes.

"I always feel like I'm stuck in a world where nobody wants me. I feel so… Alone… Do you know how much it hurts to know your own parents hated you so much so that they threw you away like trash? I feel abandoned, depressed, angry, sad, but most of all, lonely and lost. I hate my life so much and I hate myself so much," Becca said as tears stream down her face.

"Becca, look around. You're in a house where everybody loves you. Your Mom and I… We love you unconditionally. We couldn't be more grateful to have you here with us, Becca, and what's really important is that you're not alone. You never were. Promise me you'll never cut yourself again."

"Why? It's not exactly like anybody cares anyway," Becca said, looking away. She wiped the tears that dropped down her cheeks with the back of her hand.

"I do care. You're destroying yourself, Becca. I cannot let that happen anymore," Damon told her, shook his head slightly. Becca looked into his eyes and she saw nothing but pure concern and sadness in his eyes. Becca knew he was serious about this.

"Becca…," Elena said softy. She was already sat beside her. The same concern look in Damon's eyes was also emanated from Elena's eyes.

"It makes me sad to see you like this… I know what it feels like to be depressed. I've been there. We've all been there, but this is not the only way to cope," Elena told her.

"You need to stop, Becca, and we're going to help you, but you need to give your effort too. Can you please at least give it a try?" Damon asked.

Becca shrugged her shoulders. "I guess give it a try will do me no harm, so yeah I'll try," she said.

"Why did you lie to us about this?" Elena asked next.

Becca looked away. "Because I'm scared," she mumbled, "I'm scared that you will hate me and throw me away after you know about this." Tears came running down her cheeks again and Damon wiped them away with his thumbs.

He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. "We will never hate you and throw you away, Rebecca. Why would think something like that? We love you," Damon said sincerely.

"Even when I'm being a badass?" Becca asked, back to her trouble-self. She let a little smirk appear on her lips.

"Yes, even when you're being a badass," Damon chuckled and ruffled her hair. Then he shook his head. "You really need to watch your mouth, young lady," he said trying to be stern, but couldn't help let himself smirking. Elena and Becca let out a small laugh.

"Thank you," Becca said, looking at Damon then Elena. Then she pulled them into a 3-ways hug.