Seven

I watched Warner check on Jo, narrowing her eyes and her vitals. He also answered questions that weren't the answers we had hoped for. I called Warner and asked him to come by the room again when I woke up.

"Doc? The diagnosis?"

Warner removed his stethoscope from his ears and sighed as I watched Jo hold on to a bunny plushie I had Rex purchase from the hotel's gift shop. It was to calm Jo down once she woke up in a frenzy, asking for her mother. She was screaming so loudly that the other people in the room ran to witness something unexpected.

I had to explain to Effie and the others that Jo wasn't herself.

Warner sighed. "Well, sometimes this happens to people who suffer PTSD or Child Traumatic Stress based on what they have experienced that threatens or causes harm to their emotions, in which case, your brother did to her. But she's already an adult and not a child; the incident happened when she was a child. Thus, Ares's action leads to Ms. Walker being in that state. Now she is acting to the age the day she was abducted."

I exhale sharply. I can not believe this is happening during our vacation. We still have the itinerary for the next seven days, and Jo will be in child form for the rest of the week. I brush my hair back. "Is there anything we can do?"

"Right now, she's as fragile as a deer," Warner explains. I look over at Jo, hugging the plushie, and it is very eerie for us as if we are strangers. "I know you guys are on vacation, and this happened to your friend. I suggest you continue what you are doing and don't overwhelm her. Take it slow. Console her and play a role in her life to make her feel safe. Make sure you are one of the good guys. Whoever did this to her makes me sick."

"You and me both," I retorted.

"Did they ever catch the person?"

I cross my arms and sigh. "Sadly, no. Ares was too quiet about it, and Jo couldn't remember a thing. All my brother could say to the police was that the guy who tortured Jo has a snake tattoo around his neck up to his bald scalp."

That was the description Ares gave to the police that day. He didn't get a look at his face or other features to catch the guy, only a bald man with a snake tattoo. Once, Ares and Jo were found hiding in the large tube in the park. The first thing I did was go outside with my bike and search for those bastards.

But where to look? I was just a kid, unsure of what to do once I saw them. Ares couldn't tell me anything, and Jo wasn't herself.

"Well, if you can't find a thing or person. Your grandfather is the person you should seek," Warner says, pushing his glasses up his nose, then pulls a red lollipop to offer Jo. She takes it, removes the wrapper, and pops the sucker right into her mouth.

"Anyway, remember my words, Thea. Ms. Walker is delicate and needs a resolution from you or anyone she is close with." Warner stood up and looked at Jo, huddled on the bed, away from interacting with anyone. She sucked on her lollipop and hugged her plushie like a child.

"Effie, Claire, and I will be on babysitting duty," I tell him. "I can even ask Lily and Terry."

"That's good. Keep the men away from her, including your brother." He warns. "Your brother is the source of reliving her trauma. Since Ms. Walker feared men when she was a child after her abduction."

"She was afraid of you," I assured. "Jo had a hard time opening up."

"Yes, but I'm a doctor. I've dealt with adults like her before."

"Sorry about the scratches," I said, feeling guilty.

Warner looked down at his arm, where Jo had scratched him like a timid cat. He chuckled. "No worries," he grabbed his things. "If anything happens or you need answers, don't hesitate to call me."

"Thanks again, Doc." I ushered him out of the room as the others greeted him. I made eye contact with Rex, who nodded and walked Warner out.

I closed the door, and it was just Jo and me alone.

Jo has started to chew on the lollipop stick. She looks up at me with such curious and frightened eyes. When I sat on the bed, she flinched.

I licked my dry lips and smiled. "Did you give a name to your bunny?"

Jo gave me the silent treatment.

I don't blame her since I look like a stranger to her. I have to do what Warner instructed. I need to make her feel safe around me and not make me look like one of the bad guys.

"Jo, don't be afraid," I say in a low and sweet voice. "I'm not here to hurt you. What's the name of your bunny?"

"T-Thumper..." She replies.

That's the same name she gave to her old bunny plushie, the one her mother gave her when she was one year old. She named it after the character from Bambi - one of her favorite Disney films. Jo never left that plushie behind until her mother passed away.

"Thumper, that is a cute name," I smile.

"Where's my mom? My dad? My older brothers?" Tears formed in her eyes, and seeing her like this broke my heart. "Who are you? Where are they?"

Jo's mom died a few years after her abduction. It broke Jo's heart, and she stayed isolated from everyone, including her brothers and dad. Jo didn't care about anything and was picked on at school. She started to open up when Ares consoled her; my brother has become her light ever since.

"My name is Thea, and your parents...they umm...I'm your babysitter. Yeah, babysitter." I claimed on a whim so that Jo could trust me. "They hired me to care for you during their honeymoon."

"Honeymoon?" Jo says, puzzled. "But they already have one."

"On their second honeymoon," I hesitated. "You know when two people are very much in love, they-" I covered my mouth, realizing. Even with a twenty-five-year-old body, she has the mind of a child.

"I know what you mean," Jo blushes. "I'm not stupid."

I smile.

"Mommy says she and Daddy always wrestle on some nights," Jo explains. "Even when my brothers are out. I would hear lots of noise like a ghost and-"

"Whoa! That's enough of that." I chuckle and cut her off by covering her mouth and feeling the heat on my face. I know we are both adults, but while Jo is in child mode and speaking like one, talking about her parents' sex life is uncomfortable. I know children are honest, but talking about that makes me ashamed. Rex and I had sex once when Jacob was asleep, and we had to ensure he didn't wake. It was during the construction of more rooms and the addition of a nursery for my son. We had Jacob with us in our room, and it was one of those nights that Rex and I had silent and passionate sex. It was hard to hold my moans and cries when a baby was in the room.

I know it seems inappropriate to have sex while an infant is in the room, but we couldn't help it. I was horny, and he was hard. It makes sense to relieve the itchiness of our pleasure.

I look over at Jo and can see her eyes sparkle when she mentions her parents. I guess taking baby steps to make her feel more comfortable with me isn't so bad.

I have to ensure nothing wrong happens for the rest of the week. But my gut is telling me something will happen, and I don't know when that will be.