Warning: This chapter will have a sexual assault, reader discretion advised

17, Christmas Eve

The young girl froze in her actions, looking up at the older woman before answering, "What are you talking about?"

"I know how a mother looks at a child." Instead of protesting like she wanted to, Tabitha trembled a little before a silent tear rolled down her face. Who was she kidding? Mrs.Foley was right. It made no sense to hide it anymore.

"Please, don't tell anyone. It would break my grandmother's heart if she knew the truth." Conviction crossed the older woman's heart, not out of despising towards the young girl, but understanding her fear. There was so much more at stake for Tabitha than herself when she was young. When she had Stephen, she was already Mrs.Foley, running the household of a CEO, and living life as a housewife with nothing else to live for really. This girl still had her life ahead, and even though she didn't know details about the child's conception, Aileen knew that she wouldn't judge her, not like how she did others.

"It's alright. Your secret is safe with me." Was it? Well, in all truth, she would tell her husband, not that he would run to tell anyone though, he had more important things to worry about in his life.

The young girl nodded before running up to her room with the child at hand.

~~~

When Aileen was in her bed, 11:30 at night, she turned to her husband, who was still awake looking at a proposal when she said to him the news.

"Well, I figured that out already. A might fine looking boy too if you ask me. Stephen did good, didn't he?" She was taken aback by her husband's comments. "That's not Stephen's child."

"Yes, it is, you impudent woman. I know how a Foley boy looks like, and that is what the baby is. Our strong brows and brown curls, don't tell me you didn't notice, Aileen."

She was now lost. How did her husband notice all of this before she did? And why did he sound like there wasn't any problem?

"Well, there is some familiarity, but most babies look the same. That's not Stephen's child. He's a priest, for Christ's sake!" Her head was beginning to hurt her. That thought was incredulous; her son didn't have an affair with a young girl.

"Well, it seems like a mother doesn't know everything about her precious son. That baby is the future heir of Foley Industries."

"Wait, if you believe that the baby is Stephen's child, why didn't you ask him about it? Are you planning on taking her child away?"

Callum looked exhausted with his wife; he loved her, but sometimes he wondered why she didn't think ahead.

"Of course, I didn't ask him. Do you think he knows? It seems like you and I are the only ones who know the truth about that baby here."

"You do have a point. The poor girl begged me not to tell her grandmother about it."

"Exactly! And besides, she sounds like she's planning to do things with her life, I approve of actually." A laugh came out of his wife's mouth, "You? Approve of a woman working and taking care of a child by herself?"

"No, well, of course not. The girl's smart, but she wouldn't be raising that child on her own. Stephen will be leaving the priesthood soon."

"I don't think so. Even as you just said, Stephen knows nothing about it."

"While that is true, he is going to be leaving it. He said so to me a week ago." "Well, the fact that he told you anything surprises me." It was his turn to roll his eyes, "Besides that, he's in love with her. Didn't you take any notice of how that saint of a child you consider him to be was looking at that young girl? I don't blame him, to be honest, but that's all he's been doing. While she's been ignoring him."

Aileen didn't notice the interaction, caught up in conversation with Sonya, but if there was one thing Callum knew how to do, it is to read people and observe them closely. That's why he was so successful.

"But why would she ignore him? You think it's to cover up the affair?"

"What affair? What fantasy did you conjure up in your mind? She doesn't like him one bit." Confused now, she then asked the burning question she knew she wouldn't like the answer to, "Then if this child is Stephen's, as you so believe, but they never had an affair as you also assume, how is it that you think this child came about?"

When hearing her husband's response, everything turned blurry. No, her only son, the Catholic priest liked by everyone, did not do that. Not to that young girl.

"You're lying! Stephen would never, ever do something like that!" With each word came a hit from her to his shoulders, to which he cried out in some pain. He wasn't as young as before to take her blows. "How could you say something like that with such ease!"

Callum gave his wife a cynical smile, "Because, if my son is anything like me, he goes after what he wants and desires. He went after her and got something extra out of it. Don't be surprised. I mean, you were always worried he liked boys, so you should be happy that isn't the case."

"But to do that to a young girl? And she had to deal with it all by herself?" She needed to stop and think, what is she to think of this? She would've been alright if that insinuation from her husband didn't occur. If any of this turned out to be true, how was she to feel about it? She would love to know her grandchild, but would Tabitha be willing? Would she even want to say that she had gone through that ordeal if it was so?

"Look, Aileen, don't be surprised when Stephen leaves the church and seeks to marry that girl. She will be a part of this family. I'm almost certain about it."

Aileen would've given a rebuttal, but there was a scream heard. Fear erupting through her now, she went to the door to see what had happened.

She was shocked to see her son come out of the steaming bathroom with a dark look on his face. Never in her life did Aileen once thought that her son could look so evil, nor that he was indeed capable of doing something so perverse.

She decided to walk to the bathroom, knocking on the door.

"Y-Yes?"

"Dear, it's Aileen. Are you alright?" A timid Tabitha answered, "Yes, I'm sorry if I woke you up. I thought I saw a spider or something. I tend to get scared easily. Please, don't mind me." Aileen wanted nothing more than to open the door to see if she was really alright, but if she was scared, to tell the truth, then so be it. She wasn't going to force the truth out of the girl. It was clear she was scared about what could happen.

Going back, Aileen knew she needed to pray about what was happening.

And give a few Hail Mary's when she went to church.

~~~

Although it was pretty late, Tabitha knew she needed to shower. She would've done it earlier, but she wanted to make sure Issac would be well-rested for the next day, so she played with him for a few hours before he became tired.

She didn't know how Mrs. Foley figured out the truth about Issac being her child. Other than her parents and everyone at her old school Tabitha had crossed paths with, no one else knew the truth. She didn't dare utter it, not without knowing how much it could affect others.

It did feel odd that someone here knew the truth. Could Tabitha trust Stephen's mother? Well, at the moment, Tabitha had no choice. She didn't think that she would tell Stephen about it, because what would he do?

Well, Tabitha didn't know what he would do, but she knew that he had suspicions about the situation.

She took her pajamas and went to shower. She needed to wash off some of the stress. The inside was pretty big, and like everywhere else, had white walls that looked immaculate. She was expecting a grand bathroom, but it was pretty simple with a modern twist of sophistication.

Getting the water warm, she entered it before putting her towel over her head. There was a door which ad blurred glass, but it didn't give her much comfort. Tabitha became consumed with the confrontation with Aileen at first. Over time, it moved onto happier thoughts like how Christmas Eve would usually be for her.

Usually, back in New York, she would watch The Sound of Music on tv, excited for Christmas to come. For some reason, she would wait till midnight before attempting to go to sleep. She would make sure all the gifts she received would look presentable in front of the Christmas village her mother would make since they didn't have a tree.

She would remember the Christmas songs she would usually sing with her family. She started to hum one softly, The First Noel. She always liked that song as a little girl. It brought her back to a happier time in her life. It was times like this when she wished she would be able to speak to her parents more. It wasn't like they didn't want to talk, but the less said between all of them, the better it would be.

Maybe it was weird, but Tabitha wouldn't be considered herself to be emotionally attached to her parents. It could be that she was used to not being around them for months at a time since being with her grandmother. Even so, it was a little scary that she didn't miss her parents in that way.

She wondered when Issac would be her age if his thinking would be the same.

As she was humming, deep in her thoughts of nostalgia, Tabitha didn't remember the door was unlocked. That anyone could enter at their own free will. With the bathroom covered with steam and the sound of water coming out was hard, she didn't take notice of the tall figure who stepped into the room. She was thinking of how she would plan to tackle all of her assignments.

When she was finally ready to stop, she took off the water and took her towel. It was then when she saw the priest through the glass, fear imminent within her. She screamed at first, not sure of what else to do, well, other than quickly covering up her body, hiding behind the big towel.

"W-what are you doing in here?" He stayed silent for a moment longer, almost taking a step closer in her direction. For a moment, a slight moment, she saw something crazy in his eyes. It was as if his body was taken over by something else.

"I heard the shower on and wondered who would be here so late at night. You should hurry up. You wouldn't want to get sick." Her eyes were wide, and for the first time, she saw a smirk on his face. Stephen knew exactly what he did.

He walked up to her. She would've moved back, but there wasn't anywhere to go.

Then it came.

He grabbed her roughly, one hand going towards her breast and the other to her buttocks. He kissed her neck, making Tabitha want to crawl out of her skin. She kept trying to push him off, but she was scared her towel would fall, and he would do worse.

"Stop! Please, Stephen, don't do this." She was crying now, remembering how hopeless she was when she turned 16.

She screamed louder again, praying that someone would hear her.

It worked. Stephen stopped his actions against her. Even though he was fully clothed, he looked disheveled in appearance.

He looked her in the eyes. Her dark eyes were in fear while he looked wild like something came out of him. Without saying a word, he left.

Even minutes after he left, she refused to move from her spot. How did he get in? Why would he do that? She wondered if he saw her and would've done the same thing in her grandmother's home. Shivers overtook her as she heard the knock on the door.

"Y-Yes?"

"Dear, it's Aileen. Is everything alright? I heard you scream." Relief washed over the young girl hearing the voice. At least he wasn't back.

She gave her excuse, but knowing that she wasn't in danger anymore, took a step out of the shower and changed into her nightwear. When she went out of the door, there was no one outside. She still rushed back to her room. Tabitha was up half the night. Sleep didn't come as an aid; every time she closed her eyes, Stephen was in her face, attacking her.

Since that night, she had that same dream. Tabitha was in the hotel room, happy. Everything was light. Then he would be there, darkness surrounding him. She would pull back from his clawing hands, but he would somehow still get a hold of her. Then, he would say something which disturbed her. "You did this. You caused me to be this way". It was when he moved his face closer to her that she would get up in fright, sweat covering her body.

It was months since she had that dream, but here it was again. She woke up in fear Christmas morning, scared that it was indeed her fault that she was in this situation.

Looking at the clock, it was nine in the morning. Tabitha barely caught four hours of sleep. She was sore everywhere, but she knew better than to stay in bed any longer. Hearing Issac's gibberish, the young girl got up and took him out of his cot, making sure to change his diaper and clothes before moving on to herself. She wore a simple green jumper and jeans, not feeling up to looking nice. Her hair was up halfway, some strands in her face which she made into ringlets.

When she had gone to the kitchen with Issac the first thing they saw was the snow outside the large glass windows. She went up there, taking the baby to see his first snow. His hand reached to the window as if he would be able to catch the snowflakes that way. She smiled at his innocence, "That's snow. When you get older, we'll play in it together and make snowmen, have snowball fights, even make angels." She thought back to her childhood of also doing that. Tabitha could remember only being outside for more than twenty minutes since her mother was paranoid about her catching a bad cold.

What pulled her back into reality was the smell of baked goods like fresh bread, something her mother would make for the holidays.

Maybe she should ask for the recipe. Her grandmother would enjoy eating some homemade bread from Trinidad.

~~~

Christmas day was decent overall, despite the events from the night before. Stephen left Tabitha alone, for the most part. It was his stare that bothered her. Oddly, she took notice of Mrs.Foley going out of her way to keep Tabitha occupied as a form of distraction. She wondered what his mother thought of her situation or if she believed that Tabitha purposely had a child out of wedlock. For the most part, she held onto Issac, which Tabitha felt like she owed her at least. In her right mind, Tabitha will never allow Stephen to claim rights to being Issac's father. She knew it meant his parent's ability to be legal grandparents of Issac would also be revoked.

The four left that evening, just as quiet when they came the night before.

Tabitha knew the first thing she would be doing when back in the morning, going straight to the shop to see Mr.Brennan. She expected to see him alone. He was always a good person to her, so she wanted to wish him a happy holiday. She would also take Issac, knowing her grandmother wanted to rest.

Well, she wouldn't be telling Sonya about going since she could have another fit like months before. She still questioned why her grandmother seemed to hate Mr.Brennan so much, but she knew better than to ask, for now at least.

For now, though, Tabitha chose to lock herself in her room and forget about Father Foley and his eyes, those dark eyes out to haunt her.

Stephen wanted to apologize to Tabitha. He didn't know what had gotten into him when he had done that to her. One moment, he was trying to get something done for his father. The next, his feet went to the bathroom, where he heard Tabitha. He wasn't stupid.

He knew she would be the only one there, but it didn't stop him.

Truth be told he was under stress, and his father was the source of it. Whenever Stephen would find himself at his parent's home, he would somehow get himself a lecture from his father to leave the priesthood and go into business with him. Now, having to worry about other things such as Sonya and the school, the parish, and his father's badgering, he felt out of control. He wanted some of that control back one way or another, and he found that Tabitha would be the source of his release.

Whenever he would find himself stressed, Stephen would find himself cornering Tabitha in some shape or form, whether it be to do something physically or emotionally. Seeing Tabitha out of control made him gain his own back.

And this time was no different.

He watched her silhouette as the steam overtook the room. Her humming was soft, but it was melodic, sweet to the ears. He watched as she had reached for her towel, clueless about his presence. Something in his soul rose, excitement about the situation he stumbled upon.

It wasn't until she screamed that his mind fully registered what he was doing. Tabitha tried to cover her body, but he already memorized her curves. It wasn't hard to imagine what was under the towel. A smirk etched on his face seeing that fear in her eyes. Her body shivered from the cold air, wet hair dripping around her body clinging onto her.

That, he thought, was a nice image. He didn't stop himself from going and groping Tabitha as he wanted, at that moment not caring about her questioning nor her feelings. Her skin felt soft under his touch. Stephen wanted to hold onto her forever. He felt her pushing against him, wanting to be out of his reach, but that only made him want to pull her closer and take her in a way he didn't before.

After her second scream, he chose to move away. He wasn't sure if anyone would hear her or not, but being caught in the bathroom with her would not be a good thing.

He left after some time and walked back to his room. Stephen knew it was her surprised face that he felt himself yearning for the young girl more. He also noticed his parent's door slightly ajar after the encounter with Tabitha, most likely his mother. He wanted to go in and give an excuse, but then what if they didn't know anything and he gave himself away?

Deep down, Stephen knew an apology wouldn't do jack for her or help to amend the situation. It wouldn't make his conscious feel better either, since there was a dark place in him that felt that it was what he wanted. His want for her had grown over time.

After dropping the trio off at Sonya's, he went into his own home, ready to call it a night. Passing his kitchen, he looked at the calendar covered in big x's on every date. At the end of it (December 31), it had written the number of days till Tabitha turned eighteen when she would already have graduated to move on with her life.

It was also the day he would officially leave the priesthood to do as he pleased.