Christian (The Mitchell/Healy Family #3)(32)
Author: Jennifer Foor

The girl covered her face with her hands for a minute. We all sat there speechless, frozen in our seats. I didn’t know about the rest of the group, but for me it made me finally see that I wasn’t alone. I felt like I needed to walk over and wrap my arms around this girl, because she needed it so much more than I did. Then she finished the rest of the story.

“The campus police found me the next morning. I was still fastened to the tree, naked and freezing to death. Before they’d left me there to rot they used a tree limb to assault me from behind. The doctors had to give me stitches to stop the bleeding. I didn’t speak for the next eleven days. I couldn’t. It was like it didn’t happen if I didn’t tell anyone about it. They put me into an institution because my parents feared I’d end my life. Most days I still want to. My friends, well the people I thought were my friends, they couldn’t understand. They didn’t know how to be my friends anymore. Needless to say I dropped out of school, and left everything behind. I moved back to Kentucky where my parents still lived, and I’ve been living with them ever since. The doctors tell me that it’s time to move on; that I can’t dwell on my attack, but it’s all I ever think about. Each morning I wake up and relive every single second of my rape. I can still taste the dirt in my mouth. I can still see them passing me around like a ragdoll. The only difference is that I’m finally tired of punishing myself. I don’t want to live like this anymore, but I also don’t want to give up. For the first time in forever I have hope.”

Eve got up and rushed over to the female while starting to clap. We all followed suit, giving appreciation to this woman who’d somehow gained the strength to tell her story. Eve kneeled down in front of her and took her hands. “You are brave and beautiful. You’re here because you want to live again. It’s the reason that I’m here too. Rape is an ugly, horrible, devastating thing. It cripples us, strips us of our life, and leaves us alone and vulnerable, but it’s not the end. I was repeatedly raped ten years ago by my step-father. My mother worked nights and he’d hold me down in my bed and have his way with me, threatening to kill my mom if I told anyone. When I was old enough to call social services she believed him insisting that I didn’t want her to be happy. I ran away after that, ending up in a woman’s shelter. It was there that I met a woman who took me under her wing and showed me how to break free of that anguish. I’ve heard hundreds of stories from men and women that have both experienced this type of abuse. These meetings are for us to come together and share so that we can finally see we aren’t alone. Our stories may be different, but we’ve all survived. Thank you for sharing your story with us tonight.”

I grabbed Ethan’s hand and pulled him out of there before anyone could notice us. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, and didn’t stop walking until we’d reached his car. “Are you okay?” He asked.

“Get me out of here.”

Ethan didn’t speak on the ride back to his place; even if he had I didn’t hear him. My mind was too fixed on that woman’s story. It was wretched and disturbing, making me sick to hear it told. I found myself comparing hers with mine, and feeling like my circumstance didn’t deserve the acknowledgement.

By the time we’d made it inside I was already crying. I felt sorry for the woman, and for myself, because at the end of the day Eve was right. It was up to me to get through this, and I had to be ready for it to happen or it never would.

Chapter 20

Ethan

I couldn’t stand seeing her this way. The meeting had only made things worse it seemed. It was taking everything in me not to go after those bastards for hurting her. I felt sick after hearing that woman tell her tragic story to the group. How she’d survived that ordeal was beyond me. I could tell it had gotten to Chris, but what I didn’t know was if it was in a positive or negative way.

We were both exhausted after the long day we’d had. Since I knew she was safe it was easier to get some rest, but she was crazy if she thought for one second I was going to let go of her. If she was feeling anything that the woman had, I knew she was going require more than me keeping her close. She would need to rely on her parents, and the help of a real professional.

One thing I wished I could do was tell her how much I loved her. She needed to know that she wasn’t a burden to me. I wanted to be able to tell her she was my future.

It might not have been the time to profess my true feelings to her, but I understood. In enough time she’d know.

Chris cried for a while in my arms. Knowing that she needed time to herself I remained silent. When her breathing settled I felt like she was in a peaceful place.

By morning we’d both gotten at least a few hours of sleep. Since there was so much going on I didn’t push her to stay in bed, plus I could tell that being close to even me made her feel uncomfortable. I’d now seen and read enough to know that her road to recovery was going to be long and at times extremely frustrating. I’d decided that no matter how long it took her, I’d be her shoulder to cry on. My only concern was that her parents needed to know what was going on.

They were a tight knit group, and something like this had to be dealt with properly. I knew she was against telling them anything, but it was for her own good. She might not be in her right mind, but I was going to make sure everything was handled to benefit her.

When she first woke, Chris was calmer, seemingly relaxed. She sat down on the couch and managed to eat a piece of toast that I’d given her. Despite the fact that her eyes were bloodshot, with bags under them, she seemed in good spirits.

The key was not to bring it up, albeit it couldn’t be buried forever.

By noon we’d watched several movies. She was adamant about me going to class, so I decided it was best to keep her within arm’s length. Like a small child, Chris needed constant supervision. This wasn’t like a bad breakup; I feared she’d try to hurt herself if left alone for a long period of time.

After I’d made us some cheese sandwiches, because it was all I could find in the refrigerator, I decided to have a talk with her about the next steps, knowing it wasn’t going to go over well.

“Christian, we need to make some decisions.”

“Don’t call me that. When you call me that it’s somethin’ serious, and I can’t go there right now.”

“You’re going to have to. This ain’t goin’ to disappear. Now I get that you’re scared, but we’ve got to report this guy. It’s important he’s charged for this crime. I’m not willin’ to sit around watching you fall apart while he’s out there somewhere enjoyin’ his freedom.”