Jade

Chapter 36

“I believe that it is time for you to leave,” Aris told Mrs. Drake.  “Not without my Toby cleared of all of those bogus charges,” she replied.  “Good luck with that,” he growled.  “I do not need luck when I have truth on my side!” she yelled.  “Show her the pictures,” I urged Aris.  “It will not matter,” he told me.  We just shoved past her and made our way into the house.  We waited by the door until all of the children had made it inside.  Aris pulled aside Matt and asked him to make sure that none of the Drakes get inside.  He agreed.

Aris shut the door and opened a door right behind it.  It contained a staircase descending into darkness.  He flipped a light switch that illuminated a floor down at the bottom.  Down we went.  At the bottom was another staircase going down, but we didn't follow it.  He took my hand and led us down a hallway.  He released my hand and opened a door to the left.  We went into a large cafeteria style room with rows of tables and chairs.  The tables all had fruits, vegetables and bread.  “Everyone eats a piece of fruit before dinner,” Aris announced.  Most of them picked an apple and dug into it.  Aris picked up an orange and expertly peeled it.  He offered half of it to the little girl on his lap.  She took it and ate it fast.  He gave her the other half, she ate it again.  I picked a pear.  It was delicious.  When everyone was done, the first platter came out.

“Chicken nuggets or fish sticks?” the waitress asked.  “Chicken nuggets,” I answered.  She put a plate down in front of me.  It contained ten chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, corn, mashed potatoes and gravy.  Chocolate cake was put down on a separate smaller plate.  Each child got to pick between chicken and fish.  Aris picked the fish.  Ripley picked chicken.  I think that most picked chicken.  Bottles of ketchup and cartons of juice and chocolate milk were brought.  When everyone had their food and drink, we all dug in, including the little girl that Aris had adopted.  While waiting for the food, he had found out that her name was Emma.  “So, Emma, what would you think of staying with us?” he asked her.  “Really?” she squealed, face lighting up.  “Yes,” he answered.  She just hugged him.

We finished eating just as the adults started filing in and finding their seats.  It wasn't long before the cafeteria was full.  Their choice was between roast beef and honey ham.  Aris stood up, still holding Emma.  The room quieted.  “We are going to get your children situated for the night,” Aris spoke up, “then we will be retiring to our room for a rest break, then we will have the hearing.  You will all be given your orders after you are done eating.  You will also be shown where your children are and where you will be sleeping tonight.”

I, the children and Ripley all stood and followed Aris out of the room.  We left through the same door we had entered through and descended down another flight of stairs.  At the bottom, there was another flight down that we didn't take, but instead went through a door and went down a hallway.  We stopped at the first door on the right.  Aris opened the door and we entered.  We met up with a rushed Lia and Max.

They had clearly been in a rush setting up cots with blankets and pillows.  “Children,” Aris began speaking, “this is Lia and Max.  They will be staying with you while your parents are busy tonight.  Jade and I will be right through that door,” he indicated a door across the room.

We stayed to help get the children settled.  Aris went to put a sleeping Emma down on a cot.  “Noooo,” she whined, “want to stay with you.”  “Emma. I need you to be a good girl and lay down to go to sleep,” Aris told her.  “No, please,” she started to cry, “I will be good.  I promise.”  “It's okay Aris.  She can come with us,” I told him.  He stood up and we went to the door that he had indicated earlier.  It opened into a large room furnished much like our room up above.  “Jade, would you give her a bath while I bring a cot in?” Aris asked.

“Yes,” I answered.  She came to me with no resistance.  I carried her into the bathroom.  She looked around in wonder.  I sat her down on the floor by the tub.  “Can you get yourself undressed?” I asked her.  She started taking off her clothes while I got shampoo, conditioner,  soap and bubble bath out of the closet.  My arms full, I turned around and almost dropped them.  She was covered in bruises.  I didn't say anything.  I just had the skin put my hair up in a bun.

I turned on the water and dumped some bubble bath in.  When she saw the bubbles in the water she squealed with delight.  When the tub was about half full I helped her down into the water.  She had fun swatting at the bubbles for a few minutes.  Then I told her that it was time to wash her hair.  She laid back in the water and got her hair wet.  I worked the shampoo in then she laid back so that I could rinse it out.  We did the same with the conditioner.  Then I washed her back and her front and sides and handed her the soap to wash her girly parts.  She did not want me touching her there.  When she was done, she laid back to rinse all of the soap off.  I was hoping that some of those bruises would wash off as dirt, but none did.  I got her out, wrapped her up in a towel and dried her hair with another towel.  I sat her on the vanity and brushed her hair gently, assuming that she had bruises on her head too.

“Yaris needs to see your bruises.  He is not going to touch you unless he needs to heal you, okay?” I told her.  She nodded her head yes.  I carried her, wrapped in the towel, into the bedroom and sat her on the bed.  He had just finished setting up the cot.  “Aris, you need to see her bruises,” I told him.  He walked over to us.  I sat down next to her and had her stand up on the bed.  I unwrapped her towel and he hissed through his teeth.  “Take special notice of the ones on her inner thighs,” I indicated the handprints.  “I noticed,” he said angrily.  I saw a tear slip down her cheek.  “Emma, he is not angry at you.”  “No, I am not,” he took a minute to calm down.  “Emma, has someone been touching your girly parts?” I asked her.  She nodded her head yes.  “Can you tell us who?”  She shook her head no, “not supposed to tell.”  “We can stop him from doing that if you tell us,” Aris told her.  She shook her head no, “I am scared.”  I wrapped her back up in the towel.  “Lia found some clothes for her,” Aris handed me some pajamas.  I helped her put them on.

“Time for bed, Emma,” Aris told her.  She got on her hands and knees and crawled to the head of the bed and put her head down on the pillows.  “No.  This is your bed,” he indicated the cot.  “No.  This,” she told him.  “No this,” he indicated the cot again.  “Sleep with you,” she whined, “I be a good girl.”  “Shouldn't she sleep with us so that she can heal?” I asked.  “I guess you are right,” he gave in, "she probably needs it.”  He changed into shorts and I changed into my pajamas.  We got into bed with her sandwiched in between us.  He turned off the lamp beside the bed.  Emma squealed with delight.  We covered up.

We laid there for a little while and I started to doze.  I heard Emma's voice, then the bed shifted, then a loud, “What!!!”  The light came on.  “What happened?” I asked sleepily.  “She just grabbed my package and asked me if she should put her mouth on it!” Aris was standing up beside the bed, a shocked look on his face.  Emma started to cry, “I be a good girl.”  “Emma, why do you think you need to do that?” I asked her.  “Daddy always nicer to me if I do that.  Calls me good girl.”  “You don't have to do anything like that when you are with us,” I told her, “you can be a good girl without that, okay?”  “Okay,” she looked at Aris, “I sorry.”  “It's okay,” he told her, “just do not do it again.”  We decided that I should sleep in the middle, or, “A good girl sleeps on the cot,” I told her.  “Okay,” she agreed, clearly disappointed.  She climbed down off of the bed and I tucked her into the cot.

I got back into bed but sleep alluded me.  I can't sleep.  Me either.  What are we going to do?  Add charges at his hearing.  Possibly keep him alive so that I can beat him several times before we execute him.  I’d like to beat him too.  No, I do not want you anywhere near him.

What are we going to do with her?  Are we adopting her?  I do not know.  I have not had time to think about it.  I just want to get through tonight first.  Okay.  I left it at that.

He pulled me close.  Perhaps we can put each other to sleep.  I looked into his eyes until I couldn't anymore.

I awoke with a start.  Aris wasn't in bed.  The bathroom door was open.  The light was on and I could hear the shower.  “Noooooo! Noooooo!” Emma was crying.  I got up and went to her.  She was curled up into a little ball on the cot.  She was crying in her sleep.  I picked her up and brought her to the bed with me.  I rocked her.  She hugged me tightly.  “Was it a bad dream?” I asked her.  “Yes,” she answered.  “Well you are awake now.  That bad dream can't hurt you anymore,” I told her.  “Yes it can,” she cried.  I pulled back to look her in the eyes.  “It was my Daddy,” she cried harder.  “Your dad isn't going to hurt you anymore.  We are going to make sure of that,” I hugged her.  “Please do not send me back to him,” she whispered.  “We won't,” I promised her.  “Gramma hits me and calls me names,” she cried, “why do they hate me?”  “Some people are just born mean,” I answered, “There is no excuse for the way the that they treat you.”

“Jade, do you need a shower?” I hadn't even realized that Aris was out of the shower.

“Emma, can you stay with Yaris while I take a shower?” I asked her.  She violently shook her head no, “he hates me!  He will hurt me!”  “Yaris doesn't hate you.  Remember how he carried you around like you were his baby?” I asked, “I haven't seen him do that with anyone else.”  “Really?” she asked, unsure, “but he got mad.”

“I very much want to be your friend,” Aris told her, “do you want to be my friend?”  She nodded her head yes.  Aris turned on the lights.  He was all dressed in a uniform of white with gold trim and ready to go.  I got up from the bed.  He sat down with Emma and I went into the bathroom.  I turned the shower on to heat up.  “We are going in the other room to be with the other children,” Aris opened the door a crack.  “Okay,” I acknowledged.  He shut the door and I got in the shower.  The hot water felt invigorating.  I went ahead and washed my hair, not sure if we would be able to take our customary bath later.  I washed up and got out a few minutes later.  I dried off and wore what the skin picked.  It was similar to what I wore to the club that night, minus the diamond studs on my corset top.  I matched Aris in color, white with gold trim.  My hair was in two braids starting at my forehead and extending down my back.

I walked out of the bathroom and into an empty bedroom.  I left the bedroom and entered the children's room.  They were all quietly laying down on cots, including Emma, as Lia read them a story.  Aris and Max were no where to be seen.  Ripley was waiting patiently by the door.  “Come with me,” he motioned toward the door to the hallway.  We walked out into the hall.  There were two armed guards.  “Stay here no matter what,” Ripley told them.  “I have to change my clothes, then we go to the library,” he told me.  I followed him up the two flights of stairs, then to his bedroom.  I sat on his bed and he changed his clothes behind me.  “You can look now,” he told me.  “Will we have time for a cigarette?” I asked, “I haven't had one for hours.”  I looked at him.  That was what he was changing for.  I smiled.  “We have about fifteen minutes,” he told me, “Yaris is already outside.”  He put his boots on, then we left his room.