Moose and Goose

Chapter Eighty-six

On the floor, Judith's cross-legged and Kacey's side sitting with her weight on her left hand and her right hand resting on her lap.

"Jerome found out about the bottle when I was at his house once. He told my folks about it and when I confronted him, he said it was to help me but that's bullshit," Judy mumbles, rolling her eyes.

"How do you figure?" Kacey raises an eyebrow in anticipation of an answer.

"Because he's - he's upset with me about something. My guess is it's about David." When she forms a confused look, Judy says, "Black Ted Bundy."

Kacey's posture practically deflates upon remembering David, and she nods.

"I don't remember what it was that I did, but it was something about David that made him rat me out." Kacey licks her lips as her eyes drift away from the glass. "Before you say I'm being dramatic, let me explain. I'll admit, I really like Jerome, and David hates that I'm moving on. He'll sit outside my house, blaring music, or follow me around. Jerome's nothing like him. David's macho, he's - not."

"Judy, what're you going on about?" They watch a brown couple walk down the hall hand in hand before returning their attention to each other.

"I think Jerome's doing this to punish me for choosing David," she speaks in a softer voice. "I've been through it all with David but at least he always protected me."

"Was that before, during, or after he was beating and raping you," Kacey bluntly asks, but she doesn't answer. Instead, she lowers her head. Judith had forgotten about the day she confided in them about the abuse. "David's protection was nothing more than possession. He's like a dog and you're his tattered chew toy, too stupid to realize."

"Kacey," she tries to interrupt but stops when Kacey raises her voice to overtalk her.

"No, I'm done staying silent. I wanted to help you when you told us, but you had every excuse in the world to justify staying. Honestly, it was pathetic, but I understand. I was like you." Her final sentence leaves Judith speechless. "I cut my hair after a breakup with a guy who was abusing me. He didn't do to me anything like what David did in terms of - you know, but he controlled me. He wouldn't let me go out with friends, sometimes he would watch what I ate and yell at me if I ate too much. I eat three times a day, but he thought that was too much."

"Did you tell your parents?" Kacey purses her lips together as she shakes her head.

"Well, after a while I did. My brothers wanted to kick his ass, but my Dad and Mom agreed that that was too dramatic. He didn't hit me or anything like that so the best option was to just leave him. I will say, no matter what issues I have with my family and what they have with me, we look out for each other." Judith drops her gaze onto her hands between her knees, watching her fingers tremble.

"I wish my parents were like that. I mean, I told my Mom, and she all but encouraged it. I finally told my Dad, then he died the next day." She stops speaking when she feels the back of her head grow hot, the sensation spreading to her eyes. "It still doesn't change how I feel, though. Jerome's not a fighter, but I see who he is and he's just as fucked up and evil as David. He once compared me to David. Me of all people.

"Judy - he's nothing like David and the sooner you realize that the better off you'll be. He cares about you." Judith rolls her eyes. "And I don't know about you but the Judy I met years ago and the one I know now, is nothing like that freak."

She meets Kacey's stern, dark eyes, and when tears cloud her vision, she returns her attention to her lap and mumbles, "If he cared about me, I wouldn't be here."

"What?" Judith repeats herself louder and Kacey runs her hand down her face, left with a blank expression. "Bitch, why're you here?"

Judy takes a breath to answer but her mind goes blank. She remembers Kacey finding out about her eating disorder - La'Shawna as well - through Mary's outburst, so she takes a shaky breath and confesses, "Sometimes, I don't like my body, so I try to not eat as much to avoid getting fat - like my grandmother was - before she died."