𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐘

ubiquitous

Soraya rubbed her back softly as the other two members on her team began talking to each other waiting for Soraya to fill them in on what happened.

"I-it h-hurt, s-so much. I screamed for m-mommy an-and bubba, b-but no-one came. W-why didn't they come f-for me, Ray? Wh-why didn't b-bubba save me?" Kaia continued sobbing into her small hands and Soraya felt tears begin to roll down her cheeks as she felt her heart break.

She knows what it feels like to want your brother to come and save you.

"O-okay, n-no more no more. You're okay, you're safe I got you, don't worry you're safe my princess." Soraya hugged the small girl's body tight in her arms wanting to keep her close to her forever. "Don't worry, okay? Go to sleep, Kay." Kaia shook her head, after what happened on saturday she hadn't closed her eyes for a millisecond - the young girl was scared to just blink, "i'll keep an eye on you, I won't let anyone hurt you I promise." Soraya said noticing her frightened expression.

"B-bubba promised th-that too." Kaia didn't believe anyone anymore, the young girl's sanity was gone along with her heart. She was a fragile four year old now.

"Go to sleep, Kay, we'll talk more after you sleep okay. I won't let you go, I'll hold you the whole time." Kaia was unsure but nodded anyways resting her head on her careworker's shoulder.

Soraya rocked the frail girl back and forth feeling her heart peal away as Nicki and Kayson approached the two once they'd noticed the toddler's eyes flutter shut.

"What happened?" Kayson questioned. Soraya looked down at Kaia moving one of her twists out of her face.

"Same ol' same ol'. Get her brother on the line, tell him to come pick her up. I'll talk to him, inform him on the situation." It hurt Soraya deeply to look at Kaia.

"We need to know what got her in that state, Soraya, you can't just brush this off." Nicki demanded.

"Relax." Kayson warned holding his hand out in front of Nicki.

"Brush what off? What do you want me to tell you, Nikita? The four year old girl just got raped by her cousins and uncle as she tried to go to sleep?" Soraya spat the words with such venom it shocked both of her superintendents, "is that what you wanted to hear?" she spoke harsh and direct to get her point across without waking up the little girl in her arms, "so like i said get her brother on the goddamn line!"

Soraya stood up with Kaia in her arms and began walking around, she changed Kaia's position so she now had her arms around her neck and she was cradling her body.

Hezekiah wasn't told much except that he desperately needed to get down to the daycare and that was enough to make his blood run cold, he wasted no time in arriving in minutes. He frowned seeing his sister with tear stains in the arms of Soraya.

"Did something happen? What happened?" Hezekiah interrogated, not wanting to waste time. He hated beating around the bush, he was a very candid man.

"We should talk in the office, follow me please." Soraya immediately went into a usual cold voice, except it was more evident this time. Hezekiah found himself sucking in a breathe, for he was not scared of anything and he didn't care about a thing in the world except for his baby sister.

Soraya sat down opposite Hezekiah after placing Kaia down on the couch and wrapping a warm blanket around her.

"What happened?" Soraya sighed.

"You have cousins, Timothy and Theodore?" Hezekiah's eyebrows furrowed.

"What the fuck happened!" He clenched his fist wanting her to just spit it out.

"Kaia was very off today, when I'd finally got her to tell me what was bothering her she erupted into tears and spilled the weekend's events: I'm sorry to have to tell you Kaia was raped by your cousins and uncle." Hezekiah's blood ran cold once again. His breath halted and he looked at his sister frozen.

"When?"

"She wasn't in any position to tell me much, I didn't get specific details I stopped her upon noticing her distress, I couldn't bring myself to force her to continue." Soraya sighed pausing and Hezekiah disliked her prolonging her words, "she said she screamed for you and her mother. I'm assuming you wasn't there obviously but I think your mother was."

Hezekiah bit down on his thumb trying to steady his breathing, "Anything else she said?"

"Timothy covered her mouth at the beginning and Theodore said they were going to play a game." Soraya was disgusted with the words coming from her mouth but she owed it to the older brother to recall the events.

"Lillian's kids."

"She said Aunt Lilly came over with them."

"Mhm, my mother's sister."

"She said she tried to sleep, beforehand, but she couldn't." Hezekiah bit down on his thumb harder, Kaia began stirring in her sleep.

"I'm assuming you won't be taking this to police." Soraya deduced believing he'd 'handle' it on his own.

"I went to prison for 18 months, I would've been in there for goddamn life if it wasn't for my fucking lawyers. They wouldn't get more than three years maximum and probably get let out earlier on some good fucking behaviour." Hezekiah spoke with gritted teeth pointing at himself and then pointing into the air as if his cousins were standing there.

The siblings mother was roman so an off white of sorts and the same for Lillian. Her husband was a lightskin man however with the both light complexions their children came out white. Hezekiah the thoroughly understood how this would play out for them.

Soraya nodded stiffly turning to look at Kaia, benumbed to see misty brown orbs staring back at her, tears trailing from her eyes as she looked in between her brother and care worker.

[when Soraya says 'same ol' same ol'' she doesn't think rape is just the 'same old' she says it because she doesn't want to disclose the information with Nikita and Kayson + rape in children has become normalised and very frequent in numbers these days]