Chapter Four
Eloise
“Thank you for washing my clothes,” I said to Tyler. I’d taken a hot shower and been able to shave and wash and condition my hair without being rushed. It had been heavenly.
“You’re welcome, sweetheart. I’m glad those jammies fit you so well, Tinsley said they were scratchy.”
I ran my hand lovingly over the cream pajamas with multicolored bows printed on them. They didn’t seem scratchy at all. They were probably the softest thing I’d owned in a long time.
“I’m going to head back home, but Blade, Tyler, Tinsley, and Elliot have my number, so you call me if you need anything, okay?” Rogue said, standing from where she’d been sitting on the floor sorting the clothes Tinsley had given me. They were all so precious. I knew I couldn’t keep them forever, but I’d enjoy them while I was at Elliot’s house.
“Thank you for everything,” I said, having no intention of calling her. She’d done enough for me.
Surprisingly, she hugged me. “That’s what friends do. I’ll see you soon.” I waved as she left the room. She was so nice. I hoped life was good to her from now on. She seemed to have been through enough already.
“How’s your pain?” Tyler asked, reading from his phone. Elliot must have asked.
“It’s manageable,” I answered. My leg throbbed with each movement and I was achy all over, but I did feel a bit better since my temp had broken.
“I bringed you some juice!” Tinsley announced as she ran into the room.
“Little girl, Papa really wants you to use your walking feet,” Tyler warned. “You fell earlier because you were running.”
“Yes, Papa,” she said, slowing her pace.
“Good girl,” Tyler praised.
She pranced over to me and held out the pink sippy cup.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcomes. Daddy’s said he’s ready for you in the Boo-Boo Room.”
Smiling, I said, “The Boo-Boo Room? That’s cute.”
“I fink so too. ‘Mon, I’ll show you.”
I let her drag me from the guest suite, down the stairs, and into the basement of the house. Tyler trailed behind us.
“Oh wow.” The hospital room was precious. It was painted a pale green and done up in a succulent theme. There were numerous little plants placed strategically around the room and adorable little prints hanging from the wall that said silly things like We’re stuck together and Stick with kindness. The sheets and blankets on the bed were a darker green and there were a few cactus-shaped pillows on the bed and sleeper sofa. There was a door that led to the outside. Through a window, I could see a small parking lot was available for guests who needed to visit the sick Little one while they were staying with Dr. Elliot. Another door was labeled restroom with a cactus standing beside a potty. I knew that the shower wasn’t working correctly in that restroom, though, because Rogue had told me when she showed me where the shower was upstairs.
“Do you like it?” Tinsley asked, looking hopeful.
“I do, it’s adorable.”
“I picked out the fings and Daddy and Papa painted the walls. I triedda paint one time, but I stepped in the paint and gots it on the floor and then Papa putted me in da highchair of shames,” she explained, pointing to a wooden highchair in the corner.
I giggled at her words. She was just too cute.
“It’s true,” Elliot added, pushing his rolling stool over to a dark green rug and lifting the corner. A pale green footprint stuck out on the pretty hardwood floor.
“We had no intention of having a rug in here. But we had to hide Teenie’s footprints somehow,” he explained. “They dried before we could get them up.”
“Yeah, we were more worried about getting the paint off the naughty Little girl.”
“Tinsley was the naughty Little girl,” she said, patting herself.
I laughed and ruffled Tinsley's hair before Elliot patted the bed. I climbed up and reclined back against the pillows while he rolled a tray over. My stomach dropped when I saw all the syringes lined up.
Tinsley climbed up beside me and patted my knee. “Don’t be scared. My Daddy’s super gentle.”
I smiled and squeezed her hand on my knee.
“I am going to give you something to help you relax and then the rest of this won’t be bad at all, okay? You’ll probably sleep through most of it,” Elliot reassured me.
“Mr. Blade is gonna stay here wif you danight too!” Tinsley exclaimed. “So you will have lotsa people ‘round if you need a snuggle!”
“What?” I cut my gaze to look at the Little girl.
“Tinsely,” Tyler warned.
“I’m just helping, Papa!”
“It sounds more like meddling,” Tyler scolded.
“Hand me your arm, sweetheart,” Elliot commanded.
I did and he tied a band around my bicep. “Little pinch and then you'll feel much better.”
“Why is Blade staying here?” I asked Tyler.
“He’s worried about you, Little one. He wants to be close,” Tyler answered.
“Ouch!” I cried when I was poked.
“I’m sorry, Eloise. It’s always ouchie at first.”
“I don’t need him to stay. I promise I’ll be fine by myself. I won’t need anything and I promise I’ll stay out of your way.” I felt so bad that Blade was going to miss work because he was staying with me. Would he get in trouble with his boss?
“Here’s something to help you relax, honey,” Elliot explained, “and you won’t be a bother at all. We are glad you’re here. Blade wanted to stay because he cares about you too. It was his choice. Not because we needed him to.”
Suddenly, a bus full of sleepiness hit me and I laid my head back on the pillows.
“Have a rest, Eloise. We’ll be here when you wake up,” Tyler said, covering me with the blanket from the foot of the hospital bed. I closed my eyes and gave into the medication.
***
“Are you sure you’re okay on the couch? We can bring a bed in for you.”
I knew that voice. Where did I know it from?
“No, I’ll be fine. Thank you, though.”
I knew that voice too.
Why were men in the shelter? Did I oversleep? Fuck, I had to pee so bad.
Trying to open my eyes was so hard. It felt like they were fused shut.
Okay. Eloise. On the count of three. One. Two. Three.
When they opened, I quickly realized I wasn’t in the shelter, but at Dr. Elliot’s house. Raising my hand, I rubbed my eyes. They felt like they had sand in them.
“Well, hello, sleeping beauty,” Blade said, stepping up to the side of the bed.
“Hey,” I answered, heat rushing to my face. Blade was so damn handsome. Dark hair and dark eyes, paired with tattoos that had me almost drooling to see the rest of them. My clit swelled at the idea and I shook my head, trying to clear it from the naughty thoughts swirling around. I had been attracted to men before, just not quite as strongly as I was to Blade.
“Hey, sweetie, I just texted Elliot to let him know you’re awake. How do you feel?” Tyler asked.
“I really need to go to the restroom,” I answered, looking for the button to let the rail down.
Blade must have known where it was, because he let the rail down before I’d even located the right button and Tyler disconnected my IV line really quickly.
“Ouch!” I yelped. My leg was so sore. I hadn’t noticed until I’d tried to get out of bed.
“Having some pain?” Elliot asked as he walked in the door with Tinsley on his hip.
“I really, really need to go to the restroom,” I said, tears welling in my eyes. I was so ouchie and I really had to pee.
I was scooped up bridal-style and Blade rushed me into the bathroom. Without a word, he set me on my good foot, helped me pull the borrowed pajamas and new panties down, and then turned his back to me.
“Let me know when you need help again, darlin’.”
I plopped down onto the toilet and started peeing. That had been a close one.
“Y-you don’t have to stay. I’m fine now.” Blood rushed to my face as I realized he could hear me. Gross. What if I tooted?
Blade shook his head. “No, sweetheart. I’d be so worried if I left you alone. You could get dizzy, fall, and bonk your noggin. We don’t want that, do we?”
“I won’t fall.”
“You might, and then I would be so sad you got hurt.”
I sighed in defeat. I didn’t want him to be in the bathroom with me, but I was too overwhelmed to argue anymore.
***
Blade
I knew that Eloise was embarrassed without even looking at her. Poor baby, she’d just been on her own and I knew she was probably scared to trust us enough to help her.
I heard some shuffling and then the toilet flushed.
“Are you ready for me to turn around, darlin’?”
“Yes.”
Eloise had managed to pull her pajamas up and was standing with her weight on one foot. I scooped her back up and held her at the sink so she could clean her hands. Once she was done, I set her on a small bench. Stroking her cheek gently, I studied her. Her eyes were glossy with unshed tears and she was warm again.
“What’s bothering you, Little one?” I asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Are you in pain?”
“A little bit.”
Her lower lip trembled and the tears she’d been holding back rolled down her face.
“Aw, don’t cry darlin’,” I murmured, wiping her face with my thumbs. “Can I hug you?”
She nodded and I wrapped my arms around her.
“I’m sorry,” she cried into my shoulder.
“You don’t have anything to be sorry about, sweet girl. It’s probably a little overwhelming huh?”
She nodded and I rubbed her back before lifting her in my arms. “It’s going to be alright, Eloise. I promise.”
She wrapped her arms and legs around me and I patted her bottom. I imagined it was overwhelming to be in such a bad situation on your own and then being dropped into a pile of people who genuinely cared about you.
Elliot knocked on the bathroom door just as I pushed it open with my foot.
“Is she okay?” he mouthed.
“I think Eliose is feeling a little bit overwhelmed and maybe a bit ouchie.”
“I know, I’m sorry, sweet girl. I cleaned the infection out of your leg and put you on an antibiotic and steroid. Those things combined are what’s making you feel so bad,” Elliot said, after passing Tinsely to Tyler. “I can give you something for the pain and I can promise in forty-eight hours you’ll feel like a brand-new person. Just hang in there with me and let all the medicines work, okay?”
“Okay,” she mumbled into my neck.
Setting her on the bed and taking her hand, I stroked my thumb across her skin. “You’re being so brave,” I told her.
“Thank you,” she answered, but I could tell she didn’t believe me. That was okay. She would eventually.
Elliot put something into her IV and adjusted her bag of fluids. “I want you to try and eat something. What sounds yummy?”
“I have a granola bar in my backpack. That’s usually what I eat for meals.”
Swallowing the lump in my throat at the thought of her eating granola bars as a main food source, I pulled out my phone.
“I’m craving pizza. Does that sound good?” I asked.
“No, thank you. I’ll just have my bar.”
“Eloise, I know you’ve used to being on your own and you’re such a brave woman, but you don’t have to do it alone anymore. You have lots of people in your life now that want to help you. Dinner is a small thing, please let me provide it for you,” I begged. I wasn’t against begging.
A plethora of emotions rolled across her face and she bit her lip while she processed my words.
“I can’t get used to this,” she explained. “It will make it harder when I leave.”
“You’re not leaving. I’m keeping you forever,” I told her, only half teasing.
“This little group has a tendency to love you despite all your protests,” Elliot added, looking over her leg.
“It’s not safe for you all. You don’t understand.”
Bless her heart. Even hurt, she was worried about others. What a precious soul.
“Sweetheart, we’re not worried about your ex,” I reaffirmed.
Honestly, he wouldn’t be a problem this time tomorrow anyway. Not if I had anything to say about it.
“But you should be. He will ruin all of your lives.They all will. It’s so much worse than just physical violence. He will dig up everything you’ve ever done and bring it against you. Every mistake. He will tell your friends, your boss, your families. He doesn’t care. He’ll tell the world about your lifestyle, nothing will be private if he can find it.”
“Is that what he did to you?” Tinsley asked, wiggling out of Tyler’s arms and climbing in the bed with Eloise.
“Yeah, only…” She trailed off.
“Tell us, please?” Tinsely asked.
“He was the pastor at my parents' church. My parents were killed in a car accident last year. They really liked Billy, but they didn’t know his true colors. Well, I didn’t either at first. He was so nice to me after their deaths, even going so far as to help me with their funerals. A few months into our relationship, things started to really change. He found my profiles for some kink sites online. He called me before the church one day after service and had the church lay hands on me to pray the sinfulness out. I was so confused and still grieving my parents that I let them. B-billy tied me to a chair and b-beat me with his belt while they prayed for my soul. I took the punishment because I thought maybe I deserved it, but I know now that isn’t true. A few weeks later it all started to get worse. He started sharing some really twisted beliefs about women and he started to show who he really was. One night we took my car out for dinner because his was in the shop and he found one of my romance books. He berated me over it, quoting all of this scripture at me about how lust was wrong and how I was going to Hell if I didn’t repent. I tried to talk to him about it, share my own beliefs, but he wouldn’t listen. I was so frustrated and I didn’t want to be disciplined again. He wanted me to drive to the church so he could pray for me—and probably beat me again, but I wouldn’t. It was my life to live how I wanted and I didn’t think I’d done anything wrong this time. I decided I didn’t care how much my parents had liked him. I couldn't tolerate him anymore. I turned the car around and tried to drop him back off at his house, but he wouldn’t get out of the car. He was screaming and praying. I tried to get out of the car because I was so uncomfortable and didn’t feel safe, but he grabbed me by my hair, pulled me back in, and he started to beat me, with his fists this time. It felt like it went on for hours, but it couldn’t have been more than ten minutes. I was able to get away eventually, but I left my car there. I ran all the way back to my house.” She gasped for air, pain at the memory written all over her face.
Rage consumed me and my skin crawled. I despised evil, but evil that paraded around as good was even worse.
“Did he find you, Eloise?” Tinsley asked, looking green. Her brow was pinched in worry.
“He’d called some of the members of the church and they were waiting outside my house. They sided with him, saying I was too worldly and had been for too long. They said my parents would be so disappointed. I didn’t know Billy had been keeping records of all the sinful things he’d thought I’d done. He’d even gone so far as to find some racy photos I’d sent to any old boyfriend. The members of the church felt like I needed a reset,” she said, shivering.
“What kind of reset?” I asked, genuinely scared to know.
“They... They put a sheet over me and dragged me into one of their cars, drove to the church and locked me in the prayer closet. They took my clothes, phone, f-food. Billy would come in several times a day. I was supposed to pray with him and reflect on the scripture he left. The first couple of days I was willful and wouldn’t agree with him, but then…”
“What did he do, honey?” Elliot asked, his eyes dark with anger.
“He b-beat me with the rod of correction.”
The rod of correction? What the actual fuck?
“After a few days I didn’t argue with him anymore, but they still wouldn’t let me go.”