My focus will be on getting my family out of the clutches of these monsters. The others can take care of whatever else is needing to be done.
Chapter Six
Star
When I managed to speak with Jessia, I found out she’s just as much of a victim of her brother as I am. He may not sexually abuse her, but he emotionally and mentally has worn her down with his hateful words.
She opened up a little to me today as we were playing with Ella. Her parents were good, loving, Christian folks, who loved their kids deep down to their core. But according to Jessia, Jeremiah has always been a bad apple.
He started showing signs of distress when he was very young. He enjoyed torturing animals and being cruel to any visitors that ever entered their home. When his attention turned to hurting his sister, his folks sent him away for psychological help.
When that didn’t help and he was released from the system, they sent him to weekly counselling meetings with their pastor. Jeremiah learned to play a role, one that the adults in his life bought. But he never changed. If anything, he became more sneaky about the way he’d do things.
According to her, Gray and Jeremiah grew up in the same social circle and found that they had a lot in common. Jeremiah never touched his sister in a sexual way, but he guided Gray on how to wring the most torture from her. He was her first and only sexual encounter. To this day, Gray still visits her and Jeremiah still plays director. It’s disgusting and causes my skin to crawl.
“So, when I say you need to escape and run, I mean it, Star. I don't trust that Ella won’t become a victim, someone to sacrifice for his disgusting way of thinking,” she says as we sit on the park’s bench and watch Ella pick wildflowers. “She’s innocent and doesn’t deserve to have him as her dad. I will do anything, sacrifice everything to get you two away.”
“And what about you?” I ask her. Because I can’t in good conscience leave her here to face her brother’s wrath.
“He’ll kill me. At this point though, I welcome death, Star. I’m not afraid of dying, I’m petrified of living,” she informs me.
The sad thing is, I know exactly how she feels. Death would almost be welcoming at this point. If I didn’t have the promise of escape at my fingertips, I’m afraid I’d do something I could never come back from.
“What if I was to tell you I have a way we can all get away, Jessia?”
“It’s not possible, one of us needs to stay behind and be a distraction, Star. One of us must sacrifice ourselves for the other two. And that is me, you know it as well as I do.”
“There’s another way,” I state, not wanting to beat around the bush, but I know I need to ease her into the plan that Shamus is coming up with.
“How?” when she asks this, her eyes scan, trying to find out if Gray is within hearing distance.
“I can’t tell you that, Jessia. It’s for both of our well-being if I keep this to myself. But, when men come bursting in, help them, they are the good guys. Yell out the name Shamus, and if he answers, you know they’re the right group.”
“How well do you know this man, Star? Are you sure he’s trustworthy? I don’t know that we can depend on complete strangers to have Ella’s safety be their first priority.”
“It’s family, and that’s all I can share with you, Jessia. You have to believe that I’d never intentionally place you or Ella in harm's way.”
“Jeremiah will fight to the death before he steps aside and lets you go, Star. I doubt he cares about Ella, but he needs her to keep you in line. Gray, shit, he’s got this warped sense of ownership over me. He doesn’t care for me or about me, but he’ll never let me go. I’m who he uses to release the anger he harbors, I have the scars, burns and bruises to prove it.”
“You’re Ella’s family, Jessia. If you won’t go with us, I’ll have to stay behind. I won’t leave you here to the fate you’ve dished out for yourself.”
“You can’t do that, Star. Ella needs her momma.”
“She also needs her aunt,” I declare, not sharing that she will have another once we make our escape. Jessia’s good, I can feel it. “Don’t be the sacrificial lamb, Jessia. She needs strong women in her life. We need to teach her about the signs to watch out for as she grows. We need to be the ones to have that shoulder for her to cry on and be the ones she reaches out to for advice. We know the signs of an abuser, and we all need to be there to make sure she doesn’t unintentionally saddle herself with one.”
“God, could you forge that nail into my coffin any deeper, Star. I want to be there for her, for you, but I have known my destiny since the night that Jeremiah murdered our parents in front of me. I’ve known that I’d end up meeting my maker in the same way. I’m only good to keep around until Ella’s older, then, my time will end.”
“Even more reason for you to come with us. Don’t you want to experience life without your brother’s shadow looming over you, Jessia?”
“More than you can even imagine, Star. I can’t put into words what that would mean to me.”
“At least think about it, Jessia. Please?”
“Okay, I’ll consider it, Star. I promise, but if it comes down to me or Ella, she will be my first priority.”
“Thank you, Jessia. For everything you’ve done for her, I’m so happy that she’s at least experienced some form of love in her everyday routine. You’ve given her what I can’t.”
“But you will, Star. Soon.” She stealthily reaches over and
