Adara woke up, at first not realizing what was happening to her. Ramos was on top of her, fumbling with her pajama pants. He hooked his finger around the top and pulled them lower. His fingers were inside her underwear and her whole body stiffened as she realized what he was doing. She tried to scream but his hand was over her mouth and it muffled any sound that tried to escape.He ripped her underwear off with one hand and pushed his fingers deep inside her. She tried to fight but he was too strong. He spread her legs with his knees and pushed himself inside her. Adara felt a tearing pain between her legs and she screamed again.The weight of his body was crushing her; she was afraid that he would crack her ribs. He kept pushing himself deeper and deeper inside her. He was grunting and snorting and she clenched her eyes shut. She started praying for it to just be over. He gave one final grunt and his whole body shuddered.“Keep your mouth shut,” he snarled at her. He got up and walke

Adara sipped the juice and sat up straighter as another man joined them in the kitchen. He stood behind Karani and placed his hand on her shoulder. She assumed he must be her husband. He was tall, well built, and he seemed important. He had grayish eyes and brown hair but he carried himself with confidence.“So, you’re the girl running around in our garden.” He was smiling as well and Adara felt a blush creep onto her cheeks, and she looked down. He must have been right outside the door because James hadn’t left the room to tell him.“I’m sorry. I got lost in the forest,” she said quickly. She was feeling guilty. These people were welcoming and nice and it made her feel bad for lying. Was this how normal people lived? Her mind got stuck at normal. They looked normal and felt normal, but something was oddly out of place. She just couldn’t put her finger on it.“Adara, this is Malachi, my husband.” Karani introduced them. “I think she goes to school with Kiran and James.”The name struc

Karani hadn’t come down for dinner and Malachi was quiet. James had gone home after taking Adara home, and for once I was glad for the solitude. I had no idea what Karani had told him and it bothered me.Adara popped into my head. She had a very strange aura. Fear, pain, hate, and loneliness were her predominant emotions. It was very dark for such a young girl and I wished I knew what was going on in her life.I also had no idea why I was thinking about her. That restless feeling was back and once again, I found myself downstairs. The house was quiet and dark as I slipped through the sliding doors and made my way into the treeline.I undressed and shifted quickly. I picked up her scent immediately and followed the route she had walked through the forest to our garden. I was more alert this time, stopping often to sniff the air around me.I stopped when I came to the rocks where the first stray had shifted and I picked up her days old scent. It was spread out and I could tell she’d spe

Adara sat down on the couch and wondered what was going to happen now. She knew they would let Ramos go at some point, but perhaps this would serve as a warning for him not to raise his hands to her again.Juniper came to stand in front of Adara and gave her a look of disgust as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Get out of my house.”“Mom…” Juniper slapped Adara hard across her face, and blood trickled from her lip. Adara was stunned and she stood up and looked Juniper in the eye.“I’m not your mother,” Juniper said. Adara realized at that moment that she had no feelings for Juniper. “You were left on my doorstep! I should never have kept you when your own mother didn’t even want you!” She snarled at Adara.“He really did rape me,” Adara said calmly. Juniper pushed her backwards and she lost her balance and fell to the floor. Juniper kicked her in the stomach repeatedly.“When I get back from the police station, you’d better be gone. You’re no longer welcome in this house, you fil

Karani drained the tub with Adara still in it. Seeing all the bruises, old and new, made Karani cry again. She covered her with a towel and stripped the dirty sheets off the bed. I stood with Adara in my arms as Karani remade the bed. I placed her on the bed gently and Karani covered her with the blankets.I turned my back as Karani dressed her wounds, bandaged them and carefully pulled a T-shirt over her head so she wouldn’t wake up naked. I felt so many conflicting emotions at once that it was hard to make sense of.“We should let her sleep. I’ll check in on her every now and then. I’m sure she will sleep until morning,” Karani said softly.Karani inserted a drip into her arm, the label read sustenance. It would keep her going, another IV bag was labeled broad spectrum antibiotics and Karani looked so at ease as she worked on Adara. I never knew my mother had these mad skills. I was quite impressed and I told her so.My phone rang and I saw it was James. I wasn’t surprised at all. I