Unfortunate Circumstances

[Javvie]

Eliza wrapped herself around Lindsay like a human shield. She stroked her hair and kissed her cheek. "Shhh.... Lindsay, listen to me. The world is scary, but it can protect you. It's a big place, but that's good. Daniel would be locked away for what he has done. I've written down things that you have told me and they would have you testify, but you would be in a protection system. Girls like you... The system always helps them."


Eliza rocked her back and forth. "I want you to come with me. I want you to get your GED, go to college, have a job... I want you to have no rules, except for the ones you make for yourself." She did not force Lindsay to look at her, only rubbed her back and hugged her rolled up body.


"Think of what you can do with your knowledge of language. Think of where you can go. You are so young. He has aged you, but you have so long to go. You can start over and I won't let you fall. I won't let the scary, mean world get to you. I will always protect you." Eliza whispered.


"We will have to plan, but we can do it." She whispered to her in Russian. "We can be free."

 

[Soleil Overland]

Lindsay sniffled and sobbed softly into her knees, and though it may have seemed like she wasn't paying any attention to what Eliza was saying, she was hanging on to every word. She'd spent so long locked underground that she could barely imagine the outside world anymore. What would it be like when she entered it again? Overwhelming and dangerous and brand new, terrifying to someone who'd spent years living in solitude. It was scary and foreign and intimidating, and the thought of emerging into it once more scared her extremely. But if the stories Eliza told her were right, the world could also be warm. It could be bright and fun and beautiful. Just because she had never experienced it didn't mean that it didn't happen, she supposed. She took a deep shuddering breath and forced herself to sit up once more, wiping tears off her cheeks with the heel of her hand and trying to hold back the next waterfall of tears that threatened to wash over her. And for a moment, just a brief moment, her mind flashed to Jackson. The kind older brother who she didn't believe truly loved her. How ironic that was, that the person she doubted was the only one to show her any true affection and the one she put her faith in manipulated her so brutally. How naïve could she be? She cringed and resisted the urge to curl up again.


Gullible, weak, controlled, abused -


"If - If we left..." she began slowly, voice drawn tight from the effort of holding back more tears, "Do you think...do you think we could find my brother?" And though she didn't voice it, the question she really wanted to ask hung heavy in the air between them. Do you think he'd still want me after all these years, as damaged as I am?

 

[Javvie]

Eliza nodded. "I think that your brother would want to see you." She whispered as she rubbed her back in a comforting motion. "I think that he was probably looking for you and for him to know that you are alive would make his entire life." Kissing the side of her head, she made sure to smother the girl in love. That was all that she could do now. She had no idea how much she had endured. It was only the surface.


Eliza came to close her eyes. "How about you sleep in here tonight?" She asked as she came to just make sure that the girl was calm and that she was feeling nothing but love and support. "My bed isn't that comfortable, but I'll hold you the whole night and scare any nightmares away."


A smile came to her face. "You're the bravest and sweetest girl I know. Lindsay, you are so incredible and strong. I am very lucky to have met you." Eliza kissed her again and rubbed her nose to hers. "You are so precious to me."

 

[Soleil Overland]

Lindsay didn't need to respond; the way she curled up beside Eliza spoke for her, pressing tight to her side on the small bed and clinging to her like her life depended on it. Her small form shook in the other woman's arms, closing her eyes tightly to fend off more tears as Eliza nuzzled her and kissed her, giving her affection that she just did not deserve. Not with what she had put Eliza through, forcing her to stay in the compound due to her own warped mind telling her it was okay. Eliza's terror should have been indication enough that something was terribly wrong with her and what she was doing.


"I'm not," she croaked out, voice slightly raw due to the horrible sobs that she muffled, crying into the crook of Eliza's neck, "I'm not brave, I'm not brave at all. If I was brave, I wouldn't have stayed here so long. I would have found a way to leave a long time ago. I - I -" She shuddered, giving a heartbroken sob and hugging Eliza tighter, hating herself for wanting the woman so close when Eliza should have pushed her away by now. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she whimpered fervently, the trembling becoming more prominent as the moments ticked by, "Th-this is all my fault, I'm sorry, it's my fault, my fault -" She cried softly, shaking in Eliza's hold until exhaustion finally overcame her and allowed her to drift into a fitful sleep.