To
This. This was what she had expected.
Lucien passed by Kate, murmuring, “I’ll catch up with you.”
But the woman, no older than her, backed away from him. Eyes glinting with the fear only a survivor bore.
But he was a man nonetheless. Not what the pale woman shrinking in on herself needed right now. Lucien saw it for what it was. Murmuring a low, “I understand.”
Kate was already moving to bypass Lucien when he stopped her with a hand on her elbow. Drawing her closer. “Kate…” He halted, searching for his words. “She looks so much like you.”
“What, what do you mean?”
He merely shook his head. Letting her pass him by to see it for herself.
The woman turned. Blue eyes like chips of ice focused on Kate, who froze in place.
Right. Lucien was right.
Her skin was as pale as the pages of a book, with the same pronounced cheekbones and fatigue weighing down on her shoulders. The color of her long slightly tousled hair, greasy and unwashed, mirrored hers. Dark brown with streaks of light brown running through it. Speckles dusted her nose.
They looked at each other. Recognition lighting up in the woman’s eyes.
But she didn’t speak.
Kate bent down in front of her, noticing how she scooted back a couple inches. Lowering her voice to one of gentleness, she asked. “I’m Kate. Kate Withers. What’s your name?”
Seconds ticked by, and just when she thought no answer would come, a tiny voice rasped out. “Isabel… Delonso.”
“Nice to meet you, Isabel.”
The woman nodded lightly, hugging her arms. Kate spotted the white bandage trapped tightly over her wrist. Isabel saw, sliding a hand over it to shield it from view.
Deep. She was knee-deep in desperation.
A creaking lake below her boots, Lucien’s voice demanding her back from the edge. The same level of depth. Rock bottom.
She was just in time to hold the bucket in front of Isabel, and waited for the wave to settle before the girl sagged down on the mattress, utterly spent. Kate turned to leave, feet aimed for the door when Isabel spoke. “Kate… I-is this place to be t-trusted?”
Oh, I am so not the person to answer this question.
She hovered. How to answer? Everything she had seen pointed to this place being…
solid. More than that, the women seemed happy, taken care of.
Thriving even. Much as they could with the weights stacked in their backpacks.
And then there was Lucien. But what role did he play? Why even had he brought her here?
All she knew was that if she told the woman anything but the positive. She could shove her over an edge she might never return from. So she whirled around, forcing a smile toward the struggling woman. “From what I’ve seen, you can rest your head on that pillow tonight, and every night after.”
Isabel nodded. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you.” With that, she turned her back. Leaving behind the cuts and scrapes, the bruises on these women. The stories they carried.
But not forever. She’d be back. If the chance was hers.
“They will pull through.” Georgia whispered to her. “We’ll make sure of it.”
***
Georgia led her to a table in the corner. “Fancy a coffee, Katherine?”
“Yes, please.”
Black chairs lined the waiting halls, where a young woman sat swinging her legs with a young baby cradled to her chest. Talking in hushed tones to her child, the girl planted a kiss on the tiny baby’s nose. A true mother’s love.
Kate pulled her gaze away to give them some privacy just as the coffee machine vibrated to life. She backed away from the table Georgia had led her to. “I’ll go and use the bathroom first, if that’s alright with you?”
“Sure hun, down the hall on your left.”
The smell of lavender filled the toilets, chasing away the scent of desperation from her nose. Black and white tiles littered the floor like a chessboard, dazzling her. Water spilled from the tap as she rubbed her palms and scrubbed beneath her nails in an attempt to scrape away what she had seen.
Kate peered up at herself. Skin still pale. But the bags under her eyes had lessened. Those same cheekbones, although less sharp. And her eyes themselves… there was still a light in them that had never dimmed, and yet the desperation lingered there. The tiny wrinkles spoke pages about her own past.
That was it.
That was the reason they seemed so familiar. Their eyes held the same story. Anguish, desperation, and signs of hope, all fighting for their spot.
Kate turned away from the mirror and its secrets, leaving the bathroom behind with the swinging door thudding shut behind her.
She found her coffee waiting on the table in front of Georgia.
Soon as she sat down, Georgia began. “I won’t ask what has happened.
That is your story to tell. But I have seen enough to know your life hasn’t been easy.
” She pushed the coffee even closer to Kate.
“I bet that’s why Lucien took you here.”
And which question did that even answer?
“What is Lucien’s place in all this?”
Georgia hung back in her seat, mulling over her answer. “Because of him, this place exists. Together we started this foundation. My experience paired with his generous donations and ongoing support means we’re able to help all these people.”
Her mouth fell open in amazement. “That’s… I mean. You do a lot of good here. It seems different from other places. What I’ve seen from the movies I mean.” She corrected herself hastily.
The woman in front of her barked a laugh. “Trust me, most shelters are nothing like what we have here. That’s why we started it.”
Kate saved the info for later. To decide where she stood on it all. Lucien’s questionable money funding this all. Balancing right and wrong on a tightrope line.
“He mentioned two hundred and forty-nine women. Where are they all now?” The halls. They had been mostly deserted.
“They’re all on different outings. Today we’ve got walks, workouts, and yoga sessions scheduled.”
Georgia read the surprise in her eyes. “Part of the reason Lucien’s initiative has proven so successful is the fact we have plenty of staff. Experienced enough to arrange such events. We believe a huge part of healing takes place in mindset.”
“Desperation like that can be used, Katherine. Honed. Emotions should serve us, not the other way around.”
Living and breathing his words into life.
Before she could answer, a door opened behind her. She turned over her shoulder to see Lucien stride in. The woman who had been sitting there perked up, leaving her chair to walk up next to him.
The words were too hushed to understand. But the body language, the thankful look in her eyes, betrayed enough. The woman held her child up to Lucien, inviting him to hold the tiny bundle of joy. He accepted.
His broad hands cradled the small infant. The same hands that had scrubbed a blood-littered car, had kept her from escape, placed a rose behind her ears. Capable of such macabre acts and such utter gentleness.
He sent Georgia a soft smile, who glowered with pride. He might not be her son by blood, but somehow, they had come just as close.
Five minutes went by before he carefully handed the infant back to his mother’s arms. He continued his trek to their table where he spoke with Georgia about scheduling a lesson Lucien would be giving in…
self-defense. Believe it or not. Kate’s attention zoomed in and out.
She caught words and phrases while her jumbled mind tried to make sense of it all.
Before long they said their goodbyes. As they parted Georgia motioned for Lucien to lean down a little.
With a smirk he followed her lead and received a warm kiss on both of his cheeks.
Then she turned to Kate. Leaving her with a firm hug, she held on for a moment longer than necessary.
Whispering in her ear. “Watch out with this one, girl. He’s a load of work, but he can be a heart breaker when in love. ”
What?!