Chapter Another World
Another World
Fiona
“Which one do you think is cuter?” Cammie pokes her head out the door. “The one on the left or the one on the right?”
“The one in the middle is awfully cute.” Autumn peeks over her shoulder. “Do you think he’s dating anyone?”
“They’re all so young.” Ryleigh walks over to where Hope is swaying with Dash.
“They’re the same age as we are.” Cammie keeps staring.
Teenage girls make me want to laugh, but I keep a straight face as I knead the bread for Ace’s dinner rolls.
“Exactly. Why date a boy when you could date a man like Ace or Canyon?” Ryleigh wiggles Dash's foot, then walks over to the sink to wash her hands.
“Because only predators date girls our age.”
Go Cammie. Someone was listening.
The dough starts to change texture. It’s time to put in the caramelized onions and roasted garlic.
“Ace isn’t a predator.” Ryleigh dries her hands off and walks to the oven.
“That’s why he isn’t interested in you.” Cammie’s right, but that isn’t the only reason. Ace wouldn’t give Ryleigh a second look even if she were in her thirties.
That reminds me that I need to reach out to Ryleigh’s therapist. This is an issue we need to work on before she goes out and gets hurt.
Ryleigh opens the door and pulls out a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies. We bake all of our cookies in small batches throughout the day, so customers can have warm cookies.
“Well, you keep living in a dream world. I’m going to see if the one on the left is single.”
“They’re all single,” Hope snuggles Dash.
Cammie turns to her. “How do you know that?”
“They’re my cousins.”
“Oh really?”
“I thought Alex and Sasha were your cousins?” Autumn steps back, letting the door close.
“They’re more like family friends.”
“Who cares how they’re related. Tell us all about the cute boys.”
Hope laughs. “The Spawn of War aren’t cute.”
Max didn’t introduce them like that. Though he did seem really worried about their behavior.
Cammie’s mouth drops open.
“That sounds scary,” Autumn whispers.
Hope leans forward. “That’s because they are. They’re a force of nature. A violent one at that.”
Pull. Fold. Press. Repeat. The mix-ins slowly spread through the dough.
“Really. Do they break their girlfriends’ hearts?”
Hope snorts. “They don’t date. The world is afraid of the Spawn of War.”
Cammie takes a gulp of fresh air.
“Are you afraid of them?” Autumn leans back against the tiled wall.
“No. They wouldn’t ever hurt me.”
“Would they hurt one of us?” Autumn’s hand goes to her throat.
This is why my life is a bad teenage romance novel filled with all the angst.
“I’m not afraid.” Cammie scoops up some of the cookies and puts them on a plate. “Just you watch. I’m going to be dating one of them by the end of the month.”
Uh oh!
***
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Hope asks a few hours later.
“Sure. Want to go back by the picnic tables to talk?”
“Yeah.”
“Put on a jacket. It’s gotten chilly out there.” I grab a coat and a blanket to place over Dash, even though he’s wrapped tightly to my body.
Once we’re outside, I sit on the picnic table and wait for her to talk.
Hope reaches up to tug on her hair, but it’s tied up in a braid. “Is it a good idea for Autumn to date? She told me she was raped by her stepfather. How could she ever want to think about dating again?”
My day just got harder.
She takes a deep breath. “Should I tell my cousins to leave her alone? They’ll listen to me. And if they don’t, they’ll listen to Sasha.”
Interesting that she didn’t say they’d listen to her dad. Time to give an innocent a dose of reality. “I don’t know.”
“Huh?” She stares at me like I’ve grown three heads.
“I don’t know. Every woman reacts differently to being sexually assaulted. For some, dating might be impossible. For others, it might be a way to see that there is still good in the world. Another might realize that she needs more therapy. And some are never ready.”
Hope sinks down next to me. “How do you know which a person is? I want to be a good friend to her.”
“You don’t. She might not even realize what she needs. The only thing you can do is support her decisions and be there for her if she needs help.”
“But—“
“That will be hard for someone like you.”
“Like me?” Hope stares up at me.
“You’re a fixer like your grandmother and father. Which is a lovely person to be, but it’s going to be challenging when the answer is wait. And honey, you need to wait. You need to give Autumn a chance to decide for herself what she wants to do.”
“Even if that’s dating my cousin?” Her nose wrinkles.
“Even if that means dating your troublesome cousins.” Curiosity wins out. “Why do you call them the Spawn of War?”
“Because they’re my cousin War’s kids. And they never stop brawling or breaking things. Not to mention their names are too hard to remember for most everyone.”
Wait. “They’re brothers?”
“Oh, yeah.”
But not one of them resembles the other. They’re different heights, weights, and body shapes, not to mention their different skin colors and facial features.
“My aunt only wanted to give birth once, so they adopted the boys.”
Oh, why didn’t I think about that? Max said he’d tell their mother. I thought he meant their individual mothers, not a collective group.
“Their family will be at dinner Sunday.”
Um, what? “I thought you said this was a small gathering.”
“It is. It’s just Sunday dinner with the family.” She grins.
Why does that give me an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach? Which Dash proceeds to kick before letting out a loud wail. “Is it time for your pre-dinner snack?”
***
“Dash, we need to stop at the market on the way home. You’ve been gobbling down your formula. Are you going to have a growth spurt soon?”
He kicks my abdomen with his little feet and gurgles.
“I’ll take that as a yes. You’re almost old enough to start on baby food. I should stop by the doctor’s office and see if you’re ready. Would you like to try some mushy peas?”
The gurgle in response is even louder this time.
Thankfully, the market is right near the bakery, so it only takes a moment to pop in and grab what I need for Dash and some fruit for the basket. Maybe Daria will eat some of it in a smoothie. She doesn’t get enough nutrients from the shakes she tends to drink most of the time.
The sun is starting to set on Willow Street.
Unlike sunrise, there’s a hive of activity at this time of day, regardless of the cool weather.
The kids don’t like to be cooped up inside.
I cut through a park on the way to my apartment and find Max sitting on a bench staring out into space. He’s in a completely different world.
And that world isn’t a good place to be.
You should walk past. If he wanted company, he would have gone to the bakery or any one of his dozens of relatives.
Max obviously wants to be alone.
He looks so sad and lost.
Can I let him sit there alone in another world suffering?
I should. “Hey there.” I smile at him. “Hope already went home with her cousins.”
“Oh. Okay.” He barely looks up and doesn’t make a move to leave.
Whatever happened is bad.
Very bad. I sink down onto the bench next to him, setting my groceries down and adjusting Dash’s blanket.
He shoves the blanket down to get a better look at the world before settling his head on my chest.
What I want to ask is, what happened? But questioning a person rarely helps in situations like these. Giving them space and letting them feel supported is the best path.
But it’s pure torture sitting here quietly waiting.
“How do you tell someone that the woman they love has been raped? Or worse, wasn’t raped but slept with another man?”
Those are two big questions. “Do you know it was rape?” I ignore the second question as my skin begins to itch.
He shrugs. “I don’t know.”
“Then I suggest you ask her what happened before deciding anything.”
Max’s head turns at my sharp tone. “I don’t know if it was rape or coercion, but it wasn’t consensual.”
“Both of those are rape with different terminology. You talk to her, not him. She needs to be the one to share it, not you.”
“What if she won’t? He deserves to know that the woman he loves was raped.” Max turns his pain-filled eyes to me.
In this moment, I know why they named him Rage.
His rage doesn’t touch mine. “Then you wait. What you need to realize is this happened to ‘her’. They assaulted ‘her’. They took something from her that she can never get back. Whatever he might feel is valid, but nothing compared to what she’s going through.
And forcing her to acknowledge it or relive it before she’s ready—” I take a deep steadying breath. “—isn’t the way to help anyone.”
“I’m not looking to help. I need to make sure she’s safe.”
A tremble runs through my body. “Do you—Do you think the person will assault her again?” The urge to shower starts building inside of me.
“Yes.”
“You need to convince her to talk to the police.”
“The police don’t protect my family.” There’s violence in Max’s voice that’s barely controlled.
“Max.” I reach out to set a hand on his arm.
He shrugs it away like my fingers are a branding iron. “Don’t touch me for the first time like this. Not now.” Max jumps up and storms away.
What was that about?