Christian (The Mitchell/Healy Family #3)(31)
Author: Jennifer Foor

I turned away to hide the new tears falling down my cheeks. They weren’t for me this time, but for my friend, who was now right in the middle of my battle.

The meeting was to be held at a local church. Once we’d pulled in the parking lot Ethan turned off the ignition and looked over at me. “How are we doin’?”

“You probably shouldn’t ask me that right now. Better yet, maybe we should head back to your place and forget about this.”

“We’re goin’ inside. I’m not goin’ to let those assholes come between you and recovery. Fuck them all.”

I faked a smile, wanting so much to be as hopeful as he was. “Yeah, fuck em’.”

We both let out a laugh before I watched him getting out of the vehicle. My stomach turned as he sauntered over to my side, opening the door for me. “See, I can be a gentleman.”

He offered his arm for me to hold as we walked, but I leaned my head on his shoulder instead. “You were a gentleman at prom. You bought me flowers, and opened the door for me.”

“Then I took you to a hotel and had my wa-. Oh shit, Chris. I didn’t mean…”

“It’s okay. I’d never compare the two.” The truth was that I couldn’t do that if I wanted. My prom night was amazing, all because of the man standing beside me. We’d spent the night in each other’s arms, after he’d satiated my every desire. It didn’t hurt that I was infatuated with him. That night I could have sworn that we were both in the same place as far as feelings. Everything was in sync, and he’d made me feel like the only female on the planet.

“Still, I need to be careful what I say around you.”

“I’m not a sheet of glass, Ethan. You don’t have to walk on eggshells to be around me. If you start actin’ weird I might have to punch you.”

He laughed. “I wouldn’t want that. You might damage my sexy face.”

“I’d aim for that first,” I teased.

“No doubt.”

It was nice to be able to joke just before opening the doors to enter the meeting. I was so nervous that I’d become sick to my stomach. As the bile rose to my throat Ethan led us inside. Sitting in a circle was a group of men and women. I wanted nothing more than to turn around and run, but Ethan took my hand and squeezed it, reminding me that no matter what, I wasn’t going at this by myself. He was going to protect me, and if I couldn’t handle it, he’d get me out of there as fast as he could.

Since I was desperate, it was important to try. I couldn’t go to the police, and I sure as hell couldn’t call my parents. They were dealing with my sister’s problems. They didn’t need mine to boot. I’d handle this, because I was out of options.

Chapter 20

Christian

“Good evening. I’m Eve. Come on in and have a seat.”

My lips felt dry, and I swore that I’d just eaten a cup of sand, because my mouth refused to open to address the woman.

Ethan reached out his hand. “I’m E-.”

“No names, except for mine,” she interrupted. “These meetings are confidential. What we say here stays here.”

In that instant my uptight body relaxed.

We pulled up two chairs, watching as people made room for us to scoot in. I avoided making eye contact with everyone, in fear that they would all want to know my story. Thankfully, Eve settled my mind.

“Who would like to share tonight?”

A young blonde raised her hand and waited for Eve to acknowledge her. She folded her hands together, but constantly kept moving her fingers around. She peered down at the floor in the center of the circle, instantly reminding me how I would be if I had to share my story in front of all these people.

“I, um, I came here tonight because my doctor thinks it’s a good idea. Since the attack I’ve become agoraphobic. I dropped out of school six months ago, and pushed all of my friends away. It’s taken me a long time to realize that none of this was my fault.”

I stared down at my own hands, praying that she wasn’t going to go into detail. Unfortunately, it didn’t go the way I wanted it to.

“It was a Friday night on campus, and I looked forward to a big bonfire that was takin’ place. I lived in the dorms, and felt like I was pretty popular with everyone on my floor. Most of us partied together on the weekends, and we became this huge click. It was nice to always have someone to buddy around with, especially after dark.” She fidgeted more with her hands. “Anyway, we got all dolled up and headed out to party and meet guys. I wasn’t exactly what you’d call promiscuous, but I wasn’t a virgin either. A bunch of us started doin’ keg stands and actin’ silly to get attention. We were dancin’ around, grindin’ all over one another. My best friend, Nikki and I started actin’ like we were together. A couple times we even kissed to get the crowd to react.” She started to sniffle. I refused to look her way. “We were just havin’ fun. We were out for the night not really wantin’ to hook up with anyone. In our eyes we thought it was the best way to keep the creeps from hittin’ on us.”

She had to pause again, this time because she’d gotten choked up. Eve chimed in that very moment. “Take a few breaths before continuing. Remember that you’re in a safe place. If you need to stop it’s okay.”

“No. I can do this. I’ve practiced it for a couple days. I can’t hold it in any longer, because it’s tearin’ me apart.”

“That’s good. Stay positive,” Eve suggested.

“I’m not really sure how long we were there that night. After all the alcohol we’d consumed neither one of us was in any condition to process something as silly as time.” She wiped her nose with a tissue that Eve offered her. “Things started to get fuzzy, and all of a sudden Nikki was gone. I didn’t panic, figurin’ she’d probably had to pee or somethin’. There was this guy there. He pulled me off to the side and whispered in my ear that he knew where my friend had gone. He told me she wanted me to join her. It was stupid. I shouldn’t have believed him, but I did. He led me down this long path in the woods, and when we got far enough away that we couldn’t hear the music he pressed me up against a tree and started kissing me. I brought my knee up high enough to make contact with his junk. The moment he sunk down in pain I darted in the direction we’d come from.” This time she began to sob. “I thought we were alone. I never saw the other guys there until they’d surrounded me. I could smell the dirt before they shoved me down onto it. As much as I tried to fight them, I knew I was no match for the group of them. I kept telling myself that I’d live if I didn’t fight. I closed my eyes and tried to leave my body in my mind. I prayed to God to help me, but they just kept raping me, over and over, all of them. Each one of them took turns over and over, filling me with their vile releases. They violated every orifice, while telling me how much they knew I wanted it.” She cried into her tissue, so much that I thought she was done with her story. “When I thought that it was finally over, when my fragile body was left on the cold hard ground, it started to rain. As the drops hit my face I opened my eyes to see all of them standing over me. They drug me through the thickets in the woods, naked and exposed. Even though I knew I was bruised and bleeding I’d stopped feeling the pain. I begged them to kill me; to end my life so I didn’t have to remember.”