“How can you say that, look at her!” I used his shirt to shake him one good time.
“I have, and I did what I could about the cuts and bruises, you have to make sure they don’t get infected. Ruby, Vale, and Harrington were the only ones to touch the girl.”
“But the other men, I saw them walking out.”
“No, they never did anything to her. Ruby offered the first taste to Vale, but he said he wasn’t into doing little girls, so no one else was given a chance either.”
They didn’t rape her, the physical cuts and bruises would fade, but something like that would have stayed with her for the rest of her life. I let my hand drop from his chest and just held my head, grateful for this little act of mercy.
“She’ll come for her again,” Roth said as he turned on his way out.
“I know.” I croaked out, as I kneeled by Angel’s head again. Ruby would want to break me down like this again, and she knew now how intense my need to protect Angel was. She would go through Angel to get to me again and again. It was only a matter of time.
The door closed, and Angel began to stir.
I rushed over to where there was a cup of water, they had brought it for me this morning, but I hadn’t touched it. I ripped off a piece of my shirt and dipped it in the water, and I wiped Angel’s dry lips with it. I wanted to get her some moisture. She licked her lips, her mind realizing she was dangerously dehydrated. Her eyes fluttered open a few times before she startled awake and tried to push herself away in a panic.
“No, please stop. Stop it!” She screamed, but her voice was so raw it was only a cracked whisper.
“Shhhh, shhh, Angel, baby, it’s me. It’s Inkpop.” I said, trying to calm her down but not wanting to physically put my hands on her until she was completely awake. I didn’t want to hurt her any more than she was already hurting. Her blue eyes darted around for a second before they settled on my face. Her small hand reaching out to touch my face as if she thought I wasn’t real.
“Inkpop?”
“Yes, baby. I’m here.” My voice thick with emotion.
“Oh, Ink!” She raised herself quickly and threw her arms around my neck. She hissed out in pain as her body reminded her of her injuries.
“Come on, lay back down.” I laid her gently back down on the bed, and she turned her face to look at me.
I could see the joy in her face, the realization it was all over, and she was back where she belonged, with me. As much as I wanted to smile back at her, I just couldn’t. “Angel, I’m so sorry they did this to you. I should’ve been there to protect you, and I wasn’t.”
“What are you talking about Inkpop, you did everything you could. I was so scared. I can’t imagine how you go through that all the time. It sucks super bad.” She said, trying to take my guilt away.
“It does.” I nodded my head.
I kept vigil over her for the next few days as the injuries she sustained began to heal. She told me about what they did to her in the room. How they hit her with a thin wooden stick, and then they would put a towel over her face and pour water on it. She said there were snakes and spiders they put into her clothes. They beat her with a belt, but she said what hurt the most was the hanging. Apparently, they’d tied her up by her wrists and let her hang from the ceiling, while they beat her with the belt, sometimes one of them would pull down on her feet, she said it felt like they were ripping her body in half. Roth did more than he should have to make sure she had everything he could get for her without raising suspicion. I was grateful, but I was concerned. If they found out he was giving her special treatment, he would be in trouble just as much as I. No one did anything for anyone for free. I wondered what his endgame was. A week or so later, when we were able to go up for our outdoor duties, I asked him.
“Roth, may I ask a question?” I tried to stay as polite as I could, he was good to Angel, but he treated me the same as any other guard.
“What? Aren’t you supposed to be getting your exercise?” He pushed me forward. My hands were tied behind my back, so the small push was enough to have me stumbling.
I looked around just to make sure there were no other people around us, “Why are you always helping Angel? I see how you look at her. What do you want in return?”
He grabbed me hard by the back of my neck and turned me around to face him, “Did you just accuse me of lusting after a little girl?”
“No, in fact, I’ve never seen you look at her in that fashion, you look at her like she’s your kid. Like a father.” I clarified immediately.
He let me go, and I turned and continued to walk ahead of him, I didn’t want to press him, but I had to know what the deal was.
“I had a kid once. I loved my little girl more than anything. Her mother not so much. She was sick though, no matter what they did for her in the hospitals, it never seemed to make her feel any better, She died, and I ended up here. She had curly hair just like Angel does. She was much darker, she took her mother’s complexion, but the hair was the same. This place isn’t for someone like Angel.” I heard him
