Shattered Puppet (Rag Doll) (7 page)

Cree picked up the phone with hesitation. She felt the nerves in her arm, her hand, her shoulder. The tension was building with every second she got closer to saying the words. She took a deep breath and dialed the phone. She wasn’t looking forward to this conversation.

Cree reached up
to rub the back of her neck and mindlessly bit her lip as the phone rang. She cleared her throat. Her sister finally answered. “Hey, it’s me. We need to talk.”

“What is it?” Her sister was concerned. Her voice sounded somehow off. She talked faster than usual.

Cree’s mouth was dry. She reached for her water. “I have a couple things we need to discuss. This isn’t going to be easy,” she warned.

“Are you okay?” Kendle’s tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood. She was seriously getting concerned.

“Yes. I know you won’t understand this, but better than I’ve ever been. I can’t go into all of the details.” She paused for only a second. “I’ll give a statement,” she hated saying those words out loud, “but I won’t testify in court. I want nothing to do with that. If they demand it, I’ll refuse. It won’t help the case to have a hostile witness.”

“You’ll give a statement?” Kendle was thrilled and relieved. It meant they had that much more in her case against her father.

“That’s not all.” Cree dreaded saying these next words. “Kendle, I’m leaving. I’m leaving the area and I won’t be back.”

“Wait, what?” What did she mean she was leaving? Like on vacation, was she moving? What was going on? She’d barely seen her in the last few weeks. She kept making excuses.

“I need to go away. I need to break free from my past. I want you to promise me you won’t come looking for me.” She hated herself.

“What? But what about me? How will I see you?” She asked, her stomach churning, not liking what she was hearing.

“You won’t. At least not for a while. It’s for the best; I know you don’t understand it, but you have to trust me.” This was the hardest conversation she ever had to have. “So if you want my statement, we have to do it soon. Once I’m gone, I’m gone.”

“Cree, are you in trouble? What happened? Why can’t I see you?” She was full of questions that didn’t have answers. “Please,” she sobbed, “please don’t leave me. Don’t shut me out. You’re all I have besides Graham.”

“I need to let go. One day I’ll find you. I promise. You just need to let me go, okay? Promise me you won’t come looking for me. Promise, Kendle.” She begged her sister to understand. They both had their own selfish agendas. Kendle didn’t want to lose Cree, and Cree needed to get far away with Carter to help keep him safe. It was a no win situation.

Kendle’s hands clenched into fists as the anguish washed through her. “Cree, no! I can’t promise that. How can you ask me to? You’re all I’ve ever worried about for years, and now you want me to turn that off?” Her voice quivered trying to choke back tears. “Please, don’t cut me out. I’m begging you.”

Cree’s heart was breaking. She didn’t want to have to, but it was the safest thing to do. Contacts to her past, to any of them might end up hurting Carter. For now, until she knew he was safe and far away, it had to be this way. “I’m a grown woman, Kendle. I’m not a kid anymore. It’s time to let go. It will be okay. I’ll be okay.” She tried to pacify her sister. “I need to go. Tell Graham thank you for everything.”

“Cree, no, don’t…” The phone line went dead. She’d hung up. She’d said her peace. Kendle stared at her phone. There was time. She’d go to her in person and plead her case. She couldn’t lose her sister. It would destroy her.

When Carter showed up at the door, nobody answered. He knocked again, but still no answer. He tried calling, but she didn’t pick up. He’d wait in his car and try again. He wanted to surprise her, show up unannounced, only the surprise didn’t go as he expected. He was still alive, paid back some of his debts and only had one broken bone to show for it. He got off easy for being family. If he wasn’t, most of his bones would have been broken. Either way, the plan was to disappear together. Only now that he was here to pick her up, she was nowhere to be found. He should have snagged one of the spare keys.

Carter went back thirty minutes later and tried again. When she opened the door, he met her with a smile. “I was worried about you. I was here earlier.”

“So sorry, I was in the shower. I must have just missed you.” She leaned in to kiss him, looking at his new accessory, a cast. “What happened? Are you okay?” The concern spread across her face.

Carter went in and set his crutches beside the door, hopping to the small sofa. “Broken bone, but my debts are all cleared with the family. I’ve just been told not to show my face back there for a while.”

“Oh baby,” she said sitting beside him. Her stomach was sick at the thought. How could his own family…oh right. Her own father. They were two peas in a pod, their families destroying them. “Did your uncle?”

“Oh no, he pays somebody to do the dirty work. The worst part is knowing that it’s coming. There was no mistaking it. It was as simple as him telling me I had to learn the lesson. He’d just break one of my bones, instead of all of them. I’m family after all,” he mocked in an impression of his uncle’s voice. “It was scary, it sucked, but then his thug was kind enough to drop me at the hospital. My debts are paid. I just need to stay away for about a year and they’ll clear my name.”

Cree shook her head. “It’s hard to believe this stuff is real. It’s like out of a movie.”

“It’s very real. One guy got shot in the face for looking at my uncle cross. It wasn’t pretty. But when the cops wanted him to squeal on who did it, he kept his trap shut. He knew he’d be buried six feet under if he spoke. He was more afraid of my uncle than he was the cops. Anyway, I can’t talk about them anymore. It’s just better. The less you know, the safer it is.”

“I told Kendle I’d give her a statement. She’s going forward with the charges. I need to do that before we leave, but then we’re finished here. We can go anywhere you want to.”

“I don’t have a lot of money left. They drained my account. I did have some stashed away they didn’t know about, but it won’t take us too far. We’ll need to get jobs.” He stopped for a minute. “Other jobs,” he said sensitively. “I don’t want anybody touching my girl except me.”

Cree smiled. She was somebody’s girl. It all felt new, special. “I don’t have many skills.”

“We’ll figure it out,” he said. “As long as we’re together, it will work out.” How had they gotten here? How did she work her way into his heart so fast? All he knew was that he wanted nothing more than to spend more time with the girl beside him.

They’d start over and make a new life for themselves. Nobody needed to know their past. The past was behind them.

The knock came a few minutes later and then she heard her voice. “Cree?” It was Kendle.

Cree sighed. Taking a deep breath, she got up and answered the door. “Why? Why couldn’t you listen to me?”

“How could I? You’re everything to me? I needed to see you, to talk some sense into you.” She glanced over and saw Carter. “Is this because of him? Is he dragging you away?” She turned to Carter. “Don’t take her from me. You don’t understand what we’ve been through.”

“He knows,” Cree said softly. “He knows about the monster. He knows about the past.”

“Why? Why do you have to leave?” Kendle was pleading. “Whatever it is, Graham can help you. He can make the trouble go away.”

“It’s not about that, Kendle. I need to start fresh somewhere. I need a change. We both do. We’re putting the past behind us and moving forward. I need a break from the past.”

“But that means you’re shutting me out.”

“Don’t look at it that way. I’ll be in touch eventually. I just need space to find out who I am, what I want to be and do with the rest of my life. I’ll have Carter by my side. He’ll take care of me.” She calmed her sister down. This wasn’t to hurt Kendle. Couldn’t her sister see it wasn’t about her? It was about Cree and finally finding her life and owning it. It was time to move forward.

“You can do that here. Or go away, sure, I get that. You want a new start. But why can’t you be in contact? I don’t understand.” She was frantically looking for a way to hold on.

Cree embraced her sister. “It will be okay. I just need space.”

Kendle cried into her sister’s shoulder.

“I love you. That never changes,” she soothed. “You’re not losing me. I’m just taking a break.” Her voice was syrupy sweet, trying to help Kendle through the moment. Pulling back, she looked at her sister. “Kendle, go be a star and slay the monster for both of us. Make me proud,” she added.

Kendle drew her arm across her face to dry the tears. She sniffled and tr
ied to speak, but she was choked up. “I’m going to miss you.”

“It’s not forever.” Cree reassured. In truth, she didn’t know how long she’d be gone, but she planned to disappear for a while; longer than she wanted to tell her sister.

Cree walked out of the police station. Her insides shook after having to repeat all of the details. Kendle’s lawyer was present as she spoke. It wasn’t something she took lightly. She’d just have forgotten everything and moved on, but she did it for Kendle.

Cree clutched at her stomach and walked to the car. Her shoulders sank. Carter was waiting for her. As she got in the car, he waited for her to speak.

She drew a deep breath and exhaled, then said nothing.

“Are you okay?” He asked tenderly.

She shrugged. “The damage is already done.” Her voice was barely a whisper. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms over her chest. Saying the words out loud, admitting what he’d done over and over again, and knowing every bit of what she said was being recorded was terrifying. She wanted to feel empowered, she wanted to feel a weight drop off her shoulders, but the truth was after being molested it meant a life sentence of remembering what he did. The nightmares wouldn’t stop.

At least it might help Kendle’s case. She knew she should do more. She should stand up to him and fight with Kendle, but she didn’t have any fight left. All she wanted to do was forget.

“Let’s go,” she said as she stared out the window.

Carter turned the key in the ignition. He had no idea where they were headed. They hadn’t discussed which direction to go. He decided to go south. There was no final destination. It would just be wherever the road took them until their money ran out. Then they’d have to find a way to find some work.

They drove for hours. Silence. The radio. Finally talking. Carter pulled into a rest stop to stretch his legs and grab a drink. Cree used the bathroom. Seeing herself in the mirror while washing her hands, she saw a scared child looking back. Her father owned her again after today. The memories were fresh again, like picking at a scab. Her eyes were hollow. She hoped the spark came back.

Carter was good for her. He cared. He wouldn’t hurt her. She was safe with him by her side. He’d protect her. Yet, he could barely protect himself. A broken leg, and thank goodness it wasn’t his driving leg. She really would need to learn how to drive. Her license. She needed to get a license. Maybe he’d teach her to drive…it was weird to have future plans. She never thought much about the future before Carter.

When she got back to the car, he was waiting for her. “Come here, you
,” he said, winking at her.

Cree stood in front of Carter and smiled. He took her in his arms and gave her a tight squeeze. “It’s going to be okay. He can’t get you anymore. Besides, I’m going to take care of you, baby. Nobody will ever hurt you again. You’re safe with me.” He kissed her forehead and released her from the embrace.

“I’m thinking we can stop in a couple of hours. I grabbed some stuff from the vending machine to hold us over. Then I’ll be more than ready for a good night of sleep.” He was happy. He didn’t know he could feel this way, but with Cree nearby everything felt right.

“Sounds good,” she said, slowly coming back to life. Lying in his arms tonight was everything she needed. She felt safe in his arms.

Getting back in the car, she scanned over how this all started. She hoped Crystal would be okay.

Looking out the window, Carter pointed the car south and hit the gas. It was time to start their new lives together.

The End

Thank you for choosing an Ava Catori title. If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review so other people can decide if this is a book they would enjoy. Thank you for your time.

What’s next? Look for “Crystal, Girl” which continues Crystal’s story, book three in the “Rag Doll” series. It is due out in 2014. If you picked up this book first, go back and see how it started with Rag Doll (Book 1). Thank you again for taking the time to choose an Ava Catori title.

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