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Chapter 7
Caleb
One week. One week I've had Aria under my care. I've done everything in my power to make her feel loved and cared for. She's safe here and she trusts her surroundings. I've found her several times sitting outside on my patio, watching the world go by. It makes me happy to see her looking so carefree. It's only when something distracts her from the scenes in front of her that she transports back in time. I can see the change instantly. It kills me a little more each time, only there isn’t anything I can do.
The last week hasn’t been plain-sailing. For the first time ever, I’m experiencing a crime from the opposite side. I’m witnessing first-hand what such atrocious crimes do to the victim’s loved ones, and I don’t like it. I feel helpless and powerless. I feel like a totally different person. It’s like my heart has been cut out of my chest.
"Caleb, you need to see this." Clay throws a paper down on the table and I scan the words.
Young woman brutally raped and abused for 12 months.
"They haven't named her, but they know of someone."
And this is the moment we’ve all been dreading. The press has finally got their claws into a juicy story. Now they’ll be like a pack of wolves until they find out every little detail. What they don’t know, they’ll make up. A lot of the time it isn’t the crime that breaks the victim, it’s what the press print in their godawful papers. It’s what they dig up or make up. It’s degrading and unnecessary.
"How did they find this out?"
"It has only been a matter of time. We need to get her parents brought up to speed on this before they end up reading it in the news," Chris answers and sits down at my table.
I want to take Aria away from all of this. It's like she takes two steps forward and gets thrown back ten. She's never getting a break. It’s only a matter of time before she breaks completely.
"If I'm being honest, we got longer than I expected before the vultures found this out," sighs Clay. “Come on, Caleb. You know what they’re like better than all of us.”
I do, and that’s what kills me. I know how they’ll print rubbish. They’ll attack Aria’s friends and family until they get a juicy story. They don’t care who gets hurt in the process, and they certainly don’t care if the facts are right. It’s bullshit.
"What's wrong?"
We all turn to look at Aria standing behind us. Apart from a few light bruises on her neck, she looks a lot better than she did the day I saw her in the hospital.
"Come and sit down." I hold my hand out for her, but she remains still.
"Just tell me, Caleb."
I shake my head. I open the newspaper at the middle page and show her the article. I see when it dawns on her what she's reading, because the color drains from her and she looks like she's seen a ghost.
"Do they know it's me?"
“Not yet... "
"We need to update your family," Chris interrupts me.
She closes her eyes and looks like she's in physical pain. We all knew this day would have to come at some point, we just didn't want it to come too quickly and set her back again. I feel like we’ve made a lot of progress in one week. More than I ever imagined we would in such a short space of time. Yes, it has been hard, but each day is a new day, and we face it head on.
"If you want, Caleb and I can go see your parents. We can tell them everything." Clay walks over to Aria and rubs her back softly. She opens her eyes and tears fall down her cheeks.
"They’re still going to want to speak to me. They're still going to question my decisions. They’re going to hate me."
I stand up and make my way over to Aria’s side, because I now know the tell-tale signs of when she’s beginning to panic. I try to avoid those situations at all costs. It doesn’t just mentally drain her, but it tears another layer off my already broken heart.
"No one can question you, honey. Besides, you have all of us in your corner. Who wants to take on all three of us?"
"And what happens when someone leaks the baby to the press? You all end up in danger because of me. I can’t have that on my conscience."
"Never going to happen. Think about yourself and this little one." I place my hand on her stomach. “You’re both our main priority right now.”
I feel my brother’s eyes burning holes through me, but I don’t care who sees me showing Aria affection. I’m just annoyed with myself that I shut myself away with work all those years and didn’t come clean about my feelings. Even if we kept in touch when we went our separate ways, I might have known that she was due home. I could have found her before it got this bad.
"I can go and see your parents."
