Chim- Sunrises through the skylight

Chapter 8

She sits up, grabbing a pillow to cover her front. I stand like a statue in the doorway. I feel that even if I can do anything to help her, I can’t reverse time. I can’t change what Ashley has done. I can’t change what he did to her mentally, or physically. My heart has stopped beating. It can’t ache more than it does right now. My eyes won’t even focus on her, until she breaks the harrowing silence with a gentle cough.

“Ah, fcuk. The back of me neck and me shoulders…” she mutters to herself.

I build up enough strength to move towards her and sit on the end of the bed, in a stupid, awkward manner.

“Wh…what happened to your…neck?” I whisper.

She clumps her hair together in her hand and pulls it to one side. She turns around slightly so I can see her neck. Red lines and scratches cover her neck and red patches paint her shoulders and lower back.

“Does it hurt, babe?” I question. Stupid of me really; of course it bloody hurts.

“A bit. Not much. Maybe this part… I dunno.” She indicates to the welts from the places that Ashley dug his nails into her; probably to keep her still. It sickens me to the point where I feel I’m going to vomit.

“It either hurts or doesn’t. Will I get the first aid kit from the bathroom?” I hover between sitting down and standing up.

Cheryl nods, carefully tying up her hair with a bobbin from her wrist. When I come back, Cheryl has put on a bra and underwear and is digging on the floor for a shirt of some kind. She smiles at me and I smile back, though I know it must be hard after what happened. I take out a cooling lotion to rub over what look like burns on her shoulders and back. She takes a sharp intake of breath when I squeeze it from the bottle onto her bare skin.

“Is that burn lotion?” She mumbles with barely moving lips.

I nod, but then realise she can’t see me. My voice cracks a yes.

“It’s not a burn though…”

“What is it then?”

“He hit us on me back and then…stuff happened…and he scratched at me neck.”

“...oh.” I stop rubbing in the lotion. “I don’t know what else to put on it then.”

“Just use that stuff. It feels better with it than without it.” Her skin absorbs the cream quickly, and the welts of scratches don’t appear quite as raised. I take a deep breath, and she must be able to read my mind.  She knows I’m going to approach the question. The question is hanging in the air.

“So Ashley…”

“Raped me.” She answers quickly with her head down, drawing little shapes on the sheets with her finger.

“Cheryl, I’m so sorry…”

“You didn’t do it, babe. Don’t be sorry. He’s the one who did it.”

“I know. I just… I don’t know what to say…”

Cheryl smiles slightly and slowly blinks before looking back up at me.

“You don’t have to say anything.” The smile vanishes once she starts talking. It’s almost like she’s remembering the act. I can see it in her eyes that it hurts. It scars her. It has broken her somewhere that there are no bones. She’s torn inside. “Nothing can really fix what happened. I dunno what to say myself… Make me a cuppa.”

I laugh lightly and she cracks a little laugh too. I exit the room and she follows behind. I can hear her pulling on a shirt.  When I look around, she’s wearing a men’s shirt. I presume Ashley left in boxers or just trousers or shorts. He needed to leave quickly when he heard me come in I guess. That explains why his shoes are still in the room.