Page 21 of Jethro

“Go in,” prodded Ham. “We’ll be right here.”

Jethro opened the door and spotted Aurora curled up in the corner, her knees tucked close to her chest, her arms wrapped around them as if they might fall from her body. Shep was seated on the floor a few feet away from her. His long legs were crossed like a child’s, he wrists gently dangling from his knees.

“Aurora, it’s alright honey,” he said softly. Shep turned to see Jethro and waved him over. His flat palm tapped up and down, indicating for him to take a seat beside him. “Aurora? Jethro is here to see you.”

“No,” she gulped, hiccupping. “No, he can’t see me like this.”

“I can and I will,” he said in a deep baritone voice that felt as though it vibrated the entire room. “I want to help, Aurora. Tell me how to help.”

“Y-you can’t! No one can!” she sobbed.

“Shep? What happened?” asked Ham.

“A flashback, I think,” he said softly looking up at the group of men in the doorway. Normally he would tell them to leave, that this was private. But they all knew there was nothing private about this. Aurora was one of their own and they would die to protect her.

“I’ve called for Winter, Alexandra, and Erin to come,” he said. “Both have been in similar circumstances.”

“S-similar?” frowned Jethro. He knew about Erin and it did feel somewhat similar. But what happened to Alexandra and Winter was beyond what he’d imagined.

Shep said nothing to him, just hearing the horrible sobs of Aurora in the corner. Jethro scooted just a few inches closer, leaning forward he reached for one bare foot. It didn’t occur to him that she wasn’t wearing shoes. Where had her shoes gone?

“Aurora? Honey, look at me,” he said softly.

“No! Stay away from me! Please not again!” she cried holding her hands over her ears. She pushed back further into the corner, as if trying to disappear inside the wall.

“Fucking hell,” muttered Gator. “Shep do something.”

“I need for her to get this out, Gator. I don’t want to sedate her if I don’t have to.”

Jethro heard the footsteps of women, Winter, Erin, Alexandra, and then Ashley. It was Winter that sat down first, then slowly scooted toward her side. Erin was on the other side, scooting closer and closer. Ashley and Alexandra kneeled in front of her.

“D-did they hurt you guys?” she asked through blurred eyes. “Did they touch you too?”

“Baby, look at me,” said Erin. “It’s me. Erin Dougall. You’re home. You’re at Belle Fleur.”

Aurora looked up at her shaking her head at first as if she were a stranger, lying to her, luring her into some evil plan.

“Honey, look at us,” said Winter. “Don’t look at Shep or Jethro or any of the other guys. They’re here to help. So are we. Just look at us.”

“No,” she said in a squeaky voice. “No. Th-they touched me. They touched me in horrible ways.”

“We know, baby,” said Winter. She could feel the familiar sensations of hands reaching through the cage to touch her at her grandfather’s motorcycle club. She quickly pushed them aside, focusing on Aurora. “They’re gone. Those men are gone. Jethro, Kai, all of them, they took care of those men.”

Aurora looked up at the four women in front of her. Four women who had endured their own torture, their own violations, their own nightmares. She lifted her shirt and they saw the crisscross of scars stretching from just below her bra-line to her hip bones.

“I know, honey,” said Erin fighting back the tears. “That must have been very painful.”

“I begged. I begged to go home. To see my parents but they only laughed at me, at us. When I got home, my parents said, they said to get over it. To put it aside and forget about it. I can’t! I can’t, Erin. I can’t.”

“No, you can’t forget about it,” said Ashley gripping her hand. “You can hope that the memories in time will fade somewhat, that they won’t control you. But it takes time. This is still very recent.”

“What happened to you was horrible,” said Winter. “There is no comparison to what happened with you, compared to me or Erin, Alexandra, or Ashley. It’s all different but it’s still trauma. Let us help you.”

“J-Jethro will hate me. He’ll be disgusted by me,” she whispered. It was as if she’d forgotten he was even there. Tears were rolling down his rough cheeks that hadn’t been shaved yet. His face was flush with anger and fear.

“I will never, never hate you,” he said as softly as he could. She startled just a little, then looked up, still clutching to the four women. “You are all I think about, Aurora. You are not responsible for what happened to you. None of you are. I think you’re amazing and I want you in my life.”

“Why? Why would you want me? I’m broken,” she cried.