Page 36 of Scar

Maeve barrels past me as soon as we’re parked, not even waiting for me to open her door for her. “Maeve!” I yell after her. But she’s not hearing it. A small part of me was scared that she was going to run from me, but she’s running toward Abby. I take off after her, running toward Abby’s apartment. She had left the door unlocked, I assume she had planned to call the police on herself and didn’t want them to have to break her door down.

I should have pried more into her story, I should have done hypnotics or something, anything else to make sure she had a clear head and remembered it all. But being given drugs is tricky, sometimes you remember nothing, sometimes you remember it all, and sometimes the memories come back in flashes that almost seem like dreams. It’s hard to predict how someone will react without knowing exactly what they were given and how much.

When I reach the house, Maeve is already in the bathroom with Abby. I rush in there, seeing Maeve climbing in the tub behind Abby. She takes the bloody razor from Abby, tossing it across the room. “Don’t put your piercings in the water, ma fleur.” I say calmly to her. She nods, but she doesn’t focus on me. She focuses on Abby, that’s fine by me.

I squat down in front of the tub, making eye contact with Abby. “Is this your wife?” She asks calmly. I nod, smiling at Maeve for a moment before focusing on Abby. “Tell me what happened.” I insist.

I see that she’s already cut herself once, a long slice up her forearm, but that she didn’t quite get deep enough to hit an artery. Thank God for that, but I can’t ignore this behavior. She's still heavily bleeding, staining the water with her blood until it's all a pale pink and has stained both her and Maeve's clothes. "She's really pretty." Abby says. I want to laugh at that, but this is a serious situation. "She is. Now tell me what's going on."

Maeve sits behind Abby in the tub, holding a towel to her cut while Abby explains to me what happened. She explains that at the party, the four men dragged her to the basement, but that she had thought she’d seen a fifth. She explained that she ruled that out as a hallucination when she remembered that the fifth man she saw was actually gay.

She explained that this morning she saw him while walking toward administration to ask about the possibility of enrolling in her classes again. I’m proud of her for being ready to go back and finish her degree, I’ll have to tell her that another time. But she goes on to say that this fifth man, who she thought was gay, winked at her when they made eye contact. She said it was exactly what he did that night, that was how she knew that it wasn’t made up in her mind.

“Abby, tell me who he was.” Maeve insists. I want to interrupt, I want to tell her that this isn’t how this works. She needs to talk through her trauma, not name her attackers, not yet at least. It’s far too soon and Abby is far too fragile right now.

But, Abby answers. “His name is Sean Black, he’s a baseball player. I can’t go back to that school.” Abby cries, leaning into my girl so heavily that I see Maeve wince from the pressure on her piercings, but she doesn’t stop her. No, Maeve’s face looks horrified and shocked. Her roommate, her gay roommate, attacked a woman at a party. "Abby, who spiked your drink that night?" My girl asks calmly. I know exactly where her train of thought is going, and honestly my head is in the same place. "Carlie Summers." Abby says with a broken sob that makes Maeve hug her tighter.

I know that Maeve is thinking, she’s terrified that she could have been the next one. She’s scared that at any point maybe she was one of their victims and didn't know it. She’s scared that her former roommate could have also been one of his victims or even his accomplice. I can see it on her face. I have to comfort my girl, but I have to get Abby situated first. I hate this, but I need time to think and plan, and I can’t do it if we can’t leave Abby’s side.

I step out of the bathroom, leaving Maeve with Abby while I call an ambulance. I explain my situation, who I am and what is happening, and I also make a call to the psychiatric facility and explain that they need to expect Abby back and to have a bed ready for her.

When I come back into the bathroom, Maeve is running her hand through Abby’s hair, telling her that everything will be okay and that the universe has a way of making things right. I don’t know if my girl is being optimistic or if she’s having the same thoughts that I’m having. Sean’s going to fucking die.

I hate the look that Maeve gives me when the paramedics show up to pick Abby up, like I’ve betrayed them both by having her committed, but I have to. It’s not like I have a lot of options, the girl literally called me from the bathtub after slitting her own wrist. I can’t just leave her alone in her apartment.

I got Maeve into an outfit that we basically had to steal from Abby. I don’t want Maeve going home in wet clothes, that can’t be comfortable. We grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt from Abby’s closet for her.

The whole way home my girl is pouting. She's huffing and sighing, just so I know that she’s unhappy with me. Ireachfor her hand, taking hers into mine even though she tried to stop me.

“I couldn’t leave her alone, she would have tried again. You know that, right?” I ask her. I hate that she’s mad at me right now, I’m doing my job. It’s not like I enjoy locking people in facilities. I fucking hate it, actually.

Maeve huffs, finally turning to face me. “You were a butthole. Those places are terrible!” She says, like I didn't already know that! “I fucking know, Maeve!” I yell.

Fuck, I immediately feel bad for raising my voice at her when she jumps at my tone. “I know, love. I’ve been in a facility just like that. I just can’t do anything else with her right now. She can’t be alone, she needs her medication adjusted and she needs medical attention.” I explain calmly. My girl doesn’t answer me, she doesn’t even spare me a glance.

I hurry up and pull over when I realize how upset Maeve looks, I don’t know if I scared her by yelling or if she’s truly this upset about me having to have Abby committed. But I intend to find out.

I put the car in park, turning to face Maeve. She’s staring out the window, refusing to make eye contact or even turn her head. I grip her chin, turning her to look at me. It breaks my fucking heart when I see my girl is crying. I wipe her tears with my thumbs, waiting for her to calm a little before figuring out what is happening right now.

“This isn’t about Abby, tell me what’s going on.” I insist. I hold her face in my hands until she feels ready to tell me, that’s fine. I have all the time in the world for my girl. I’m just hoping she’s not upset because she’s scared of me right now. I never want Maeve to be afraid of me, I can't believe I just raised my voice at her.

“My mom had me committed when I was twelve. She didn’t think celiac was real and she kept feeding me food that made me sick. So I refused to eat, she had me committed for being an anorexic. They treated me so poorly there! It took weeks for someone to actually listen to me and take me seriously, but when they did they spent weeks trying to convince my mother that I was serious. It didn’t click for her until one of the nurses introduced my mom to her sister. She was celiac, and she was in rough shape. She had an ostomy bag and developed MS. She was in a wheelchair because her bones were so brittle.” She explains. My poor girl, I keep stroking her face with my thumbs, keeping her close to me. “I’m so sorry, love. You should have never had to feel that. But I promise, I won’t let them treat Abby poorly. This is a nice place, the only place in the state I will send any of my patients to. You have to trust me on this.” I say calmly to her. She nods, sniffling a little. “Trust me, okay? I will have her out in a few days, I promise.” I say calmly to her.

I get Maeve home after that, making a quick pitstop to pick up dinner from a place that I've been looking into lately. It's known for being fully gluten-free, I think Maeve will enjoy takeout for a night. I've heard her mumble in her sleep about wishing she could afford to pick up takeout after a long day at work. I want that for her, too. And anything else she could possibly dream of. I'll make sure she has everything.

Maeve lets me lead her into the bathroom as soon as we get home. I sit her on the sink and peel her shirt off. "How are you feeling, ma fleur?" I ask calmly. I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, grazing my knuckles along her cheek. She nods, but doesn't respond otherwise. "You know what I need to do, right?" I ask her.

I don't want her to have any delusions that I'm not going to kill Sean. But I don't want her to think she has to be involved, either. I can't imagine that would be easy for her. She nods, putting her hands on my shoulders. "I want to do it." She says confidently. It wasn't what I was expecting, but I will help and support her in anything she wants to do. "Okay. Just tell me the plan and we'll make it happen, okay?" I promise her. She nods, pulling me into her.

I'm careful not to bump into her chest, but I hug onto her when she clings to me. I rub my hands down her spine, needing her to know that I'm here for her, and that I'll help her as much or as little as she needs. "Can we pick him up tonight? I'd like to get Abby out of there as soon as possible." She mumbles into my neck. "We sure can." I promise.

Chapter 49

Leon's POV

I get Maeve laid down for a little while, if she wants to kill Sean tonight, she's going to need her energy. I already worked all day, and she was already up all day. Plus the piercings and dealing with Abby. My girl is worn out.

I cleaned her piercings and got her into one of my shirts before getting her situated on the couch. She doesn't like to nap in bed, says it throws off her whole sleep schedule. It's adorable how particular she is about the most random things, I love it. I love every single thing about my girl, even the things she feels insecure about.