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We know you live in Allandale, in Victoria, Australia, so you can visit your depraved husband in prison and that you have formed a very close relationship with two of the guards at the prison. We know you take in girls off the streets and give them a place to stay, and we know, by a source that I just received word from, that you have been soliciting those girls in exchange for a roof over their head and food in their bellies.
We know who you are, Julie Bates! Or should I say, Julie Clark!
TikTok Julie!
“Holy shit!” Cherry leaps up, grabbing her phone and pressing it to her ear. “Char, Hush found out the name she’s using!”
While she talks to her sister, I sit back on my haunches, looking up at my mates. They are all wearing the same expression, which says,what the fuck?
“You have?” Cherry asks her sister. “What did Officer Zimora say?”
I take a moment to look at my girl. Like,reallylook at her.
I kind of knew the basics of her past, but hearing the details on how it came about is just so fucking heartbreaking. How can anyone do that to another human being? And Brian is her real fucking dad. That part wasn’t mentioned on the podcast, so Cherry must want it to remain a secret, but how the fuck can a real dad do that to his child? I don’t fucking understand!
“He made her enjoy it,” Marcus whispers, loud enough for just us guys to hear. “She never felt forced.”
“It’s still rape.” Garrett quietly grumbles, and I nod.
“It explains so much about her… needs,” Shaun says in a hushed tone.
“Yeah. It explains why she thinks sex is the only currency in love and relationships.” Garrett frowns, glancing up at Cherry, who is still talking with her sister.
“She doesn’t think that way anymore.” Shaun shifts to face Garrett. “She knows sex isn’t the only currency now. When was the last time she even insinuated that she wanted sex?”
“Earlier today at her house. The whole vibrator incident.” I add, and they all nod.
“Yeah, but that came from frustration and probably loneliness from the isolation.” Shaun points out. “She’s been around all of us all night and hasn’t wanted an orgy. I think she’s content with us. She feels safe and knows she doesn’t have to spread her legs to feel that way.”
Garrett nods, looking across the room to where our girl is pacing with the phone pressed to her ear. “When she says she loves us, she means it.” He rasps quietly. “It’s unconditional, just the same way we feel for her.”
Chapter Sixteen
Rhys
Ifeel weird. My secret is out there in the world for people to listen to, and only those who I tell know the story on the podcast is about me. When I rang Charlotte after listening to it, she told me she had already sent the information about Julie Clark to the police. Then after I hung up, I went on TikTok to see the images of Julie that Hush posted. It wasn’t just the image I’d passed on. There were more. Whoever this Hush person is, she has some serious investigative skills.
The comments blew up. And in them was the address of Julie Clark, residing in Allansdale, Victoria. I reached out to Hush late last night to thank her by email, and she replied instantly, telling me to stay strong and keep fighting. I don’t know who she is, but I’m so grateful to her and what she does for people like me.
Me and the guys slept in the rumpus room at Simon’s last night. They were a little quieter than usual after hearing the podcast, and of course, it gave meinsta’ anxiety. I tried my best not to think negative thoughts that they find me repulsive now, after learning the whole truth. It was hard to fight that bitch voice in the back of my mind telling me I’m not good enough, and at one stage, the need to flee was fucking consuming. It was the strong arms of my guys wrapping around me that eventually scared those negative demons away, and I slept soundly in their embrace.
Charlotte swung by this morning with my school uniform and stuff so I could go to my last exam, not looking like a homeless person. She gave me a long hug before whispering in my ear to call mum. I want to call her. And Dad, too, but knowing we are likely to keep going in circles about everything has me hesitating to pick up my phone to make the call. I just can’t bring myself to suffer through that exhaustion right now.
During the exam, I feel my mum’s eyes on me. I avoid her gaze and try to focus on completing at least one exam this year, which I do, but I’m not sure it’s done well. After it’s over, the guys come to my table, their presence working like magic to calm my inner turmoil. When I stand from the table, Simon links his hand with my left, and Marcus links his hand with my right, leading me out behind Shaun and Garrett. As usual, all eyes fall on us and our unusual arrangement as we walk out of the school gates together to catch the bus to Shaun’s.
The bus trip is longer than I’m used to, with Shaun’s house dancing on the fringe of Fox Pines. It could honestly take five hours to get there, and I wouldn’t care right now with how happy I am in the little bubble we create together. We take up the back seat of the bus, with me in the middle, of course, and I snuggle into Simon’s side as Marcus slips an earbud in my ear before he presses play on his phone and the familiar sound of the Foo Fighters fills my ears.
A grin instantly tugs at my lips as I revel in the normalcy of this moment. Marcus is good at that. Making me not feel weird. Making me feel like I’m just a normal girl, living a normal life with normal friends. I know I’m not a typical normal, but this is my normal, and it feels so fucking right.
Tilting my head, I glance up at Marcus, who is wearing the other ear pod, listening to My Hero as well. His eyes are already on me, studying me even when I’m not aware.
“Thank you.” I mouth, and he frowns a little before shifting his attention to his phone and turns the volume down. When he looks back at me, he leans down and eases the ear pod out before hovering his lips over my ear, his breath warm on my skin.
“What for?”
When he pulls back to look at me, I have to swallow a few times, chewing the inside of my cheek as my emotions tug at my heart.
“For accepting me.”
