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But I had to know what I was dealing with.
“She’s told me she doesn’t remember a lot about that year.”
“She doesn’t, and she’s better off for it.”
“All right,” I said. “Let me have it.”
Jonathan rubbed his chin. “It’s very complex, and it’s not pretty. In fact, it’s horrific.”
My heart sped up as my blood thundered through my veins. “God. Okay. I get it. Please. Just tell me.”
“It happened in August, right before Daphne’s junior year was to begin. Daphne told Lucy and me she was spending the night at Sage’s. Only that’s not what happened.”
I nodded, unable to speak. Jonathan’s voice was muffled beneath the noise of my own blood gushing through me. At least that was what it seemed like.
“Sage told her parents she was spending the night at our house.”
It took me a few seconds to register his words and then reply. “That’s an old trick. Most teens have tried it.”
“And most teens get away with it, no harm done,” Jonathan said. “That wasn’t the case for Daphne and Sage.”
My bowels clenched as nausea clawed its way up my throat. I knew this feeling. The fight-or-flight response.
Flight was tempting.
But this was Daphne. My love.
I chose to fight.
“Go on,” I said.
“It was a Saturday evening. No one knows the details of where they were going or why, but they ended up at the high school after dark.”
After dark. Already I knew where this was headed.
I swallowed back the puke that threatened.
“Someone found them behind the stadium bleachers early in the morning and called the police and an ambulance.”
“Oh, God.”
“They’d been beaten and raped, Brad. Both of them.”
No.
No. No. No.
Not my Daphne. Not my beautiful Daphne. I clenched my fists. Fight. I’d fight. I’d fucking kill.
“No,” I finally said aloud, my eyes squeezed shut.
“I know how you’re feeling.”
My eyes shot open. “How can you possibly know?”
“Because I’m her father, Brad. Three men—”
“Three? Oh my God.” I buried my head in my hands. Three men who’d die at my hands if it was the last thing I did.
“Look at me.”
I stayed buried.
“Look at me, Brad.”
Be strong. Be fucking strong.
I raised my head and met Jonathan’s gaze. His eyes were glassy.
“Three men violated my little girl. My little girl. They stole her innocence, and they stole more than that, which I’ll get to in a minute.”
“Three? Where the fuck are they? Rotting in prison? I’ll have them killed. I have money. Money.”
“They’re not in prison, Brad.” He took a drink. “They were never caught.”
“What?” I pounded my fist onto the bar.
“Easy. I spent a year pounding things. It doesn’t help.”
“Just finish,” I said, pulling at my hair. “Tell me everything. It can’t get any worse.”
“Oh, it can. They were both in ICU for a couple of days, lucky to be alive. Daphne fared better than Sage. Sage was nearly dead when she was found, and to save her life, the doctors had to perform a complete hysterectomy.”
I stared at him, frozen. I couldn’t feel anything. I just wanted to get through this.
“You can’t imagine the happiness I felt when you told me Daphne was pregnant. It’s a shitty time for both of you, but it means the doctors were right. She can have children.”
I said nothing. Still stared at him.
“They both suffered severe concussions, with only one difference. Sage remembered everything. Daphne, though, suffered from retrograde amnesia. When she woke up, she’d lost all her memories from the incident and from the entire seventy-two hours prior.”
“Wait a minute? You let her think—”
“Don’t judge us too harshly, Brad. Her mother and I had the chance to spare her from the horror of that night. We talked to doctors and therapists. Some advised us against keeping it from her, but in the end, it was our decision as she was a minor.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t regret it.”
“But it did affect her. She spent a year locked up.”
“First of all, she wasn’t locked up. She was hospitalized.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Do you consider that your own mother was locked up?”
“No. I… I don’t know what the hell I think.”
“I’d say that’s normal under the current circumstances.”
Memories flooded me. Taking Daphne’s virginity. No blood and no pain.
Because I hadn’t taken her virginity.
It had been stolen in a horrific and violent way by three strangers.
Only she didn’t know that.
My God. My poor baby.
Jonathan cleared his throat again and continued, “Because Daphne didn’t remember anything and there were no other witnesses, only Sage could tell us what happened. She told us there were three men, all wearing masks. They took turns raping and beating both of them. They said they’d be harder on Sage, because she was ugly and deserved worse.” Jonathan shook his head, his eyes sunken and sad. “Sage was not unattractive, but as you know, no one can compare to Daphne. Even now, I feel the guilt. The guilt over feeling happy that my daughter was the prettier of the two. It might have saved her life.”
