Page 34 of Catalyst

“In the end, they paid for my school because it would’ve looked bad in their social circles if they didn’t. At the beginning of my junior year, my parents’ friend offered me an internship at his company. I worked in their marketing department, helping with their ad campaigns and stuff. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do for my career, but it helped pad my résumé, so it was fine.

“A few months after I started, the boss’s son tried to get me to go out with him. I said no. I had no desire to be another notch on his belt. Especially because he flirted with any woman wearing a skirt.”

I squeeze Ellie closer to me. I have a guess as to where this story is headed, and I hate it already.

“He kept hounding me, and I kept saying no. Then I went out with a guy in my department, and I guess that pissed him off. He cornered me on a night I’d worked late and told me if I was going to spread my legs for Jesse, then I better do it for him, too. He overpowered me, dislocating my shoulder while he forced himself on me. It was the worst night of my life.”

Ellie’s silent tears drip onto my chest, and I swear my heart breaks while anger pounds through my bloodstream. “Who was it, Ellie?” My voice is hard, the anger pushing through, despite my attempt to pull it back. I continue gently rubbing her back, doing my best to offer the little comfort I can.

“It doesn’t matter anymore, Adam. I’ve had plenty of therapy and have moved on.” She waves her hand in the air as if she’s waving away my concern. I don’t agree with her, but I’m not going to force her to tell me if she doesn’t want to.

“I went to the hospital immediately afterward. They fixed my shoulder and ran a rape kit. Of course, it came back positive, and I asked to press charges. When my parents showed up, I told them what happened to me. The biggest surprise was that they were appalled I would call the cops on their friend’s son.”

“What the fuck?” I sit up so I can look at Ellie. Her eyes are rimmed with red from her tears, but her face is full of acceptance. As if she’s moved on from her parents’ disgusting behavior. “Your parents were upset that you wanted to press charges against this fucker?”

“They said I was being dramatic. That I should’ve just gone out with him and been grateful a man of his status wanted me. When the officers showed up, my parents told them I wasn’t going to press charges. That it was all a misunderstanding. Surprisingly, the detective made my parents leave the room and asked me to tell him my story. He listened and then put it to me straight. Without DNA or video evidence, I’d be hard-pressed to prove who raped me. Since I was dealing with the boss’s son, the detective warned me the charges would likely get dropped quickly. He was willing to go through with it and told me he’d do whatever he could to help me get my case to a judge, but it would be an uphill battle.

“It wasn’t worth it. I knew without a doubt he’d get off, no matter how hard I pushed it, so I told the detective to drop the case. I got the nurses to give me some scrubs to wear home, and I haven’t talked to my parents since. I ended up withdrawing from classes because I just didn’t have it in me to draw anymore. That’s why I got my business admin degree. I’d completed all the prerequisites already, so I just had to take a couple more classes, and I was done. It was cheap, and I was able to start working full time to support myself.”

“Baby, you did all of that alone?”

She shrugs. “What else was I going to do? My sister let me sleep on her couch for a little while until I saved enough money to get my own place. I found my duplex in Westlake and have been there ever since.”

“Is it weird to say I’m proud of you? I mean, to go through what you did and then overcome every obstacle in your way on your own… it’s awe-inspiring.”

Ellie’s smile is self-conscious. “You make it sound like I won a gold medal in the Olympics or something. I just survived, Adam.”

“You thrived, Ellie. You turned a shitty situation into something to be proud of. Not to mention, after everything you’ve been through, you still light up every room you walk into. You’ve brought so much joy into our office and into my life. I don’t know how we managed before you.”

And what will I do when she leaves? At the end of her contract, she’ll go work somewhere else, and I’ll be left with an Ellie-sized hole in my life. Will we be able to make it work after she’s gone? I’ve never been able to do it before. Would this be any different?

I’m not going to think about that yet. She’s in my arms right now, and that’s all I need.

“Thank you, Adam.” Ellie leans forward and presses a soft kiss to my lips. I kiss her back with every ounce of emotion I’ve got raging inside me. I need her to know that after everything she’s told me, I’m even more infatuated with her than I was before.

I can’t imagine what it would be like to have your family turn on you as hers did. The idea that we would ever make Sara feel like she did something wrong for what happened to her is preposterous. How can you turn on your own child like that? What kind of horrible people do you have to be to think that’s okay?

“Come on, it’s still early.” I pull Ellie down onto the bed. “Let’s try to catch a couple more hours of sleep, then we’ll get some beignets and coffee in the morning.”

She snuggles into me, her head resting on my chest and her arm across my stomach. I pull her closer, grateful she’s even giving me the time of day.

All of her silly sticky notes and feather pens suddenly make a whole lot more sense. By finding joy in even the smallest of things, pushing the shadows away gets just a little bit easier.

I play with her hair as her breathing starts to even out. It takes a few more minutes before she’s completely out, and I take a chance to grab my phone off the nightstand.

Ellie barely stirs as I settle us both back down and compose the email I’ve been dying to send ever since she wouldn’t tell me who assaulted her.

To: Jeffery Calder, Private Investigator

From: Adam Ellis, CEO, Sidelines Sporting Goods

Jeff,

I need you to run a background check on a new employee, please. You’ll find her employment information attached. I’m specifically looking for more information on an internship placement held around seven years ago.

Thanks,

Adam Ellis

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