Page 16 of Gash

“The suicide attempts,along with every other shitty thing that you’ve been through.”Whizz kept his distance, and she was more than happy aboutthat.

“I … I didn’t think anyonewould know what happened.”

“Gash asked me to findinformation on Rebecca and Jeff.You came up, and I gave him theway to locate you.”

“Wait?You told him?”Why hadn’tGash asked?Why did he assume she helped put him inprison?

“No.I didn’t give himeverything.”He moved away from his position opposite her towardhis wall of screens.“To be honest, the information for me, it onlygave me more questions.You see, abortions, documents, all of thatstuff I can follow, but I cannot follow emotion.I don’t know whathappened between you and Gash, or between Jeff and Rebecca.Onlythe paper trails, and possible security footage.It’s a lot in thisday and age, but it’s not everything.”

She listened and watched as heclicked on the keyboard, and her life cameup on the multitude of differentscreens.

Whizz moved away, and she forced herselfto face the life that she had been trying to forget.

Pictures of herself before and afterher life was turned upside down.Hospital images of her injuriesand files of her diagnosis were displayed for her tosee.

“I didn’t give him this.Gashdoesn’t know that when you tried to testify on his behalf, you weredrugged and shipped to a hospital to have the baby that you hadcreated together, torn out of you.”

Her heart was racing.This was her secret.This was what Jeff did to her, and what Rebecca did to her.Theyheld her down, forced her to sleep, and removed something soprecious to her that she had already been making plans for herfuture.The promotion had come first, and then when she landed,she’d gotten the positive test, and for those few precious minutesher life had been perfect.A few minutes, that was all shegot.

“Gash didn’t know, and he stilldoesn’t know,” she said.

“He still doesn’t know.You’re the woman from his dream.The woman he had sex with, andcan’t remember it.”

She nodded.

“I was away when Gash wasarrested.I got a promotion, and that was why I was out of thecountry.When I got back, I discovered he was on trial and I wasgoing to testify on his behalf.I’d been feeling sick, and the onlyexplanation I had was being pregnant.I took a kit, but Jeff wasthere, and Rebecca.”Her cheeks heated.“Before him, I was avirgin, and I’ve never been with anyone else.Sad really, Iknow.”

“That’s not sad.Everythingthat comes with you returning, that’s sad, that’s unbearable,”Whizz said.

“Everything had gone to shit inthe time that I was away.Gash was being done for murder and rape.I knew he was capable of murder, but not out of jealousy.Gashdidn’t give a shit about Rebecca, or who she screwed.”

“How did you know?”Whizzasked.

“He came around one night whenshe was entertaining another man.”Charlotte laughed.“I was soembarrassed that I couldn’t even talk.Anyway, Rebecca was alwaysreally loud.He came and laughed.Said Rebecca was an easy girl,and he’d wait his turn.No jealousy.He even picked up a cookingmagazine, and read it while Rebecca was screwing another guy.Then,when the two came out, Gash shook the man’s hand, and grabbedRebecca.”

“Wow, I didn’t knowthat.”

“Not everything is written on acomputer, just like you said,” Charlotte said.“He’s not a rapist.Gash would never hurt a woman.”

“Yet he hurtyou.”

She cupped her neck and shook herhead.“I guess I’m not considered a woman in his eyes.”

“And yet for a short time,you were the mother of his kid.”

Charlotte flinched.“That’s a longtime ago.”

“He or she would have been sevenyears old, entering his eighth birthday.”

Tears filled her eyes, and before shecould hold them back, they fell down her face.“Please, stop.”Shestarted to shake as the pain took over her entire body.For alittle over two years she hadn’t experienced this.Two years, atleast she’d known a struggled peace.

“Gashdoesn’t know what helost.”

“He wouldn’t believe me.”She wiped the tears away.

“You need to tellhim.”

“You knew all of this, sowhy didn’t you tell him?”

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