Chapter Forty Two
When JC rolled over in bed the next morning—or afternoon, rather, he still felt mentally exhausted. He’d gotten a couple hours of sleep, but he’d been plagued by dreams of what could have happened at that party. He was plagued by the memory of the phone call he’d received from the hospital. But more than anything, he’d been trouble by way his daughter had cried and brought him from his bed hours ago, only to be turned away.
She’d never done that before. He was her father, and she’d always been a daddy’s girl. She’d always come to him when she was hurt, or scared, or sad. But this was something he could not fix. He couldn’t kiss it away and make everything all better. And that killed him.
Letting out a sigh, he opened his eyes and frowned when his wife was not beside him. Climbing out of bed, he reached for his t-shirt and pulled it down over his bare chest, before padding quietly out of the room. He stopped first at Julie’s room and pushed the door open slowly. He poked his head in and felt tears forming in his eyes when he saw her, curled up under the covers, her old stuffed bear tucked comfortably under her arm. She looked so innocent, so helpless.
Not wanting to wake her from her slumber, he backed out of the room, closing the door behind him. He rubbed his face as he made his way down the stairs, the sound of his daughter’s chattering reaching his ears. And that brought up another thing that had been bothering him—the way he’d talked to Abbi the previous night. He felt absolutely terrible for snapping on her in the hospital waiting room. The look on her face had haunted him all night. He felt like a jerk.
When JC entered the kitchen, the chattering died immediately. Abbi gazed at him for a split second before looking away quickly. Jen looked pointedly at him as she shifted Jack in her arms. The little boy had just fallen asleep, but she knew as soon as she put him down, he’d start crying again.
“Hey Abs… you think we can talk?” He asked her, walking over to take a seat at the table beside her. She offered him a half hearted shrug, but refused to look at him. He frowned. “Can you at least look at me and pretend to listen?”
Looking up at JC, Abbi had tears in her eyes. She was afraid that her father was angry with her. She still had no clue what was wrong with her sister, but she was sure it wasn’t good.
Seeing the tears, JC’s heart broke just a little bit more. “I didn’t mean to get so angry with you,” he told her. “Last night, I mean. I was really stressed out because of your sister, and I wasn’t thinking. I hope that you can forgive me,” he said softly.
Abbi felt tremendously better. She leaned over and wrapped her daddy in a fierce hug, sniffling as the dam of tears threatened to break. He let out a breath as he held her tightly in his arms, rubbing her back gently.
“I’m so sorry Abbi. I didn’t mean to speak to you that way and I’m sorry baby,” he apologized, squeezing his eyes shut to the stop the flow of his own tears. One child down, one more to go.
~*~
When Julie hadn’t made an appearance all day, JC realized she wasn’t going to unless he made the first move. So after dinner, he fixed his daughter a plate and carried it upstairs. He knocked lightly on her door before pushing it open.
Julie was awake this time, though she was in the same position she had been earlier that afternoon. He offered her a weak smile when her eyes wandered over to him.
“Hey,” he greeted softly. He walked over to the bed, setting her plate down on the dresser. He took a seat on the edge, reaching over to smooth her covers down so that he could see her face clearly. “How are you holding up?” He asked.
She offered him a shrug, much like Abbi had earlier. They were so much alike that it was crazy. “I know you’re probably not up to talking,” he said softly. “I’m not even going to ask you to baby. But you’re not going to push me away either,” he said. “Because no matter how hard you push, I’m not going anywhere.”
That’s when she broke. That’s all that she needed to hear. She had been so afraid that he was disappointed in her, that he could never look at her the same and he had just proved that wasn’t the case.
Seeing that she was crying, he shifted on the bed and pulled her into his arms, holding her against his chest. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to protect you,” he whispered. “I’m sorry, Jules.”
“I was scared,” she cried. “I begged him to leave me alone, but he was so much bigger than me, daddy. He grabbed onto me and forced me into a bedroom. I cried and screamed, but the music was too loud. No one could hear me, or if they did, they didn’t care,” she sobbed. She curled up even more, her face pressed against him, her entire body shaking.
“He grabbed me and then threw me onto the bed,” she sniffled, “Ripping at my clothes, holding me down… I couldn’t get away,” she sobbed. “He was on top of me and about to… about to…”
“It’s okay baby, you don’t have to say it,” he said softly, just urging her to continue, to get her story out. Maybe it would help her sleep better.
She nodded, taking a big breath before she continued. “One of the guys came,” she sniffled. “Started banging on the door, saying that the cops were coming. That’s when he got off me, grabbed his things and ran.”
Hearing his daughter tell the story was a million times worse than hearing it from a law official. He pulled her as close as he could get her and cried right along with her until their tears were spent, and the two of them fell asleep. Together. Her in his arms, feeling the safest she had since before that terrible event.
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