Ronnie felt the hardness of the floor push up against her back, every second that passed making it more and more uncomfortable. But still she didn't move. Her eyes unfocused and unblinking. Her chest almost still.
"What?" Roxy uttered, drawing closer to the older sister.
"I'm so sorry," Ronnie whispered, bringing her legs up to her chest and curling her body into a tight ball. "I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologising?" Roxy asked. She saw the way Ronnie had recoiled from her reach and she knew that there was no doubt about what had happened. He had done it. He had done that to her sister. Her sister. His daughter.
Roxy felt the familiar urge to gag, but she fought it down, refusing to leave Ronnie alone. Not now. Not like this.
"I should have fought harder," Ronnie stated, her voice muffled by the pillow she held onto, as though it was her lifeline, the only thing keeping her from spiralling into a pit of misery.
"Ronnie, no," Roxy whispered, reaching out a hand and gently touching her sister's shoulder. Ronnie flinched at the contact, her body almost shuddering with the aftershock of Roxy's touch. Roxy withdrew her hand, placing it on the duvet instead. She gulped back the lump in her throat, the one that had been formed of terror and anguish. "When?" She asked. "When did it happen?"
Ronnie shook her head. "I . . . I don't remember."
"Yes, you do," her younger sister pressed.
Even though Roxy's words were barely audible, Ronnie's heart quivered with fear, as though someone had screamed inside her and it was deafening. It was all she could hear and feel, the fear and the shock of that scream. Or was that her? Was she one that was screaming? Was that why she was the only person who could hear it?
"Old enough."
Roxy sucked in a sharp breath, Ronnie's words slashing across her skin like knives of ice. "No. No," she insisted. "You were a child, Ronnie; a little girl and he-" She stopped, pressing a hand to her mouth, as though that would somehow stop the sobs from spilling out. "And he hurt you," she wept. "He hurt you."
Roxy looked down, feeling movement. Ronnie's hand had crept towards hers, seeking it out, her fingers curling around her sister's.
"Roxy?" Ronnie murmured. Instantly, Roxy silenced her cries, her breath catching in her throat as she listened intently. "I can't breathe. . . I can't breathe anymore."
"Ronnie?" Roxy called through the bathroom door, twisting the handle and pushing it open. Her body froze at the sight that greeted her. "Ronnie?" She whimpered, her legs buckling, unable to support her weight any longer.