Hidden(17)

I can’t stop the tears anymore, they just keep coming, so I let them fall. I hear Dillon release a breath and then squeeze my hand trying to comfort me.

“She dug a hole through the pantry floor after he left. The next time he came, she hid me in it. There were bugs crawling all over me and it was hot. She left me there for at least two days. I was really sick for a few days after that. Probably dehydrated. She started calling me a whore and accused me of doing things. She started hitting me.” I reach up and touch the fading bruise on my cheek, remembering the force of my journal hitting my face and the wild look in her eyes. “I locked myself in my room a lot. The last time the skinny man came, I didn’t have time to get out of her bedroom to hide in the pantry, so I hid in her bedroom closet. I watched him rape her and hit her. He called out for me afterwards, said he’d be back. That’s when she tried to…..I have nightmares about him finding me and my mother not being here to hide me anymore.”

I cover my face with both of my hands and just sob. He knows. He knows how damaged I am now. I feel him pull on my shoulder. He pulls me towards him and I collapse into his arms. His body is warm and is the perfect combination of hard and soft. His arms wrap tightly around my back. They’re strong, but I know they won’t hurt me. They’ll protect me. I haven’t felt this kind of intimate contact since I was a little girl. I can’t even describe the overwhelming emotion. I grip his t-shirt in my fist and weep into his chest, soaking his shirt with my tears.

“Amy, you’re safe. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promise,” he whispers into my hair.

He holds me while I continue to cry. I eventually become so exhausted that I close my eyes and relax into his arms. My breaths hiccup as I try to calm down. Dillon strokes my back gently, whispering to me that everything is going to be okay. His heartbeat lulls me to sleep. I shift and wake several times, unsure of where I am. The next time I wake, he’s asleep on one side of the couch, sitting up with his head resting against the back cushion. I’m curled up in a ball in the corner on the other side. Knowing that he’s still here with me, comforts me. I close my eyes again, giving in to my exhaustion.

It’s dark. It’s hot. I can’t stretch my legs and I can’t move my arms to get the bugs out of my hair. My tears are mixed with dirt and dried to my face. I hear my mother screaming and I hear his steel-toed boots tapping on the tiles above my head. Her screams get louder and his footsteps get closer. All of a sudden, a burst of light fills the hole as he slides the wooden board over. It blinds me for a minute until I feel his rough hands on me. I force my eyes open as he tugs forcefully on me trying to drag me from the hole. He has no face. I scream.

I startle myself awake. I’m sweating and gasping for breath. I look around in a panic and see Dillon still asleep next to me. He sleeps so peacefully. I watch him until I calm my breathing and then crawl across the couch to curl up into his side. I feel his arm wrap around me protectively as I settle into him. I blink my eyes over and over, trying to keep them open. I don’t want to go back to sleep.





CHAPTER 8





Dillon



Amy’s not sleeping and neither am I. I’m not getting any work done. I’m exhausted and I know she is too; mentally and physically. I woke up on the couch this morning with her in my arms. I didn’t want to let go. When she awakened, she seemed a little uncomfortable, but she took a leap last night opening up about her mother and talking about what she went through. She let me hold her. It’s a step forward and I know she trusts me now. I still wish she would agree to see a doctor, but I’m not going to push. I think if she has Laney to talk to, it will help her. Amy never really had her mother to talk to about things, and I can imagine there are things an eighteen year old girl needs to talk about. I know Laney won’t judge and will make her feel comfortable. As soon as Amy gets up to get into the shower, I sneak downstairs to call her.

“Laney.”

“Hey little brother. I was going to call you today. It’s super early, is everything okay?”

“Not really.”

“Is dad okay?”

“Yeah, it’s not dad. Listen, I really need your help with something. Do you remember me telling you about that girl that lives in the fenced property?”

“Yeah.”

“She’s here. Friday night at the bonfire, she showed up all freaked out. She hiked through the woods in the dark. Her mother tried to commit suicide and take her with her. Laney, she was kept by her mother in that house. She was hidden there. They never left. She talks about a man that would come to the house and hurt her mother and that he was coming back for her, so her mother thought killing the both of them was the only way out. She doesn’t want to see a doctor because she doesn’t want to take medication like her mother. She finally opened up to me last night but I’m really worried about her. She doesn’t sleep…..”