Page 111 of Not Your Little Girl Anymore

Chloe and I exchange glances again. She breathes in. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

My eyebrows pull together. If she can’t hold herself together, how is it not as bad as it looks?

I pull Summer’s chin up, forcing her to look at me. Her eyes slowly open, red blotches around her green irises. My chest pinches tight.

“What happened?”

Her lip quivers as her chest rises. “He said… he said he’ll look into it but can’t promise it’s enough.”

My stomach does a quick one-eighty, and my muscles ache from how tight they’ve become. “How is it not enough?” I don’t mean to shout, but I’m damn right pissed off.

Summer’s sad eyes fall, shaking her head as she places it back against my chest.

Chloe’s hand comes onto my shoulder, and she gives me a soft smile. “I’ll wait in the car. I won’t leave until I know she’s OK.”

My arms squeeze around Summer a little tighter. “What did he say?” This time, I keep my voice softer, not wanting to upset her more than she already is.

She moves out of my grip, hopping to the side. I swerve to help her keep her balance and off her hurt ankle. “There’s a possibility they will need more. The first step is to bring my father in for questioning. In which he’ll deny everything. Brentley made it clear that I have to stay away from the house.”

My jaw ticks, and I stop walking. “Let me talk to him. We can’t just leave everything like this.”

Summer shakes her head no, and I want to ignore it, but she tells me, “There’s nothing else we can do right now. It’s a waiting game from here.”

My jaw clenches so tight that I feel the muscles contract. This is absolutely unbelievable.

***

I’m fucking pissed.

My fingers tighten around the lighter in my hand. I flick it violently, watching the flame dance in the still heated air for a mere second before bringing it to the end of my cigarette.

I can’t believe after everything on that drive, everything that prick of a man has said and done, he still hasn’t been condemned. How can the police not consider him a threat to the entire town?

My nerves do somersaults in my stomach, pinching my insides like a vile. I’m so outraged. This feeling needs to stop before I start to fucking break shit.

Dragging my free hand down my face, I think of every scenario that could be done. There is a difference between what is legal and what is illegal, and what Charles fucking Raleigh has done over the years is beyond the point of unlawful. It’s a straight crime. A crime against humanity and being a civil fucking human being. The legal way of how everything works is utter bullshit.

My opinion may not mean much, and I understand he needs to be brought in for questioning first, but what I don’t understand is how they can let him get away with abuse. To his own child, nonetheless.

Abuse is abuse. Whether your child is a grown adult or not. It’s unnatural, and anyone capable of such a thing deserves to pay.

The tip of my cigarette glows a fiery red as I suck in another drag, feeling the smoke curl down my throat. It brings me a slight sense of calm, keeping me from doing something stupid.

I’ve lost track of time. I have no idea how long I’ve been sitting outside my apartment. The sun is setting, and I know I should get back upstairs before Summer does something idiotic, like attempting to walk down the stairs without help.

She needs to see a doctor and get proper care for her foot, but she’s being too stubborn. I’d have better luck dragging her ass to the walk-in myself. As a matter of fact, I just might do that.

Stuffing the end of my smoke out and shoving it into the tall ashtray I leave on the side of the front steps, I fling the door open and stride back into my apartment. It’s quiet, but something doesn’t sit well with me as I walk into the living room.

Before I went downstairs, the television was on, but now it’s off, and the small throw blanket Summer was using is tossed onto the floor. There’s a faint sniffling sound coming from the bedroom, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the reason.

I push open the cracked door to find Summer curled on the bed with the blanket covering most of her. The staggered breaths coming from her lungs pain me.

When she notices me, she tries to hide her wet, red cheeks, but the tears fall so heavily down her face that it’s impossible to hide them. It’s a battle she can’t win, but that doesn’t mean I won’t do everything in my power to help her try.

I tug the blanket slightly to reveal the rest of her face and reach over to brush the tears off her soft cheek. “Have you taken anything for the pain in your ankle?”

She sniffles, wiping her nose along the back of her hand. “Not since this morning.”

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