Page 13 of Butch

“I don’t know.”

Butch wrote on his whiteboard, then turned around and gently placed his free hand on top of hers.

You don’t have to know now, but if you want, Doc’s friend can come by and do an assessment so that we have all the information we need.

“Why would you do something like this for me? We haven’t seen each other in over eight years. I thought you didn’t want me anymore,” she said.

Rae heard a little noise to her right, and she looked over at Doc, who was grinning and shaking his head.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

Doc is just being annoying. Why would I do this for you when we haven’t seen each other in over eight years? Because I still love you like I did in high school. I still want to be your Daddy. I never stopped wanting you.

Doc waved his hand, gaining her attention, and turned his whiteboard.

I promise you that he does not know the person who hurt you. Even if he did, he wouldn’t say anything, but he would tell us where the man is, so we can go deal with him. Just let me know if you want him to come and check on your ears.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt?” she said.

A smile broke out on the doc’s face, and he nodded before turning to Butch and saying something. Rae knew she shouldn’t get upset about him talking to Butch, but she wanted to know everything they were saying.

Doc is having some food delivered, and I’ll feed you. It’s going to be something light but nutritious, so you can gain some weight and be healthy again. From now on, you’ll eat three meals a day. If you ever want snacks, all you need to do is tell me. Butch wrote as the doctor walked out of the room.

Rae’s stomach grumbled at the thought of having consistent food from now on. When was the last time she had that? Rae couldn’t even remember. That was what her life had come to: not remembering the last time she had eaten anything nice.

Butch cupped her face, so they were looking into each other’s eyes. She searched his face, wanting to know what had physically changed since the last time she had seen him. But the more she looked, the more she realized he still looked absolutely the same. He still had his short brown hair sticking up in the front, with his beard cut close to his face, but still showing. Rae’s eyes looked down and realized he now had a tattoo on his right upper arm, something she couldn’t quite make out right now.

But he looked the same, but a little older.

Had she changed as much as he had?

Daddy wants to know everything that happened since I left. Can you tell me anything? Butch wrote, and tears pricked her eyes.

CHAPTER 6

RAELYNN

Raelynn so badly wanted to call him Daddy again. She wanted to be Little with him once again and be carefree, but she hadn’t felt that since he left. She couldn’t let her guard down when it was only her mother and stepfather in the house. The one time she had, she’d ended up in Edmund’s house for the next seven years.

Butch wrote on the whiteboard before turning it over. Come on, Little Fairy. Talk to me. Tell me about your life after I left.

“After you left,” she whispered before chuckling. “You left me behind and didn’t come back for me, like you promised. You didn’t want me anymore. Why didn’t you just tell me that?”

The first year, she had hope that he would come get her out of this hellhole. She’d counted down the days until her graduation when he would come and get her, but he never showed up.

“I texted you, called you, but you never picked up. I tried looking you up to find an address so I could send you a letter or go to you when I graduated if you were caught up in something,” she continued to talk, not looking up at him. She needed to get this off her chest. “I kept telling mom and your dad that you were coming to get me and to not get any ideas, but then graduation came, then my birthday, and right when I was going to move out to try to find you, everything changed.”

Rae carefully wrapped her arms around herself, trying not to rip out the IV that was still in her hand. Tears were now streaming down her face, and she hated herself for crying in front of him. How pathetic could she be to cry so much in front of a person?

What happened after? He wrote, not talking about why he didn’t come and get her.

Anger coursed through her as she looked up at him.

“I was sold!” She raised her voice. “That’s what happened next. Your father and my mother decided they didn’t want me in their house any longer, so they sold me to him.”

Rae, I went back for you the year you graduated. It was a couple of months after your birthday. I came looking for you, and they told me that you had run away. I’ve been searching for you every day, trying to figure out where you had gone. They kept telling me that you ran away and didn’t want to see any of us any longer.

It was hard for Raelynn to read it through her blurry vision, but Butch kept it steady as she read. Just like the patient man he was eight years ago, letting her take her time to do anything.