Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

Dahlia

T oday is my birthday, but it doesn’t feel right. Bronwyn is laying in bed with me, playing with my hair, her neck filled with bruises along her tender skin. I hate that it’s because Gareth thought he could find me by hurting her.

“Maybe I should go up to the house and see what he wants,” I whisper, blinking rapidly to try to force away the tears. He hurt me so much four years ago, I don’t know if I’ll survive another round.

“What?” Bronwyn asks sleepily, carefully looking down at me. She didn’t lose consciousness on Wednesday during the attack, despite how much the asshole who hurt her tried, nor did she puke.

My girl is a tough fucking cookie.

“Nothing,” I sigh, hoping she isn’t with it enough to process it. It’s a dumb idea, my going back to the mansion. I just want to keep the people I love safe.

“You can’t go back,” Bronwyn says, struggling to brush away the fog. “Jack.”

She didn’t yell, because her bruised vocal chords can’t handle that, but he appears just the same. The three of us called into work today. Jack insisted I go yesterday, despite the fact that Bronwyn was kept overnight and was discharged this morning.

The doctors were worried about her.

“What’s going on? Are you two okay?” Jack asks gruffly. He’s wearing a pair of joggers that show off all his ink and the vee in his abs.The spit dries up in my mouth as I stare.

“Other than the fact that you just made Dahlia stunned by your body... ya know what, come cuddle and be a gorgeous distraction,” Bronwyn says resolutely. “Maybe then she’ll stop talking about going to see Gareth.”

Her eyes droop, but her lips twitch in amusement anyway. She’s sleepy from the pain medication that she took last night. Bronwyn is a lightweight when it comes to meds that make her drowsy.

I can see her refusing to take anything after this. Jack frowns as he crawls into bed, wrapping his arm around my waist as he kisses my neck.

“Seeing that monster isn’t going to end this,” he whispers against the shell of my ear. “Killing him will, and that’s something I’m working on, okay? Greg is getting someone into the house to bug the shit out of it, but in the meantime, we can’t jump to conclusions. Gareth probably thought he could scare Bee into telling that jackass where you were.”

“I told him you were dead,” Bronwyn says. “‘You can’t torture and rape dead girls’ I believe is what I said. If he’s sending people for me, then he doesn’t know where you are.”

“He’s not supposed to know where you are either,” Jack sighs. “It just takes one goddamn photo. A local news rag wrote a paper about my eligibility as a bachelor with your photo, Bee. It was from the last event you attended with me. I’ve asked them to retract the article, but the damage has been done.”

“Assholes,” I mutter, continuing to use Bronwyn’s chest as my pillow.

“Mmhmm. Happy birthday, baby girl,” Jack says. “We aren’t letting this ruin your day.”

“I agree,” Bronwyn says. “Happy birthday, baby. I demand that we open gifts. They aren’t wrapped, but fuck it. Jack, I don’t want to move, and she’s too comfortable. Will you grab them?”

“Yes,” he says, getting up and kissing us both. My lips tip up into a wide smile as he leaves the room.

“He’s the best,” I murmur.

“You should have seen him,” Bronwyn says. “I don’t know why, but my first instinct was to video call him. I knew he was in a meeting, but?—”

“I don’t think he’ll ever turn his phone off, knowing one of us could need him,” I interject. “Witnesses were the last thing Gareth or the man working for him would want. I don’t know if I’d be able to think that clearly.”

There’s a ton of things in Jack’s arms as he comes back in.

“Speaking of that, I want to propose self defense lessons,” Jack says as I sit up. “I know you’re both busy, but I died a million deaths when Bee called me and all I could see was this beefy guy with only part of his mask still on.”

Sighing, I nod. He’s right. Even though Gareth gave me a pocket knife to kill myself with, I still thanked God I had it so many times over the years, until it was stolen out of my room. My ex-roommates are such dicks.

“Do the police have any other leads, other than the fact that he’s in a gang?” I ask. “Also, how the hell does Gareth have those kinds of connections?”

“Apparently, the charities he’s been working with aren’t all honest,” Jack says carefully, glancing at Bronwyn.

“I’m somehow not surprised,” she says. “Please, don’t temper your words on my account. How did you find this out?”

“While I was waiting for Greg to call me, I had the team dig into Gareth’s financials, and who he was seeing from day to day. Now, he’s only been going to work, meetings, and charity events,” Jack says.

“The man looks like a saint on paper, but I also hired a private investigator, who took some photos of an alley conversation Gareth had with the leader of the Boxley gang.”

“How very resourceful of you,” I tease him, picking up a gorgeous jewelry box. “This is torture, can I start opening presents?”

“Yes,” Jack and Bronwyn say simultaneously, making me grin.

“So where is the money going and why?” Bronwyn asks.

“Money laundering and straight up scams,” Jack says, scowling. “Gareth shouldn’t need the money. There’s plenty in his accounts, other than what I’m currently siphoning out to an offshore account that is. If he’s worried about his money, then I’m hoping it’ll pull away from his obsession.”

Me.

Trying to distract myself, I decide to focus on sparkly things. Opening the box, my jaw drops at the earrings in front of me.

“How… These are beautiful,” I breathe. I want to tell them it’s too big of a gift because the stones are obviously real, but that would be rude and ungrateful. They’re spoiling me. I’ll let them.

“Thank you.”

“Those are from Bee,” Jack says excitedly. “Keep opening, and I’ll tell you the rest.”

“Who’s birthday is it,” Bronwyn giggles. “You’re like a kid on Christmas day, Jack.”

“Yes, but I’ve missed so many birthdays. You know how I am about gifts,” Jack complains. Rolling her eyes, she nods.

“So, we know how he found out about Bee and her new name. It’s clearly her, despite it all. I’m going to be ridiculous from now on, so be prepared for that.”

“When are you not,” I murmur, setting the earrings aside to look at a pretty box of what looks like shoes. She was shopping when she was jumped, which gives me a lot of guilt and anxiety about opening these.

“Haha. They won’t bite you,” Jack reminds me, talking about the gifts. Giving him a dirty look, I pull the box closer to me. “Gareth has a bunch of old money, and I can see the accounts, where the money is deposited for his paychecks, but there are also regular payments going to a Killian Reynolds.”

“Any connection to the gang?” I ask.

“There wasn’t until I started looking in that direction. He’s one of their cousins, and things are starting to fall into place,” Jack grunts. “Not everything, but some of it. I still don’t know how he got pulled in with them.”

While I’ve been snuggling with Bronwyn this morning, Jack has been talking to his team. A lot of what he’s telling us are things he just found out.

“It’ll come out at some point,” I murmur, my jaw dropping as I see the shoes that have Bee all over them. “Wow… These are really fucking hot.”

They’re pointed toe, high heeled, and a gorgeous shade of turquoise. They'll be really pretty with the other purple jewel toned clothes I have in my closet.

“I knew you’d love them,” Bee says happily. “Keep going.”

The next gifts are makeup from her, bangles that take my breath away from her and Jack, and a gift certificate from Jack, for Bee and I to have a spa day.

“The spa’s owner is a client of mine,” he says, mirth sparkling in his eyes. “The security there is top notch I hear, but the day you go, I’ll send over two bodyguards for the two of you.”

“I’d say that’s overkill, but I don’t think it is,” I sigh. “I’m really excited about this, thank you.”

“Oh, that’s not all of it,” Jack says. “I have to pace myself. Are we having a movie day? If so, I think I need some supplies.”

“A movie day sounds amazing,” I admit. I just want my people around me today. It reminds me of when Bronwyn and I first bonded when I was fifteen, too.

“Agreed,” she says. “As long as you don’t mind if I fall asleep here and there. I don’t like the medication they gave me for pain.”

“You’re too drowsy,” Jack says with a frown. “If you can handle going on over the counter stuff, if your muscles start to hurt, then I agree that you should stop taking it.”

“What about arnica cream and CBD muscle cream?” I suggest. “It'll help the bruising and the pain.”

“I’ll add that to my list,” Jack says. “I need to pick up frozen pizzas, gummy worms, popcorn, and a mini projector. Fuck, I can’t believe we haven’t done this before. I’m the worst boyfriend.”

Bronwyn and I snicker as he rushes off.

“He’s ridiculous,” I say. “God, it shouldn’t make any sense to be this in love with both of you.”

She’s quiet for so long, I sit up to look at her in alarm. Tears stream down her face and she waves her hand at me as if to dispel my worry.

“I know you love me, because you’ve said it before, it’s just so silly of me to really let it sink in now. I don’t think you’ve said it since you’ve been back,” she rasps.

My lips part in surprise, and I scramble to carefully straddle her lap.

“Oh, baby,” I whisper. “I think I say I love you in my mind a million times a day. I’ve thought about you so much over the years, and sometimes just smelling lemon desserts in the air, when I pass a bakery is enough to help get me through the day. I love you so much, it’s hard to talk about, Bee. You’re fucking everything that’s good in the world. You and Jack, you’re the light that keeps me going.”

Bee sobs as she pulls me closer, making me squeak as I try to make sure I don’t hurt her.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say it before,” I breathe in her ear as I hug her. “I forget you don’t live in my head with me, because that’s how close I feel to you.”

Shuddering, coughing accompanies her sobbing, and I grab the glass that now is always filled by the bed. Jack is obsessed with us drinking enough fluids, and there’s a new ice pack left for Bee as well.

God, he’s like a ninja dom.

Drinking in between the coughing, she gets it to settle. Grabbing Bee’s phone, I text Jack. I have no idea where mine is. I know it’s important to have a form of communication, but it doesn’t help that I’m not used to it.

Me:

Hey, can you get Bee some soup too? Her throat isn’t great.

Jack:

Yes, I just thought about that too.

“Okay, he’s getting you soup,” I murmur, dropping the phone on the nightstand. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“Don’t apologize, just let me hold you. I love you so much for the record,” Bee says softly, careful of her throat. The bruises are so angry looking. Laying next to her, I hold the ice pack to her neck, trying not to wince when she hisses.

“The call at the Crisis Center threw me so badly, because it reminded me that I can’t live without you or Jack. Losing you the first time was devastating.”

“But you wouldn’t kill yourself, would you?” I gasp, eyes wide and filling with tears. Bee’s arm around my back is the only thing keeping me from getting up. I don’t want to hurt her. “Bee, no.”

“I was in such a dark place,” she says sadly. “Knowing Gareth hurt you, and that you were somewhere I couldn’t follow… Logic doesn’t apply when you’re hurting like that. Jack saw I wasn’t in a good place quickly, and got me help. The ‘what ifs’ consumed me this week, but my therapist helped me pinpoint why that was.”

“That’s way too close for comfort,” I breathe. “I’m so sorry. In my mind, it made the most sense for me to give you two a heads up and then go into hiding. If he had caught me again… I wouldn’t have been able to keep him from completely breaking me.”

“I’m not blaming you,” she says, sniffling. “I’m not at all. I just need you to know that under no circumstances can you go to the house. Not unless you have a goddamn SWAT team with you. I don’t think I could handle it if you died. I know I can’t.”

“Nothing is going to happen to me,” I swear. “You protected me, made them think I was dead. Bee, I’m safe because of you, and you defended yourself so you could stay with me.”

We’re both a mess as we hold each other, the ice pack tumbling from my cold fingers. There’s nothing wrong with falling apart with your people as long as you’ll let them put you back together.

Jack

I didn’t go far to go grocery shopping, but Bee has been pensive and lethargic the last couple of days while in and out of the hospital. She didn’t really want to get into it with me, so I’m leaving her with Dolly.

Sometimes, you just need your best friend and a woman’s touch.

I may be a man, but I know my girls. I’m perfectly fine excusing myself from the room to get binge worthy snacks for after they talk things out.

As I’m in the candy aisle, Sullivan calls me as I decide on the chocolate-covered pretzels and the gummy worms, tossing both into my cart.

“Hello?” I answer, tilting my head to concentrate on the call. I already want to be home.

“How is the birthday girl? I called her phone, but she didn’t answer ,” Sullivan says.

“She probably left it in the living room,” I explain. “Dee is…okay. I didn’t say anything before, but Bowen was in the hospital the last couple of days. They’re both pretty shook up.”

“ Fuck ,” Sullivan grunts, and I know he’s already questioning if he has enough security to handle this.

“I think Dee is fine at the school,” I grunt, keeping my voice as low as possible as I take my cart to check out. “She may be a little jumpier than usual, and I’m going to be overprotective, so that’ll be fun for you to look forward to.”

“ Perfect ,” Sullivan says with a sigh. “ You’re going to handle this, right? I like Dee as an employee and a student. She’s gifted as fuck, too. I expect her to be practicing like mad so I can play with her.”

“Oh yeah?” I ask, my lips twitching. That’s high praise for him, and one of my gifts is a guitar for her to practice on. I’ll upgrade it the second she needs it. I had a feeling she wouldn’t let me buy her anything too expensive to start with.

“It’s a good thing I bought her a guitar, then. It’s what you told me to get her.”

“I love helping to buy gifts I’m not spending money on ,” he says with glee, making me snort as I use the self checkout line.

It’s not very busy, and soon I’m in the truck, driving back to the girls.

“I bet,” I say. “She’ll be back on Monday, and I’ll tell her you said happy birthday.”

“ How bad is this, Jack ?” Sullivan asks, stopping me from hanging up.

Blowing out a breath, I think about what to say. “Bowen was almost strangled to death,” I explain. “The person who hurt her was looking for information on Dee. No one can know we’re connected. I can’t be photographed with her either.”

“ Then you can’t come to the school, because there’s always assholes lurking,” he says immediately. “ Find her a bodyguard you trust, who will drive her around and shit. Dee is sweet, and not at all stuck up. It’ll be one of the best gigs someone can ask for.”

“I kind of hate that you’re right,” I grumble. “I’ll set it up. This guy will be her shadow, and will stand within five feet of her at all times.”

“Which means, he can stand outside of her classes, but yeah, that’s fine ,” Sullivan agrees. “ Maybe my students will get the sticks out of their asses when it comes to her and treat her better. I don’t care if they have to be scared straight to do it.”

“Good deal, thank you for the idea. Talk later,” I say, hanging up and immediately calling Greg. I could pull my list of guards, but I want to know what he thinks.

“ Hey, Jack,” Greg says immediately. “ How are things?”

‘“Pretty fucking awful,” I mutter. “I need a bodyguard for Dolly. Who do you think would be the least likely to gripe about protecting her and driving her places?”

“ Ciara or Thomas ,” Greg says immediately. “ Now, tell me what the fuck happened since Tuesday.”

As I pull into the parking garage at the apartments, I explain everything he’s missed.

“ One of his gardeners mysteriously stopped coming to work, and a maid quit, so I’ll make sure to replace them with our people,” Greg says. “ I really didn’t think he’d move this fast. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to get this into place before now and that I’ve been so busy. Tell the girls I’m working on things, and happy birthday to Dolly. Who do you think she’d be more comfortable with?”

While they’re both really competent, Ciara can blend into the environment better. “Let’s start with Ciara, and go from there. I’ll set it up,” I tell him. “I think the newspaper article was the catalyst to bringing Bee back into Gareth’s orbit, but who the hell knows.”

“ Hmm. What’s the name of that newspaper again?” Greg asks.

Not thinking anything of it, I give it to him and say goodbye, bringing the groceries up to the girls. They’re chatting in the room, and I vaguely listen as I put things away. A bag of popcorn is out in the microwave, gummy worms and pretzels go into dishes on the tray, all while I start to plan.

The store had a cute projection machine that I can hook up to the laptop for movies, and reminded me of when Bee and Dolly used to do that together. Everything is coming full circle in a way, only now I’m joining them for it.

“Jack?” Dolly asks as I finish the tray.

“Coming,” I call out, bringing it over to the bedroom. “We’re skipping breakfast, so lunch will have to happen as soon as someone’s stomach rumbles.”

The girls smirk as they both grab a handful of popcorn and start eating, making me roll my eyes. I bet that at least one of them is starving. Setting up the projector, I choose a movie, while toeing off my shoes.

“I vote that you lose the clothes,” Dolly says, biting her lip.

Barking out a laugh, I look down at myself. I changed into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, because Dolly once said that joggers are the equivalent of women wearing lingerie in public. I still can’t stop chuckling over that.

It’s not my fault that you can see the indentation of my cock in them.

“I second that,” Bee says, pouting. “My girl is going to need birthday sex at some point, and I’m injured.”

“You’re both impossible,” I growl, pulling off my shirt and yanking down my jeans.

“Yay. I like getting my way on my birthday,” Dolly says as I crawl into bed with them, turning on the movie.

I had planned a different type of birthday, but had to pivot with Bee getting hurt. No one feels like going out, and honestly, we can do it another time. I just want my girls, and to know they’re safe.

Plus, orgasms are always on the plans for today. I’ll just have Bee lay there and look cute, while Dolly licks her out and I fuck her.

Happy birthday, baby girl. May it be one of the first of many with us at your side again.

Six months later, December

Dahlia

“Jack, I’m going to crash Bee’s car,” I tell him, eyes wide as I sit in the vehicle at the cemetery.

“And hit what?” Bee asks, laughing. “This is how I learned to drive in the snow, baby girl! You can do it.”

“Ciara may be driving you to work, but you still need the skill set, and to pass your driving test,” Jack says, relaxed in the passenger seat beside me. “You’ve been doing really well with me.”

I have my drivers permit, and I’ve been practicing with Jack in his truck or with Bee’s vehicle whenever we go out. Ciara usually white knuckles it in the backseat when she joins us, which is funny, but she’s been a really good sport about it.

Turns out, Gareth has really deep connections to the Boxley gang, and he doesn’t actually have any money of his own. Everything in his accounts is theirs, while he launders it continually.

Gareth has made a series of bad investments, but it took Jack’s team a while to uncover them.

Blowing out a breath as I push away thoughts of my stepfather, I put the SUV into drive. Ciara is in her own car, with the heater on high, probably waiting to see if I’ll make a fool of myself.

Oh well, it’s winter in Detroit, may as well get some entertainment. It’s thankfully been a boring job protecting me so far. She takes me to work, my self defense classes with Bee, and then home.

I thought the self defense classes could go either way. They would either help me be able to feel as if I have some control of my body and my surrounding environment, or it would trigger me.

Thankfully, it has helped me.

Gareth hasn’t made another move to get his daughter to talk, but he and my mother did put an obituary in the newspaper, with an old photo of me when I was fifteen. I asked Jack to buy me a physical form of it and burned it.

It was therapeutic, even though I don’t know how it makes me feel. I guess that’s something I can talk to with my therapist that I’m seeing now. God, what an insane few months.

“The car isn’t going to bite you,” Bee murmurs. “You got this.”

The snow didn’t really start to fall until now, though we’ve had some flurries here and there. I haven’t had enough to worry about, but it’s like the heavens opened up and decided to dump on us.

“Okay,” I breathe, giving the car a little gas.

Even though these are all weather tires, the car still pulls a bit to the right as I drive. Jack teaches me what to do in case I spin out, and then forces the car to do just that. Eyes wide, breath frozen, I go through the motions of doing what he told me to do.

I swear, my brain was screaming the entire time, even as I clamped my lips together, to force it from spilling out.

Gasping, I manage to stop the car, facing a different direction from when I started.

“I didn’t hit anything!” I cheer, as Jack and Bee relax.

“I cried when he did that to me,” Bee says with a snicker. “Jack thought he broke me.”

“I couldn’t do this to her back then either,” he growls, pulling my hair to kiss me. Moaning, my fingers tug him closer. I’ve been so horny lately and I don’t know why.

“Cemetery sex would be really hot when it’s not so cold,” Bee says. Shit, it’s like she can read my mind.

“It would be,” I agree. “Wait, I think I need to make a doctor appointment before we have sex again, guys.”

“Why?” Jack asks.

“I think my birth control only lasts for six months, but I haven’t thought about it and?—”

I’m babbling, eyes wide, and very close to having an anxiety attack.

“Babe, babe! Okay, take a breath. I think you need to do something distracting while we have this conversation. Drive me around like a passenger princess,” Bee demands.

My girlfriend is insane. “What? How is that going to help? What if I’m pregnant? I mean, shit. I had my period last month. Why can’t I think?”

“You’re panicking,” Jack says. “Come on, show me ten and two. Let’s go, Dahlia!”

Ugh, he’s doing that thing where he tells me what to do. Dammit.

“Fine,” I groan, starting my loop around the cemetery. I’m not as nervous now that I’ve managed to get myself out of a spin out, so my hands only tremble a little.

“Now, let’s work through this. What would you do if you were pregnant?” Jack asks.

“That’s the issue. I would panic,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“Why? I have money, you have flexibility with your job, and Bee… What do you think, baby?” Jack asks.

“I love babies,” she admits. “I want the entire experience, but I need to wait until after I’m out of school. That doesn’t mean you can’t. I’ll get snuggles, love and adore them with you, and still get my career. The question is, how do you feel about babies, Dahlia?”

“They terrify me,” I mutter. “I’ve never been around them at all, and they’re so tiny. What if I break it?”

Driving is helping me to concentrate, and my breath is evening out.

“I’m twenty-years-old, and am slowly getting used to not having to scrape by. I don’t think I’m ready for babies yet. Not to mention, I still have a babysitter who is ex-military,” I remind them.

“I mean, you didn’t say no,” Jack says with a shrug, high fiving Bee. God, they make me crazy.

“Did you really high five her over my uterus?” I ask with a giggle. “Jack! Can you not act your age?”

“You two keep me young,” he says, winking. “Okay, one more time and then you can drive us home.”

“In the snow with the people?” I squeal, but he just laughs.

“Come on, you can do it. I’ll make us hot chocolate and dinner when we get home,” he cajoles.

Even with the heated seats and the heater on, it’s really fucking cold. “Argh,” I groan, squeezing the steering wheel anxiously. “Only because you promised me hot chocolate.”

“I’ll make sure to remind him,” Bee says with a grin.

It’s so easy to be around them. I swear, my life would be almost perfect if it wasn’t for Gareth.

“Sooo do you want me to set up an appointment for you at the OBGYN?” Jack asks, holding up his phone. “Bee likes the doctor she goes to.”

“Yeah, they’re really nice, too. Did you have any issues with the six month birth control shot they gave you?” she asks.

“None,” I say as I finish my loop and start to pass Ciara again. She’s so still it gives me chills, but then she looks up with a smile, making me inhale sharply.

I need to lay off the scary movies, I swear.

Bee and I have been watching a lot of them since Halloween.

Rolling down the window, she leans forward. “Ready to go home?”

“Yeah, I wanted to let you know I’m driving back,” I tell her.

“You didn’t hit anything,” Ciara says with a laugh. “I think you’ll be fine. I’ll follow you there.”

Waving with a nod, I roll up the window again, then begin the drive out of the cemetery.

“I can go to Bee’s doctor, as long as it won’t cause any issues with Gareth,” I say as I take a left hand turn.

“God, I can’t wait for him to be gone,” Jack grumbles, searching for another doctor. Calling, he makes an appointment for their next available one, which is next week.

“No sex until then,” I sigh. Jack snorts as he lays back in the chair.

“We have condoms in the apartment, Dolly,” he says. “I only use them when I’m ah, fucking Bee in the ass and I know I’ll want to switch.”

It’s only because I’ve been in therapy the last five months that I don’t shudder at the thought of anal sex. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get over it.

“Oh,” I say. “Well, then I guess that’s handy.”

“Are you okay?” Bee asks, leaning forward.

Focusing on driving works well for me when I’m having difficult conversations. I may need to do this more. God, my brain is so weird.

“Yeah, I mean, just because it’s a hard limit for me doesn’t mean we can’t talk about it,” I say. Taking a deep breath, I blow it out. “I think in some ways, I want to know what it would feel like if it wasn’t him… you know?”

My voice breaks, and I press my lips against each other as my hands start to shake. God, I hate the way these memories make me feel. It’s so complicated, since this is something that happened with Bee’s dad, even though she refuses to accept him as such anymore.

My eyes somehow remain dry as I drive, and I shake my head. I’m so tired of crying about the past, so I guess that’s good.

“Dolly, I can’t erase history, but I can rewrite your experience with a different one,” Jack says, his voice gruff and filled with emotion. “You’re in charge of your body, and how it remembers things. If you ever want to try anal, or take smaller steps, because I’m not small, you let me know.”

This man is just amazing. Blinking furiously, I nod rapidly. This is what starts the waterworks. Fuck.

“Hey, hey. I’ll take over, love. Pull over right there,” he says, pointing at a parking lot.

Nodding, I pull into it, and we switch places. Ciara follows, watching as Jack now pulls back into traffic. Looking behind us, I see she’s behind us again. She's quickly becoming a security blanket, which is probably a bad coping strategy.

“Being me is weird,” I mutter, turning forward. “I’ll be fine, and then hyperventilate. Bee, sometimes I wish there was a magic wand or something for this.”

“Me fucking too!” she exclaims, making me smile. Bee is such an incredible light in the world. “Look, we just have to do the work and get through it, babe. Even when it sucks.”

Ciara watches as we pull into the underground garage before continuing on, knowing that Jack will text her when we get up to the apartment. There’s so many moving parts to my life now.

“I don’t love it,” I tell Bee, wrinkling my nose. “Jack, I think at some point I may want to try, but maybe I can watch you with Bee? I think I’ve worked it up in my mind because of what happened before.”

“I’m always up for having you watch me fuck her,” Jack says mischievously, pulling into Bee’s spot. “Let’s go up and get warm, okay?”

Heading upstairs, I look around, marveling again that this is my life. I’ll be able to get warm, eat, and not have to worry about where I’ll be staying. No more roommates, no more drama with them. I think it may still be affected for a long time by my experience with Frankie.

The magic wand may sound cool, but I wouldn’t have come this far without having to feel it all. Stepping into the apartment, I strip off my socks and shoes, heading to my room to change.

“I’ll be right back,” I tell them, switching on my light.

Leaving the door open, I strip off my clothes, and dump it all in the hamper. I can hear Bee running to the other room to do the same. Opting for long, purple knee-high socks and a long-sleeved flannel dress, I smile happily as I start to feel warmer.

Gathering my hair up into a cute bun, even with the curls, my laptop catches my eye.

I had it open to do some research on a new chord I was working on my guitar. Jack surprised me with one for my birthday, and it has a place of pride in the room on a stand. I’ve come really far with my playing, but this damn chord is making me insane.

The tab next to it is flashing, showing I have a new email, which is odd since I passed my GED with flying colors and haven’t used it for anything else. Opening it, I see my name at the top of the email.

Dahlia Moore, is this you?

No. I want to scream that Dahlia is dead. The idea of splitting away from a name you’ve been in public your entire life is such an odd one. There’s been comfort in using it with Bee and Jack, but now, I just feel terror as I open it.

There’s more in the body of the text, and I read:

Come out, little girl. No one is going to save you. Maybe I should show your employer what a little whore you are.

I miss my cum dumpster.

There’s a photo of me with wild eyes, in a dark room and naked. I’m sixteen in the shot, and it’s grainy. I don’t remember him taking a photo…

Did he?

A man’s large hand pins my wrists to my back as he rapes me, but you can’t see any identifying features other than the fact that it’s a man. Choking, I turn my face and lose control of my stomach, puking violently onto the floor.

The contents shows my lunch from earlier, and a lot of bile. I can’t stop throwing up as I see the photo in the periphery of my vision. I’m wearing my contacts, so it’s a little distorted, but it’s enough to trigger another violent round.

“What? Dahlia, what’s wrong? Oh fuck!” Bee screams, seeing the photo.

“Don't look,” I choke out. “Oh God, please.”

“Jack!” Bee screams, and everything goes black as I collapse.