Beautifully Broken (12 page)

“Do you really think that? I am so in love with you, this is
real Cali, not a plot to get you in bed. Does that mean
anything to you?” he yelled back at her but then touched
her face gently.

“I can’t do this with you here,” Cali had tears running
down her face and she ran out of the bar and walked down
the street.

Chapter 13

He came running after her and grabbed her hand. They
didn’t say a word they just walked through the city until
they came to a peer overlooking the water. The peer was
empty and dark. They walked out to the end of the dock to
a lookout area and they stood there watching the water
crash against the dock. It was a beautiful night. The air
was warm and the stars in the sky were so bright. They
both looked at each other. The moon lit up his face; his
eyes looked like they were sparkling. He turned his body
towards her and held her gaze.

“I know you are scared, I am too, but you are not just
another girl to me. You are the girl! I like how you bite you
lip when you are nervous and how you lick your fingertips
after you eat. I like how you made sure Grace was taken
care of before you left. I like how sweet you are with
everything you do. You are such a gentle and
compassionate person. I like how nervous I make you and
I love how I feel when I am with you. You give me hope that
I could have a happy, normal life. I like that you check me
out when you don’t think I’m looking, I love that you keep
fighting your feeling for me. I love how you get me and
understand things that I don’t even understand about
myself. I love everything I know about you and each day
you get better and better. I am so in love with you, this is
real. I have never felt more alive as I do right now and
that’s because of you.”

Edwin touched her face with both of his hands and leaned
towards her. She was excited and nervous but she decided
to just give in to him, she was in love with him. She wanted
him more than she had ever wanted anything. He rubbed
her face with his strong, soft hands and pulled her even
closer. He gently blew his hot minty fresh breath on her
lips making her more anxious and excited. He held her
head in his hands and looked into her eyes and with his
thumb he traced her lips. Running his thumb past her chin
down her neck and held his hand over her chest. She
could feel the warmth of his hand and he could feel her
heart beat it was such an intense moment of passion and
excitement. He touched her face again and she shut her
eyes and leaned in close to him. His hands holding her
head he gently pressed his lips to hers. It was soft and
sweet and his lips felt amazing against hers. Her knees
almost gave out on her but he was holding her up. She
moved in even closer to him and gently parted her lips. He
tasted sweet. She didn’t want him to stop kissing her. It
was the most intense moment in her life and she never
wanted it to end.
Edwin awoke early that morning. He lay there looking
over at her asleep in the bed next to him. He watched Cali
for a while. It was the first night he didn’t wake up to her
screaming with night mares. She looked so peaceful and
content. He felt happy just watching her. After a while he
got up quietly, careful not to wake her. He came out of the
bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. She was
still sleeping peacefully. As he bent down to grab his bag
his eyes fell on Cali’s sketch book. He knew it was wrong
and he shouldn’t look at her private book but he just
couldn’t help himself.

He opened her book and flipped through the pages. Her
sketch book was like a journal. She put everything she had
been through, everything she felt in that book. Her horrific
dark past lived in that book once he opened it he couldn’t
go back. He saw everything she felt and had gone through.
His heart broke for her.

The last few pages were pictures of him. He was so
touched, it made him feel good. He saw a picture of them
together and she had a smile on her face. All the pain of
her past was gone. She was happy with him and that made
him feel better.

Cali woke up and saw him standing there wearing a towel
his back was to her so he didn’t see her get up and walk
behind him.
“What are you doing?” she cried out loud. She gasped
when she saw her book in his hands. He broke her trust
and he knew everything. She was shaking she was so
upset she didn’t know what to say or do.

He turned around and looked at her, holding her book
open to a picture that she drew of the two of them. She had
hoped for a moment that he didn’t look through the whole
book.

“Wow Cali your sketches are really amazing. Are these
pictures of me? I love the way you drew me it’s so cool to
see myself through your eyes.”

“My drawing abilities are not good enough to do you
justice, you are better looking in person and in every
drawing you look different,” Cali said her voice cracked.
She was still shaking as he was flipping through pictures
she drew of him.

He put the book down and walked over to her and touched
her face. “I wish I could show you how I see you, but I
don’t have a talent like that. I am so impressed and so
touched, you must really like me, because there are a lot
of pictures of me in that book,” he smiled looking deep
into her eyes.

She started to think he must not have looked through the
whole book. She took a deep breath and got up the
courage to look at him. He put both is hands on her face
and passionately pressed his lips to hers, prying her lips
apart gently pressing his tongue into her mouth. His
hands were in her hair and then he was holding on to her
waist. She put her hand on his face and she kissed back
with just as much passion. It was a perfect kiss. She was
nervous and excited all at the same time, his hand where
touching her face again and then his towel fell on to the
floor. Cali froze with shock, she was petrified. She
screamed and started to cry. All the torture and pain of
every time she had been raped by her father came back to
her in that moment as he stood there naked in front of her.

“Cali I am so sorry I didn’t mean for that to happen,”
Edwin said picking up the towel and covering himself back
up. He tried to reach out to her, he wanted to hug her and
comfort her but he couldn’t.

Cali ran into the bathroom and fell to floor, she screamed
and cried so much her face hurt and her eyes burned. She
felt overwhelmed; she couldn’t handle things at that
moment. All she could do was cry. Her father broke her
down so bad. The sight of a naked man terrified her. She
couldn’t stop shaking, she knew it was an accident and
she knew Edwin would never hurt her. She was so
embarrassed and she was horrified but she knew she was
going to have to face him at some point. After crying on
the bathroom floor for a long time she got up and looked
at herself in the mirror. She wiped her tears away, took a
deep breath and slowly began to undress. She looked at
her body and saw all her scars. She had to face it and she
knew she would have to tell him.
Cali walked out of the bathroom wearing nothing but her
white lace bar and matching underwear. She had been in
there for what seemed like an eternity. She was shaking
and terrified but she walked over to him. He was sitting on
the bed and he was fully clothed. He looked as scared and
upset as she did.

“I am sorry for freaking out; I feel I owe you an
explanation. I don’t have any clothes on because I wanted
to show you this is my deep dark secret. This is what I am
running from. The problem is that I can’t run from myself.
She took a step closer. These scars are the one thing that I
didn’t want anyone to ever know about but now I am
showing you because I trust you. I am giving you an out; if
you want to leave do it now, before we get closer. Please if
you can’t handle this then go. It’s ok. I understand. This is
me. I am broken, way beyond damaged, maybe not even
repairable. I don’t know,” Cali spoke in a raspy voice as
tears fell down her face. She was so vulnerable standing
there. She hoped that she had not scared him off. That he
would understand.

“Cali I am not going anywhere. I wish you would believe
me, I am in love with every broken piece of you,” Edwin
said as a tear slid down his face. “Are those scars from
your father? Did he do more than just beat you?” he
couldn’t bring himself to say the word rape.

“Yes my father raped me and beat me for the last twelve
years. It started after my mom died,” Cali was crying so
bad she could barely talk or even see him through her
tears.

“Did he hurt your sisters too?” Edwin asked in a soft
sweet voice he was trying to hold back his own pain that
he had for her. He loved her and he wanted to kill her
father for what he did to her.

“Yes we all had different things we did to meet his needs. I
got the beatings, he saved the torture for me, he told me it
was because he loved me the most,” Cali fell on the floor
she couldn’t do anything else she didn’t have the strength
to stand up anymore. He got down on the floor with her
and he held her in his arms and he cried with her. He held
her head in his hands and looked into her heartbroken
eyes.

“You are amazing; you’re incredible, your sisters are so
lucky to have you. You are smart and talented, and all the
things that have happened in your life, they are not your
fault. I am so in love with you and you are pure and
innocent,” Edwin said looking into her eyes. He kissed her
forehead and held her close to him. She didn’t want to let
go of him. Her biggest fear was telling someone and now
that she had, her heart felt a little lighter.

Chapter 14

Natasha walked into the police station with her sisters
behind her. She walked right up to the chief of police.
Cops were all over the police station watching the girls
like they were criminals.

“Hello John, we need to talk. This is crazy. We have been
living in a hotel room for weeks. Your officers won’t let us
in our house, we are being watched all the time, and we
can’t go anywhere or do anything. When can we get back
into our house? Haven’t your men found everything they
need? What more are they looking for?” Natasha was
almost yelling.

“Your sister, Veronica’s blood was found at the crime
scene that puts her there the night your father was killed,
so they are looking for her. Do any of you want to tell me
where she is?” He asked.

John was a tall, heavy set man in his early 50’s. He had
little green eyes and thinning grey hair. John was a good
friend of their father Harold Burns. He knew the girls
fairly well and he was having a very difficult time dealing
with them as potential suspects in the murder of his friend.

“We told you we don’t know where Veronica is, we haven’t
heard from her since she took off. Why won’t you believe
us? Our father is dead, our sister is missing, our lives are
ruined and we’re being treated like criminals. Cops
following us everywhere, people whispering behind our
backs. When is this going to end?” Claudia asked.

“When we find your sister and we get some answers!” John
responded.

 

A lady officer came out of her office and pulled the chief
aside.

“You know the blood we found at the crime scene? We ran
it through our database and you won’t believe what we
found. We matched the sample to a hair from Veronica’s
room and it’s all a match,” said Officer Kellie handing John
a file folder. He opened it up and read the information
inside. He looked shocked. All the girls were standing
there watching him. It was killing them not knowing what
was in that file. He looked up at the girls, all the colour
had drained from his face.

“Sonja, get Laurence Quinn, FBI on the phone a.s.a.p. I will
take the call in my office,” He said barking orders at his
receptionist. He turned back and looked at Officer Kellie.

“I want everything you have on this case now. Something
doesn’t add up, it doesn’t make sense. I personally want to
go through all of the evidence. First thing I need is
everything we have on Veronica burns on my desk now,”
he snapped at her then he turned and faced the girls.

“There is something you four aren’t telling us and we are
going to figure it out. Until we do I am holding you for
more questioning”.

“Officer Fleche, can you take these four ladies to a
holding cell?” John asked a younger officer who was
sitting at a desk doing paper work.

“Yes of course”.

“Chief I have Laurence Quinn on the phone,” Sonja the
receptionist said holding the phone in her hands as she
stood behind her desk.

“I’ll take the call in my office,” he replied, closing the door
behind him.

 

“You four come with me,” officer Fleche waved his arms at
them.

 

“What is going on?” Amanda asked scared and confused.

 

“I don’t know, something’s up they found something, they
must have,” Natasha said with an intense look on her face.

“Natasha, do you know where Veronica is?” Lila asked
looking scared and confused.
“No honestly I don’t know. I haven’t heard from her at all, I
have tried texting her a few times but no response.”

“It’s really nice all the mess she caused and then she just
leaves us to deal with all this shit,” Claudia snapped
crossing her arms looking at Natasha. “I can’t believe
Veronica did this to us.”

“Veronica has taken care of all of us for years. That’s all
she ever did, she tried to protect us as best she could.
Now it’s our turn to help her, if we can,” Natasha hissed
with an intense and terrified look in her eyes.

“You really believe she protected us?” Claudia asked her
eyes burning with anger.

“Claudia, I can’t believe you. Yes I know she protected us
and you the most, sneaking off with boys stealing money
from dad. Veronica had your back every time she made an
excuse for you. Were you ever once locked up or striped
down naked and chained up and beaten?” Natasha
screamed at her sister with tears burning her eyes.
“Veronica took all of the beatings for us, so don’t tell me
she didn’t protect you. You have only been in this family
for 7 years. Veronica was born into his family she had 22
years with him”.