Page 36 of No Fear
“And Remy’s our brother now.” Jemma agreed with a nod, “So you’re family and there’s no use arguing.”
She sighed, “I… I wasn’t even going to come to the wedding.”
“Well, don’t tell me that!” Jemma gasped in faux horror, “You’re coming and that’s final.”
“I don’t have anything to wear.”
“I have something for you.” Skylar held up a hand, “Don’t argue. We’ll talk about it later. You’re going and that’s that but it’s not why we’re here today.”
A long moment passed in silence and Rachel struggled to control her breathing. She was going to Jemma and Cash’s wedding. She’d been invited of course but she’d thought it was a pity invite, because she’d been there when Jemma and Skylar were talking about it. It had never crossed her mind that Jemma actually wanted her there, because they were friends.
“Rach?” Jemma finally broke the silence by squeezing her hand. “You can tell us anything. We mean that. We’re here for you no matter what and if you really don’t want to talk about it, I’ll stop pushing but… it helps to get it out. Trust me.”
She swallowed hard, “I-I don’t even know where to start.”
“Wherever you want.”
“I’ve never had anyone to talk to before, I don’t…”
“Let’s start with something easy then, who are you scared of?” Jemma asked.
“Craig.”
“Your brother.”
“Half-brother.” She corrected, shocked to hear his name coming from her lips so easily.
“He’s a lot older than you, right?” Skylar supplied.
“Eleven years.”
“Wow, so you two didn’t grow up together?”
“No. He came around for holidays but, I never saw much of him until my mom died. I was sixteen and he was my only relative not incarcerated so…”
“He was supposed to look out for you. Take care of you. But he didn’t, did he?”
The tears welled again at the knowing softness in Jemma’s voice, “No.”
“He hurts you?”
“S-s-sometimes.” A silent tear overflowed and trailed down her cheek, “When he’s drunk or high, s-s-sometimes even when he’s not, he gets mad and he-he smacks me around.”
Skylar hissed in a breath, “I’ve never seen any bruises, Rach and I look for them. After everything with Jemma, I look. Why haven’t I seen them?”
Her bottom lip trembled, “Because he puts them where you can’t see. My ribs, mostly, or I wear long sleeves.”
“And your sick days.” Jemma shot Skylar a look, “You take sick days when they would be visible.”
She nodded.
Of course Jemma would know that, she hugged herself. The other woman had probably done the same thing. There was no hiding it. Not now. Her brother hit her. He hurt her. He abused her. And he had for years.
She struggled to breathe in and out and true to their word, neither woman pushed her to continue the story. They didn’t ask her more questions. They simply held her close, offering comfort and friendship. That, more than anything else, made her cry harder because there was so much more she needed to say to them, to her friends, but she couldn’t find the words.
She had no idea how long they sat there, huddled together. The tears began to wane after a while but since she didn’t struggle away from them, Jemma and Skylar didn’t let her go. She was just starting to wonder if the redhead was nearing her twenty minute time limit when the bell over the door rang.
“Ford, I told you to wait out…” Jemma looked up and gasped.
