Page 57 of Truth

“I finished my book.” She reached for the buttons on my shirt and began playing with them.

“Did you like it?”

She nodded.

“Ronnie was funny. Jake kept trying to get her to go out with him, and she’d mouth off to him and put him in his place.” She laughed. “She was mouthing off to him this one time and he backed her into a wall and kissed her.”

I knew the book she was reading was a romance novel, so I had to assume the kiss was well received. “And what did she do when he kissed her?”

“She didn’t like it at first. Well, she acted like she didn’t. She kept trying to push him away.”

“And then what?”

“She started kissing him back.” She grew quiet. “They ended up having sex up against the wall.”

Brianna whispered the last part as if she were telling some sort of naughty secret. I smiled.

“So do you think you’ll read any more of the books Lily brought you?”

“Yes,” she said, nodding her head enthusiastically.

I had to keep from laughing out loud. Sometimes, I had to wonder how she remained so seemingly innocent despite what she’d been through. My only guess was that it had to do with the detached state she zoned into sometimes. It was as if her body was there, but her mind wasn’t. So, even though she was technically experiencing things, it wasn’t the same as it would have been for someone else.

“Did you do anything else today besides read and explore my toy drawer?”

“I really didn’t mean—”

“You can open that drawer whenever you want. I want to explore things with you... including toys. You need to be comfortable with them, and maybe holding them, feeling them in your hands, will help. I don’t like the fact that inanimate objects frighten you.”

“I don’t want to be frightened,” she whispered.

“It’ll get better. We’ll work on it together.”

She cuddled closer.

“I spoke to Ross today.” She tensed as I spoke. “I invited him and his girlfriend over for dinner Friday night.”

Brianna sat up, her eyes wide with shock.

I laughed.

“Do you not want to see Ross?”

“Yes. I just thought... I thought you didn’t like him.”

Twining our fingers together, I brought our linked hands up to my mouth. “I can put up with him for your sake.”

“Thank you, Sir.” She smiled and leaned in to give me an awkward hug.

I released her hand and returned the gesture. “I’d do anything to make you happy, Brianna. Anything.”

For the next hour, I held her. We talked here and there but about nothing particular.

When I couldn’t put it off any longer, I told her to go get her journal. I went to the closet to get the blanket I’d had out the previous night for the floor, and tried to wipe any apprehension off my face. This wasn’t something I was looking forward to, but it needed to be done. What had happened Sunday could have disastrous affects if it took place in a more public setting.

She walked back into the living room, clutching her journal and with her head bowed. I let her wait until I’d finished fixing the blanket. “Come.”

We settled into our spots on the blanket with her sitting between my legs. I liked this position because it allowed me to both read over her shoulder and provide her comfort at the same time. Yes, I could have accomplished those two things in both my chair and in bed, but I didn’t want either of those places tainted with any negatives. The chair and my bed were positive places for her. I wanted to keep them that way.

---