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I rise to my feet and start pacing back and forth. How can someone do this to a child? My own demons crawl from the dark. I grab a decorative blue stone kept on the dresser and throw it hard to the wall. The full-length mirror shatters with a loud noise, and there are shards of glass everywhere. But it does nothing to lessen the rage burning inside me. I feel like there’s a shortage of air in the room and I’m suffocating.
So many questions—how, why, who—run through my mind. But I ask something else. “Were you...were you violated?” I stammer.
She looks at me in understanding. Her tear-stained face and hollow eyes will haunt me forever. Holding my gaze, she replies, “No. This was a surprise to everyone. There were no signs of rape.”
“Fuck. Fuck.”
My brain fills with varied sentences, starting from I’m sorry, but the words don’t seem like enough. I look at her. Still draped in the blanket, she looks so small and tiny.
My precious, brave girl.
“Marr, I...”
“It’s all right.” An angelic smile pulls on her lips for my benefit.
“Nothing you told me is all right. It’s all fucked up.” I breathe heavily through my nose and try to calm the raging storm inside me.
Moments later, I ease back on the couch beside her and pull her to me, still covered in the blanket. I want to hold her, take her pain away. But I don’t think I’m strong enough for both of us.
My phone vibrates in my jacket. Marr shifts away from me, pulling on the blanket and covering herself as her gaze fixes on the coffee table. I’m reminded for a second of our first meeting in the conference room—that day, I chalked her off as someone too nervous, too timid. But right now, I’m awestruck by her grit.
How did she reach from that hell to here?
My phone vibrates again with Kristy’s name flashing on the screen.
“Zander, is Rose still with you?” Kristy’s panic-laden voice greets me.
“Yes. We are in my suite upstairs.”
“Okay.” She hesitates before asking, “Is everything all right?”
“Yeah.”
I end the call and turn to Marr. “That was Kristy.”
She nods in response.
“Marr.” I press on her hands, which are holding the soft plush blanket. “I-I don’t know what else to say, but it means a lot that you shared your past with me.”I know these words aren’t enough, but I’m struggling with my own feelings.“Kristy is waiting for you.” I tug a soft curl behind her ear, and my eyes register the pearl earring. “Feel free to use the bathroom. I’ll be right outside. Take your time.” I squeeze her hands once again, and before standing, I place a kiss on her forehead.
My heart constricts at the sight of a tear that rolls down her cheek when my lips touch her warm forehead.
Ten minutes later, she reappears out of my suite. Her dress and hair are as perfect as before, but her blue eyes are no longer sparkling. She looks exhausted, and I don’t blame her.
Like before, I clasp her hand in mine, and her wide eyes meet mine in surprise. But I don’t let go. She stares at our conjoined hands as the descending elevator takes us to the ground floor and we find Kristy and Oscar in the foyer.
“Shall I take you both home?” I ask Kristy for the second time this evening, my hand still grasping Marr’s cold fingers.
“I will drop Rose and Kristy off. We drove together.” Oscar looks between Marr and me before tilting his head toward the parking area.
I hesitantly look at Marr. Her gaze is fixed on the floor, and her shoulders droop low. I don’t want to leave her, but I also need time to process all that she told me.
“I can text you later,” Oscar adds when he notices the indecision on my face. For a second, I wonder how much he knows about Marr’s past. He wasn’t too pleased with me getting closer to her in the beginning. I’m still staring at him, lost in my thoughts, when Marr gently squeezes my hand.
“Oscar can drop us.”
I glance hesitantly at all three of them before giving Oscar a gentle nod. I press on Marr’s hand firmly before letting go.
She clumps toward the parking lot, and my heart squeezes with the feeling that I’m letting go of something precious.
