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“Navy,” I call out and get no answer. “Tell me you’re okay, or I’m coming in.”
I’m met with another otherworldly cry that has me ramming the door with my shoulder until the lock breaks and it swings open. The room is thick with steam covering the glass shower door so I can’t see in. Shrugging off my cut, I throw the door open and nearly fall to my knees at what I see.
Navy is sitting under the spray, her knees drawn to her chest, her head resting on top. From this angle, I can see a gnarly-looking bruise from her hip up to her underarm. She doesn’t look up as I kick off my boots and step inside the stall.
“Talk to me,” I say, sitting next to her, not giving a shit that I’m getting soaked.
“I just want it to go away,” she cries.
“What do you want to go away?”
Her voice breaks. “The memories, all the times I let it happen, every memory of him, all of it. I want it gone from my brain.” She fists her hair on either side of her head, yanking so hard I worry she’ll pull it out.
“What did you let happen?”
She turns to face, an ugly snarl written all over her features. “You know.”
“Need you to say it out loud, sweetheart. Tell me, because my imagination is running real fuckin’ wild.”
Her hazel eyes well with tears. “He made me have sex with him, Colin. So many times I lost count. All so he wouldn’t kick us out. Or worse, kill us.”
Even though I knew what she was going to say, hearing it cuts me so deep I worry any humanity I had left in me will bleed out, leaving me with nothing but emptiness and an inability to feel anything anymore.
“How old?” I ask, trying my damnedest to keep an even tone.
“What?”
“The first time, Navy. How old?” It’s a stupid question. It shouldn’t matter, but it feels important for what I have planned for that motherfucker.
“Fourteen,” she whispers.
CHAPTERTWENTY
NAVY
“Fuck.” The curse is barely audible as I feel the heavy weight of my secret transfer from me to him. Not all of it, but certainly some. It’s not fair to loop him into this, but I can’t deny the relief knowing I’m not alone in it anymore.
“I’m sorry.” Naked and exposed, I plead with him to understand.
“Goddamn it, Navy. What the fuck do you have to be sorry about? Huh?” Wrinkles form at the edges of his eyes.
“I didn’t want to do it, trust me. I didn’t, but I had no other choice.”
“You think I don’t know that? You wereraped, Navy.”
My lower lip quivers, even more relief flooding through me that he doesn’t blame me. When I ran through this conversation in my mind, I expected questions about why I didn’t just leave or why I let it go on for so long. I should’ve known Colin would understand. After all, he was abused by the same man.
“I was,” I croak out.
He stands, pulling me to my feet, not sparing my nudity even a glance before wrapping me in his arms. He holds me so tight it hurts, especially by my ribs, where Monroe said there was certainly a fracture, but physical pain means nothing. Not when you’ve experienced the emotional pain I’ve been through. And right now, in this moment, with his arms around me, is healing me.
“You’ll never go back there, you hear me? Not even to check on your mom.”
“Okay.” I had already resolved myself to this the night before, but having him impose the rule takes away the remorse I felt for deciding it.
“Let’s get you cleaned up and into bed.”
“I can do it by myself.”
