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“Did he hurt her?”
I nodded, pretty sure I couldn’t speak the actual words of what Kane did to Wren. She never actually told me, but I knew. The way she gulped the salt water was my first clue.
“She’ll need to see Lisa first thing in the morning.” She turned back to her desk and wrote something down, then turned back to me. “You need to take some time off while we sort out this mess, Ro. I cannot promise you will be able to keep your job. There are so many wrongs here.”
“Yeah, I understand. I will accept whatever is decided. I can stay with my friend in town until this is over.”
She nodded and took another deep breath. Poor Mrs. Tessier was dealing with more than her sensible self could handle for one night.
The door opened behind me, and I turned to see who it was. A large man—larger than me—walked in and crossed his arms, waiting for Mrs. Tessier.
“Take him to his room for his things and then see him to wherever he wants to go tonight.”
“What the hell?”
“Ro. This is a medical facility with patients, and my responsibility is to them. I have to make sure you are not here when the residents wake up in the morning.”
“Is the babysitter necessary?” I panicked, knowing this meant I wouldn’t see Wren tonight. She would be waiting for me, and I would never show up. I didn’t want to let her down when she needed me.
When I said goodbye to her earlier, I knew it would take a while, but I wouldn’t be able to sneak back to her now. I couldn’t comfort her.
Now I had to make a decision.
Instinct told me to go rogue and go wild, to tear apart Beachside until I was back upstairs with her. My head told me to back away and not risk any other arrests or legalities.
Mrs. Tessier could see it in my mind that I was warring with myself over Wren. She didn’t know the extent, though.
“Your sister will be fine, Ro. You need to step back and let her stand on her own two feet. She cannot become dependent on you.”
I scoffed and shook my head. My sister was going to be fine, but my girl—the woman I loved—would fall apart if I disappeared. She couldn’t deal with any more bad news right now.
“We will make sure she gets what she needs, I promise.”
Still glancing back and forth between her and the security guard, I was uncertain and unbelieving. I still wanted to do things my way. I even came close to telling her how much more there was between Wren and me.
But then I remembered there was a reason I loved working here. I believed in this program, this system. And I also remembered Wren really did need help that I simply couldn’t give her.
She was an addict, first and foremost. How would I ever know if she loved me or if she was just addicted to me? How would she cope if things didn't work out between us? I cared enough about her that I wanted her to be able to survive on her own. I didn’t want her to just need me. I wanted to know she wanted me because she loved me back.
Getting her kicked out would make things worse, and our future would be bleak. I had to walk away and let her move on. She would be upset I didn’t show up tonight, but tomorrow, when Lisa and Mrs. Tessier explained to her where I was and why, she would be okay.
At least I hoped she would.
It had been a week since Ro left me again. I felt betrayed and heartbroken, angry and inconsolable. No one spoke to me, and I refused any help they tried to offer.
I refused to speak to my parents as well. They still had no right to my story, my truths. They swept it under the rug the first time Kane attacked me, so I knew they would again. Making Kane leave was not the only help they should have given me. They betrayed me and hurt me more by acting like it never happened. The only thing they needed to know this time was that I had been hurtwhile on the beach.
Not even Mrs. Tessier countered what I had told them. She heard the entire conversation and corroborated for me. Especially after I mentioned their lack of fucks given where I was concerned.
Mrs. Tessier told me Ro had made the decision to leave me in their care. She knew he was my brother and excused himself from the responsibility of seeing to my care. I cried, right there in her face, but refused to speak. He obviously hadn’t told her about us being together. He didn't want to. It had been made abundantly clear he only cared about his job, and whatever we had wasn't worth losing it for.
I guess everything I assumed I had seen in his eyes was wrong. Our last kiss really was a goodbye.
Every day since had been the same. Refuse to eat, cry, refuse to speak, cry, refuse friendships and medicines, cry. My heart had been shattered, and I had no one to blame but myself. As much as I knew Ro craved me sexually, I let myself think there was a chance he felt more. That what we had been through that awful night showed us both how strong we were and how far we could go—together.
Finding out it was all a dream, all in my head, hurt more than anything Kane had ever done to me.
The days turned into weeks and dragged into months. After I stopped crying, I entered a “hopeful” stage. Hopeful he would come back, tell me he loved me and that he made a mistake when he left.
