Page 54 of Petals of Blue: Part Two
My results came back clear; no sign of sexual abuse or trauma. Doesn't mean he didn’t touch me, though...
The police said they combed through the area and dug into Clarence's background. It turned out he was a groundskeeper for the garden and stayed in a rundown cabin on the outskirts of the large property. Thankfully, his domain wasn't near the hiking trails, but the officers ensured they checked his home thoroughly for other people he may have harmed.
All they found were a few computers and notebooks of passwords and usernames for different social media profiles. At that point, fury embedded itself in my bones—he organized how he harassed my kid!
The few pictures they found of me around his cabin appeared to be screenshots from Violet's videos. I'll never tell her that. I'm not a fool. She'll get more information than I want her to have, I know that, but protecting her from this is a priority of mine.
I couldn't protect the guys from the gory details since they were there when I wrote my statement. When Felix asked if Clarence was the guy who shoved me into the wall, I said yes. Watching him crumple was hard, but it was the truth. Clarence was the reason I texted Felix eleven years ago just to be dismissed.
Then, the true fuckery came when Felix demanded to see a picture of my captor. He gasped and flipped it around to show the others. I watched them like a hawk, trying to figure out what was going on when Declan ran to throw up in the bathroom.
Imagine my fucking surprise when Jared shared Clarence was the guy he punched when we were in high school. I didn't even fucking know Clarence was around Linda enough to talk shit about me at that point.
Apparently, the four of them ran into Clarence in the grocery store parking lot right before I moved away from them. The nasty old man said some disgusting things about theirgirlfriend,and Jared threw a fist.
I guess the other three pulled Jared away and drove off before shit could get worse. Honestly, I'm still digesting this new connection. I didn't know Clarence was obsessed with me before we even moved in, and I vaguely remember Jared's swollen knuckles and angry attitude during one of my last weeks with them.
I just thought he was upset with me. Which later checked out when I was fucking ghosted. That piece of the puzzle was Clarence all along.
Chills slither up my spine and my mouth fills with saliva just thinking about that vile fucking man.
"We'll be at the townhouse in forty minutes," Felix announces. Shock makes me frown. I haven't slept a wink on this drive. I do need to pee.
My frown turns into one of confusion once his words register. "No," I say, though it sounds a bit like a groan that slips right into a cough.
"Stop talking, Blue. You're hurting yourself," Felix scolds while Roman tickles my thigh so gently. It's nice, and his touch would put me right to sleep if I weren't so keyed up thinking about everything.
I shake my head, annoyed with my inability toargue with Felix properly. "Hooome," I breathe. "Please, I want to g-go to mine."
"You're coming home with us so we can help you, Blue," Declan explains like that's not the opposite of what I just said.
I narrow my gaze and clear my throat, determined to stand my ground. "Take me to my a-apartment."
"Fucking hell. Stop, sweetheart. Your voice is so damn raspy, and it must hurt like a bitch." Felix genuinely sounds concerned, but I'm annoyed. I don't want to stay with them.
He's not wrong because this does hurt like a bitch, but if he would just agree to take me home, I would be fine. "I'm not staaaying with you."
I feel the eyes of the others on me, but I don't look. I'm sure they're a little offended, but just because I'm hurt and I've let them in these past few days doesn't mean I'm ready for this. Forgiving them happened before I was taken, but giving them a whole ass chance is something else entirely.
"Please, Felix," I rasp. "I want to go home." Tears blur my vision. I really do just want to go home. I'm not completely comfortable with them, especially overnight. We aren't there yet. "I'm not ready."
Felix curses and hangs his head before quickly looking back up at the road. Declan murmurs something to him while Jared and Roman continue holding my right leg.
I'm just really not ready. There's still more I need to see from them before I can dive right into staying with them. I have things I need to work on for myself too.
"Okay, Blue," Felix says with a sigh. "I'll bring you home, and we'll get you settled. But only if you rest your throat now."
I nod, smiling at him even when he glances at me in the rearview mirror with a look of sadness and guilt. He knows why I'm standing strong on this.Wearen't ready for the next step.
I'm not pushing them away. If anything, I've pulled them in. Now it's time to see if I can embrace their proximity to my heart.
Thirty-Nine
FELIX
“Blue wants you to go home, shower, rest, and eat. She said you can come over in the morning," Violet whisper hisses at me. With her hands on her hips, she looks like Blue when she has an attitude.
"No, we're staying," I declare. No fucking way am I going to leave Blue and Violet alone tonight. We just got our woman back. Why the hell would we just drop her off and leave?
