"A
Single Yellow Rose" – Chapter Sixteen
Out at the lake…after
homecoming game…inside the cottage…
"I wish I had a brush for you." Mimi
said.
Belle continued combing her fingers
through her hair trying to work out the tangled knots, her eyes transfixed on
her clothes lying in a pile on the floor. Her favorite pair of jeans and the
sweater that Brady had gotten her only last month for her birthday. Mimi had
found it in the woods where that he had thrown it after he had ripped it off
her body…
Chloe saw a shudder ripple through
Belle's small frame and despite the sweatshirt and sweatpants they had found
for her to wear in one of dresser drawers she shivered uncontrollably. "You
still cold?"
Belle only nodded as her gaze moved
from the clothes she would never again put on her body to her best friend. "Am
I ever going to feel warm again?"
Sitting down next to Belle on the
bed, Chloe thought she looked a lot better after washing away the dirt and over
time the bruises and cuts would heal but it was internal damage that would take
the longest to recover from. "I hope so."
"Do you feel any better?" Mimi
asked, joining her friends on the bed.
"No…but thanks for being here,"
Belle answered reaching out to take both of their hands in hers. "I don't know
what I would have done if Jason hadn't…if he didn't hear me…" her voice trailed
off as fresh tears filled her eyes. "Look at me…I can't stop crying."
"That's a good thing," Chloe said,
her eyes also shimmering with unshed tears. "For some it takes years before they
can even admit that something like this happened to them or to cry about it."
"Do you want to talk…about what
happened?" Mimi asked, brushing away her own tears.
Belle shook her head, brushing the
tears off her own cheeks. "No…I can't…I don't want to even think about…what I
would like is something to drink…my throat is so sore."
"I doubt I'll find anything out in
the kitchen but I'll go take a look."
"Thanks Meems. Oh, hey…would you
give Jason his jacket back for me?"
Mimi looked at the jacket lying at
the end of bed. "I'd rather not."
"Why?" Belle asked, confusion
written on her features. "What's going on?"
"It's a long story without an ending
yet so don't worry about it," Chloe said picking up the jacket and holding it
out in Mimi's direction. Mimi just looked at the jacket for a long moment
before finally grabbing it and walking out of the room.
Chloe waited until Mimi closed the
door behind her before returning her gaze to Belle. "You are awfully calm
Belle."
"Am I? I feel like a tornado is raging
inside of me."
"Feel like screaming for all of it
to go away but it just keeps swirling around you and it takes all your strength
just to keep putting one foot in front of the other?"
Belle nodded in agreement, wincing
as her hand slipped and she touched the bruised, tender area of her cheek.
"Yeah…"
"You know I never told anyone what
happened to me until just a few days ago. I kept pushing it away and denying
that it happened and eventually I had myself convinced that it didn't really
happen. You know, like it was something that happened to someone I knew or it
was something I saw on a movie one night."
"You've been through so much these past few
weeks…I'm so sorry."
"Oh, Belle…only you would think
about someone else's pain when you yourself are hurting so badly."
"Philip knows doesn't he? That's why
he went so nuts when you took off."
Chloe nodded. "Yeah, when all that
stuff started with my voice instructor it brought it all back…what my foster
father did…I finally knew I had to tell someone and Philip was the first person
I thought of."
"Weren't you afraid of how he would
react? What he would think…about you I mean?"
"Yeah…I was really frightened to
tell him but I was even more scared of letting it happen again. I know now that
I was a child before and had no control, but this time I felt that I could do
something to stop it. I had to do something to stop it. I just prayed he would
understand."
"Your mom and Craig know too?"
"That was harder that telling
Philip. We've just found each other and I was afraid they would send me away or
wouldn't want me anymore."
"They love you Chloe…they would
never send you away."
"I know that now and your parents
love you just as much Belle. You aren't going to be able to hide this from them
you know. You need to tell them."
Belle pulled her knees up close to
her chest. "No…no…I can't."
"I spoke with your mom…just this
morning about what happened to me and she's arranging for me to see someone on
a regular basis to help me learn how to deal with what happened in my past. You
are going to need help too Belle. I'll always be here for you…we all will…but
you are going to need a professional to talk to."
"I can't even image telling my dad
how stupid I was-"
"Hey!" Chloe interrupted her, moving
closer she placed her fingers beneath Belle's chin and gently lifted her face.
"You were not stupid and this is not your fault!"
"But I feel so…"
Chloe gathered her best friend in
her arms and held her close. "I know, I know."
*****
Mimi closed the door behind her and
found herself the scrutiny of the three suddenly silent guys perched on the
matching couches. She had heard the low rumble of their voices when she was
helping Belle wash up but with the room so quiet now she knew either Jason's
behavior or what happened to Belle was the topic of conversation.
She tightened her grip on the
jacket, her own emotions whirling around inside of her. So much had happened
tonight…kissing Jason, the ride to the party, seeing Jason and Jan together and
finally realizing that Belle had been looking for her when some bastard had
dragged her into the woods and-
Slamming the door on that thought,
Mimi marched a half dozen steps that brought her directly in front of Jason who
thankfully didn't stand up. She instead concentrated on a stuffed teddy bear
leaning up against a stack of comic books high on the bookshelf behind the
couch, unable to look him in the eye. She was so hurt by what he'd done with
Jan but so grateful he'd been nearby to help Belle…it was just too much to
think about right now.
"Here," she thrust his jacket at
him, her eyes straying long enough to see he'd put on the shirt but a wide
expansion of tanned skin was still visible. "Belle wanted me to give this back
to you."
"She doesn't need it?"
"We found some clothes for her in
the bedroom. I'm sure the Marines won't mind her borrowing them. She doesn't
want to put her other clothes back on."
Jason only nodded as he reached for
his jacket. Mimi felt a jolt of electricity race up her arm the moment his hand
covered hers. Closing her eyes against the pleasure the warmth of his touch
created, she tried to pull away but Jason only tightened his hold. Slowly he
rose from the couch and Mimi knew he realized he was crowding her but she
refused to take even one step back. The teddy bear disappeared from her view as
Jason easily topped her by six or more inches and she was forced to look away
from the wall of muscles in front of her.
"Please…let me explain."
"No."
"Mimi, you don't understand-" Philip
rose from the opposite couch.
Shawn quickly joined him. "He told
us what happened-"
"Spare me the play by play," Mimi
interrupted them. Wrenching her hand free, she dropped the jacket at Jason's
feet and leveled her stare on him. "Or should I say blow by blow?"
"I know you thought you saw-"
"Thought I saw?" Mimi turned away.
"I may not be the most experienced girl on the block but even I know exactly
what I saw."
"If you would only listen to what he
has to say-" Shawn pleaded.
Mimi headed for the kitchen. "Pass."
"Mimi, you're not being fair…"
Philip said.
"Fair?" Whirling back around, Mimi's
eyes widened and her voice rose an octave higher. "You're kidding right?"
Shawn moved around to the edge of
the coffee table. "If you'd just give him a chance-"
"Guys…drop it." Jason's quiet tone
silenced his friends. He could tell Mimi was struggling to hold onto her anger
and it killed him to see the shimmer of tears in her eyes. "Just…let it go."
Mimi continued into the kitchen,
turning her back to the living room. She started with the upper cabinets and
quickly found a coffee mug that looked like it had been washed recently. She
next opened the refrigerator but the odor that escaped caused her to quickly
slam it close.
Damn him! Damn! Damn! Damn!
She could feel three sets of eyes watching her every
move as she continued opening each cabinet door and drawer and rummaging
through each one pulling out all kinds of items before slamming them closed,
harder and harder in succession, causing most of the doors to fly back open
again. She didn't even know what she was looking for anymore.
Suddenly the bedroom open opened
again and Chloe stepped out but she didn't close the door behind her.
"How is she?" Shawn asked, walking
over towards her.
"A little better now that she has
cleaned up but well…you know. She would like to talk with you."
Shawn took a deep breath and slowly
released it before answering. "Yeah…sure."
"Shawn wait."
Mimi filled the cup with tap water
and brought it over to him. "Tell her this was all I could find. There are some
packages of hot chocolate but without power I can't heat up the water."
"Okay," Shawn said, taking the cup.
Stepping past Chloe and Mimi towards
the door he stopped when he felt the pressure of Chloe's hand on his arm. "She
still crying and that's okay. Just be…well, just be you."
Shawn nodded and entered the room
slowly closing the door behind him.
Chloe's gaze traveled from Mimi to
Jason and then onto Philip as Mimi headed back towards the kitchen. She watched
as Jason's followed her with his eyes but he remained standing near the
fireplace. Walking over to him, Chloe reached up and placed a gentle kiss on
his cheek.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"For what?"
"For saving Belle. I don't if anyone
of us have done that yet but I can't let another minute go by without
acknowledging what you did tonight."
Jason was silent as he stared down
into Chloe's eyes. "You're welcome."
Chloe only smiled and then moments
later she was safe in the warm embrace of Philip's arms. "Please don't let go,"
she whispered again his neck.
"Never."
"I feel like if I let go of you now
I'll shatter into a million pieces and disappear."
"No you won't…you're one of the
strongest people I know." Philip said, caressing the long length of her hair as
Chloe only shook her head in response to his words. "Yes you are. You took care
of Belle tonight in a way that none of us could. With all you have been through
these past few days…hell, these past few weeks…and you still put her pain ahead
of your own."
"I feel like I am going to drop to
the ground any moment."
"Here, come over here with me."
Philip led her to a large, overstuffed chair in the far corner of the room
outside of the circles of light offered by the oil lamps. Sitting down first,
he drew her onto his lap pulling her close to him and Chloe easily rested
against his strength.
Jason closed his eyes against the
intimate portrait of his two friends. Turning away, he concentrated on
buttoning the front of his shirt as he watched Mimi straighten up the mess she
created. He knew she was upset over something that wasn't true and even if she
didn't forgive him he couldn't live with the thought of her believing that he
would ever chose Jan over her. Slowly making his way over to the kitchen, he
stood behind her, waiting for her to concede to his presence.
"Go away Jason."
Well, at least she knows I'm here,
he thought. "I can't do that. I've got to talk to you."
"I don't want to talk to you!" Mimi
said without turning around. "Can't you get that through your thick skull!"
Jason took a step closer to her. "I
guess not because I'm not going anywhere. About what happened tonight-"
"The only thing that happened
tonight that I can think about right now is what happened to Belle," Mimi's
voice broke into a sob as she put some bowls and a glass away in the cabinet
and pushed the door closed. "I can't get the picture of those marks on her body
out of my head. Don't you know its killing me knowing that happened to her…"
Jason moved closer until he was
standing directly behind her. "I know it is…it's painful for all of us to
believe."
"No! You don't get it! Look, just go
away…go running back to Jan and finish what you started or do it all again for
all I care…just leave…me…alone!"
"What don't I get Mimi? What are you
saying?" Jason asked, ignoring her other words.
"It's my fault!" Mimi cried,
gripping the edge of the counter for the strength to remain standing after
finally saying those dreadful words aloud.
Jason grabbed her arms and turned her around to face
him. "What? What are you talking about?"
"I saw you! I saw you go off with Jan and I couldn't
take it! I freaked and headed off in the other direction and Belle came after
me but there was so maybe kids there and she couldn't find me. But that
creep…that bastard found her…"
"Mimi…no…you can't think that way! You can't blame
yourself!"
"Then why? Tell me why this happened to her! She is
the sweetest, nicest person on this earth and she never did anything to deserve
this!"
"I can't give you the answer you're looking for…I
don't know why this happened."
Mimi punched at his chest with her fists, tears
streaming down her face. "I did this…I caused this! This is my fault!"
Jason pulled her close, trying to hold her in his
arms but even as her bowed head rested against the center of his chest, she
fought him and continued striking out at him. He let her work out her anger on
him, knowing she had get it out of her system before she would be willing to
listen.
"It's not your fault, it's nobody's fault," he
repeated over and over, rubbing her back until she finally gave into her
exhaustion and collapsed against him and he easily caught her in his arms and
carried her over to one of the couches. He started to bend over to lay her
against the cushions but she clung to his shirt so he quickly turned around and
sat down, bringing her with him.
"Mimi…"
"Shut up and don't say anything…okay?" she whispered
against his chest.
Jason nodded and wisely kept his mouth shut.
*****
Shawn closed the door and leaned back again it. His
eyes immediately captured Belle's in a long look before she reached up to cover
the large bruise forming on her cheek and turned away.
"Please…don't," Shawn said, slowly walking over to
the edge of the bed. "Don't turn away."
"I'm, umm…my face is…" Belle tried to form the words
past the lump in her throat and failed.
"Here, it's only water but Mimi said
you wanted it."
Belle nodded and took the cup,
grateful for the cool liquid that flowed down her dry throat.
"Can I sit down?" Shawn asked.
Belle nodded and Shawn sat next to her
on the bed, not saying a word when she inched away from him. Silence filled the
room as Belle slowly sipped at the water and Shawn picked at the flowered quilt
under his bent leg. Belle lowered the cup to her lap, running her fingers
around the rim over and over again, wanting desperately to look over at him to
see if he was looking at her. Shawn traced the invisible initial B into the
smooth, worn sheets over and over again, wishing he could reach out and trace
his fingers over her skin.
God, how do I say this, he thought,
how do I tell her?
God, how do I say this, she thought,
how do I tell him?
To
be continued…