Page 4 of Justice

I can’t form the words, so I take his hand and he follows me without hesitation.

I glance at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, barely recognizing the girl staring back at me. My skin is ashen, almost translucent, with dark circles shadowing my sunken eyes. I look hollow, a shell of my former self.

"Daddy," I whisper, the word catching in my throat. It's all I can manage, but it carries the weight of everything I can't say.

I lower myself onto the edge of the bathtub, my legs trembling beneath me. Dad kneels in front of me, his eyes wide with concern. I've never seen him like this before, vulnerable, scared. It makes my heart ache even more.

"Baby girl," he says softly, his voice rough with sleep and worry. "What's troubling you?"

His gentle words break something inside me. A sob tears from my throat, raw and painful. I bury my face in my hands, my body shaking with the force of my cries. Everything I've been holding back for weeks comes rushing out in a torrent of tears and anguished sounds.

Dad reaches out, his calloused hands gently grasping my wrists. "Elle, sweetheart, look at me."

I shake my head, unable to meet his gaze. How can I tell him? How can I shatter his world along with mine?

"Please," he pleads, his voice cracking. "Whatever it is, we'll face it together. Just talk to me."

I force myself to lower my hands, my vision blurry with tears. Dad's face comes into focus, etched with lines of worry. His eyes, so like my own, are filled with a mix of fear and determination.

"I…" I start, but the words stick in my throat. I swallow hard, trying again. "Something happened, Dad. At the party."

His brow furrows, confusion mixing with the concern on his face. "What party? The one a few weeks ago?"

I nod, fresh tears spilling down my cheeks. "I didn't want to tell anyone. I thought… I thought I could handle it on my own."

Dad's hands tighten slightly around my wrists, steadying me. "Handle what, Elle? What happened?"

The pregnancy test sits on the counter behind me, a ticking time bomb. I take a shaky breath, steeling myself for what I'm about to say.

"I think I was drugged," I whisper, the words hanging heavy in the air between us. "I woke up in the woods, and… and…"

I pull myself together, and he embraces me closely like his hug can take away the hurt. There was a time when it actually could. But this is something I'll have to cope with. Maybe it's a good thing I don't remember what happened.

Leaning back and brushing away my tears, I take a deep breath and say, “Dad, I think I might be pregnant.” The wordstumble out before I can stop them, there's no easy way to bring up something like this.

My dad's face betrays his shock, it’s like all of the air has been sucked out of the room.

I catch a glimpse of anger flicker in his eyes, but it quickly disappears, replaced by the gentle expression he always wears for me.

“Oh, Elle," he breathes, his voice thick with emotion. He reaches out, his calloused hand cupping my cheek. "Baby, why do you think you're pregnant?" he asks.

His face grows hazy as I recall waking up in a field. "Remember that night I went to the party?" I murmur, fighting back tears. "I stayed out all night with a friend.

“I woke up in the woods later that night, early morning, and I don’t know what happened to me. I didn’t want to admit it, but I don’t think it was willingly.” My heart shatters and I watch as his does too because speaking the words out loud are tough.

He pulls me into his arms, and I bury my face in his chest, inhaling the familiar scent. "I'm so sorry, baby girl," he murmurs into my hair, his voice thick with unshed tears. "I'm so, so sorry."

He has protected me my whole life, never let anything harm me, and I know this is his worst fear.

“So sorry,” he whispers, holding me so tight like he is trying to hug the pain away.

I collect myself as best I can, needing to get this part over with. “The test is on the counter, if you can check for me, Daddy?” I ask him, and I feel him shift. I lean back to look at his face as he looks at the test.

I know in my heart before he tells me from his expression.

“I’m pregnant, aren’t I?”

He gives one single nod and it changes my whole life forever, because I’m going to have this baby. I contemplated having anabortion, but in the end I knew that he or she is innocent in all of this.

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