Shortcake*

~~~Chapter 12: Give A Little~~~

*Copyright: Stephanie Myrick, 2023. Posted to Wattpad ONLY*

~~~Trigger Warning! Child Abuse/Death~~~

Link's POV

Link hesitated, torn between wanting to help Cleo, who was clearly about to have a breakdown and wanting to be away from her. Annette had responded to his text by letting him know it was his choice; she thought he was making a huge mistake and he was going to the island with her anyway because Haven had agreed it was for the best. He could tell Cleo regretted what she said. She had been about to cry when he asked her what was wrong in the banquet hall. Hearing a muffled scream, he looked down at the doorknob and saw the keycard was still in the slot. Sighing, he pulled it out, reinserted it, and opened the door. Cleo was on her knees sobbing, and all his anger melted away. Closing the door quietly, he laid the keycard on the table and crouched beside her.

"Cleo?" She started, her head snapped up, looking at him in shock. Link couldn't help himself; she seemed so broken that he gently cupped her face and wiped the tears off her cheeks with his thumbs. "What's going on?"

"Too much." She whispered. "Aren't you mad at me? How did you get in here?"

"You left the keycard in the door." He explained, still wiping tears as they fell. "And I'm sorry, I behaved like an ass." She shook her head. "What's too much?" He said quickly before she could apologize. He didn't need to hear it right now... or ever.

"Dress, hair, makeup. Want it all off." She mumbled. Sensory overload, he understood now.

"Do you want me to call Nico?" Link reached for his phone. He had Nico's number at his insistence. "Sometimes she gets overwhelmed." Was his explanation for pushing Link to add his contact. But she shook her head. "Do you want me to help?" A slight pause, and she nodded. "Okay, let's get you out of the dress." He helped her stand and pulled the zipper on the dress down over her ass. The sight of her white lace thong disappearing between her ass cheeks had him stifling a moan as blood rushed to his cock. Not the time Hart. He chastised himself. "Where's your robe?"

"Smaller suitcase." Link moved away from her and grabbed the suitcase, putting it on the desk and opening it while she let the dress fall off her. The robe was on top and one he had seen her wear numerous times. A pale purple in a fabric he didn't know the name of, but it was light as air and probably the softest thing he'd ever touched. He held it to her without looking, and she took it from him. He gave a few minutes of privacy as he heard her rip the tape holding her breasts in place off with a sigh of relief.

When she was done, he moved the desk chair over and gestured for her to sit. Running his hands through her silky hair, he removed bobby pins and elastics. When he had them all out, he picked up her hair brush and brushed it all out. "How do you want it up?"

"Bun?" she said it like a question making him smile. "There's a scrunchie in the bag." He nodded, gathered her hair into a high ponytail, and then twisted it into a ball on her head. He wrapped the scrunchie around it and pulled out her makeup wipes; moving around to face her, he gently tilted her head and began cleaning her face.

"You're surprisingly good at this." She was watching him closely as he concentrated on removing the streaks of mascara. He met her violet eyes and after a few moments, decided to let her in.

"Before I moved to LA to be an actor, I was married to my high school sweetheart. We had a daughter." He pulled another wipe from the pack and tilted her chin up, cleaning the makeup from her neck.

"Oh." Her voice was very soft. "What happened?"

"We had her very young; Jerrica, my ex, was nine months pregnant at prom our senior year. Kimber was autistic but high functioning and really fucking smart. She had some pretty severe sensory issues. My wife was a stay-at-home mom and looked after her while I worked as a carpenter for my dad's construction company. It wasn't what I wanted for my life or what Jerrica wanted for hers, but Kimber made it worthwhile for me. I spent every spare minute I could with her." He finished wiping her neck and chest and picked up her foot, undoing the straps for her. "I didn't know what was going on when I was at work."

Link took a deep breath. He hadn't meant to tell her all this, but now that he started the story, he couldn't stop it from pouring out of him. "When Kimber would get overwhelmed sensory-wise, we had to put her in a dark, quiet room, shutting down the overwhelming sensations. My dad and I installed shutters over her bedroom windows and soundproofed her room so she had a safe place to go, and she was really good at just going to her room when she felt overwhelmed without direction. She could be playing or watching TV and would get up without a word and go to her bedroom until she was regulated again from age four. Like I said, she was smart."

"Jerrica started locking her in there at some point. She was angry, jealous of the way Kimber had become the center of my universe. My fault, I should have made more time for her, I guess, but I was young and stupid and as much as I loved Kimber, I was resentful that I had to be a dad and husband because Jerrica decided she wanted a baby." Seeing the look on Cleo's face, he finished taking off her shoes and sat on the bed. "She admitted to baby-trapping me after we married and wanted another one. I refused, and she said she would stop taking birth control again since it worked the first time. We almost split up, but our parents stepped in and told us to work it out because there was a little girl to think of. I worked it out by not having sex with her anymore." He explained.

"Anyway, before Jerrica would lock Kimber in the room, she would intentionally set her off. Loud music playing while Kimber watched her cartoons, cooking things like fish, spraying perfume and air freshener, poking at her, hugging her for too long and too tightly, turning the heat up, basically completely overloading her senses and keeping her from going to her room until Kimber would completely meltdown, then she would throw her in her bedroom and threaten to take her away if she said anything then lock her in there for hours. Kimber was six, and this went on for four months. Towards the end, it was every day."

"One day, I came home from work, and Jerrica was gone. I found Kimber wrapped up so tightly in a blanket in her room that she couldn't move. She suffocated and was dead for at least five hours." Link's voice caught, and he cleared his throat. "Jerrica was at the spa and had no idea what she'd done. Things came out as the investigation went on. At least two neighbours were very concerned and had called the cops, but she would explain that our daughter had autism and was melting down, and they would leave without checking any further into it."

"Jerrica was eventually charged with Child Endangerment and Neglect Causing Death and a bunch of other things and got twenty years in prison. I was investigated and cleared. At twenty-five, I had been married, had and lost a child, divorced and was free to follow my dreams, so I left home and moved here. Jerrica got out on good behaviour five years ago, and my life has spiralled ever since." He shrugged and met her eyes, once again wet with tears as she listened to his story.

"I'm so sorry Link." She reached out and took his hand.

"Don't be." He shook his head. "I've been a jerk because I resented needing you to fix the mess I've made of my life. I'm sorry." He gently squeezed her hand. "Are you feeling better?"

"I don't feel overwhelmed anymore. I don't know if the word I would go with is better." She gave him a small smile. "Thank you for telling me." 

*Copyright: Stephanie Myrick, 2023. Posted to Wattpad ONLY*