Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ A Lesson in Life ❯ The Truth Comes Out ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Whoo hoo! Two reviews!

I’d like to thank Dai01 and digifan9909! Thank you so much! Here’s the next chapter!

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Chapter 3: The Truth Comes Out




The next two weeks went by rather smoothly. Takato would go over to Rika’s house, or she would come over to his house. They would work on their project, and after that, play the Digimon card game and even share little secrets. Of course, since they barely knew each other and were still learning to gain the other’s trust, they only told small secrets, like what their most embarrassing moments were and silly things like that.


Takato’s thoughts were interrupted, however, when his bedroom door creaked open. He glanced over and saw Rika standing in the doorway. Her hair looked as if someone had ripped out her ponytail; it was now down and covering her face, and, as Takato continued to observe, her body was trembling, and he could here choked sobs coming from her.


“Rika?” questioned Takato, as he made his way towards her, “Rika, what’s wrong?”


He heard another choked sob, before Rika finally lifted her head to look at him. Her bangs fell behind her ears, revealing her bloodshot eyes and tear-stained face. Unfortunately, that was only one of the things that had caught Takato’s attention. Another thing was the purple bruise surrounding her left eye, not to mention the fact that there was a red handprint on the side of her face.


“Oh, God, what happened to you?” asked Takato, as he wrapped his arms around her in a comforting manner.


“R - Ryo,” Rika managed to get out between choked sobs, “Ryo is what happened to me.”


“What the hell did he do?” asked Takato, not even noticing that his voice was cracking.


It was absolutely heart-breaking to see Rika crying. Takato led her towards his bed, where the two sat and waited for Rika to calm down. Finally, she released a shuddery breath before wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.


“What happened?” asked Takato.


“Remember how you called and wanted me to come over to your house to continue our project, and I told you I’d be there as soon as I finished my Math?” asked Rika.


Takato nodded.


“Well, after finishing my Math, I was walking to your house when Ryo caught up with me. Kazu and Kenta were with him. He wanted to go to the movies so that we could see Son of The Mask, but I told him I couldn’t because I was busy. When he asked what I was doing, I told him I was going to your house to finish our project. He got angry and dragged me into a dark alley, pushed me against a wall, and hit me. He called me a slut, a whore, a bitch, and any other insult you can possibly think of.”


Rika paused to take a deep breath before continuing.


“He thought I was cheating on him or something, and I tried to tell him that I wasn’t, but he wouldn’t listen. He punched me instead, and after that, he left with Kazu. Kenta apologized for the inconvenience and said he’d make it up to me and then ran off with them, and now I’m here.”


“HE HIT YOU?” exclaimed Takato, feeling the hatred and anger surge through his body.


“I’m alright,” Rika assured him, “Really, I’m fine. I mean, it’s not like it hasn’t happened before.”


“Does he do it often?” asked Takato, biting down on his bottom lip.


Rika nodded slowly as tears trickled down her cheeks, while she rolled up the sleeve of her shirt, revealing a large purple bruise on her shoulder.


“When did this happen?” asked Takato, wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug.


“A week ago.” answered Rika.


“Why are you with him?” asked Takato, “Why are you with this freak if he hurts you?”


“I’m nothing without him,” whispered Rika, “He’s the reason I’m popular. He’s the reason I have friends. Without him, I’m nothing.”


“Don’t ever say that!” yelled Takato, “Rika, you are not nothing! When I first met you, I thought you were the most amazing girl I’ve ever seen in my life! I instantly wanted to be your friend, and not because you were pretty or popular or any of that shit,” he paused to take a deep breath before continuing, “And - And those people you hang out with right now are not your friends. Friends don’t put each other down. Friends allow you to like what you want. Those people are not friends.”


“But -” began Rika, but Takato cut her off.


“But nothing, Rika! You have to get out of this! You need to find real friends, who like you for you! Ryo treats you like dirt, and that is not what a good boyfriend should do! If I was your boyfriend, I would treat you like a Queen!” Takato didn’t realize tears were now streaming down his own cheeks as he continued, “It hurts me to see you in pain. Even though we’ve only been friends for a couple of weeks, I feel like I’ve known you my whole life, and I can’t bare to see my friends hurt.”


Rika let out another choked sob and threw her arms around him, crying into his shoulder.



“I want to,” she cried, “I’ve wanted break up with him for so long, but I was always afraid! I was afraid he’d do something to hurt me or my Grandma or my Mom or -” she didn’t even bother to continue as she cried hysterically into Takato’s shoulder.


She inhaled deeply, before pulling away and looking up at him, her violet-colored eyes watery from crying so much.

“Takato, you are the nicest person I’ve ever met in my life, and I can’t believe you care about me this much, but if it will make my life better, I’ll do it. I’ll break up with Ryo, but only if you’re there beside me. I’ll have more confidence if you’re there, Takato.”


She hugged him tightly. Takato smiled and hugged back.


“I’ll be standing right beside you.” He told her.


Rika smiled for the first time in years. Tomorrow, she would do it. She would end her relationship with Ryo, and make friends with other people, like Takato, Henry, Alice, and Jeri.


***


“Hey, Takato, you’re just in time! We were just getting ready to - whoa!”


Henry stopped talking as Takato entered the shed they all hung out in at the park, with Rika following closely behind. Jeri and Alice gasped, both girls apparently surprised to see Rika there also.


“Hey guys,” greeted Takato, “I hope you don’t mind - Rika’s going to be hanging out with us from now on.”


“But what about Ryo?” asked Jeri, “He doesn’t like us.”


“I’m ending our relationship tomorrow,” Rika confessed, “With Takato’s help, of course.”


“Oh, well, uh, we were just about to start a game of Digimon.” said Henry, as he pulled out his deck of cards, “Did you bring your -”


Rika smirked and pulled out her deck.


“One step ahead of you, Henry.” She said.


“You’re into Digimon?” asked Jeri.


Rika nodded.


“Well, you learn new things everyday,” sighed Alice, “Come on, Rika, I challenge you to the first battle.”


“You’re on, Blondie.” laughed Rika, as the two prepared to battle.


***


I hope you enjoyed chapter 3! And again, I thank Dai01 and digifan9909 for reviewing my previous chapters!

~Miranda~
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