Letting Love In Barson Story

Chapter 19

"Liv." Rafael said, knocking lightly on the bathroom door. "Munch is gone." He waited a moment before knocking again. "Liv, open the door, please." Rafael waited a few long seconds before speaking again. "I'm not going anywhere, I'll stay outside this door all night, I won't sleep." He knocked again. "Olivia, por favor." Within seconds he heard the door unlock. "I'm coming in, Liv," He opened the door, and found her standing by the sink with a towel over her face to muffle the sobs shaking her body. "Hey." He said, softly, rushing over to her. Reaching up, he gently removed the towel from her eyes. "Hey, that's not necessary."
In response,Olivia let out a loud agonizing sob, burying her face in his chest. "Shh, I got you." Rafael said, wrapping an arm around her. She leaned into him, and soon he was supporting almost all of her weight. It's OK." He whispered, ''Lean on me, I got you." After several minutes, Olivia's sobs subsided. Rafael ran a hand soothingly through her hair. "I got you, Olivia, let it out.""I tried... Olivia sobbed out. "I tried to... tell her... I tried to tell my mother... I... tried to tell Serena.""What?" Rafael asked gently, his heart shattering for her. "Let it out.""I tried to tell her about Larry.""Tell me." Rafael said, softly Olivia lifted her head from his chest, seconds later, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand."I need a minute, I need a shower.""Nothing happened to you at your meeting?""No", Olivia answered, honestly. She saw relief wash over, Rafael.
"OK. I'm getting you some comfortable clothes, I'm going to get you a cup of tea, and then we're going to talk." Rafael said,
Olivia nodded and moved out of his arms. "Thank-you." Olivia whispered.
Rafael gave her the half smile that he reserved for her a long time ago. "I'll leave the clothes on your bed." He said, stepping out of the room to give her privacy.He walked into her bedroom, and got to work, choosing the most comfortable nightwear for Olivia that he could find. In addition, he laid out 2 of her robes. When he made his way to the small kitchen area, Rafael found that the tea was cooler than Olivia would like. He threw it out, cleaned the kettle, searched for another flavor of tea, and made it."Hey." Olivia said, softly,
Rafael turned at the sound of her voice. "Hey." He answered, walking from the kitchen to the living room area where Olivia was standing, She had chosen to wear her black robe.
"That shower really helped." Olivia said, when Rafael was standing beside her. She reached for his hand, and he happily gave it to her. They walked to the couch, and with hands, still linked, they sat down."I made tea, and there's cookies in the kitchen. I'll get some for you.""Thank-you for taking care of me," Olivia said, she turned her head to face him."I always will," He said, softly, gazing into her honey-brown eyes. She leaned in and kissed him. He pulled away, quickly. "Talk to me,Olivia."She sighed. "I feel stupid, it's not even dark yet, and I'm in a robe ready for bed.""That's OK, Liv." Rafael said, with a half smile."I tried to tell Serena about Larry, but she was drunk every time I attempted it.""What about Larry?" Rafael asked, gently."After Larry gave me that envelope, he was always there. He came over everyday. He talked to me. So many times, I heard him tell Serena that he would take me off her hands, on those nights he would take me to dinner. Rafa, he pretended to care about what I had to say, I confided in him that I was going to be a cop. Some nights after dinner, he took me back to the apartment, and we would find Serena passed out, with bottles around her. Larry would help me clean up. I got her into the shower, and Larry would make coffee for her, and clean the glass up off the floor. He was the only one who helped me take care of her. I liked it, Rafa.""That's understandable. Your mother had a responsibility to take care of you. She didn't. You took care of her. You didn't have a father at home, it makes sense that you wanted Larry's approval" Rafael paused for a second before continuing "He was grooming you,Liv." Rafael, almost whispered.
Olivia let go of his hand, and spoke. "He's done so much damage, Rafa. 2 attempted rapes. What else has he done?""Right now, we're talking about what he did to you." Rafael said, gently."He made me uncomfortable, that's it, and my mother didn't listen. He's not a pedophile! The older I got the more attracted to me he was.""You were underage, Olivia, you were from an unhappy home. Larry took advantage of you. No, man should give a young girl a copy of Loita. No man should give a young girl dirty notes." Rafael replied, in a voice he used in the courtroom."I wasn't a little girl, I was a teenager developing into a woman.""I don't care, I don't care if you begged him to sleep with you! You were underage, and he knew it!'"I didn't do that." She said, quickly, sounding like she was on the verge of tears.
"My point is, no matter what, he had no right to take advantage of you, he had no right to abuse you in any way, and he knew what he was doing. It wasn't your fault.""Every week there was another note from him.""If a young teenage girl came to you with information similar to this, you would keep digging, until you found something to charge him with. ""I hated the way he looked at me, back then.I hated the way he called me, Olive. It got so bad when he was in the apartment that I stopped coming home.He didn't rape me, Rafa, he didn't have sex with me. I can't talk about this anymore, right now." Olivia said, leaning her head on Rafael's shoulder. "Noah will be home soon.""Te amo, Olivia." Rafael said, as Olivia closed her eyes.