AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No! Stop! You don’t understand! He was molesting me!”
“What?”
“I was sedated and he had his hand between my legs, Mum!”
“You mean the physical stimulations?”
Ava cringed. “The... thewhat? He was fingering me while I was unconscious!”
“Ava, calm down. He is a highly regarded medical professional. He told me he would be attempting to stimulate you to test your response. If you were aroused by a man, that’s a good thing, honey! It means the treatment is working. Oh, darling, I’m so relieved.”
Ava let out a breath, not believing the words that were about to come out of her mouth. But she had to ask, her voice barely audible even to her own ears. “You knew? You knew what he was doing to me? You... you let him?”
“Sweetheart, we have to let the treatment run its course. I know it’s not what you’re used to but—”
Ava dropped the phone and covered her mouth. Finally, the whole situation, the whole truth, washed over her. This was real. Not a dream. Her parents had allowed that sick bastard to violate her. They knew. They gave their permission. They wanted any way possible to fix her, as they considered her broken. Worthless unless straight.
She burst into a sprint. Away from the clinic. Away from danger. Nothing made sense except running, even though she was too terrified to think of a destination. People she sped past no doubt turned their heads to watch her, but she didn’t care. Maybe they could have helped, but she would never know. Everything was sinister. Everything was a threat.
On and on she ran. Not caring about traffic lights or walk signals. Any of it. It was only when she arrived at the corner of a familiar street that she felt any real sense of safety.
It was closing time, and Ruben was heading down the stairs, talking on his phone. He spotted her as she hurried across the car park and a van slammed its breaks to prevent hitting her. She ignored the blasting of the horn and the driver’s angry shouts at her. Ruben looked at her with an expression of confusion and concern. She raced to him and buried herself in his arms, crumbling to her knees and taking him with her.
“Babes... my God, what’s wrong?”
But she couldn’t answer. The relief upon finally seeing someone she trusted, the only person she trusted, and having him hold her, plus the exhaustion from her run caught up with her. She had never cried so hard in her life, clinging to his shirt and hiding her face. Hysterical. Even she knew it. But she couldn’t help it.
She felt safe after an eternity, it seemed, of danger, confusion and guilt. She didn’t want to let go. Couldn’t have even if she tried. She felt strange hands try to pry her away. Someone mentioned an ambulance. She screamed and clung tighter. All reason and sense of logic had left her, replaced with an unshakable instinct to survive.
Ruben held her with such gentle strength, saying to the unknown people around them, “No. It’s ok. Give her some room. No. No ambulance. I’ll make that call. ’Scuse us...”
Ruben lifted her in his arms and descended the rest of the stairs, turning into the secluded area of the staff car park. When they were alone, he gently sat her down on the bonnet of his car. He brushed her hair back and said softly, “Babes, it’s just us now. Hey... hey... I can’t help you unless you tell me what’s wrong. Do you need me to call someone? Do you need me to drop you home?”
At the mention of the word home, her tears started again. He brought her in for a hug and rubbed her back, letting her calm herself down. When she felt she could speak, she blubbered and flubbed her way through the retelling the events of the day. Ruben looked down at her tights and gripped one of the drawstrings.
“And they knew this whole time...?”
“They let him because he told them it was ‘working’, He was turning me straight.”
Ruben sucked in and held a long breath. When he exhaled, he looked up at Ava. “Get in.”
“No!” Ava cried, panic seeping through her again. “I can’t. I can’t go back there. I can’t face my parents. I can’t—”
“Hey, hey,” he said, gripping her shoulders. “We’re not going anywhere except home.”
“But I—”
“With me, babes. With me.” He smiled as he helped her off the bonnet and held the passenger side door open. “Get in.”
5
Ava gotout of the car just as Ruben parked in his driveway. His two-storey house was gorgeous. In the pitch black of the night, the lights from inside shone through the windows, giving a sense of warmth and comfort.
Ruben led her to the door and held it open. She cautiously went inside, hearing bustling sounds from the kitchen, and waited.
“Luv, that you?” came a voice from around the corner.
“Hello, dumplin’.”
