Page 35 of Their Little Foursome

Lori

“I was that girl,” she said. “I’d been in the foster care system since my parents died in a car accident when I was fourteen.” She paused when realizing she’d given a snort.

“Sorry, I just now thought of how I’d been in one too, an accident I mean.” She shook her head, her pigtails swaying.

“It’s okay, sweetpea, you’re doing just fine.” Her Daddy’s words and the hand her Auntie, or she supposed she was her Mommy now, laid on her thigh offered unspoken support.

“I was one of the lucky ones as my foster families were good people. In Texas, you can be seventeen and be considered an adult. I graduated high school early at sixteen and worked as a waitress while saving money for college. At seventeen, I moved out and rented a garage apartment and enrolled in night school. One night, I’d gotten off the bus as always and was walking to the corner to cross the street so I could cut across the campus. I saw a man running toward me and I was just about to jaywalk, when he started waving and yelling for the bus to wait. Of course, the driver couldn’t hear him. When he saw me, he apologized foryelling and told me he had a new baby at home and needed to get to the local market for formula. I felt awful as he was panting and looked so frazzled. I was trying to tell him which routes to take when he asked if I could write it down. He said he hadn’t gotten any sleep in days and was never going to remember all the transfers.” Lori didn’t need to be told she’d been far too trusting that night. It was a lesson she’d learned the hard way.

“I was digging in my backpack to get a notebook so I could tear out a sheet when he slapped his hand over my mouth and pulled me against him. I tried to scream and fight him off, but he waved his arm and a van pulled up. When the door opened, he just picked me up and threw me inside. Before I could even try to sit up, he jumped in behind me and pinned me down. The second man was holding a syringe. I begged them to let me go, told them I didn’t do drugs, and I remember how he laughed and said what a pity that was because if I was an addict, they wouldn’t have bothered. I didn’t understand what he meant but before I could ask, he stabbed the needle in my neck. All I felt was a burn and the van bouncing over a pothole and then, nothing.”

She paused again, taking a couple of deep breaths, garnering the courage to continue. “I don’t know how long I was out, but when I woke up, I was lying on the concrete floor inside a warehouse. When I saw all these people, I started to ask for help , but they put their fingers to their mouths and shook their heads. One girl scooted over by me and helped me to sit up . When she started whispering, I knew there was no one to help. All of us had been kidnapped or snatched off the streets. None of us knew why we’d been grabbed, or what was going to happen to us until a couple of days later, some men came in and started… started lining us up. They stripped us of all our clothes, took our bags, purses, wallets, backpacks… I remember thinking I’d just used an entire paycheck to buy my used textbooks, and now hereI was watching them just throw them and anything that could be used to identify us into barrels. Then they set them on fire.”

She stopped for a moment, to look around, a bit worried they’d blame her for being unable to get away, for not fighting harder. Instead, she saw every pair of eyes filled with empathy. Sadie’s eyes held an understanding that spoke to Lori’s heart, giving her the courage to continue.

“They didn’t ask us any questions. One by one, they’d pull us forward, make us turn around, bend over… one even made us cough and I remember the other men thought that was very funny for some reason. When one girl begged to go home, the men started beating her and then she was dragged away. We… we never saw her again. No one dared to speak after that, at least not when they could hear. All we could do was stand there and listen to them discuss us like we were nothing but animals. There was one man in a black suit. He sat on this tall stool and would point to indicate which group we were put in. Once we were sent to a group, they gave us clothes but nothing that we’d worn before… that’s when I understood that I was no longer Lauren Collins. That was my name before I became Lori. I had nothing to prove who I was, where I came from. None of us did. We weren’t just being treated like animals, we didn’t even rank that high. We were nothing but… but ‘merchandise’ is the best word I can think of.”

Lori looked out at the listeners but no longer really saw them. She saw the faces of those who’d shared the warehouse with her. People she’d whisper to when their guards weren’t close. People who were as terrified as she was but all trying to be brave for each other.

“I don’t know how long we were there. There were no windows, nothing to let us know if it was day or night. We just knew that every day another group would be taken away. I was in the last group which was way larger than the others. They gaveus each a bottle of water and loaded us into the truck. It was dark and so hot inside. If you sat down, it was even hotter, but if we tried to get up so we could breathe a little easier, we’d be jostled by the others. We took turns standing while those sitting would brace us so we wouldn’t fall when the truck hit a bump. We didn’t bother trying to talk because it was raining so hard, it sounded like an entire drumline was beating on the roof. I started to sit down after one of my turns when I felt the truck sliding and then it jerked hard. At first I didn’t know what had happened. People just started falling and screaming as we were thrown all around. I remember thinking it was like we were clothes in a dryer, spinning around and around until my head slammed into something and I blacked out. When I first woke up, people were moaning, some not moving. Many were injured, some with broken bones. But as time went on, I’d wake up to find more had died.”

The face of one girl appeared as clear as if she was seated right in front of her. Her name was Cindy and she’d also known how to sign the alphabet. They’d sit across from each other and speak with their fingers. They’d become friends in the brief time they’d known each other. Had been in the same group and held hands to walk to the far end of the trailer so others could pile in behind them. They’d talked about their dreams. Cindy wanted to be a famous singer and Lori made a promise to attend every concert where Cindy performed.

Lori knew exactly what happened to her. Had sung to her while holding her broken body in her arms. Then had raged at the top of her lungs, cursing the men who’d taken the dream from her and left her in a truck to die. Left every person in their group to die.

“The last time I remember waking up in the truck, it was so quiet. No one around me was moving. I called out but no one answered anymore. I kept drifting in and out of consciousness.I heard a voice, but thought it was just a dream. But he kept calling out, asking if anyone could hear him. He kept saying he was going to get us out, to help us. I had no idea how long I’d been lying there, but I managed to get my hand free and tried to wave, to get his attention. I felt a weight being lifted off me and when I opened my eyes, it was to see a face with the kindest eyes I’d ever seen. He kept telling me I was going to be okay and I believed him. He was an angel come to save me. When he lifted me, he… he told me not to look, but I-I did. I saw no one else moving and I knew, I was the only one who had survived.”

Lori looked up at Blake to see his face wet with tears. She lifted her hand and laid it on his cheek as she’d done that night. He wasn’t the only face shining with tears. Her new friends were all crying, each having moved from their bean bags to sit on the laps of their Daddies, each needing what she’d been given that night—someone who cared, someone who would never let them fall.

“The truck was on an angle, so it was hard for Blake to walk. He stumbled a few times, but he never dropped me, never stopped telling me I was going to be okay. I remember feeling a breeze for the first time in days and knew I was going to get out of the truck. I tried to stay awake, tried to thank him, but I passed out again. He’d carried me out of hell, only to enter it himself.”

Tears started slipping down her face as pain squeezed her heart. Determined to finish what she hadn’t that night, she swept them away. “I never knew how much pain he’d been in because he thought he hadn’t kept his promise. He thought I’d died like all the others. He didn’t know I was alive until today. I never even knew his name or had a chance to thank him until I saw him standing in the hallway. Now I know his name is Blake and he’s not only my angel, he’s my big brother and I’m neverever going to let him go.” Lori fell back against Blake. “Daddy, can you tell the rest?”

“I believe it’s Mommy’s turn, sweetie. She is the next link in our chain. Bev?”

CHAPTER 14

Beverly

Beverly looked at her family. Gordon had stood to let Lori sit on Blake’s lap. Tucking Fauna into Lori’s hand, he pulled out his handkerchief to wipe the faces of their Littles. She saw him bend to press a kiss to each of their heads, heard him whisper how proud he was of them.

Beverly looked at the people who’d taken her in all those years ago. She was well aware this wasn’t the story they’d expected to hear. Bigs kept their expressions stoic, their Littles or submissives not able to do so. She met Jared’s eyes and prayed he’d forgive her for not ever admitting that while she had never known his face, she’d recognized his name when she’d interviewed for a job. Gordon’s mentor, his friend, was holding Erika close, but he smiled and nodded, letting her know he wasn’t angry at her. She supposed that as an attorney, he might understand the reasons why she hadn’t.

“Maybe we should take a break. Maybe the other Littles have heard enough…”

Gordon turned and swept his gaze over those gathered even as she saw Derek shaking his head.

“People come to Rawhide for various reasons, but all share a common one. To find the freedom to be who they are, to live their lives without the judgment, the hatred, the prejudice of those who despise anyone not like themselves. I promise, not a soul in this room is unaware of the atrocities people have heaped upon their fellow human beings. And not a single one believes that trying to deny the truth is what will set them free. We are far stronger together for finding our way to each other, for sharing our truths.”

He paused as Bigs and Littles alike nodded in agreement, then looked down at his Little. “Angel? I’ll understand if you need a break…”

Sadie smiled up at her Daddy and shook her head. “Thank you, but like you said, we are all stronger together. I’m fine here with you.”

Derek kissed her before he looked at those assembled. “If anyone needs a break or would like to lea?—”

“No!”

Derek gave the briefest of smiles at the thunderous unanimous response before turning back to look at her and Gordon. “There’s your answer. Tell the rest so it is purged from all of your lives and know you never have to go through this pain again.”

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