Chapter 98

Warnings

Kate POV

I swallow hard and look at Ana. "Did you know she felt like this?" I ask in a whisper.

When Ana looks back at me, her eyes are wide and she looks stunned as she shakes her head. "Kate, I had no idea. I know she's very angry right now, about a lot of things, and she has every right to be. I didn't know how she felt about us just stepping back and watching how things play out." She sighs, "I didn't realize she wanted us to 'back her up.' She's never said anything about it."

I think for a moment, "Ana, I think we need to sit down and talk with her. Just the three of us so we can all be on the same page." I'm concerned about this whole situation. "We need to figure things out, and soon. Things can't keep going like this. It's too much for everyone."

I glance at Alex briefly and when I turn my eyes back to Ana I see that she's also looking at him. Slowly, her eyes find mine. "Kate, we can't tell him. It's not our place and you know that. She'll never forgive us if we do."

Sighing, I reply, "Ana, I know but it's not fair to Alex to be completely left in the dark. He's the one that's innocent in this whole thing and he's the one getting hurt by her." I place my hand on her shoulder in comfort. "We've got to tell him something that will help him understand. I'll take the blame if she gets pissed." I pause because the next words hurt more than I ever though was possible. "If I lose her friendship because of it, it's worth it to save someone else their pain."

The last thing I want is to lose Rhi but I can't sit back and watch her break Alex's heart without him knowing what's causing her to act out. It's not fair to him. It's also not fair to Rhi to force her to do something she's not ready to do. This extra pressure from Luke is definitely not helping.

I watch as Ana exhales in defeat. "OK Kate but don't go too far because you could do more damage than good."

I nod and turn to Alex. Taking a deep breath, I start to tell him little bits of Rhi's past. Not everything because it almost broke me the first time. It was too much to comprehend then and I don't want to relive that. I completely understand why she won't tell him.

"Alex, based on what you heard, Rhi may not be able to talk to you about anything. I'm going to tell you what I can because I think you need to know a little so you can understand her. Don't take this personally. It's not directed at you and nothing you've done." He nods hesitantly in silence, patiently waiting for me to elaborate.

"You already know she has issues and you've seen how she reacts to stressful situations, the conversations she has when she's alone. She created this to protect herself." I pause because I don't want him to think she's crazy or schizophrenic or has DID. She might but she's never been diagnosed so we can't say one way or the other.

"You've seen the x-rays indicating the physical abuse she's experienced. There's a lot more to see that's hidden and not for us to tell you. What I can tell you is she was emotionally and mentally destroyed by someone she thought loved her." I stop, trying to fight my anger.

I remember when we found her, how broken she was and the struggle to bring her back. Then I remember searching for him and the satisfaction of bringing him to justice. Paybacks are a bitch. We went above and beyond for retribution and the sick fucker deserved everything he got.

"He told her he loved her, yet he hurt her, and after time she started thinking the abuse was a normal way to show someone they loved them." Tears start to burn my eyes but I blink them away. "She started to think she deserved everything that he did." Alex opens his mouth to say something but I raise my hand to silence him. "Please, just listen." He nods and I glance at Ana who's eyes are turned to the door, glaring like she's trying to see through it.

"She was isolated from everyone for months. When she finally got the courage to fight back, she calls it 'regaining her power, which is true.' This is why she's always talking about giving people their power to make their own decisions. She lost her power and had to fight to get it back and save herself." Ana and I think 'strength and courage' is a better description but we don't correct her. "We've worked a long time with her to find herself but this vacation has been really hard on her." I look at Ana. "On all of us. You included."

He's still silent as he listens to something I'm sure he never expected to hear. I'm sure he was thinking a bad breakup or something but this is nowhere near that.

"I'm telling you this for a couple of reasons. One, so you have an idea of where she's coming from. And two, so you know that we won't let anyone or anything hurt her and cause her to retreat into herself. She disappears often, even from us, and after a few times we finally accept it, stop searching for her and let her go. Usually it's after something triggers her. Sometimes it's immediate and sometimes it's a day or two later. She comes back when she's ready and acts like nothing happened. She hasn't disappeared yet during this trip, which surprises me considering the shit that's happened, but there's still time left so we're always prepared for it to happen." I smile, "You might want to prepare for that too." He nods in understanding but I don't think he really does.

"Anyway, the guy who caused her injury has been a catalyst in the reformation of Hurricane Rhi and we're trying to minimize the casualties. We don't want you to get hurt but more importantly we WON'T let Rhi get hurt. She's really coming back to us, the way she used to be, and we want to keep it that way." I sigh. "She's more important than anyone." Which is why this is so hard for me to break the promise I made her of not telling anyone.

I look intently at him, hoping he is paying attention to what I'm saying. "We can tell you like her and are really starting to care about her. At least, the Rhi you met. We want to warn you that you may not want to get too close or too attached right away. No one, not even me or Ana, know what's going on in her head. We can only sit back and observe things, no matter if they are positive or negative. Positive outcomes are desired but I admit there are things she does that we don't agree with. Just because we don't agree doesn't mean we can force our thoughts onto her, that's not right either."

I watch as he takes in this information to see if I can get a read on what he's thinking. I don't want to scare him away but I want to warn him that the Rhi he wants may never exist completely, if ever.

I look at Ana and she frowns. After a minute she speaks my thoughts. "Alex, remember, we're telling you this so you know that the Rhi you've seen and want may not exist. Not completely anyway. You have to be prepared for the battles you will be faced with and ask yourself if you really can and want to do this." I sigh and listen as she continues, "We've watched and have noticed that you both have tempers. The way she reacts to threats is to retaliate and get defensive. She will also turn offensive if pushed too far or hard." She stops briefly. I hold my breath and close my eyes because I know what's coming next. "The pain meds, for example."

We watch as his face morphs into various emotions, his eyes mirroring his features. It changes from hard then softens into realization and finally, regret.

Looking at the two of us, his eyes sad, he says, "I've caused most of her stress. I've pushed too hard and tried to control too much. I tried to force her to be what I wanted her to be. I tried to bring out that personality, anyway." He sighs, "In my defense though, I knew nothing about her past. Just that she wouldn't talk about it. We were supposed to talk tomorrow but something tells me that won't happen." His voice tightens as he says the next words. "It doesn't need to now. I know enough. Thank you for telling me what you did. I appreciate it."

I watch as he turns and leaves the room, waiting for the sound of the door closing but it never comes.

Ana and I look at each other, silently, then turn our eyes to the door. Rhi stopped talking and all we hear is the sound of water hitting the tiles.

"Ana…" I start.

"Kate…" She says at the same time.

"There's something wrong. She's too quiet." I say, worry evident in my voice.

Ana agrees, "I think so too. Let's go in and check on her."

Slowly, we open the door so we don't scare her. We don't need her jumping and falling in the shower. She could get hurt. Waiting at the threshold, I call out to her. "Rhi?" When there isn't a response I look at Ana, her face is full of concern. Stepping further inside, I raise and call out to her. "Rhi? Are you OK?"

When there's still no response, I walk further into the bathroom. The closer I get to the shower, the more concerned I become. As I approach the corner of the shower, I see her legs laying on the floor of the shower. The water is steaming like a pot of boiling water and she isn't moving. Rushing toward the door, I see that her eyes are closed and she's leaning her arm on the built-in seat, her cast upright and leaning against the wall.

I shout, "Rhi! Rhi! Fuck! Ana! Go get Alex! She's not moving!"