Chapter Twenty-Seven

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Vaughn

H er voice is quivering in a way I fucking hate. "Just tell me what happened." She called me a few minutes ago, and said the police are there. I'm going out of my mind trying to figure out what the fuck happened between her leaving, and this.

She blows out a breath. "I was in the grocery store, and I saw my uncle..."

"The one?" I question without saying the words.

"The one."

"Did that son of a bitch hurt you?" If he did, I swear I'll murder him with my bare hands. He'll wish he'd never decided to touch his niece. Who does that anyway? How fucking sick do you have to be?

"He touched me, and pressed me against the wall. He cornered me." She says the words in clipped tones.

I hate this. All of it. "I'm going to be there in a few minutes, and I'm bringing a deputy with me. I told you I know most of them. You need to make a report. Who knows what he's done to the rest of your family while you've been gone? He can be stopped, and you can be the one who does it. I'll be right there with you, babe. Let me help you."

"He'll hurt me." She cries, tears streaming down her face.

"He's already done that." I remind her. "He's already made you feel like you can't be safe in your own town. Fuck him. Show him who you are. I've seen the woman you're turning into. She's strong, she's intelligent, and she's ready to stand up for herself."

"I can't do this on my own." She whispers, wiping angrily at the tears.

"You don't have to. I'll be right there with you. Gabby will give me a ride, I know she will. Stay where you are, I'll be there in a few minutes."

It takes longer than I like to get to the store, but Gabby was on board as soon as she heard what was happening. On my way to the store, I call one of my friends who is a sheriff's deputy, and she agrees to meet us there when I tell him what's happening.

"She's going to be okay, right?" Gabby asks, worry evident in her voice.

"I'm going to make sure she's okay, and I'm going to make sure this motherfucker is gone from her life as soon as possible. He's messed with her for the last time."

Both us and the deputy friend I called get there at the same time, and before Gabby puts the SUV in park, I'm out and running for Val. She's struggling to get the door open, and when she does, she collapses out into my arms.

"You're safe." I tell her, stroking her hair.

"I know. I'm so glad you're here."

"So am I."

Val

I'm doing something I should've done before. Making a police report against my uncle. Vaughn sits at my side, holding my hand. "I don't know if I've waited too long."

The cop in front of me, gives me a look. "I'm making assumptions, and you can explain if I'm wrong, but the statute here for sexual assault is ten years if you're over the age of eighteen when it happened, two years if it wasn't."

For the first time in my entire life, I feel as if something is going to happen to possibly get my siblings out of the situation they're in. "Okay, then I want to tell you my story." I swallow roughly. "There are other children below the age of five in the house with the man who assaulted me, and that man approached me again today."

She pulls out her notebook. "Tell me everything you can."

It's hard. Putting what happened to me into words. For so long I thought no one would believe me, or that I'd anger God for telling my truth, when the truth is I'm honoring Him and myself. I should never be afraid to be honest, and I've been doing a disservice for the past few years doing so. I look over at Vaughn. "You're going to hear more than what I told you about earlier. There was more I just couldn't bring myself to tell you."

"I figured I would." He leans in, kissing my forehead. "None of that matters now. The only thing that does is making sure you're okay."

"Okay..." I take a deep breath and let it out, trying to figure out where to start. It hits me, it probably should be at the beginning. "The first time I remember him doing something that made me uncomfortable was when I was six..."