“He said he liked what he saw in them. Said I reminded him of another girl. The one he couldn’t touch. That’s when he grabbed me.”
Mia’s face changed. She looked right through me now, like she was reliving it in color.
“He took my hair out of its bun and kept touching it, brushing it from my eyes, pulling it over one shoulder.” Her voice cracked. “Then he followed it lower and lower, dragging the back of his hand down off my shoulder, over my breasts… until he reached my pussy.” Her lips quivered with every word. Tears welled in her eyes. “I pushed him off, but he struck me and shoved me to the ground—hard. He pulled out a red ribbon and told me to stay still… I don’t know why, but I did what he said.”
I watched as she rubbed her thumb over her bloody knuckles.
“I should have fought harder. They always tell you to never stop fighting.” Her grip tightened on the blanket. “But I was scared. I knew I lookedlike the other girls, but I didn’t think—” She sobbed into her hands, her body still shaking.
“Hey, it’s okay. Even if you did fight harder, he probably would have kept going. Guys like him, they feed off of the struggle. This isn’t your fault.”
She looked up at me, sniffled and wiped away her tears before starting again.
“Then he fixed my hair to one side again and tied the ribbon in it.” She grabbed her hair and put it over her shoulder, demonstrating. “The first thing I’m doing when I get out of here is chopping it all off, maybe even dyeing it.” She threw it back over her shoulder. “I just laid there, watching the boats float in the harbor while he started to unbutton my jeans. The ground was so cold it burned my skin. All I could think about was how if I died right then, the last thing I’d see were those boats bobbing like ducks on a pond. It was oddly beautiful to see them in the moonlight like that. I don’t know why, but it made me feel a little better. Made me not want to fight—just let him get it over with, then I’d be at peace soon enough.”
“You were dissociating,” I said.
“Maybe. But before he could get to my zipper, there were footsteps. The guy freaked out, ripped the ribbon from my hair and ran off. That’s when Bishop found me.”
“Thank you.” I tucked my notepad in my pocket. “If you think of anything else, you call me, okay?” I handed her my card. “Can I get you anything?”
She shook her head and went back to staring out the window. Now I knew why she couldn’t stop looking. Her view was of the harbor and all the remaining boats, like she said… bobbing like ducks.
Maggie
“Katie, I need you to come over today.” I held the phone up so I could see Katie as she pedaled her trike down the icy sidewalk. “My family’s going to be here in a few days, and I don’t think I’m going to be ready. I still havelights to hang outside, I haven’t even shopped for a tree, and I’m supposed to have someone go with me so I don’t get killed, and there’s no way I can prepare all this food, wrap presents and?—”
“Mags, relax.” She stopped pedaling and removed the phone from the mount on her handlebars. “Deep breaths. You’ve got time… and me.” She moved the phone so I could see behind her and witness Chester and Tophie curled up in the back basket, each wearing Yule-themed ugly sweaters and extra jingle bells from their collars. “Mrs. Pembledown really loved on the little guy today.”
“Oh, I miss him,” I said, falling into the papasan in the sunroom.
“He misses you too. The holiday party at Wyldewood wore him out. She had extra eggnog and danced all morning with him hanging over her shoulder.” She brought her face back into view. “Have you told Hunter?”
“—told Hunter what?” Hunter said, peeking in through the door.
I sighed. “Chester’s coming home for Yule, babe.”
“That’s not a good idea, Maggie. He’s got it out for me.”
“He does not.”
“He does, and I don’t want to be all scratched up when I meet the rest of your family for the first time.” He sat down beside me and slipped a hand around my shoulder.
“Just think about it?”
He leaned in and kissed my forehead, something that used to feel sweet—protective almost—now felt… condescending. “Pretty sure I’m choosing my face.”
“Katie’s going to come over and help me decorate some more today. Right, Kates?”
“Yep. I’ll be there in?—”
“Today’s bad.” Hunter stiffened. “You’ve got to get ready for theViceGirlphotoshoot.”
“That’s not for another four days,” I reminded him.
“Exactly, we can’t have you getting all stressed before the shoot. Your eyes get all puffy from the stress tears.”
My jaw tightened. I kept my eyes on the screen. “I’m going to be stressed if I don’t get these fucking lights up, Hunter.”
