AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Eight
Josephine
“Knock, knock,” I say as I peek my head into Gauge and Opal’s suite. I waited ‘till the morning to talk to Opal since it was late when we got home last night, figuring she was already asleep and needed the rest.
Gauge gives me a broad smile as he gets up from the couch and greets me with a hug. “Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it, and I’m sure Opal will be happy to see you too.
“Of course. Where’s my girlfriend at?”
He cocks his head at the bedroom. I give him a reassuring smile before walking into the bedroom.
Opal sits on the side of the bed with her back to me. She looks vacantly out the windows, unmoving. As I move around the bed to face her, I notice her gaunt cheeks and the dark circles under her eyes. She also looks thinner since I last saw her. My mom had told me she was hardly eating.
I understand what she’s going through because I had gone through something similar. My ex, Jacob, had grown an unhealthy obsession with getting me back after I left him. After he attacked me and nearly raped me, I went through a dark period of depression and anxiety. I wasn’t eating, and sleep evaded me. I still struggle with anxiety and the occasional panic attack, but I’m in a better place now after months of therapy and Maceo’s support.
My experience pales in comparison to what little I know about hers. I wasn’t raped where Opal had been—and for years. She has suppressed it all this time, which I can understand. For some, it’s easier to pretend it never happened than to deal with the extreme emotions. Perhaps Opal will be willing to bond with me over our similar experiences. If I talk about my past trauma, maybe she’ll share it with me. Gauge is desperate to find the sicko and make her feel safe again—we all are.
“Hey, Opal,” I say gently with a small smile.
Opal looks at me with surprise. “Jo? You’re back already?”
“Yeah. Maceo and I decided to cut it short.” I plop down next to her on the bed and hand her a small box. “Got you something.”
“You did? She says, her lips turning up slightly. She lifts the lid and holds up the heart-shaped prism. The early morning sun catches on the angles and throws rainbows around the room. “Jo, it’s so pretty, thank you.”
“I know how much you like your rainbows,” I say, tugging gently on her rainbow streaked blond hair. “I thought you could hang it in your window. Give you a little pick-me-up.”
She gives me a sad smile before tearing up. I wrap her in my arms as she slumps against me, crying softly.
Rocking her, I kiss the top of her head. “I’m here for you, Opal. We all are. If you want to talk, I’ll listen. If you want a distraction, I can think of a million things we can do to get your mind off of it. If you want to tell me your story, that’s fine too. I don’t want to pressure you—I understand more than most you have to do this on your own time. But I want you to know it’s okay to talk about it.”
She sobs against me. “I can’t talk about what happened. It hurts too much.”
“Then don’t tell me the details. Just share your feelings. Your feelings are justified, and expressing them can be empowering,” I say.
Opal sniffles. “How does it help?”
“You think I’d be seeing Brandon once a week if expressing myself wasn’t helping?” I shake my head. “I’m too busy to piss away my time. I do counseling because I need to release those feelings from what Jacob did to me. I need to get that shit off my chest, so those feelings aren’t crushing me.”
Opal straightens, gaping. “That’s exactly how I feel. Like I can’t breathe when facing them.”
“Talking it out helps. Hey, maybe you’d like to tag along with me to my counseling appointment next week? I’m not saying you have to contribute to the session, but you can see what it’s like, and then decide if you want to start counseling for yourself.”
Opal pauses. “I—I think I’d like that.”
“Great! It’s a date.” I didn’t learn anything helpful about Opal’s abuser to assist the crew in finding him. But having her on board to come to my therapy appointment is a step in the right direction.
* * *
After visiting Opal, I made my way to the construction zone where we are building our new home, two acres over from headquarters.
Maceo is meeting with a client inquiring about having a security system installed, so Punk is my shadow today. This is nothing new or unusual. Punk has been my bodyguard since Maceo came into my life. He leaves me at my company office trailer to make the rounds around the property.
“Hey, bestie,” I say when I climb into the trailer and spot Jared, my GC, going over blueprints.
He stands from his desk and pecks my cheek. “Hey, yourself. Come to see if our crew is meeting your expectations?”
“Damn right, I am. You know my OCD was going nuts not being here,” I say as I flip through my schedule to see when our next shipment of supplies is being delivered. “Any setbacks since the last time we talked?”
