Chapter 45

(*Rylan*) (Trauma Trigger Warning for talk of SA and more)

Why is this world filled with so much pain? I learned a long time ago that the monsters we used to fear as children are not the true monsters to be feared. Those monsters are the ones that walk among us, hiding in plain sight as upstanding citizens.  

Doctors, lawyers, teachers, police officers, and more.  

These are the people who we turn to for help. Yet so many of them hide the monster they are from the rest of the world. My sister suffered at the hands of one for years, and he got away with it because of his social standing and his professional life.  

Grant Donovan is evil incarnate.  

I flinch as I listen to my sister’s sobs as I climb the stairs. There is so much pain in those sobs. All I want to do is make her pain go away. Even I know that there isn’t much I can do for her. 

At least nothing more than what Aaron and I have already done. 

As quietly as I can, I slip into the room Rosalie is staying in while we both hide from the monsters that are out to get us. She is curled up on the bed in the fetal position; her sobbing louder than it was before. I slide behind her on the bed, wrap my arms around her, then just hold her in my arms as she cries herself to sleep.  

Once I know she is fast asleep, I get up and leave the room. I make my way to the room I slept in last night to grab my phone, and then I walk down to the living room. There are a few calls I need to make.  

I need to call Gail to ask for some time off. With everything going on right now, there is no way I am going to leave Rosalie alone until Grant and Paulson are caught. If she is going to be locked in this cage, beautiful as it is, I will stay right here with her.  

Then I need to call the two detectives that are on the case. I want to know how they got into the gated community I live in and past the two security guards that patrol the entire community. I know there are always ways into places that people are not meant to be in, but I want to know how they did it.  

Two different men breached the walls of my private community. Both men have bad intentions toward me and my sister. Yet, they got inside a place where I thought we were safe.  

My last call will be to my mother. 

That is a call that I do not want to make, but because of recent events, I need answers that only she can give me. Charlie is undeniable proof that my mother had a child before me and gave her up for adoption. I want, no, I need, to know why.  

Even if it is ugly like so much in my life these days. 

I need to know how I have another sister and why she wasn’t in our lives. I could call my grandmother instead, and I still might have to if my mother refuses to tell me what happened in the past. My grandmother knows most of my mother’s dirty laundry. 

Thirty minutes later, after an enlightening conversation with Detective Anson, I hear the door to the penthouse open. The sound of Annie’s voice makes me smile. She and Aaron enter the living room a few moments later. 

Aaron is carrying a large leather bag and is a few steps behind Annie. They share a look before he sets the bag down on the floor and follows her to the sitting area where I am. Annie sits on one loveseat while Aaron sits beside me on the large sofa. 

“I brought Annie with me; she has a portable ultrasound machine. She is willing to examine Rosalie to determine just how far along she is.”  

Oh, that would be nice to know. 

“That is nice of you to offer. I am not sure Rosalie is awake or even ready for that step right now.” I say to Annie.  

“I can leave the machine here and come back later once she is ready. From what Aaron told me, your sister doesn’t want to keep the baby. If that is the case, there are a few options for her. In California, abortions can be done until the fetus is viable at 24-26 weeks. I don’t recommend waiting that long.” Annie’s voice has taken on a very clinical tone, but I catch a hint of disapproval as she mentions the timeframe for abortions in California.  

Twenty-four weeks is about six months.  

Holy shit. 

That thought makes me want to puke. I know that there are medical reasons to need an abortion at six months into a pregnancy, but the thought of it breaks my heart. I can’t imagine the pain that mothers would be in, both emotionally and physically. 

Aaron must have sensed my internal turmoil, because he reaches over and grabs my hand. I love that he knows me so well. It makes our relationship easier and smoother at times. 

“I talked to Detective Anson today,” I tell Aaron.  

He nods his head before he takes his hand back and stands up. “Do either of you want something to drink? Tell me what he said when I get back.”  

“Water, please,” Annie says as she wiggles back in the loveseat, getting comfortable.  

“Can you get me another cup of coffee, please and thank you?” I ask as I hand him my empty coffee cup from off the small table beside the couch.  

He takes it, then leaves the room.  

“How are you feeling, Annie? Are you and Quinn ready for the twins to arrive soon? Is Grace excited to be a big sister?” I ask in a rush.  

Annie laughs as she rubs her belly. “I am beyond ready for them to be born already. My mother has told me many things from when she was pregnant with my brothers, Daniel and Khristopher. Having twins is hard, but we are all ready for them. Grace tells anyone who will listen that she is ready to be a big sister. I think that excitement will wear off quickly once they are here.”  

“I bet. When my mom had Rosalie, I was excited to have another sibling. I mean, Andrew was great, but I only saw him when I went to my dad’s house. Then Juanita came along, and I had three siblings. Two of which I was never close to, at least until now with Rosalie.”  

Telling her that made me remember how lonely I had felt growing up. I had a family, but the stigma of being an affair baby followed me through childhood. I was an outsider in my family. It sucked. 

The feeling of not belonging in my mother’s house because of her husband and being hated by my father’s wife has stayed with me all my life. No child deserves to feel the way my family made me feel. None of their actions were my fault. 

Thankfully, I had my grandmother.  

“Here you go,” Aaron says as he comes back into the room. He sets a tray down on the coffee table and then hands us our drinks. “So, what did Anson have to say? Did they find anything new?”  

I give him a soft smile after he hands me my coffee. After sitting down on to the table beside me, I nod my head. “He did. One officer on the scene searched the walls around the community. He focused on the area behind my house.”  

“That is where Quinn thought they came from, but it was dark, and we didn’t have time to look,” Aaron comments, then takes a sip of his coffee.  

“Detective Anson said that the other officer found evidence on the outer perimeter, the side that is closest to the woods behind my house. He said it looked like two distinct sets of footprints, just like outside my windows. They found a metal ladder, one of those types that you can throw out a window to escape a fire, stuffed in a duffel bag and stashed behind a tree. They are going to dust for prints to see who they are from.”  

“That explains how one of them got in, but what about the other one?”  

“That was answered by the security guard at the gate. Over the last few days, there has been a work van coming in and parking two blocks over from my house. The owners are having their chimney and front porch worked on, and the van is on the approved vehicle list to get into the community.” I pause to take a sip of my coffee.  

“Anson showed the work crew pictures of Paulson and Donovan to see if they had seen either of them. They all recognized Paulson as the newest member of their crew. He started working with them about a week ago. They assumed he just quit since he came in with them yesterday, but no one saw him when it came to quitting time. There is now an APB out for him.”  

“So, he came in but never left.” Aaron says, anger lacing his voice.  

“That is what Anson thought too, so he is doing a door-to-door search of the entire community now.” I tell him the last of what I know.  

“What are they doing about Donovan?” 

I shrug. “They haven’t seen him and are waiting for the fingerprints from the ladder to come back.”  

“He was there; I know he was.” Rosalie says from the bottom of the stairs. “I believe what he said in that text message.”  

“Speaking of that, I have something for you.” Aaron stands up and walks to where he put Annie’s bag. 

There is a black shopping bag I didn’t notice before. He picks it up and walks over to my Rosalie. She frowns at him, then looks down at the bag. 

“I tossed your old phone. You had nothing on it, so I didn’t think you would mind. This one is clean and has a new number. I programmed all the numbers you had from your old phone into this one.”  

“He won’t be able to text or call me at all?” Her voice is hopeful.  

“Not unless you contact him first and he gets your number that way. This phone is in my company’s name. This is my gift to you.”  

Rosalie smiles, then nods her thanks before she walks to where I am sitting. She sits next to me, but her eyes are on Annie. She is staring at her belly, then she lightly touches hers.  

“I am so conflicted right now, Rylan. At one point, I wanted this life inside me more than anything else in my life. Now, I just want it to be gone. Does that make me a horrible person?” 

I shake my head in response to her question. Given what she has gone through, everything Grant did to her, I don’t blame her at all for now wanting to go through with this pregnancy. Many SA victims think the same way Rosalie is right now. 

“Would you let me examine you? So that you know how far along you are and what your options are going forward?” Annie asks quietly.  

“Will I have to go to the hospital?”  

“Not right now. I have a portable ultrasound machine with me. I can do an external examination and then an ultrasound if you are as far along as you think you are.” Annie motions to her black bag on the floor. 

I watch as Rosalie processes this. Her eyes shimmer with tears, and then she nods her head after swiping at the tears. I grab her free hand and give it a gentle squeeze to let her know I am here for support.  

“Aaron, can you take my bag and set it up in whatever room that Rosalie is staying in? We will go upstairs when she is ready.” Annie says as she looks at Aaron.  

He nods, then stands up to carry out her request. Once he is gone, my sister breaks down in tears. I wrap my arms around her as she cries. Whispering soothing words in her ear. 

“Thank you for doing this for me, both of you. I have no idea how I will ever repay the kindness that you have all shown me. Kindness is not something that I have been shown much in the past. Not from my mother or my husband.”  

“The two people that you should have been able to rely on. I am so sorry you have had to deal with what you have. I only know a little, but I can tell you right now that you are not alone anymore. You are safe and loved, Rosalie.” Annie says with conviction.  

“As for repayment, there is no need for that. Everything I did was for you because you are my sister. Aaron did everything he could for you because, for him, you are family now. He values family and will help you as much as he can.” I tell her as I hold her in my arms.  

She mumbles something, then pulls away. “Let’s get this over with so I can know where I stand. Thank you, Annora, for doing this for me.”  

“Please call me Annie. Like Aaron, I think of you as family, too. Both of you are my family now.” Annie says as she looks at us both. 

I give her a smile, then stand to help her off the loveseat. The three of us walk upstairs to Rosalie’s room. Aaron meets us at the door, then helps Annie into a chair by the table he set her machine up on. She smiles up at him before he walks back to the door.  

“If you need anything, I will be in my office downstairs.” 

With that, he leaves us and closes the door behind him as he goes. 

“Do you want me to stay with you, Rosalie?” I ask her as she sits on the edge of the bed. 

She nods her head, then turns to look at Annie for what to do now.  

“I am going to need to pull your pants down to your hips, and I will do an external examination first. Then I will have you remove your pants and underwear for another examination before we do the ultrasound. If you feel uncomfortable at any point and want me to stop, just let me know, and we will stop until you are ready to continue.”  

Rosalie nods her head and then does as she is instructed. She lays down on the edge of the bed closest to where Annie is sitting, and I take a seat on her other side. Once I am seated, her hand shoots out and grabs mine. 

With our hands clasped together, Annie begins her exam.  

I am here for my sister until the end of this nightmare of hers. 

I got you, Rosalie. 

*(Author’s Note)*  

*(To all the SA and DV survivors out there, you are seen; you are loved, and you are not alone.)*  

*(Updates are every Friday. Join my Facebook group, North Rose Novels, for updates.*