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Kellin’s POV
My hand runs over the warm rock and I imagine Vic to be there, where he once was.
I can hear the seagulls squawking and the serene repetitive sounds of the waves hitting the peer. The sun shines down on me and the warmth is comfort, and this is heaven.
This is enough to make me forget about what happened. Or more so to ignore it for the time being. I doubt I’ll ever forget it.
I suddenly remember the last time I was here. It was a beautiful night and Vic was between my thighs as his hands roamed my naked body.
And then it becomes difficult to ignore what happened. My happy memories are poisoned with the traumas of last night, the traumas that brought me here. Hands are all over me once again, but they’re no longer Vic’s. And the aching in my rear, and my thighs, and my jaw, becomes unbearable.
“Kellin?”
Tay.
Her voice is enough to distract me from those traumas again, and I’m subconsciously relieved.
I sit up and watch the pretty woman walk cautiously over to me.
“Vic said you’d be here.” she smiles relieved.
I pull my legs up to my chest as she sits down next to me.
“Vic’s not real.” I tell her.
She looks broken by my statement.
“Of course he is. Look.” she reaches towards me but I flinch and push her hand away.
A confused expression makes it’s way to her face.
“Kell, it’s just me. I’m not going to hurt you.” she says.
She reaches towards me again so I let her and she grabs the locket from around my neck that I forgot was there. She flips it open and I see the photo of Vic and I.
“He is real. He’s right there with you, Kells.” she says.
I pick up the locket in my hand and stare at the picture. He is real. He came to see me last night. He brought me lots of yummy food and Aladdin.
I turn around and find the backpack I brought with me. I open it up and pull out the chocolate Mama put in there. I start eating it and Tay smiles softly.
“You can’t just run away like that, honey.” she says. “Everyone was so worried.”
I just shrug and look down at my sleeves. I notice that I’m wearing Vic’s hoodie even though it’s warm out. I grab some of the material and bring it to my nose. My heart aches at Vic’s scent.
“I’m going to have to take you back.” Tay says.
My eyes go wide as I drop the chocolate and the hoodie.
“No, you cant do that. Please don’t take me back there. They hurt me, Tay.” I panic.
Her eyes go soft.
“You can handle it, Kells. Just for a little longer. You lived with your parents for so long, this must be nothing compared to what they put you through.” she says.
“No, you don’t understand. They’re worse than my parents.” I tell her then I get an idea. “Wait. Can I go back to live with my parents? Can we tell the judge that I made it all up and they can come out of prison. Please Tay, please. I want to go live with Mother and Father.”
I’m crying at this point. I would much rather live with my parents than go back there.
Tay looks confused and shocked.
“You don’t mean that.” She says softly.
“I do. Please, if I cant have Mama and Papa then I’d like to live with my parents.” I plead.
Tay then looks very worried.
“Why on earth would you rather live with your parents? You remember what they did to you, yeah?” Tay asks.
I nod.
“I remember. I’d rather live with them.” I whisper, wiping my tears.
Taylor stares at me for a while. She looks mostly confused but also concerned.
“Kell, did something happen? Something really bad must have happened for you to want to go back to your parents.” she says, her voice wobbling.
I stay silent. They’ll kill me if I talk.
“Kellin, I can’t help you unless you talk to me.” she whines.
I don’t answer though, I just look down at my shoes.
“Can I see your hand for a second, sweetie?” she asks.
I look at her confused but nod. I hold out my hand and she takes it. Then she gently rolls up my sleeve slightly. Her jaw clenches when she sees the bruise around my wrist. She then drops my hand.
“Would you tell Vic what happened?” she asks.
I shake my head aggressively. The thought of him knowing makes me feel sick.
“What about Mama? Would you tell Mama?” she asks.
I instantly remember the promise I made with Mama the day before I was taken away. I promised to always come to her.
I don’t want to talk about it, that’s for sure. But I made a promise.
I nod slowly and Tay looks relieved. Then she stands up.
“Come on.” she says, nudging her head in the direction she wants me to go.
“I’m not going back there.” I whisper fearfully.
“I know. I’m going to take you back to mine and Jenna’s, okay?” she asks and I nod.
I put the chocolate back in the backpack then put it on my back.
I look back at the spot where Vic was laying next to me not that long ago.
“This is where Vic and I made love.” I whisper, gliding my hand over the spot.
“He can come over if you want. All you have to do is ask.” Tay says softly.
I look back up at her and shake my head.
“No, I don’t want to see him.” I whisper, standing up.
She nods and then I follow her back to her car. She allows me to sit in the front seat then she drives off.
She picks up her phone and then puts it to her ear.
“Hey Viv, yeah I found him…I need you to come over to my house. Kellin has agreed to talk to you.” she says. She glances at me then she lowers her voice. “I think there’s been some kind of sexual abuse. I’m not sure though…No…no he said he doesn’t want to see Vic…okay, I’ll see you soon…bye.”
She then hangs up.
I look out the window for the rest of the drive, trying to think of anything but last night.
Soon we arrive at Tay’s house. She parks in the driveway and we get out. We go inside and she sits me down on the sofa.
“Would you like anything, Kells?” she questions.
“Do you have tea?” I ask her and she nods.
“Of course. You get comfortable and I’ll be right back with that tea.” she chirps.
She leaves the room so I take the remote control from the coffee table and turn the TV on. I find cartoons and watch them until Tay comes back with my tea. I thank her as she hands it to me.
We sit quietly until the doorbell rings. Tay gets up and answers it. I turn the TV down then Tay comes back into the room with Mama.
“Mama!” I exclaim, just happy to see her.
“Hey Kells.” she smiles back but her smile seems sad.
She sits on the sofa next to me and I wrap my arms around her instantly. She holds me back for a while until she pulls away.
“Honey, can you tell me why you ran away?” she asks softly.
A sick feeling enters my stomach again. I really don’t want to talk about this. I stay silent and look down at my hands.
“Did those boys do something to you?” she asks and I nod.
I notice Tay sitting next to her with a notepad in her hands and a pencil.
“Did they make you do something that you’d only do with Vic?” she asks I nod again.
She wraps her arm around my shoulder and kisses my head.
“Okay,” she whispers. “Kells, it’s very important that you tell me exactly what happened.”
“If you do, I’ll be able to make sure you never go back to that house again.” Tay adds.
“You promise?” I sniff, tears filling my eyes.
Tay nods and I decide to just spill it. I drink some more tea then place it down on the coffee table.
“I woke up to someone grabbing me.” I begin. “No, like a few people grabbing me. Someone took my hands and someone took my legs. I couldn’t scream, there was something in my mouth and I couldn’t see, there was something over my eyes.”
I have to stop. I feel sick.
“I can’t tell you.” I choke out. “They said they would kill me.”
Mama takes my face in her hands so I’m looking at her.
“They’re never going to see you again, I promise you that.” she says softly.
I nod but decide that I’m not going to name them. I’m not even one hundred percent sure I know who they are.
“They took me down to the basement. I think it was the basement. It was really cold.” I continue, trying to push back sobs. “They took my clothes off and then they,”
I stop talking and let myself cry. Mama holds me close to her and I soak her shirt in tears.
“They took turns.” I whimper.
“In having sex with you?” she asks softly and I nod.
“How many of them were there?” she questions.
“I don’t know. At least three. Maybe more.” I cry.
“Do you know who they were?”
I shake my head. I’m sure it was the Lost Boys but I’m not telling her that.
Mama shushes me softly and rocks me back and forth until I can calm down.
“I’m going to call my boss, okay?” Tay says and I can tell she’s also been crying.
She gets up then walks to the landline which isn’t far behind the sofa.
“Don’t tell Vic.” I whisper to Mama.
“You don’t want Vic to know?”
“No, he’ll hate me.” I whimper.
“He’s not going to hate you, Kells. This isn’t your fault. He’ll understand that.” Mama says softly.
“Really?” I whisper.
“Really. But I won’t tell him if it’ll make you more comfortable.” she says and I nod.
Mama just rubs my back comfortingly after that while I listen to Tay on the phone.
“Well he can’t go back there. There’s been physical, verbal, sexual and psychological abuse…The Fuentes’s are willing to take him…yeah I know…What if he stayed with me?…yeah I’ve got the space…okay…thank you Ma’am.”
After that she hangs up then she sits back on the sofa next to Mama.
“Looks like you’re staying here with me.” she chirps.
I instantly feel relieved. Thank God.
“Thank you, Tay.” I whisper.
“Don’t thank me, sweetie.” she smiles sadly. “After these circumstances, I think we’re ready to go to court for custody.”
“Is that such a good idea? I thought we were going to wait.” Mama says.
“Kellin’s now essentially homeless so he’s a priority case. The next foster home that becomes available, he will go to which will make our case a lot less compelling.” Taylor explains.
“Okay, I’ll get in contact with the lawyer.” Mama says then she looks down at me. “And we’ll get you home as soon as possible.”
I hug Mama tighter.
“I really missed you, Mama.” I sniff.
“I missed you too, Kells.” she whispers back.
We just hold each other until the front door opens. Jenna comes in holding a leash and I gasp when I see the puppy attached to the leash.
“Oh, hey you. This is a nice surprise.” Jenna smiles when she sees me.
She lets the puppy off the leash and it immediately jumps onto my lap and starts licking my cheek.
“Willow, no. Down.” Tay says sternly but I just giggle and hug the dog, wiping my cheek but it just gets covered in more dog saliva.
“When did you get a puppy?” I giggle.
“Last week. She’s still learning, I’m sorry.” Tay apologizes.
“No, I like her. She’s cuddly.” I grin as Willow lies down in my lap.
I scratch her tummy and she pants up at me happily.
Taylor gives me a fond smile.
“I think you’re going to be just fine, Kiddo.” she murmurs.
And even though everything sucks right now, I know she’s right.
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