14. Chapter Twelve
CHAPTER TWELVE
BETSY
N erves ran through Betsy as she stepped into the bathroom. Daddy had gone through how to turn the shower on, which way was hot and cold, and pointed out everything she needed. He didn’t have much but thankfully she had thought about bringing her toiletries from her house.
Betsy looked over at the cracked door. Was she really going to take a shower with the door cracked? She knew he said he would yell that he was coming in so she could tell him to wait or not, but she was still nervous. He didn’t need to see anything on her back.
“Please,” she whispered.
Turning the water on, she waited for it to get to the perfect temperature before she started to pull her shirt off. The shirt got caught around her head, giving her trouble. Groaning, she tugged on it. She just had to wear the shirt that always gave her trouble taking it off. Betsy just needed to get rid of it.
“Betsy, I’m coming in!”
Panic went through her as she tried to pull the shirt back on.
“Wa–”
“Who did this to you?” Daddy growled.
Betsy quickly turned around and pulled her shirt down. She looked at Daddy in horror. He wasn’t supposed to see her back. The water was still running, but she didn’t have it in her to turn around and shut it off. Her back would be towards Daddy and she didn’t want that.
“Betsy.”
She shook her head. He couldn’t know. She looked down at his chest, not liking the intense stare. What was he going to say if he found out? Would he be disgusted? Would he agree with the person who hurt her?
“Who did this to you? Who hurt you?” Daddy asked.
Betsy closed her eyes tightly and hunched her shoulders. She didn’t want to look at him and she didn’t want to be here right now. How was she going to get out of it? Would she be able to get out of it?
Daddy touched her arm, making her whimper. Opening her eyes, she stared at his hand. He was gently touching her, letting her know he was there. Why did he want to know?
“Who hurt you?”
She shook her head once again. No one had ever seen the scars that marred her back. She kept it a secret for so long. It was ugly, absolutely ugly and she hardly looked at it. When she had moved from foster home to foster home, she made sure to wear things under her shirt so no one could feel it.
How had Daddy not felt the scars before this? She hadn’t worn anything under her shirt and he had been hugging her a lot, rubbing her back. Did he just think it was her shirt that got wrinkled or her bra? But that wouldn’t make any sense.
“Baby,” he gently said. “You’re okay. Everything is going to be okay.”
Now it would be. The person wasn’t in her life anymore so she didn’t have to worry about him coming after her.
Daddy gently turned her around before she could say anything.
“No,” she whispered, not fighting back.
Tears pooled in her eyes as he lifted her shirt. He had already seen the scars. Why did he want to look at them again?
His fingers lightly trailed her scars, making her shudder. No one had touched them but her.
“Please,” she begged.
Betsy didn’t know if she was begging him to continue to touch them or to stop. The nerves on the scars were dead. While she could feel him touching her back, she also couldn’t really feel it.
“What happened?” Daddy asked.
The tears rolled down her face as she thought back to what happened. She could still feel it happening like it was yesterday, but it had been years.
“These look old. What happened?”
He continued to run his hands over them. Betsy wrapped her arms around her waist and her shoulders hunching over. She didn’t really want to talk about what had happened. She had put it behind her, trying desperately to forget everything.
But fate wouldn’t have that. She had to be constantly reminded of it by either nightmares or her shirt brushing up against them. Now Daddy knew about them and was going to ask questions.
“What happened?”
“Whippings,” she managed to get out.
Daddy sucked in a breath as his finger trailed one on her lower back. It was the worst one she had gotten. She had more skin down there which led to the whip going in further. It was his favorite spot to do because she would scream.
“Baby,” his voice broke.
Her shoulders shook as she cried. The memories of holding onto the pole in front of her as she took each strike. The beginning she had screamed and cried so much but as time went on, she stopped making as much noise.
“Who did this to you? When did this happen?” He asked.
Betsy didn’t make a noise. He had already asked who the first time. The man was still alive and while she hated his guts, she didn’t want anything to happen. It was horrible of her to not want anything to happen to him, no matter how many times she thought of killing him herself. It was hard.
She was connected to him somehow and he knew it. He knew she would never be able to kill him so he lived in peace.
“I want to know who did this to you and when,” Daddy said. “I need to know.”
“No,” she mumbled.
“Baby.”
She continued to cry. Everything in her wanted to tell him who had done it so he could take care of it but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
His lips kissed her scars, making her flinch.
“I’m right here,” he whispered between kisses. It went on forever, him kissing every single one of her scars. Tears were streaming down her face faster. No one had ever kissed her scars before.
“If I could go back in time and save you, I would. I would take every single whip so you didn’t have to suffer. I would have protected you.”
Her shoulders shook and she took in a sucking breath. “It’s in the past. I don’t think about it any more.”
That was a big lie. She thought about it at least once a week. How could she not when she saw and felt it after she took a shower? She woke up from nightmares, much less than before, from being whipped.
It was hard not to think about. Maybe that’s why she had such a hard time sleeping at night or doing things in general. She was always worried he would pop out of nowhere and she wouldn’t be able to do anything.
Logically, she knew it was impossible. He was in a different state and had no idea where she had landed but it was possible. He had connections in the old town and they could easily find her.
“Oh, baby.” Daddy turned her around, wrapping his arms around her.
Sobbing, she clinged onto Daddy as he rocked them back and forth. Betsy had been so strong, not crying since she moved out. She had to be strong or else everything would unravel around her.
“You’re okay,” he whispered. “Daddy is here and is going to take care of everything.”
Would he be able to take care of everything? Did she want him to take care of this? She knew the guilt she would feel when the man died. He was evil, pure evil, but deep down she knew she wouldn’t be able to do it or tell someone to do it.
“I’ve got you. Let it all out.”
She continued to cry into his chest, gripping onto him for dear life like he was going to leave.
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here. Everything is safe and okay.”
He continued to rock them ever so slightly, her crying not stopping.
“You’ve been strong for so long but Daddy is here now. You can let it all out. I’ve got you and am going to keep you safe.
Betsy’s crying slowly started to calm down as he continued to whisper sweet nothings into her ear.
“I’ve got you.”
Nuzzling her face into his chest, she relaxed a little as his arm tightened.
“Who did this to you and when? I’m not going to take no for an answer,” Daddy calmly but sternly said.
Betsy figured he would probably figure it out if he looked into her. While she had gotten rid of a lot of the evidence, she wasn’t able to get rid of it all. People needed to know who he was, which meant leaving some of the evidence out in the world.
“It was when I was younger. Just getting into high school,” she whispered.
“Who?”
“My dad.”
His whole body stiffened. “The bastard.”
Her arms tightened around him.
“I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
She knew that but she also knew there were several things running through his head.
“Let’s go wash you.”