Carry On Dreaming (The Cowboy's Promise sequel) (SLOW UPDATES)

Chapter 13

RED'S P.O.V.

I freeze. Blaze suddenly looks younger than fifteen. He looks like a scared eight-year-old. He looks up through his blue bangs. Gently, I push the away from his face. Blaze sighs heavily. His eyes meet mine and move away. I can almost swear I see tears.

"When did it happen?"

"The month before the DHS rescued me. And, God, it was awful. That was worse then losing my parents, actually."

"Can you tell me how it happened?"

Blaze shakes his head. His face tells me he still remembers every detail. I know because I've seen that look in the mirror. Losing Daddy is ingrained in my brain much in the same way. Nothing I can do or say will make me forget that day. Blaze moves closer to me, crowding against my side.

"Blaze, I'm sure it was awful, but-"

"You don't know the half of it," he mutters from his new position against my shirt.

"You don't have to tell me," I tell him soothingly.

"No," he replies, shaking his head. After a minute, he finally sits up. "No, I want to tell somebody. We had just eaten dinner, and I was in my room listening to music and reading a book. The same thing I did every evening. At some point, I just barely heard my door click closed. That was already a sign something was up, because my door being shut or locked was forbidden. They could shut me out anytime they wanted, but I never had that option. That was another sign of abuse I never found strange until after I left that place. I paused the music and turned around, and Mara was standing there. She had this. . . this insane look on her face. I'll never forget it."

He stops and looks down at his hands. Held in front of him, they're shaking like a leaf. Blaze gives me a concerned look. When I ask if he's okay, he interrupts me, asking if we can go outside for a cigarette. Sighing, I agree. Blaze meets me outside five minutes later with a lit cigarette dangling from his lips. There's still a slight tremor in his hands, but he looks significantly calmer. His muscles relax as he exhales the blue-grey smoke.

"You know, I shouldn't be condoning this," I tell Blaze. He gives me a small smile, his eyes half-closed.

"You shouldn't, but you do."

"Yeah, but I do," I reply, sighing again. "Just don't tell Dani and Faith, and we'll be cool, alright?"

"Alright. So anyway, Mara had this look on her face. Edging to my bed, she casually took my book and earbuds from me and set them on the nightstand. She then took a seat next to my hips on the bed. I was still lying on my stomach. She reached around, brushing my bangs from my face and saying all this sweet stuff. I'm immediately suspicious. She was never nice to me in all the time I was there, except for that one night." Blaze pauses to take a long drag. "I rolled over on my back to see what she wanted, and she kept talking softly, slowly moving closer to me. My anxiety started to kick in, and my heart rate shot through the roof. I tried to move away, but there was nowhere to go. I couldn't fight very well, considering I only weighed about ninety pounds. Mara used the significant difference to pin me down, shoving my shirt up and pulling my shorts down. To this day I swear she put something in my food, because I was way too calm about it. I did yell out once, but in the back of my mind, I asked 'Why am I yelling?' So I stopped. Mara undressed and . . . . She raped me. Simple as that."

"Damn," I breathe, looking over at Blaze. His eyes are glazed over, tears beginning to form. "Hey, hey, hey. Don't cry. Come here."

Blaze puts out the cigarette and throws it away, sitting next to me. I stomp it into the dust. He leans into my side numbly, and I rub his arm comfortingly. Blaze doesn't let out more than an occasional whimper for five minutes, but when he sits up, I can make out tear tracks against his dark skin.