Ripp My Heart

Daddy Issues

Pippa and Cecily walked into Pippa's room. "Could you close the door?" Cecily requested and Pippa did as she asked.  

Cecily had told Pippa that she needed to speak with her the day before and she had agreed to come to Pippa's house for a few hours. Pippa had no idea what Cecily could possibly have to tell her that would require them to be alone but she was very anxious as they took a seat on her bed to talk. 

"What is it that you wanted to speak to me about?" Pippa asked when Cecily did not immediately start talking.  

Cecily avoided eye contact, grazing over everything in the room with her eyes before finally looking down at the bed under her. "I don't really know how to say it..." 

"How about you just...start? It'll be easier once you make yourself start. Is this about Mr. Cartwright?" 

"No... It's about me..." 

"Well, what about you? Did something happen?" Pippa asked as worry began to creep up on her.  

"Well, yes... But something that hasn't happened for a long time. It used to happen all the time though..." 

"Well, what is it? You can tell me Cecily."  

Cecily looked at her uncertainly and then said, "My father... He used to... For goodness sakes, I don't know how to say it! I wouldn't even be telling you this right now if it wasn't for the crushing weight it was putting on my chest after all these years. Erm... You know how a man is with his wife?" 

"Sure...," Pippa said, although she was actually unsure of what Cecily meant. 

"Well, that's how my father was with me..." 

"Your father treated you like a wife?" Pippa said, clearly confused. 

"No! He touched me like a wife," Cecily said impatiently.  

Pippa let out an unintentional gasp. She did not know what to say. She would have never guessed that something like this happened to Cecily. She always seemed so...normal. 

"That's so terrible. I can't believe it," Pippa said in shock, wrapping her arms around her quickly. 

"Thank you but, I did not tell you that for your pity." 

"No, this isn't pity. This is genuine concern. I love you Cecily and I never want to see you hurting." 

"Well, I expect you to keep this a secret. You aren't going to let me down, right?" 

"Never," Pippa said sincerely. Cecily smiled at her and looked as if an entire house has been lifted off her shoulders. "Is that everything? If you have anything else you need to talk about, we can." 

"No, no, that's all," she said quickly, almost too quickly. Her eyes told a different story and Pippa knew immediately that there was something else she was hiding. 

"That's not all," Pippa stated, eyeing her suspiciously.  

"Are you saying that I'm lying?" Cecily said defensively. 

"Well, let me put it this way, I'm not saying you're telling the truth." 

"That's all. And even if there was more, I'm clearly choosing not to tell you, so can we please stop speaking about it?" Cecily said, her eyes filled with sadness and despair. There was something even darker that Cecily had locked away deep in her mind. Something she clearly wasn't ready to talk about, hence the reason it was locked up. 

"Fine. If you aren't ready to talk about it, I understand. But, when you are finally ready, I'll be here," Pippa said sincerely, pulling Cecily in for one last hug. She could only guess what kind of terror Cecily was hiding. Was it greater than the one she just unloaded? Pippa shuddered at the thought.