Chasing Imperfection (Chasing Series 2) (27 page)

     I cleared my throat and spoke. “
My mother died giving birth to me and my dad raised me as a single parent. He died when I was seven and
I
had to move in to live with my father’s sister in Los Angeles. She has a family of her own and they weren’t too pleased to take on an orphan but they didn’t have a choice but to take me in. I moved out the minute I got my high school diploma and left to s
tudy in London. My dad made
wise investments with his money and made a small fortune. He even set aside a college fund, so studying abroad was an easy escape route
,
very
much
like
Chad’s.”

     “Living with your father’s sister was pleasant and had a loving atmosphere?” Dr. Murray went on.

     “
No
—she and her husband were quite abusive, physically and mentally. The only thing that kept me going was the thought of Kyle, my childhood best friend,
who
was
there
after each brutal lashing.”

     “Lashing…
with
what precisely?”

     “Whichever came in
handy
then—a
belt
or
a sturdy malleable stick
but
their
favorite
was a shotgun cleaner. It’s a long spiral metal
rod with fine bristled metal
husks
to clean the inside
nozzle
of the gun.
The metal husks pierce the skin with each hit.
It can be extremely painful if the beating lasts awhile.
The lashings only
came
when they
felt
like I needed to be punished
like
let’s say I didn’t finish my dinner or didn’t finish
my
homework. On the other
lighter
days, the punishment would be
me
kneeling on pebbles, grains, or beer bottle caps nailed upside down on a large
,
thick
piece of
wood—sometimes with
only
my underclothes or sometimes with clothing
for up to eight hours at times
—it really depends.”

     “My
word
and you said
you
were
only
seven years old when these started?” She looked startled and horror-struck. Even Chad gasped
loudly. I spoke about it
to
all of them
but just
gave
the
abbreviated
version and not much detail. There was no point in hiding my dark past when Chad spewed bravely about his own demons.

     “
Yes…though in the beginning, it started out small. It started out with spanking with their hands or locking me inside a tiny linen closet for six hours or so. But as I grew older, the punishment became more intense and traumatizing.”

     “Did anyone help you at all? Did you speak to a counselor at school?
Or a
nyone for that matter?”

     “No, not one adult helped. Even my teachers sa
w how badly I was beaten. A few occasions
during
school days,
my legs would have a lot of dried
,
crusty blood in them or at times my socks would be soaked in blood. Once, they voiced
some
concern but they were being paid off by my Aunt and Uncle. After that, no one voiced any concern
again
. The only thing I had constantly in my life was Kyle. He tried to help me too but I told him
not to. We were young and I was scared that no one
would
believe me and I would end up getting m
ore
punished once the Brown’s found out that I told on them. During the years, I accepted my fate and didn’t e
ven try to question it anymore.”

     “You have quite a past too, Sienna. I see now why you and Chad are drawn to each other. The type of abuse you two went through is different. But at the end of the day, scars are scars.”

     “Oh my God, Sienna—the story you told us was a little different
,” Chad said
.
“
I mean sure
—you mentioned about the beating and being an abused child but
never
to this extent. I can’t imagine a seven year old girl scared out of her wits being locked in a tiny linen closet for six hours.”
He held me tight through our tears.

     “This indeed showed a different light to your friendship. You see Chad, even though you are going through a different type of battle, you should always remember the type of battle your friend is going through as well. I can see that she is still trying to heal and may have a long way to go after years of being an abused child—but she is still trying and moving forward.”

    
She shook her head and held her chest. “I spanked my kids a few times
on
their
bottoms
when they were driving me purely manic
.
But I
profusely apologized immediately to my younglings. But
right now,
I imagine them being seven years old again
without
anyone to help them—and being treated in such a way—my heart is purely gutted. I really think you should seek someone to talk to Sienna. It might help sort some things out.”

     I sniffed
.
“
T
hank you. I might just do that. I have to think it through first.”

     “Chad—this has been a very good
productive
day. I will be back on Monday and we will continue then.” She stood up and they quietly left the sunny living room.

    
I looked through the windows and studied the beautiful landscape but I couldn’t see a thing.

      My tears were unstoppable.

     When Chad returned
,
Toby was with him. “What the hell happened, Chad? Did someone hurt her? Why are you both crying?” his puzzled voice amused me but it was impossible
to say so
through my weeping.

    
Toby
sat next to me and cradled my head to his chest. “Hush now, love—there is no man
on earth worth
cry
ing
over like this.” Really
,
a man…is that the best he could do?

     “Now you’re just being an idiot
,” Chad said
.
“
Sienna
joined me
during therapy and ended up sharing her heartbreaking child abuse story. I’m so sorry Sienna—I didn’t expect for it to go that way.”

     “No—it needed to be out there. It’s
about
time
,
” I said in between hiccups.

     Chad sat on the other side of Toby and we all huddled together until Chad
’s
and my sobs subsided.

     The three of
us prepared dinner together. During dinner my phone rang and I absentmindedly took it without paying attention to the caller. 

     “Hello?”

     “Is this Ms. Sienna Richards?” A firm woman spoke. “Yes, this is she—”

     “Hello, Sienna! I’
m Tina Goldsmith and I’m the lawyer
for
Edith Galley. My client used to work for Mr. Dante Brown. To get to the point, Mr. Brown physically assaulted and abused Ms. Galley two months ago. There are pictures to prove the incident did happen. We are building a case and we learned that you lived in their household until you turned eighteen. Now, Ms. Richards, I was hoping to see if you would be so inclined to help us and tell us exactly what type of a man Mr. Brown is? It would solidify the case and your testimony would mean a great deal to Ms. Galley. Mr. Brown needs help and by proving him guilty, he would exactly get that plus a great deal of punishment.
”

     “Wow, that’s a lot of information to take in. I understand,
I truly do
—but I can’t do this right now. Is it possible
for me to
call you back later on next week? Right now really is not the right time for me.”

     “
Thank you, Ms. Richards. That would be generous of you if you can truly help us. I will send you a text message with my information. Thanks again!” she said before ending the call.

     “Care to enlighten us about that odd call?” Toby waited for my reply as did Chad.

     “That was a lawyer for an employee
who
used to work for my uncle. She claim
s
that my uncle physically assaulted and abused her. They are working up a solid case against him and have physical evidence to prove it. They need my testament to make it air tight with no chance in hell of my uncle running away with his violent tendencies.”

     “
Amazing!
Karma’s a bitch and your fucking uncle is up next!” Chad
said
haughtily.

     “Are you planning to give
a
statement?
” Chad asked.
“
I know it’s none of my business but I do think you should really do this—for your own sake and for those people he abused as well. I know your Aunt and Uncle are both callous
sadistic
people and they both deserve to rot in the cellar. But if you can put your uncle there
, why not do it? He certainly doesn’t deserve pity. Anyone who hurts women—
let alone a small child
—indubitably deserves punishment. Yo
u h
ave to do this, Sienna. It’s
supremely important that you do.”

     “
I will
—I don’t think I can
allow
him to hurt another person. If I don’t do this….how many child
ren
or women is he going to inflict harm upon?” I announce
d
with conviction. That bastard deserves it and don’t I know it.

     After the eventful dinner, we all voted to watch
Under the Tuscan Sun
with Diane Lane to end our night.
The thought of Toby obliging us with a chick flick was definitely a sign he felt badly for us. He usually grumbles and complains about the genre—but tonight—he was the perfect companion.

    
Not once did Toby touch alcohol. I suppose our crying stint sobered him up quickly
.

     After the movie, we all went straight to bed. I was exhausted from all the crying
.

   
Sleep couldn’t come soon enough.

     “Help…anyone….
please
,” my small defeated voice pleaded as I pounded through the thick oak door.

     It was
P
apa’s one month death anniversary.

     “
Can you stop with the stupid loud pounding
,
you
little rat?
No one is letting you out. So, shut up and let me concentrate in watching my show!” my cousin Caroline hissed furiously against the linen closet door.

     My shirt was soaked with tears and it was
starting to feel chilly inside the
closet.
I bunched up my tiny fists and slammed it against the door again. “
I didn’t mean to
be late waking up. I’m sorry! I promise I won’t do it again! My small fist pounded a little harder, until I had no more strength.

    
After another hour of crying, my body started to furiously shiver.

    
“
Papa…
.
why did you have to leave me with them?
” I spoke in a whisper.