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"Come and have dinner with us," my mom pleaded one afternoon when we'd all been at the hospital visiting Graham. "It's been so long since we spent time as a family…"
I shook my head, feeling Spencer's gaze on me. "Can't do it. I have so much material to read before tomorrow. Some other time."
"You're okay?" Spencer asked me, frowning. "You have everything you need?"
I forced a smile. "I'm doing really well, thanks," I said, hoping like hell that he didn't check in at my dorm to find that I'd moved out.
Every day, I went to class and was a good little law student. Now that Hunter wasn't visiting and there were apparently no prospects for him doing so, I was able to keep up with my reading and asked pertinent questions in seminar.
Every evening, after I visited with Graham, I ate my meals alone while George sat in his little cubbyhole of an office, eating his. He didn't seem to want any company and although I was lonely, I didn't want to invite him, not really knowing what to say.
Finally, about eight days after I’d first arrived, Hunter returned to the safe house without any notice. Late one morning, after I'd returned from early class, he entered the floor and spoke quietly to George, who glanced over at me and then nodded. They talked for a moment and then George gathered up his backpack and left the apartment. Then, Hunter came right over to me, his eyes intense. The look on his face sent a shiver down my spine.
"We have to talk." He pulled me over to the seating area.
"We do." I resisted, standing my ground. "You've been spying on me."
He turned to face me, his expression guarded, as if he expected me to say something about it and was prepared.
"Only for your own good," Hunter said. "Only because you're in Victor Romanov's sights due to Graham and the fact that I paid off his debt. You don't know these people, Celia. I do."
"So you don't deny you were spying on me? A camera in my bedroom? Hunter, that's low even for you."
"Even for me," he said and shook his head, his hands on his hips. He looked up at me. "I did it to protect you"
"How does that protect me?"
"In case someone broke in, or forced you into the apartment. It wasn't me watching. It was George. He just monitored the video feed to make sure you were okay. It's moot now, anyway," Hunter said, his voice impatient. "I thought you understood that you're in danger. I'm trying to protect you. The cameras were a way to protect you."
I said nothing, because I knew he was right. It still irked me.
"Listen, I know you're upset, but there are more important things to discuss," he said and took my arm softly, pulling me into the seating area. "Have a seat."
I sat dutifully and waited while he paced in front of the sofa.
Finally, he sat on the coffee table in front of me, resting his elbows on his knees, his eyes on me, his expression serious.
"What is it?" I asked finally, wondering why he seemed so agitated.
"Did Spencer ever abuse you? Sexually, I mean?"
I frowned, totally shocked by his question.
Had Spencer sexually abused me? I took in a deep breath and wondered why Hunter was asking me that question, of all the questions he could ask.
"Why do you want to know?" I replied, my mind going back to my past with Spencer and all the nastiness.
"You didn't answer. Did he ever sexually abuse you? I know it's a hard thing to talk about, but I need to know."
"Why do you need to know? What do you mean, sexual abuse?" I asked, stalling for time. "He abused me by any definition of the word. He beat me, he slapped me. As punishment, he made me stand naked in cold showers and used to scrub my skin with a really rough sponge. Sometimes, he scrubbed so hard that my skin bruised." I thought back to those times when he punished me for some transgression. "He found me and a couple of neighborhood kids getting undressed together, you now, playing doctor. He told me I was a sinner and he had to cleanse me of my sins. But he never actually touched me in a sexual way, if that's what you mean."
Hunter took in a deep breath. "The fact that he even had you naked in the shower is sexual abuse," Hunter said. "Even if he didn't touch you."
"He touched me," I said. "He held onto me and when I fought, he grabbed me until I stopped fighting and stood still so he could scrub me down."
I sighed, the memory of those times making me choke up.
"I'm sorry I had to ask you that. It's bad enough that he beat you and abused you emotionally."
