The next day at noon
"can we really not see our daughter David, we made a mistake not trusting Tori, we should have accepted her" says Valerie Valentine
"I'm sorry Valerie but no you can not see your daughter, you broke that line of trust, she was in a shipping container full of teen sex slaves with Tori sent from China, she hit her head pretty bad, there was dried blood in her hair, her memory is spotty" says David
"how bad" asks Frank Valentine
"think of a deck of cards, place a card down then shuffle, place another down and shuffle again, you never know what memory your question is going to trigger, only Tori had the master key, I complimented her hair this morning at breakfast and in the blink of an eye she had flipped the table and curled up in a ball crying" says Jade
"my perv brother loved to compliment her hair before he touched her in places, he was killed in a prison riot last month, my only intention was to give her a hug and tell her he couldn't hurt her anymore" says Valerie
"how long did he have access to her" asks David
"two years starting when she was ten, she'd done a kids fashion thing, she'd told us the first time it happened but he denied it and he was a lawyer so neither me or Frank actually believed her, then when she was twelve she start at Hollywood arts elementary and Jade brought her home after her first week and slapped us, she showed us the pictures he'd sent her of him touching her, Jade's father got Cat the therapy but Ben was never the same, he got insane about always keeping tabs on her, fed her crazy stories that she could tell to keep people at arms length, told us he'd failed as a big brother and would never fail again" says Valerie
"why did he slap her before they left for China" asks Trina
"I felt she was making a mistake, Tori wasn't much heavier than Cat, I didn't feel Tori could properly defend her, I failed to see the deep love between them, also that anyone after Cat could take them both anyway, I thought I was doing the right thing, I'm not good with people having a connection with Cat, not after uncle was allowed to touch Cat for two years, I couldn't tell the difference between Tori and uncle" says Ben
"she told me that you'd confessed wanting to touch her, did you" asks Trina
"no I didn't, she was on this medication to help her self esteem and keep her PTSD at bay, it help yeah but in ways that could have made her a victim again, she'd started walking around the house half naked, as in only bra and panties when mom and dad weren't home, I spoke to my therapist and he said to ask her to keep herself covered around me because I'm unstable, Cat protested the idea which is why I confessed to wanting to touch her when she was dressed like that, then she understood, ever since she'd started making sure to be at most mostly dressed around me the urges went away, I'd vowed to never be like uncle John, thoughts are one thing but actions are another, I'd helped mom change her diapers so I'd seen her special place before, I'd had no urge before uncle did what he did, I felt like a failure, it affected me just like it affected Cat, my urge came to be about obsessive protection of Cat from threats, someone spread the rumor that I was molesting Cat, it didn't matter how much she denied it, my obsession to protect her only hurt her" says Ben
"she spoke highly of you Ben, I just had to be sure you knew where the line was, I'm not trying to make it anything that it isn't, until Cat is deemed stable, no visitors in person, you can video call her but she has the right to decline calls from Valerie and Frank" says David
"does she remember who we are" asks Frank
"yes but like we said her memory is spotty, the container was steel and the weather meant the boat almost capsized so she hit her body pretty hard against it several times, she and Tori had been cuffed hands and feet and had a bag tied over their faces, it's a miracle they're even alive, questions and topics should be screened first by me before you video call her, if there are questions she isn't able to answer or that set her off I can mark them so you don't ask them or talk about them" says Jade as Tori walks down
"she knows they're here, she will speak to Ben and only Ben, she does NOT trust her parents at this time" says Tori
"why me" asks Ben
"because although you did have those thoughts, unlike your uncle you confronted the issue head on and came up with a solution, when you did that you convinced her you are not a threat, she's under the covers, her vision gets a little wobbly when she tries to walk right now" says Tori
"that's more than brain trauma from hitting her head, Nona had that, she could be blind in a matter of months if it's not treated" says Ben
"we know that, after her outburst this morning dad called a doctor in, we know the dangers, it will be treated, being stuck in a shipping container for almost six full months means we all have issues, anyway ben if you don't come with me she will never talk to you again, she will see it as you taking sides" says Tori
"everything I've done since uncle went to prison was in an effort to protect her, even against mom's anger, why would I possibly pick mom or dad's side, I'm on her side all day everyday, when Jade told mom she was missing I yelled and screamed at them for not protecting her, for not going with you guys" says Ben as he walks over to Cat
"ok let's go" says Tori walking Ben up the stairs
With Cat
"is she asleep" asks Ben
"I'm not asleep I'm just very tired, memories are hitting me like trucks, my PTSD is getting worse, I'm never leaving Tori, I'd never be able to survive on my own, not like this" says Cat
"why did you want to talk to me" asks Ben
"you confessed wanting to touch me but never explained how your brain thought it would be ok, I need an answer" says Cat
"your meds were making you confident, in my eyes too confident, you'd walk around the house in only bras and panties when mom and dad weren't home, wires got crossed in my brain, your body is perfect, Tori is very lucky, the moment I noticed how I looked at you changed I talked to my therapist, he is the one that recommended having you cover up around me, I was afraid I was just like uncle John, luckily your skin being out of sight really did put it out of mind for me, I'm sorry if it made you feel scared" says Ben
"you are nothing like uncle John, Benjamin you're the opposite, my therapist told me to do that, as a test to see who else would be like uncle John, to see if I had to be taken away from you guys, you passed, you surprised my therapist, she expected you to fail the test, I hated doing that to you but my therapist wanted to make sure I was safe, had you done anything I was to push the button on the necklace I was wearing and the cops would come to arrest you, looking back it wasn't fair to put you through that and I'm sorry I did" says Cat
"I assume the boundary was laying a hand on you, dad would have failed, he would have hauled you to your room and locked the door" says Ben
"would he have hurt me or touched me" asks Cat
"hurt yes, touch no, he's not a perv, he just won't tolerate you walking around like that in his home, he'd easily have come to the conclusion that you're selling yourself" says Ben
"what's in the bag Ben" asks Cat
"underwear from your dresser, I didn't touch any of them, I pulled the drawer out and dumped it in a bag, I figured panties and bras were important to get to you first" says Ben
"thank you, I don't want mom or dad touching any of my clothes" says Cat
"we have to bring them here, clearly Tori had bought you some sexy lingerie before you left, why would you prefer I pack all your clothes" asks Ben
"one set, I want you to do it because you respect me, I don't know if I can trust them if they knew she bought me a set of lingerie, mom had made it very clear that I was not allowed to own any till I turned twenty but Tori's taste in it Is tasteful, you will see what I mean when you see it, it's not evocative, it was not at all what I'd expected" says Cat
"Trina helped me pick it out, I knew the look I was going for but asking for help freaked me out, she's had a few sets before so the store knew her as a valid customer" says Tori
"what does it look like" asks Ben
"it's a gold and silver set, as a result of the design you don't actually see that much skin, the panties are padded and the bra has lace that cover her chest, above and below, you only get a solid look at like maybe three inches of skin on her torso when she wears it" says Tori
"oh my god I remember her wearing that, it is very tasteful, dad might fuss but I don't think mom will freak, mom was afraid you'd buy revealing lingerie, that's why she didn't want you owning any Cat, she didn't want people seeing you as an object as John had" says Ben
"how is lingerie any different from bikini's" asks Cat
"context, Lingerie is generally worn to feel sexy and to help romance engagements like love making, bikini's are for swimming, you might not see it that way but people like Beck and Robbie would, she didn't want to give them a chance to take advantage of you" says Ben
"Robbie would never Ben, Tori had left me a note in Spanish asking me out but I don't speak Spanish nor do I read it, Robbie translated it and I was shocked, I was afraid, sure I liked tori but her asking me out terrified me because I don't read things well, I'd assumed this was a last ditch effort to express how she felt about me and that I'd missed hundreds of clues showing she had feelings for me, it was in fact Robbie who said he'd support my choice to date Tori, that he'd stand by me, it's because of Robbie that Tori and I were together, he could have easily lied about the translation and taken me as his girlfriend, I'm Bi, I'd have been ok with it, Robbie chose the truth, Beck wasn't loyal to Jade so yes he scared me outside of school, I stayed away from him any chance I got" says Cat
"Cat didn't miss anything, I kept how I felt about her hidden, Trina was the only one who knew" says Tori
"why tell Trina and why keep it a secret" asks Ben
"I was afraid people would attack me for being gay, besides she's a year younger than me, your parents clearly weren't happy about it, imagine if everyone knew, I'd never want to show my face in public again" says Tori
"what about Trina" asks Ben
"she was already open about being gay, she was hated at school anyway, she didn't have anything to lose by coming out, Cat and I were the popular girls at school, there comes a risk with that, the risk being total shunning, Andre says we lucked out and aren't completely hated at school though our chances of being able to get in this year are basically zero, my cousin Lola and her girlfriend Zoey switched from PCA to Hollywood arts meaning there is absolutely no space for us there, meaning we are going to have to find another way to finish our education, most likely online" says Tori
"well I should probably go get your other clothes ready or maybe I just have them bring the whole dresser, this room is big" says Ben
"there is room for it but cat hogs the bed so I was planning to get a bigger bed" says Tori
"I hog you not the bed Tor, go Ben, please please don't let them touch any of my stuff" says Cat as Ben nods and leaves