Page 71 of Lost In London

Alarmed, London tossed her blanket. “Did something happen to her? Is she okay?”

“Somebody hurt my Dove. They hurt her really bad.” His voice crackled. “Do you remember the story that broke almost two years ago down here? A woman was found unconscious in her front yard. Beaten almost to death and raped. Do you remember?” My eyes shut at the memory.

I remembered it vividly. Two of the EMTs that arrived on the scene took pictures and videos, posting them on their social media pages for their friend’s entertainment, pictures of the woman’s battered body thinking she was a drunk who had a wild night until they turned her over and realized the woman wasn’t at all drunk but clinging onto a short string of her life. News reports broadcasted the story but never released her name. Called her the Jane Doe who provoked her attacker because of how she was dressed.

Not much news coverage since she was a Black woman which added to the uproar and controversy in the community with folks showing the racial differences if Dove was white versus being black. The story died down quicker than it started.

My eyes shot open once I realized why my brother was so enraged. That woman was Dove. His Dove.

I saw the pictures. I saw the videos that circulated the internet until everything was wiped clean. Knowing that it was Dove… I sympathized with Quest’s helplessness.

“That was her?” London gasped.

“Yes. She confessed it all to me this afternoon when I found her crying because the motherfucker who did it started terrorizing her starting three months ago.” He wiped his face and looked up at me.

“No,” I muttered with a heavy heart understanding what he was communicating to me.

Blinking, his eyes went back to her. “I need your help, London. I need you to tell me where he is. Donovan is with Elgin. They’re together and I need their location.”

I never wanted to not be in sync with Quest than at this moment. This heat wave rose from my arms up to my shoulders. Her scars and timidness. Her trauma and pain. Not my London.

“I-I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She shifted, sitting on her hands.

“You do know what I’m talking about because you and Dove share the same scars.” Fuck, London. “Elgin hurt you the same way Donovan hurt my Dove. He’s contacting her the same way he’s contacting you. Tell me where he is… please?”

Quiet.

The house became quiet.

“I want to help you, Quest, I really do but I can’t.” She cried. “Please don’t hate me.”

Quest would never hate her for not wanting to share that information. Defeat and disappointment dropped a larger weight on his shoulders but he didn’t pressure her. “I don’t hate you nor will I ever. What you are doing is showing that your faith is greater than your wants. You’ve been tasked to do something and you’re doing it regardless of how uncomfortable it makes you and the people around you feel. That’s true obedience and you’ll be rewarded greatly for it. You’ve carried the heaviness of that burden long enough and soon it won’t be yours to bear. I apologize for ruining your evening.” Leaving her silently crying, he walked back over to where we were standing and looked over at Cassian.

“Glad to see that you’re healing up pretty well.” He smirked.

“Get out of my house with the bullshit. You’ve already ruined movie night witcho pestering ass. Didn’t Amell tell you that she wasn’t going to tell you anything?” Ah, there’s the Cassian that I was used to.

Leaving them to bicker amongst themselves, I went to go check on London. She was pacing back and forth with tears running down her face. I wanted to go back in that kitchen and punch Quest in his shit for making her go back to that dark space. “Why would God do this to me, do this to her? It’s all my fault but I was listening. He told me not to do anything. He said revenge was His and has stopped me each and every time I try to tell someone where that vial man is.”

I felt helpless standing before her breaking apart.

Since the first day I looked in London’s eyes, I knew that a man had hurt her but to know she and Dove shared the same tragedy I became enraged. I understood why Quest wanted to find him. I understand why he lost his shit earlier. Seeing London tremble with fear and crying so hard that her body was shaking, I felt helpless that the only thing I could do was hold her until her cries turned to hiccups.

Until her voice became hoarse she questioned whether Dove’s attack was her fault and why God would silence her. I tried to reassure her that none of it was her fault and that what happened to Dove happened before her. Not long after but months before London even moved down here. Donovan preyed on Dove and his sick ass brother did the same to London. Just sickening.

An hour passed before she cried herself to sleep in my arms. I laid her down on the couch and watched until I felt content to leave her alone. Lord knows I prayed she didn’t slip into depression or try self-harming herself as she once did.

“I’m sorry for tonight.” Quest and I were parked in my driveway. Neither of us said two words to the other since we left the compound. He’d been in a heated exchange with Amell most of the night and Cassian tended to his son who had become quieter than usual and stuck to his side.

“I knew what happened to London before I met her.” He confessed. “Never spoke to you about it because that’s not my story to tell. I saw what trauma Dove had to fight through. I know how long it took for her to get to this place of peace. Almost two years have passed and she finally felt safe enough to tell me what happened and who did it. Tonight, I made both of them relieve that trauma and I feel like shit. Anyway, I’m taking Dove and we’re leaving here for a while. If I stay…” he shook his head, squeezing his fist in his lap. “I need to get away.”

There was so much I wanted to say, so much I didn’t know where to begin. Quest has always been my hero. Even now I admired his strength to remove himself before he did something that he regretted. Though I still felt a certain type of way about what he did and his method of going about it, I understood because now I wanted to kill the motherfucka who hurt London.

“I’ll leave you with this.” I don’t think my shoulders could bear another weight but I listened. “Talk to Natalie.” My head swung his way so fast. Nah, not my Nat. “The breakthrough that London and Dove have had to fight through, her journey is still hard. Before I moved back home, I reached out to Hendrix and spoke to him about the dreams I had about her. He moved her in with him but I don’t think that’s going to be enough. She revealed a lot to me back and… just get in touch with her.” I could tell he had more to say but he didn’t want to.

What he’d already said was more than enough.

I felt so heavy. No energy at all to remove myself from his truck and go inside my house. “Be safe, Quest.”

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