tonight,” I assured her. A thought occurred to me. I sat back unsure how she would take my idea.
“ I think we should take some pictures of your bruising,” I said quietly.
She stiffened. “Why?”
“ When you remember who you are, you may need evidence of what happened to you. I’ll use my camera and put the pictures on a flash drive for you. I’ll erase them after. I promise.”
I heard another soft okay.
I got up and grabbed my camera and a ruler, and then took some pictures. Each bruise I looked at made me nauseous again. I used the ruler against the hand and foot prints to show their approximate size, in case Rabbit needed that information. I could feel the anger building at the faceless person who did this and I wanted nothing more than to give them a taste of their own punishment. When I finished, I stood up. My voice was tense. “All done.”
I helped her straighten up from where she had been leaning on the sofa, holding onto her until I felt she could stand on her own again. She stood; her eyes downcast and I could see the tears falling down her cheeks. I knew exactly how vulnerable she was feeling at the moment. But I wasn’t ready to share that with her. Instead, I leaned forward and brushed my lips gently against her forehead.
“ You were very brave to let me do that,” I whispered quietly against her skin, wanting to praise her for her courage. She didn’t say anything, but I felt a deep shuddering sigh flow through her. Before I could even acknowledge the need to do so, I wrapped my arms around her and stood holding her. She burrowed into my chest and my arms tightened, holding her closer, still mindful of her injuries. We stood silently for a few minutes, both taking comfort in our closeness. Regretfully, I pulled away and sat her on the sofa. I got some pain pills and gave them to her. “Don’t let it get so bad. Stay ahead of the pain,” I scolded her gently.
“ I don’t want to use all your medication,” she replied quietly. ”You obviously need it as well.”
I nodded as I sat beside her. “I do. But I have enough. I don’t require them that often anymore.”
Rabbit was silent; I looked at her and saw her staring at me, her forehead furrowed in concentration.
“ What?”
“ You know a lot about pain,” she said simply.
I tensed slightly, but nodded.
“ Your leg, was it an accident?”
“ No.”
“ What happened?”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“ Why?”
I pulled my hand through my hair. I was already struggling to remain calm after seeing all her injuries again. I couldn’t handle this conversation right now. “Because I just don’t, Rabbit. I don’t owe you any explanation.”
“ I know that,” she murmured, her voice gentle. “I just thought …”
“ What? You thought what?” I snapped.
“ I thought maybe you’d like to talk about it.”
“ Well, you thought wrong. Drop it.” I could hear the tightness in my voice.
“ Sorry, I just thought since you didn’t have a lot of people to talk to …” her voice trailed off.
I stood up, my anger reaching its boiling point. “Why would you say that? You don’t know anything about my life. Fuck, at this point, you don’t know anything about your own life,” I hissed at her.
She stood up, tears glistening in her eyes. “That was unnecessarily cruel,” she whispered. “I just wanted to help.”
I stepped forward, my hands clenched tightly at my sides. “Well, there’s the point. I didn’t ask for your help. I don’t need your help. Unlike you, I’m not the one imposing on a stranger to take care of me.” I could feel the glare on my face as I spoke to her.
She backed away from me, shaking her head. The expression on her face had turned from confused and hurt to fearful. She turned suddenly and left the room, moving as quickly as she was able to. I heard the bedroom door close.
I spun on my heels and caught sight of my reflection in the window and
“ I think we should take some pictures of your bruising,” I said quietly.
She stiffened. “Why?”
“ When you remember who you are, you may need evidence of what happened to you. I’ll use my camera and put the pictures on a flash drive for you. I’ll erase them after. I promise.”
I heard another soft okay.
I got up and grabbed my camera and a ruler, and then took some pictures. Each bruise I looked at made me nauseous again. I used the ruler against the hand and foot prints to show their approximate size, in case Rabbit needed that information. I could feel the anger building at the faceless person who did this and I wanted nothing more than to give them a taste of their own punishment. When I finished, I stood up. My voice was tense. “All done.”
I helped her straighten up from where she had been leaning on the sofa, holding onto her until I felt she could stand on her own again. She stood; her eyes downcast and I could see the tears falling down her cheeks. I knew exactly how vulnerable she was feeling at the moment. But I wasn’t ready to share that with her. Instead, I leaned forward and brushed my lips gently against her forehead.
“ You were very brave to let me do that,” I whispered quietly against her skin, wanting to praise her for her courage. She didn’t say anything, but I felt a deep shuddering sigh flow through her. Before I could even acknowledge the need to do so, I wrapped my arms around her and stood holding her. She burrowed into my chest and my arms tightened, holding her closer, still mindful of her injuries. We stood silently for a few minutes, both taking comfort in our closeness. Regretfully, I pulled away and sat her on the sofa. I got some pain pills and gave them to her. “Don’t let it get so bad. Stay ahead of the pain,” I scolded her gently.
“ I don’t want to use all your medication,” she replied quietly. ”You obviously need it as well.”
I nodded as I sat beside her. “I do. But I have enough. I don’t require them that often anymore.”
Rabbit was silent; I looked at her and saw her staring at me, her forehead furrowed in concentration.
“ What?”
“ You know a lot about pain,” she said simply.
I tensed slightly, but nodded.
“ Your leg, was it an accident?”
“ No.”
“ What happened?”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“ Why?”
I pulled my hand through my hair. I was already struggling to remain calm after seeing all her injuries again. I couldn’t handle this conversation right now. “Because I just don’t, Rabbit. I don’t owe you any explanation.”
“ I know that,” she murmured, her voice gentle. “I just thought …”
“ What? You thought what?” I snapped.
“ I thought maybe you’d like to talk about it.”
“ Well, you thought wrong. Drop it.” I could hear the tightness in my voice.
“ Sorry, I just thought since you didn’t have a lot of people to talk to …” her voice trailed off.
I stood up, my anger reaching its boiling point. “Why would you say that? You don’t know anything about my life. Fuck, at this point, you don’t know anything about your own life,” I hissed at her.
She stood up, tears glistening in her eyes. “That was unnecessarily cruel,” she whispered. “I just wanted to help.”
I stepped forward, my hands clenched tightly at my sides. “Well, there’s the point. I didn’t ask for your help. I don’t need your help. Unlike you, I’m not the one imposing on a stranger to take care of me.” I could feel the glare on my face as I spoke to her.
She backed away from me, shaking her head. The expression on her face had turned from confused and hurt to fearful. She turned suddenly and left the room, moving as quickly as she was able to. I heard the bedroom door close.
I spun on my heels and caught sight of my reflection in the window and