Tough Love

Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Four

I don't know how long Dani and I have been sitting on the floor in the bathroom, but her sobs eventually turn into whimpers and have now subsided. I'm not sure if she is asleep, but I don't want to check because she is quiet right now. I know we can't stay here all night and I need to call my dad back to let him know everything is ok.

After a few minutes, I whisper, “Dani?”

She jumps and I pause from running my fingers through her hair.

“Baby, you need to get up. You can't be comfortable here. Do you feel strong enough to shower?”

Her voice is hoarse as she whispers, “I think so, sir.”

“Ok. I think you should shower while I make something to eat. I'm sure you're hungry now. You'll feel a little better after a shower.”

As soon as the words leave my mouth I mentally slap myself. How is a shower going to make everything seem better? All it's going to do is make her feel less grimy. Sometimes I'm such an idiot.

I hear her whisper, “It's ok, Eli. I understand what you meant.”

“Good. What do you want to eat? I have my momma's leftovers if you want some.”

“Yes sir. Thank you.”

“Ok, good. I'll go fix something. Just shout if you need me, ok?”

“Yes sir.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

End of Eli's POV

After Eli leaves the bathroom, I manage to stand up. I'm still a bit groggy and clumsy, but I manage to gather myself enough to grab some clothes and get into the shower. While the hot water turns my skin red, I try to wash away the last few days. Heck, I try to wash away the last 14 years of my life. I know it's not going to work, but you can't blame a girl for trying. While showering doesn't change my mental or emotional state, it does make me feel a little bit better. It helps to wake me up and makes me feel less sweaty and sticky.

As I enter the kitchen, I hear Eli on the phone.

“No, it's ok. We're ok, dad. At least I think we are.... I'll talk to Dani later and see what she says.... Yeah, I'll call later on.”

He hangs up just as I walk through the doorway and he shoots me a smile.

“How you doing?”

“Ok.”

“Do you need anything?”

“No sir.”

“My pops says you need to eat and drink. He says you'll be dehydrated from being asleep for so long. I'm supposed to make you drink some water before you eat, but I'll just give you his advice and let you do what you want with it.”

He doesn't want to seem like he's forcing me to do something. I stare at the ground as I whisper, “I'm sorry...”

“Sorry? What for?”

“For behaving the way I did. For making you worry.”

“Oh sweetheart, you don't need to apologize. Yes, I was worried, but I can't even imagine how you were feeling. I was or am worried because I don't know what to do to make it better. I don't know how to fix this and for that I really am sorry.”

“It's not your fault.”

“I should have been there. I should have protected you. I should have done something... I'm sorry it happened, Dani. I really am so sorry you had to go through that...”