Compromising For Her Sake

Rose

I crossed my arms over my chest as I glared at Nathan, who had introduced himself as Rowan. I was absolutely livid, and Taco was ready to murder the man. Who in the hell did he think he was? To walk into my house and practically verbally attack me over this girl that I hadn’t even met yet. From what R.H.M. told me, this girl was in bad shape and had been so abused by the men in her life that she was terrified.

“I’m serious, Rose! If you scare her, we will have problems!” He repeated, making Taco lunge forward.

I quickly stepped into Taco’s path to keep him from ripping the skinny boy’s head from his shoulders. Sometimes, Taco was too protective over me. I turned around to grip his face tightly in my hands.
“Go cool off, Taco. He is allowed to try to protect her. If the positions were reversed, you would be the same way.” When he opened his mouth to speak, I kissed him. “Don’t even try to deny it. We both know it’s true. So, just go take your walk, and when you come back, we’ll talk.”

He narrowed his eyes on Nathan over my shoulder before nodding. “Fine! But if he gets out of line again, I will bury his body where even the devil can’t find him.”

I pecked his lips again before letting him go. After one last warning glare, he stomped off toward the back door, leaving me standing alone with Nathan and R.H.M. I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Listen here; I will say it again; I am not going to hurt her. I am a healer. I will always be a healer. She will be safe with me. I promise you, but if you ever come into my house and speak to me like you just did, it won’t be my husband that you have to worry about. Now, kindly get the fuck out of my house so I can prepare to go see your girl,” I told him, barely holding onto my temper.

He narrowed his eyes on me before stepping up to me, going toe-to-toe with me. “She means a lot to me, Rosemary. And I don’t give a damn about anything but making sure she’s okay. So if you want to fight over my warning, I’m not backing down. And I really don’t give a flying fuck if your husband wants to beat me to death with my own arm or not. I’m not going to let her be hurt again. By anyone.”

I tilted my head back to look into his eyes. “Even by you?”

He took a startled step back. “I would never hurt her.”

“So you say, but look at how you’re acting. If you are acting this way with me, aren’t you afraid that you could snap and act that way with her?”

He shook his head. “No! I-I‘m just…she went through a lot.”

I laid my hand on his arm. “I know, but just like her, you’re not alone in this journey. So, let’s not be enemies. We may never be friends, but for her sake, let’s not be enemies.”

He sighed. “I am sorry. I promise I am not always like this. I just…” He took a deep breath. “Seeing her like that just does something to me. It is killing me that I can’t be the one to help her.”

“I know, but I promise to keep you updated. Now, go on. Let me go visit with her. I’ll come see you in the morning. You look exhausted. Go get some sleep. It’s the only way you can eventually help her.”

When he opened his mouth, Uncle Brennan put his hand on Nathan’s shoulder, squeezing it. “She’s right, Rowan. Let’s go back to the office. Rose can handle this. I promise you. I’ll show you how to access the surveillance cameras so you can watch over her.”

Nathan nodded before allowing himself to be led away. I let out a relieved breath when I heard the front door latch behind them.

“You know, he was this close to having his bony neck snapped,” Taco hissed from behind me.

I smiled as I turned around to face him. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he picked me up to carry me to our room.

“I know, Killian. He’s just worried about her. Once he calms down and gets to know us a little, he will feel more comfortable with me working one on one with her. From what Uncle Brennan told me, he’s already in love with her,” I told him quietly as he deposited me on the bed before walking over to the closet to get me a dress.

“That explains why he’s acting the way he is, but it doesn’t excuse it.”

“I know. Just try to be a little patient. I have to go and see how she’s doing,” I murmured as I put the dress on before leaning against him. “When I get home, you can remind me just how much you love me.”

His eyes lit up. “Promise?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Deal. Hurry up and leave so you can come home already.”

I giggled as I ran my hand down his stomach to wrap it around his shaft, stroking it once before letting him go. “I’ll see you soon.”

I left the house, hurrying down to Leah’s. Well, Miriela’s now. I let myself in with the master key that Uncle Brennan had given me before he left the first time, but I froze the moment I stepped into the bedroom and saw her sitting in the middle of the bed with her arms wrapped tightly around her legs. As I stared at her, she stared back at me. The fear in her eyes made me want to cry for her. The bruises on her skin actually made tears well up in my eyes. I slowly approached the bed before sitting on the edge, a little worried about how she didn’t even move.

“Miriela, my name is Evangeline,” I told her softly. “But people call me Rose. Before I came to Eden, I was a nurse in an emergency room. Do you think it would be okay if I tended to your wounds?”

She didn’t move or even acknowledge that I was speaking to her. I sighed as I got up, unwilling to let her heal in her own time, especially when there were medications, ointments, and wraps that could help her recover faster. I went into the bathroom to get some Neosporin, Tylenol, a wrap, a washcloth, and some alcohol. When I walked back in, her eyes went to the supplies in my hands before her eyes jumped back to mine. I hated the way her eyes went from afraid to acceptance before her eyes went completely dead. I sat back on the bed next to her, lining up the supplies on the bedside table before picking up the alcohol.

“I am going to clean your wounds, Miriela. If it hurts, please let me know and I will stop. Okay?” I asked as I poured some alcohol onto the washcloth.

Just like I expected, she didn’t answer. I sighed as I began to clean her wounds, telling her exactly what I was doing as I did it. I wished I could wash away the horrors that haunted her mind as easily as I was washing away the dirt from her wounds, even though, based on the continued whiteness of the washcloth, someone had already painstakingly cleaned her wounds. I wasn’t a rich woman by any stretch of the imagination, but I would bet every cent that I did have on Nathan being the one who cleaned her wounds.

After making sure that her wounds were clean, I began to apply the Neosporin to the cuts and scrapes that needed them, still talking softly to her. Not that it did anything to get her to relax. She remained stiff, letting me do whatever I wanted to her, which only made me worry about her more. If she was this submissive during wound care, I couldn’t, no, I didn’t want to imagine how obedient she would be during sexual activities. I lowered my head as a lump in my throat made me fall silent as I wrapped her swollen wrist with the Ace bandage. As soon as I was done, I gently placed her arm back around her legs.

“I know you don’t know me, Miriela, but I understand. I know how it feels to be held against your will. I know how it feels to be forced to be touched by someone you don’t want to touch you. I know how it feels to be forced to touch someone in a way that you don’t want to.” I paused for a second as I fought back my emotions. “When you’re finally rescued from that situation, you don't know if you can trust the people that are trying to help you. You worry about whether they are really sincere about helping you or if they are just pretending to care to make you let down your guard. It’s terrifying when you start to have hope that you are finally free. I still have nightmares. I understand your fears. I understand your worries, but I am here to reassure you that nothing is going to hurt you. Not in Eden.” I took her unbandaged hand, holding it between both of mine. “R. H. M. named this place Eden because that was the name of God’s garden. Where only Adam and Eve lived. It was pure. They were free. They were happy, but above all else, they were safe. There are no snakes here to induce fear, guilt, or violence. There are no bad men or women here. R. H.M. won’t allow it. And quite frankly, neither will the rest of us. Believe me when I say that there is no better place to be than here. Where you are safe. For as long as you need the safety that we offer.” I put her hand back on her other one before tucking her hair behind her ear. “Try to get some sleep, Miriela. I will be down the street. If you need anything, all you have to do is call out for me, and I will be back within a few minutes. Anything at all. If you have a nightmare or are too afraid to sleep, call me. Okay?”

As per her usual, she didn’t respond, making me sigh as I stood up. I glanced at the Tylenol, wondering if I could coax her to take some before nixing the idea as fast as it crept up. She was too afraid of everything at the moment. I put my hand on hers, patting it once before walking out. As soon as the door closed softly behind me, I took off, sprinting to my house, where I raced into my room. When I skidded to a halt just inside the door, Killian’s gaze went to me before he jumped out of the bed to rush over to me.

“Baby? What’s wrong?” He murmured.

“She is so broken. Worse than I was when you found me,” I sobbed as I threw myself into his arms.

He held me tightly, cradling me against him. “It is okay, baby. It’s okay. She will be okay. She is here now. And there is no one better to help her than you.”

I nuzzled into his chest. “I know I promised to rock your world when I got home, but I really just want to be held.”

He picked me up before carrying me over to the bed. “I will hold you for as long as you need me to, Evangenline…”