Page 84 of Taking His Heart

“Yes,” I assure her.

“Okay. I’ve called the doctor. He’s going to come and check you over, but I need to know what to tell him. Did that man… did he…” my Aunt Zoe stutters, and then it clicks in my mind what she’s trying to ask.

I feel CJ’s body tense next to mine. “No. He didn’t touch me,” I assure them.

CJ exhales the breath he was holding.

“Okay, I’ll let you get cleaned up,” my aunt says before leaving the room.

“Aunt Zoe,” I call after her.

“Yeah?”

“When my dad gets here, can you send him up?”

“Sweetie, I wouldn’t be able to keep him out of here,” she says. “But yes, I’ll tell him where you are.”

“Thank you.” I look at the tub and then at CJ. “I don’t want to have a bath.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Can you have a shower with me?” I ask him.

“Whatever you want.” He lets go of me and I feel instantly cold. CJ reaches into the shower and turns it on, testing the water until it’s warm. “You want me to help you undress?”

“Since when do you ask permission to undress me?” I counter.

“I don’t want to do something wrong.”

“I’m okay,” I tell him. I’m not. I’m far from it but I don’t need him worrying about me.

“You’re not, but you will be,” CJ says, reaching for the hem of my shirt. He lifts it over my head and I raise my arms.

“You’re right. I will be.”

I unbutton my shorts and slide them down my legs with my panties, then kick off my shoes. I unclip my bra next and step into the shower.

CJ undresses, and a few seconds later, he’s behind me. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I’m so fucking sorry I let him get to you.”

“It’s not your fault, CJ.” I turn and wrap my arms around him. “It’s not your fault,” I repeat because I know he’s never going to believe me. “But you need to choose yourself. I don’t want to be the reason you die one day.”

“You are the only reason worth dying, Dani,” he tells me.

I don’t spend long in the shower. Now, I’m sitting on the bed with a robe wrapped around me. The door opens and I flinch, but then I see my dad and I’m jumping up and running for him.

My arms snake around his neck and I hold on to him. My dad pulls me closer. Pressing a kiss to the top of my head as his hands run through my hair.

“I’ve got you,” he whispers.

“I was so scared. I wanted you,” I tell him.

“I know. I’ll never forgive myself for not being there, Daniella. I’m sorry.”

“Dad, the house… It’s…”

“I know. It’s okay. It’s just a house,” he says. “What matters is that you’re okay. Your sister and brother are okay.”

My mum’s arms tug at me. “Honey, shit, I’m sorry,” she says, hugging me to her chest.