heather. {fat}

O:-)

Reyna & Ben Emotional Time

I knock on Ben's door, tears running down my cheeks slowly as I wait.
I hear footsteps, and there's a pause, like maybe he's looking through the eye hole.
The door opens. "Reyna?"
I bite my lip. "Can I come in?"
He nods, stepping out of the way quickly. "What's going on?"
"I need somewhere to stay. Please?"
He frowns. "Are you alright?"
I feel my lip tremble, and I turn so he can see the new bruises and welts on my thighs.
I hear him make some kind of noise in his throat. "Reyna..."
I know it shouldn't embarrass me, but it does.
I look at the floor.
He touches my arm softly, and I meet his eyes for a second.
"I just... he fell asleep on me and I didn't want to stay there in his bed, so..."
He kisses my forehead. "Thank you for coming to me."
I avoid his eyes, still unsure of how to feel. "I just... thought maybe I could stay the night."
He pulls me close to him, his arms warm and strong.
But they're not scary strong, like Daddy's. They're good strong. The kind of strong that protects you.
"You can stay as long as you want." "I can't. I have to go back tomorrow."
"No, you don't."
"I do. He'll find me. Don't you see how obvious it is that I'd go to you or Blanche? We're related."
"We could get you away from him forever. He could go to jail."
I shake my head. "How are we going to prove he's... r... f... making me have sex with him?" My face is hot and I feel more ashamed than ever.
"Reyna, he's beating the hell out of you. If we can't prove the rape, we can prove that. You're covered in proof."
"My grades are horrible. And it's his right to punish me."
He frowns and stutters, but can't find much to say.
Even the intensity of the bruising and other physical harm wouldn't do much.
I'm failing all of my classes, and New York is supposedly one of the harshest states about school.
He rubs his forehead. "The justice system is so screwed. How is this justice? When we know they won't listen to you?"
I close my eyes, leaning my head on his chest. "I just need to stay the night. And can you tell me what to do to make my legs hurt less? And how to hide it? You can see it if I barely move in my uniform."
He releases me, guides me to the couch, hands me a mug of English Breakfast, and sits.
"Tell me everything. Everything about your dad."
I take a deep breath and start talking.

About the horrible nights I'm up until three.
About how much he drinks.
About his belt and his hard fists.
About the selling.
Everything.

Afterwards, Ben is holding his head in his hands. "Reyna... oh, God, Reyna." Is all he can say.
I set my empty mug on the table and watch him think about what I just told him.
When he looks at me, his eyes are full of tears, and it intensifies their startlingly grey color.
He sighs slowly, and I take the fleecy throw off the back of the couch and wrap it around my shoulders tightly.
"Reyna, I'm so sorry." His voice is unlike I've ever heard it.
I shrug. "I mean, I guess I'm used to it."
"No, you're not. No one can ever get used to that."
I swallow and scoot closer to him.
He pulls me into his lap, and for a second, I'm scared.
When Daddy does that, it means he's going to use the belt.
He holds me.
I relax and start crying.
Someone in this world does care about me.

bbY