Once they were back at their apartment, Neela walked in and down to the bathroom, without a word. Ray didn't stop her, instead, laying down on the couch and turning the TV on. He knew she'd come to him after she cleared her head.
In the bathroom, Neela had stripped of her clothes and climbed into the shower. Struggling with her thoughts, she let the water relax her body. "Did I do something wrong? Why won't she open up to me? She's the best friend I've ever had, besides Ray. Maybe that's it? Ray?" Neela frowned, grabbing her shampoo off the shelf. "That doesn't make sense. Sam has Ben… although, they aren't that serious yet. Does Abby miss Luka? No, she broke it off in the first place. Sam has Alex, too. Is Abby pregnant? No, she couldn't. She doesn't want kids." Looking down at her hands, Neela realized she was starting to prune. After rinsing herself off, she grabbed a towel and climbed out of the shower.
Out in the living room, Ray heard Neela leave the bathroom and head to her room. Not even two minutes later, Neela laid down beside him and rested her head on his arm. Ray wrapped his other arm around her waist and held her close, letting her cry. He could feel her shaking uncontrollably and tried to comfort her.
"Neela, it's gunna be okay. Abby's a strong girl." Ray told her, rubbing her back. "If anyone can make it through this, it's her."
"I know she can, Ray, but she shouldn't have to." Neela said through the tears. "I should've told someone before. If I had, he wouldn't have come back."
"What do you mean?" Ray looked down at her, his eyes full of concern.
"Tony. He's been emailing me. I didn't recognize the email until I heard Abby say it was him." Neela explained. "I didn't know it was him. I thought it was just some perv emailing the wrong person so I ignored it. I didn't think it was a big deal."
"It's not your fault, Neela. Tony… he's crazy." Ray kissed her forehead and sighed. "Everything's gunna be okay."
"Then, why won't she talk to me?" She wailed. "If it's not my fault, why won't she come to me? Why Sam?"
"Abby may come to you later." Ray pointed it out. "I mean, Sam was the one who found her. She may not want to involve anyone else."
"I'm already involved, Ray. It was my ex-boyfriend that did it!"
"Neela, it may be easier to talk to Sam about this, too. She knows what Abby is going through." Ray added.
"What?" Neela sat up and looked down at Ray.
"Sam's been through this before. A couple years ago, it was one reason for moving here." He explained.
"Why didn't I know about this?"
"It was something she told me and Abby not long after she got here. After her and Steve split up, his brother assaulted and raped her. That's why she was so upset when he showed up last year."
"Oh my…" Neela covered her mouth. "That's awful."
"But you see now? Abby may feel more comfortable talking to her, it's easier because Sam can relate to her. It's completely uncharted territory to you."
"I just wish she would tell me something." Neela settled back into Ray's arms.
"I know but give her some time. She'll come around."
Neela didn't respond, just snuggled up closer to Ray and closed her eyes.
Ray turned the TV down and pulled the blanket off the back on the couch to cover up Neela, who was already drifting off. He knew he wouldn't be sleeping tonight. He was too occupied planning ways to hurt Tony.
xxxxxxxx
"Abby?" Sam finished loading up the dishwasher and turned around. "Are you going back to work tomorrow?"
"I don't know. I mean, the police told me I shouldn't be alone until they find him but I don't know that I can. You know what I mean?"
"It's all emotional. That's something I learned. You can't sit around but you can't through yourself into work. Right now, you feel like you have no strength to work but physically, you do. You have no emotional strength, right?"
Abby nodded. "That's exactly how I feel but I feel dirty still, too I don't wanna go back there until I'm clean. I can't get rid of him, you know… the smell, the taste, the images…" She trailed off.
"You're gunna feel that for a while. I showered three times a day for almost three straight weeks. It's actually pretty normal." Sam told her, sitting back down on the couch.
"It's funny. I see this all the time at work but it's so different when it happens to you. It really puts stuff in perspective."
Sam just nodded in agreement and that was the end of the conversation.