Christian (The Mitchell/Healy Family #3)(34)
Author: Jennifer Foor

He let out an air-filled laugh. “Of course he isn’t. Just tell me where to find him. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“No you won’t, Noah.” Her father walked out to keep his son from doing any further damage. “From this moment on we’re handlin’ it the right way. Uncle John’s on his way over. We’re goin’ to get a police report, and have the boy picked up for rape. Once he’s in custody we can meet with the attorney and figure out what has to be done to protect your sister. She filled us in on the roommate situation, and from here on out she’s stayin’ with us. I’ll be damned if I let a bunch of idiot kids brake my daughter’s heart. She ain’t never done nothin’ to deserve this.”

The man was full of pain, so much that it made me think about having my own kids. Even though he seemed calm, I could tell he was determined to get justice for his child.

“She can stay with me and remain in school. I have no contact with those people, Mr. Mitchell.”

“Ethan, as much as Savanna and I appreciate you helping Christian, I’m going to have to ask you to head back to school. We can take care of our daughter here. If you want to come and visit I’m sure she’d appreciate it. For right now she needs to get medical attention, not just physically, but mentally.”

“Yes, sir.” Even though I hated it, I knew I had to be mindful that this was now a family matter. I may have been her best friend, but this was definitely a private situation. “Do you mind if I see her before I go?”

“Not at all.” He motioned for me to go back inside of the house. Right before I reached the front door he said something that made me stop in my tracks. “Thanks again for bein’ there, Ethan. I know you care a great deal about my daughter. Make sure she knows you’ll be stoppin’ by to visit. I think she needs to hear that.”

When I walked inside I felt a part of me feeling defeated. I don’t know why I assumed they’d want me to stick around. I suppose I hadn’t thought that far ahead. The moment our eyes met I knew it was going to be hard to say goodbye to her, especially where there was so much left unsaid.

Chapter 21

Christian

Ethan had pushed me to tell my parents, and even though I hated the idea, nothing could have prepared me for the emotions that I’d go through when I saw the looks on their faces.

I’d thought it was hard telling Ethan all of the brutal details of my attack, but looking into my dad’s eyes and seeing pure pain was unimaginable. My mother broke down after only a few minutes, and though he’d said he wouldn’t leave my side, eventually Ethan had to leave the room.

I couldn’t blame him for needing air. He hadn’t experienced what I did, but I knew after hearing other stories from victims he’d been affected. The horrors of what had occurred to other people were shocking. It made me want to lock myself away and never come out into society again.

My uncle John was the sheriff. Since his retirement he’d been traveling all over the place with my aunt Karen. When they arrived neither knew what they were walking into. It was a Godsend when I realized I wasn’t the one who had to fill them in on all of the gory details. It was one thing to put on a strong face, but it was another to actually feel like I could conquer this large mountain of despair.

It only took my aunt and uncle a couple minutes to come rushing to my side offering some sort of condolences for my gruesome encounter. As much as I loved my family, I didn’t want this kind of treatment. I wanted to forget, albeit every time I saw them I’d be reminded that they were thinking about what happened to me. In many ways it was going to make it more difficult to forget.

While sitting down at my parent’s large, dining room table I listened to my uncle telling them what needed to be done. Hearing him go on and on about police involvement sent me into an apprehensive state.

“Don’t fret,” my uncle reassured me. “We’re goin’ to get this figured out.”

He didn’t get it. In fact none of them did. I couldn’t sit back and watch my whole life be destroyed worse than it was. Didn’t they see that going to the authorities was only causing me more grief? Couldn’t they tell that I just wanted to run away and never look back, praying I’d never see any of those people again for the rest of my life?

“Please, dad, I’m not ready to go public with this.”

“Darlin’, this ain’t your decision any longer. I won’t allow a vicious man to do this to another woman. He needs to be punished for his crimes.”

I shook my head. “No. You don’t understand. Punishin’ him will only hurt me more. I already can’t go back to that school. If you press charges and start this huge investigation I’ll leave town, daddy. I’ll have to, because no place will be safe for me.”

I’d never threatened my father, and his stern gaze let me know that he wasn’t going to stand there and take it lightly.

He looked over toward my uncle John. “Get someone to meet us at the hospital.”

I stood up, barely able to contain my emotions. I could feel the tears running down my cheeks, but wasn’t yet in a state of weeping yet. “No. I’m not goin’!”

I placed my shaky hands on my hips and stood my ground. “I’m a grown woman, and though I appreciate you helpin’, I won’t let you do this. Don’t you all get it? Don’t you see that I want to put this behind me? I don’t want to be poked by doctors. I don’t want to be judged by the media, and don’t think for a second that it won’t happen. Our family is too well-known for it not to. Is that the kind of publicity you want?”

I was going after my dad with whatever I could come up with. He had to see that this was a terrible idea.

When my brother and Ethan came back in the room, probably because of the raised voices, they could tell the shit had hit the fan. My mother was beside herself, while my father and I stood over the table in a staring match. In the midst of it all I was more thankful for the argument, because although it was regarding my attack, it had taken my mind off of the little details I couldn’t stop thinking about.

Finally I sat down and folded my hands on the table. My sniffles let everyone know that I was crying, even if they refused to look in my direction. “Please don’t make me do this. I’m not ready, daddy.” I played the daddy card, hoping to get to his heart. My father could be strict, but he always melted for us girls.