Chapter Twenty-One
Kytten
TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains a graphic representation of grooming and sexual assault of a minor. If you suffer from any triggers, PLEASE, PLEASE, take extreme caution before reading this chapter. Your mental health is more important to me than my fictional story.
My first three birthdays with Val and the Nyght Nymphs were every girl’s dream. Every year they did something different. In the first year, Val recreated everything I had shared with her about what my mom used to do for us.
The second year, they took me roller-skating. Val rented out the whole rink. It was just us. For hours, we skated and played video games, listened to all my favorite bands while we gorged ourselves on pizza and cake. It was the best day!
Last year was a slumber party. We stayed up all night eating junk food and watching movies.
Well, most of us anyway. Harmony, who got her name in honor of her sweet personality and go-with-the-flow attitude, was surprisingly cranky when she didn’t get enough sleep.
And who would have thought that Arsyn would be able to eat the way she did? That girl could put away some food!
I couldn’t wait to see what they had planned this year!
I ran down the stairs, a smile on my face. It was my fifteenth birthday. My fourth birthday with Val and the Nyght Nymphs.
I was excited to see what they had done this year.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs, everything was quiet. They were hiding, and my smile grew. I just knew that at any minute, they would all jump out and yell surprise.
But as I looked around, I didn’t see any balloons. No streamers. No presents. I searched the house, and no one was here.
Where did everyone go?
The front door opened, and Syrena walked in. Her eyes landed on me, and guilt covered her features.
“Oh shit, Kytten. I’m sorry. I wanted to be back before you woke up.”
“Where is everyone?” At least someone remembered.
“They found her,” Syrena whispered as she set the grocery bags on the counter.
“Found who?”
“Val’s daughter.”
I swallowed as I stared at Syrena, not really understanding the magnitude of her words.
“Where’s Val?”
“Louisiana.”
“Why?” I asked, confused.
“Didn’t you hear me? They found her daughter.” Syrena didn’t look at me when she spoke. She was putting the groceries away as if it were just a regular day.
Did they forget about my birthday?
Val found her daughter and forgot about me.
“Kytten? Are you okay?”
My eyes snapped to Syrena. I plastered a smile on my face. “Of course. I’m so happy Val found her daughter.”
That was the first time I had lied to one of the women who had become my family. The first time I had pushed my feelings down.
I was happy for Val. Truly, I was. I was glad she found her daughter; I just didn’t want her to forget about me in the process.
“Here, put this in the fridge.” Syrena handed me the glass bottle. I reached out absently, and when she let go, it slipped through my fingers, crashing to the floor.
“KYTTEN!” Syrena rushed over and pulled me back. “Sit down, honey.” When she grabbed the mop and broom to clean up the mess, I ran back up to my room.
I sat on my bed and pulled the leg of my pajamas up to my knee. There, embedded in my shin, was a small piece of glass. As I silently watched the blood trickle down my leg, a scream tore through my mind.
The gentle knock on my door was quieter due to the screams inside my head. Syrena slipped into my room and sat on the bed next to me.
“Oh, Kytten, why didn’t you tell me?”
Her hand caressed my calf, and I didn’t think anything of it. Val always rubbed my back or my arm when I was upset or hurt.
“Let’s get this cleaned up. Why don’t you get undressed while I get the first aid kit?”
I did as I was told. I owed everything to the Nyght Nymphs. When Syrena came back, she had me lie back on the bed. She talked me through everything she was doing as I stared at the ceiling.
I was so lost in my head, thinking about Val’s daughter and how Val had just left me without a word. Pushed aside now that she had found her real daughter.
“This will sting a little, but I’ll make it feel better. I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you came downstairs, baby. I thought I could get done before you woke up.”
Her hands worked flawlessly. There was a small sting when she pulled the glass from my leg, but it didn’t hurt as badly as Val forgetting my birthday.
Syrena blew on the cut. I looked down at her, and she smiled.
“Does that feel good?”
I nodded, not really understanding what she meant. She placed the bandage over the cut and then rubbed my leg. Her hand slid higher until I felt her squeeze my thigh.
Something fluttered inside me, but I pushed it away. It reminded me of the man from the dumpster. But that had to be from me being upset. The Nyght Nymphs would never hurt me like he wanted to.
Especially not Syrena. She was always the nicest one. Whenever I was upset or sad, she held me in her arms. She never raised her voice even if I did something wrong.
I ignored the voices telling me to move. The ones that should have had me jumping out of bed and calling Val. I knew Val was busy. She had her daughter. She didn’t have time to listen to my wild thoughts.
Syrena’s hand moved higher, and I stared at the ceiling, waiting for her to stop. I let out a breath when her hand retreated. But my reprieve didn’t last long.
She lay down on my bed beside me and pulled me into her arms. Her chest was against my back, and she rested her chin on my shoulder.
“I’m so sorry Val forgot your birthday, Kytten. I would never forget.”
I knew she was right. Syrena loved me. She told me all the time how glad she was that Val had found me and brought me home.
Her precious little kitty, she called me.
She kissed my shoulder, and I tried not to squirm. Syrena was just affectionate. She always gave me a hug, or rubbed my arm to let me know she was there.
But when the hand on my belly began to move down, I tried to pull away. She held me tight against her.
“Shhh, it’s okay, Kytten. I have a special birthday surprise for you, baby.”
The arm that lay under me clutched me across my shoulders, holding me against her. She was bigger than me. Stronger. All I could do was lie still.
Her finger slipped under the band of my panties. My belly pulled in. Something didn’t feel right about what she was doing, but Syrena loved me. She wouldn’t hurt me.
I tried to relax, but my body was tense. My arms felt tight as my hands clung to the arm across my chest.
“Syrena, what are you doing?”
“I told you I would make you feel better. Just relax.”
Only I couldn’t relax. Her fingers were in a place they shouldn’t be. I had touched myself there; I had to when I showered. Sometimes I let them linger. It felt good.
This didn’t feel good.
This didn’t feel right.
Syrena persisted, probing me until finally she pulled her hand away. She had stopped, or so I thought. Instead, her hand grabbed onto my knee, pulling my leg back. Her leg swung over mine, holding it in place so I couldn’t close my legs.
Then her hand was there again. Feeling me, caressing me. A tear slipped out of my eyes, and I sniffed.
“Don’t cry, baby. I promise you’ll love this. But you can’t tell anyone. This will be our little secret. Val can never, ever know. She would be so mad at you if you told her.”
Why would Val be mad at me? I wasn’t doing anything. Syrena’s fingers slipped around, rubbing against the little areas that I had only grazed while in the shower.
She started to rub in one spot. I didn’t want it to feel like it did, but I couldn’t control it. My body began to relax as I gave in to the feelings.
“That’s it, baby, just let Syrena take care of you.”
The hand that held my shoulder moved and covered my boob. She rubbed her hand over it, and my nipple got hard. It didn’t hurt like when I was about to start my period. It felt different. She pinched it and rubbed it between her fingers.
Her hips moved against my butt. Something felt weird. My belly got tight. There was a tingling where her fingers swirled around me.
“Syrena, I don’t feel good.”
“You do, baby. Just let it happen, Kytten. I promise this will feel very good in just a minute. Don’t fight it, baby.”
“Syrena, I don’t... It hurts.”
“No, baby, you’re just scared. I would never hurt you. This is something new. Just for you and me.”
Her fingers moved faster inside my underwear. Her hand grabbed my boob and squeezed it hard. Then she did something I knew wasn’t right, but I couldn’t stop her.
She put her fingers inside me. First one. She moved it in and out, and I didn’t understand what she was doing and why it didn’t hurt. Then she added a second finger, and it was hard to breathe.
“Syrena, please stop.”
“I can’t stop, baby, not until you come.”
Come? Come where? I would go anywhere she wanted if she would just let me go.
“Come, Kytten. Let go and come for Syrena, baby.”
Tears filled my eyes. I wanted to come for her, but I didn’t know where she wanted me to go. And how could I go anywhere if she was holding me so tight?
“Let go, baby. Feel me inside you, Kytten.” She kissed my neck and pulled her fingers out to rub again. And all of a sudden, my body felt like it was flying. I didn’t know how she had done it, but I went from feeling sick to feeling the best I ever had.
“Happy birthday, Kytten.”
“That was the first time. I wish I could say it was the only time, but Syrena would slip into my room at night after everyone was asleep. She kept telling me that no one could know. That if Val found out what we were doing, she would be mad at me and make me leave.”
Tears ran down my face. I couldn’t look at Cash. I felt him stiffen beside me. His hand held mine, but it was so loose, like he didn’t want to hold it anymore. I knew once he learned the truth, he wouldn’t want me.
I tried to pull away, and he held on tighter. My eyes locked onto where our hands were clasped together. I wanted to burn that into my memory, so that when I left here, I would always have it.
“Is this still happening?” Dr. Dunaway asked.
His voice was tight. Hard. And I knew Syrena was right. They were all mad at me because I told them.
I wasn’t stupid. I knew now that what Syrena did was wrong. She should never have touched me like that. But I let her. It was my fault. I should have told Val right away and let her be mad. But the longer I waited, the worse I knew it would be.
“No.”
“How long?” he asked. I heard him inhale and exhale before he asked again, “How long did it go on?”
I still hadn’t looked up. I couldn’t bring myself to look at either of them. I could feel their anger; I didn’t need to see it.
“Almost two years. When I was sixteen, we saved a mother and her ten-year-old daughter. Her husband had been raping her daughter for two years. That was when it finally sank in that what Syrena was doing was wrong. That everything she had done since the day I came home with Val had been to groom me. All her extra attention that I thought was her just being nice, was her preparing me not to fight.”
“And she just stopped when you asked her to?” Dr. Dunaway asked.
“No. When I fucking made her.”