Letters to Anonymous | ✔️

his care

"So, ready to run away disgusted of me?" Claire asked, finally looking sideways, to where Adrian was sitting on his swing.

"I don't know how many words of the English language it's going to take for you to understand that you don't need to be afraid of me ever judging you, because it's never going to happen."

"Even if I came to school wearing a giraffe mask with a purple tutu, carrying a blue picture frame of an upside down monkey in one hand and a polka dotted mop in the other hand?"

Giving her a deadpan, he shook his head. "No, I guess then I'm going to have to judge you."

Claire smiled a bit, glad to shake the atmosphere a bit.

They sat in silence for a few moments, Adrian just taking in all of what his friend had just told him.

"How many times...did he do...it...to you?" He asked, the words being too vile to come out fluently.

"Once."

"Once too many." He muttered. "What about your mother?"

"What about her?" She asked in response.

"Does she know?"

"To some extent, maybe. She knows how my dad is."

"Does anyone else know?" She shook her head. "Did you try telling someone?"

"I've never really known...what to do. I don't wanna live with him but where else am I gonna go? If he's gone, where do I go? I've never told anyone for that reason." She said and she could see Adrian thinking through his face. She wished she could see exactly what he was thinking and hoping that it wasn't ratting her father out.

In all these thoughts, she realized she let a tear escape her eye and quickly moved to wipe it away. Adrian noticed and instantly asked, "do you want a hug?" cheeks tinged a little pink.

She shook her head as she wiped away any trace of her eye leakage. "I'm fine."