Ginger Fox

“Yes, he does. That’s why there’s that damn mess of keys,” Baby says, smiling. “He can’t stand knowing that the copies are separated or disorganized, so he keeps them with him. Sometimes, when he’s annoying me, I’ll deliberately leave something out of place or crooked near him, just to get back at him, because I know it drives Roy crazy.”
My breaths come rapidly; everything feels like spider webs. Webs that trap me and lead nowhere, just more information that leaves me confused. I try to recover from the shock that Mr. Jonathan’s disorder causes me, analyzing what Baby is saying. Doing that to Mr. Roy isn’t okay. Even though she might think it’s a joke, Baby is mistaken. For someone with OCD, having disorder around them is painful and distressing, deeply hurting them and worsening their condition. OCD is understood as an obsession with thoughts, ideas, and images that invade a person persistently, like a stuck record that keeps repeating the same part of the recording. They get stuck in their head.
“Baby, OCD isn’t a genetic disease passed from uncle to nephew; it should be hereditary from the parents. And it’s not something to be used for revenge; it’s a mental disorder that needs to be taken seriously and treated,” I say softly, looking at my fingers on my lap. “What makes the most sense with Jon are sudden changes, some trauma, or a significant event that brought the disorder into his life.”
Baby turns her face away from mine, her eyes fixed on the sea, remaining silent and letting the smile fade from her lips.
“Jonathan has his reasons for being the way he is. But Jon is okay...” she replies softly, with a distant look as if her thoughts are far away.
Yes, I understand what might have triggered Mr. Roy’s disorder. Watching his father kill his mother must have caused eternal wounds in his soul and mind.
“If Jon is being molested, why hasn’t he told me, Gim?” Her eyes become red. “Why didn’t he tell me? Jon is all the good I have in my life.”
“Jon did tell, Baby. Not in words or gestures, but in cuts.” She locks her tear-filled eyes on mine, pulling her hand away from my face.
“Cuts?”
“Jon cuts himself.” I extend my arm to her, raising it and showing the skin near my armpits. “He mutilates himself in places few people notice. Here.” I lower my arm, stretching my wrist towards her. “Here. He hurts himself to release the pain inside him, causing new pain.”
Baby collapses into tears and sobs. Her body falls forward into mine, allowing me to embrace her and hide her face in my shoulder.
“It’s my fault, Gim. My fault Jon has reached this point.” I hold her tightly, shaking my head.
“No, Baby, it’s not your fault. It wasn’t.”
“It was my fault… Only mine.”
I remain silent, simply comforting her with my embrace. I have nothing to say; it’s not her fault. It’s not something we think happens to us until it does. The only thing I know is that that bitch Lorane hasn’t told anyone what’s happening to Jon. And a big question keeps hammering in my mind…
Why didn’t she tell?
“Did you tell anyone else?” Baby sniffs, wiping her face and looking up at me.
“No. I only talked to you about my suspicion of abuse.”
“That’s good. We won’t tell anyone else yet, or interrogate Lorane.”
“How can we not, Baby?” I grip her shoulder, making her listen. We can’t hide this.
“Gim, if Lorane hasn’t shared any clinical diagnoses, it might be because she had her suspicions and didn’t tell to protect the man she loves. If we corner her, we lose Bob.”
“She could help him escape,” I whisper, understanding her point of view.
“Yes, just as she could make Jon look like a crazy kid just seeking attention.” I release her shoulders, letting my fingers fall into the sand, knowing that woman has no scruples about doing such harm to Jon.
“She still hasn’t returned to the mansion, neither Lorane nor Bob.” The woman and that jerk had disappeared since Sunday.
“They must be screwing each other in some filthy corner,” Baby says angrily. “God, I hate that woman! I curse the day she came into our lives.”
Baby swears under her breath, looking up at me.

" Does she disappear often? — Baby nods, brushing her blonde locks away from her face.
“I’ll tell you something about that bitch that only Roy and I know about.” — Baby exhales, biting her lip. — Lorane suffers from extremely aggressive headaches, even more so when something bothers her. She found a doctor who is more demented than she is, who does shock therapy. On Sunday, when I had to leave, it was to take her to get treatment, because she was out of control.
“God, how awful!” I cover my mouth, not knowing what to say.
I had seen how angry she was, I remember perfectly the vision of Baby entering the mansion and the two of them arguing. But I never imagined that Lorane would need to opt for such an aggressive method as shock therapy.
“That bitch left me at the clinic. I spent the whole night looking for her, and only the next day did I find out that she was with Bob, when she sent me a message.
I don’t know what to say or what to think anymore. I'm just being swallowed up by all the secrets that are appearing like layers in front of me. Aside from Baby, there's nothing healthy in this family.
" Do you think he raped him? — Baby looks at me in distress, her eyes filling with tears again.
" There are many ways to abuse someone, he doesn't necessarily need to enter Jon's body to molest him. I'm not sure if that happened, Jon doesn't have any marks on his body that could show he was sexually abused. — I take a deep breath. — I know it's horrible to say this, but I spied on him when he went to the shower once, to see if I saw any marks or anything that would indicate the violation, but apart from cuts and once I saw a scratch, there's nothing on his body.
Baby understands what I mean. Bob could be forcing Jon to touch him and touching Jon's body. Just imagining Jon being forced to do anything with that scumbag fills me with disgust and anger.
" Jon is his masturbator — she says angrily, clamping her mouth shut.
" It could be. — I inhale deeply, closing my eyes with pain in my heart.
" Now that I know this, you can help me protect Jon, and we can keep an eye on Bob.
" Let's move on, like you said — I whisper, discouraged by the knowledge that Bob will spend more time hovering over Jon.
" And when I'm sure, I'll make that little shit swallow his dick after I rip it off. — Baby's voice is cold, with a hoarseness, almost matching her brother's. I open my eyes, staring at her, and see her clenched jaw and hateful eyes.
That woman who stares at me for a few seconds doesn't seem to be Baby, she's someone cruel, with a cold look, who will carry out her word. I straighten myself, getting closer to her, while we look at the sea in silence and, for a brief moment, it's like having Jonathan sitting next to me. The cold, pragmatic, silent and evil man.