Chapter 8

3 months later

It felt like an eternity for Dr. Frank when both Jenny and Emily had left that morning following his successful experiment on Mr. Roberts. He barely ate anything and spent most of his time staring out his bedroom window which overlooked the driveway. He didn't even sleep with Rocky or anyone in his castle.

He sat and waited for the girls to come back, if one of them ever did as they promised they would come back. He was mentally and emotionally drained as he dreadfully missed both girls, but he missed Jenny the most and was afraid of what had happened to her.

It was a bitterly cold morning in October and Dr. Frank was about to shut his eyes for a minute, when a dark blue Honda Civic drove up on the driveway. His spirits lifted when he remembered it was Emily's car and he hurries out of his room in his usual clothes and down to the foyer.

"Let them in!" he orders Riff Raff, but to their surprise, it was only Emily. It didn't matter and the young woman and the transvestite embraced, while laughing.

"Emily! Oh I missed you so!" Dr. Frank exclaims and kisses her all over her face.

"I've missed you too! You would not believe what we've been through!" Emily replies and returns the kisses.

"Come, come! I want to hear everything! Riff Raff, bring out the brandy!" he demands and takes Emily into his arms. They come into the living room where Dr. Frank lays her on the comfy couch and Riff Raff brings the brandy.

"Oh, um, I never had brandy," Emily said when the hunchback offers her a glass and takes a sip. It stung her lips and mouth and her foot pounds on the floor.

"My word," Dr. Frank said in amusement. "Emily, why are you here?" he asks.

"I told my grandpa that I wanted to visit a friend. Well, it is true, I wanted to come see you," Emily answers.

"Where is Jenny? I thought she'd be with you," he asks, again, and Emily puts down her brandy.

"She's...well, it is a bit of a long story, but she's in a psychiatric hospital," Emily replies and Dr. Frank almost drops his glass.

"For what?" he asks.

"For post-traumatic stress, severe depression, and also for recovery from the abuse she endured," Emily answers and Dr. Frank takes her hand.

"Tell me everything," he insists and Emily begins the story.

We made it to my grandpa's in Columbus and the first thing he did was taking us to the police and they took Jenny to a hospital for evaluation.

They did a rape kit on her as evidence of rape can be collected in 96 hours after the assault. They did find enough evidence to pursue an investigation on her dad.

When the Columbus police arrived in Denton, well, they were in for a mess as they discovered just how rotten Jenny's dad was.

They questioned her mom and she admitted about her husband's iron grip on everything and everyone in the town. When asked about where he went, she said that when he discovered that Jenny was gone, he went into a fury. He actually went looking for us that night, but she said she had no idea where.

The Denton police also admitted Mr. Roberts' harsh treatment of them and how he got rid of some of the town's people when they questioned his practice. He paid them to move away and even threatened their lives.

Then the entire Ohio senate got involved in the scandal when asked how could someone like Mr. Roberts run the police in Denton.

Since they were unable to find Mr. Roberts in Denton, they kind of figured he ran away to Canada or something.

The police then evaluated me and questioned my brothers about the abuse. My parents were embarrassed by the whole thing and claimed that they didn't know about their sons abusing me.

My youngest brother finally admitted about the abuse, but claimed it was the oldest's idea. All three were arrested and both my older brothers have gone to prison and won't be getting out for a long time. My youngest has gone to juvenile detention and will be transferred to prison when he turns 18.

Both my parents were also prosecuted. They were charged with child neglect since they ignored my pleas and they will be serving prison for quite awhile. I will be staying with my grandpa and finish high school in Columbus.

I am seeing a psychiatrist and taking medication for depression.

As for Jenny, well, since she went through so much, she voluntarily went to a psych hospital. Her mom on the other hand was going to be taken to some rehab center, but then she ran away.

I cannot tell you just how broken Jenny was when she was told the news. I think she believed her mom abandoned her in her time of need.

Dr. Frank, Rocky, Riff Raff, Magenta, and Columbia had listened to the entire story, with tears falling from their eyes.

"Damn it all to hell, I want to go see her," Dr. Frank said, but can't seem to get to his feet.

"I'm afraid you can't do that, master," Riff Raff replies, "You don't want to expose yourself to the outside." Dr. Frank places both hands to his head in frustration and sinks in the cushion.

"Just how long will she stay in the hospital?" he asks Emily.

"I'm not sure, but she will be thrown out when she turns 18 in July next year," she answers, "That's the national rule, you're considered an adult at 18," she adds.

Dr. Frank pulls Emily into an embrace and begins to cry. "Oh Emily, I'm glad you came, but I am worried about Jenny," he said through his tears.

Emily gently pushes him away and pulls out an envelope from her jacket. "Before I forget, Jenny wanted me to give you this," she said and he takes it.

He gently rips the envelope open to reveal a few sheets of paper. He rubs his eyes, trying to get rid of the tears, and starts to read.

Dear Frank,

I know by the time Emily gives you this, I'll probably be on the right track to recovery, but it will take some time. The psychiatric hospital is a nice place since it was recently renovated and the patients, including myself feel at home here.

My psychiatrist is named Dr. Valerie Harrison and she is a sweet woman, but a little tough at first. She kind of reminds me of you as she has curly black hair and dark eyes like yours.

The first few weeks with her, I described every account of the abuse I endured over the years. She then had me scream out my frustration in order to relieve myself, like you did.

The other staff are mostly women in the woman's ward of the hospital since the director does not trust men around women who experienced sexual abuse like me.

I have also gone to group therapy with the other women who are around my age. I never met any other girl who had a tougher life. There is this one girl who was locked up in her house by her mother and almost every night, her mom would bring home men to rape her.

When she was sixteen, she had a baby and her mom tried to sell it for drugs. She managed to escape from that hell-house with her baby and her mom has been locked up for good. Her baby is now a toddler and living with an adopted family since she believed she could not be a good mom as she went through so much.

Other than group therapy, I did discover my passion for painting and cooking. Every day I would go to the kitchen and the staff would welcome me and the other patients and we would get to work for the lunch and dinner rushes.

I would make the food into stylish arrangements on the plates and the others decided to follow my directions and it delighted the patients.

Dr. Harrison recommended that I go to culinary school and impress those globally famous chefs. I did say I would like to give it a try.

Oh Frank, but the truth is, it feels like torture as I miss you with every passing hour. Every morning, I feel miserable when I see that you not there beside me in bed.

The moment I step out of the hospital, the first thing I plan to do is come to you and run up to the door and barge in (I do mean it). The next is to kiss you as I never want to touch any other person's lips besides yours.

When Emily and I left that morning, I realized that it was going to be the worst time of my life, that is not being with you and Emily.

No other person has made me feel safe and loved. After you took my dad's life, I felt a heavy weight lift off from my shoulders, and I didn't want to leave you. I wanted to stay in your arms, say how much it meant to be free and how much you mean to me.

All my love to you, my sweet Frank.

Jenny

Dr. Frank kisses the sheets of paper while tears flow down his cheeks. Emily hugs him tight and he returns the hug, feeling relief in knowing that Jenny was all right, but at the same time, he was sad that Jenny was miserable without him.

"Please stay with me tonight, my dear sweet Emily," he said and she nods in response.

"To be honest, there is no other place I rather be," she replies and the two went upstairs to Dr. Frank's bedroom.

"No peeking," he warns to his four comrades and he locks the door behind him.


From the author: What do you think? Kind of sweet and sad at the same time. There will be a time when all three of them come together, just be patient.