Angry tears form in my eyes and I fist my palms at my sides.
“I don’t want to talk about him,” I reply, trying to fight my way out of his hold.
His grip around me gets a little tighter as he holds my body against him. The angry tears I had in my eyes earlier have spilled over onto my cheeks, and I can feel my armor starting to crack. I can’t fall apart in front of them. I need to remain strong so no one knows that the terror and pain I feel every single day is still present in my life. I've moved past feelings of giving up. Now all I want is to disappear, run far away, and start over.
“I know you don’t, but you need to know that you aren’t the only one he’s abused.”
I’m quiet for a moment before responding and my fight fades away a little.
“You know about that?”
“Yeah, we suspected for a while, but it wasn’t until you tried killing yourself last year that we knew.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
The tears begin to fall faster down my face now. I am so angry that they’ve known and haven’t said anything, but I’m also relieved that someone knows; moreso that they believe me.
“We’ve only seen you once since then, right after you got out of the hospital. It didn’t seem like the right time to mention it,” Chelsea says from the other side of the tree.
“And what does this have to do with you guys fucking one another?” I spit the words out like they’re acid burning my mouth.
"A few years ago, my parents went away for the weekend. They let me stay by myself, but they asked Bash to check in on me from time to time. He arrived one day, just after Uncle Jack left. He came inside to find me in the fetal position in my bed. I was… bloody. It wasn't the first time he… the first time that we… but he was especially rough this time. He told me that I would have a few days to recover before my parents got home, so he didn't ‘take it easy' on me like he usually did.
“Bash told me that Uncle Jack molested him his entire childhood too. I was in a daze. He put me in the bathtub and helped me wash--”
“Gross,” I interrupt.
“It wasn’t like that. It was, I don’t know… clinical. There was nothing sexual about it,” Bash chimes in.
"Afterward, I told him that I was scared to be alone… so he stayed. We talked for a long time. We held one another; we cried together." Chelsea begins crying now. "We told each other everything that we were too afraid and ashamed to tell anyone else. We shared things that only the other would understand completely."
“We know it’s not right, but there isn’t anyone else out there that we’ve been able to get close to. I’ve fucked… I can’t even tell you how many girls, trying to get rid of his touch. Trying to get his face… his voice out of my head. The only time I’ve been able to is when I’m with Chelsea.”
“Brianna, please. Please don’t tell anyone about this,” Chelsea begs.
“Even if I did, who would believe me. Just like no one would have believed me if I told them that “perfect Uncle Jack” gets his rocks off by touching me. What makes you think this is any different. Don’t worry though, I’m not going to give up your little secret. Uncle Jack really did a number on you both for you to be so fucked in the head like this.”
Sebastian let's go of me and I run back to the house, tears falling the entire way. I'm angry. I'm disgusted. Mostly I'm jealous though. At least they have each other to get them through their grief and misery. That's more than I can say for myself.
Chapter 3
Brianna
It’s been a few days since my party and I still can’t stop thinking about Chelsea and Bash. As hard as I try to wrap my head around what they’re doing, I just can’t. As hard as I try to pretend I’m not jealous that they have one another, I can’t. I try not to look as depressed as I feel as my last customer of the night leaves the store.
Part of moving to a full-time position at Joe's means that I need to open or close the store by myself on occasion. I've opened a few times, which is, literally, unlocking the store, but tonight is the first time that I'll close. I need to make sure that nothing is lying around and then I need to make sure that the items on the shelves are straight, so they are visible to the customer when the store opens the next day.
As I make my way through the store, I feel like somebody's watching me. I look around, but no one is there. When I finish straightening up, I grab my purse from behind the counter and walk into the storeroom. The office is back here, and I need to record my time in the log that Joe and May keep for payroll. Once my time is recorded, I put the journal back in the drawer and turn the light off, closing the door behind me. Digging through my purse, I look for my key to the store so I can lock up.
Suddenly, I feel a force pushing me up against the door behind me and I gasp in shock. Hands are moving all over my bo
dy. A familiar scent floods my nose, and I cry out immediately, as the realization hits that my uncle has captured me in his clutches once again. He grips me tightly around the throat with both hands and puts pressure under my chin. Lifting my face, he forces me to meet his eyes. Fear runs through me as I bore into them, watching his evil swirl around within his stare.
"I'm sorry I missed your graduation party. I had out-of-town business to attend to," he says calmly as if he weren't in the middle of assaulting me.
He runs his cheek and lips up the side of my face, smearing his spit across my skin. His nose traces its way through my hair, inhaling my scent like it's the only thing that will keep him alive.
"I just got back into town and I came straight here. I couldn't wait for one more second to give you your graduation present."