Page 8 of Butch

Butch took the whiteboard from the doctor and started writing. Rae twisted her hands in front of her as nerves took over. What was he going to say?

She had never felt this way before in front of Butch, but it had been eight years since she had last seen him, and she didn’t know how much had changed. Was he the same boy she knew before, who was a man now, or had he changed drastically?

I was telling him that I want to find whoever did this to you and make him pay.

Her mouth hung open as she read the words, not expecting him to say that. Rae thought he would agree with Edmund or be mad at her for allowing this to happen.

The doctor took the whiteboard back.

How did you lose your hearing?

Rae shook her head. There was no way she was telling them that information. With how Butch just reacted to Edmund refusing to take her to the doctor… She didn’t know how he was going to react to how she lost her hearing.

We can pull your medical history if you would prefer.

“It won’t be on there,” she whispered and winced when a murderous look crossed Butch’s face again.

It was the same one Edmund would have when she didn’t hear everything he had said. The same one as whenever she got dinner wrong or how he wanted a certain thing done in the house; it never ended well for her.

What do you mean it won’t be on there? Butch wrote.

“I wasn’t seen in the hospital,” she replied, looking at her lap. It was leaving her in a vulnerable state, but she couldn’t bear to see their faces and what they were thinking. “He had a friend check up on me. A doctor.”

Rae never enjoyed it when his friends came over. Sometimes, he would allow them to get in on the abuse. There had been way too many times when she thought she was going to die. If his doctor friend was there, he made sure she never got close to dying and would pump her with all sorts of drugs to help.

The whiteboard appeared next to her hands as Butch held it.

I want to know his name. Full name and address.

Her head snapped up, and she groaned as it started to throb. She was going to be sick if she kept this up. Butch grabbed a bowl and held it under her face, giving her an encouraging look.

“Use,” was all she managed to hear as he talked.

Rae shook her hands and pushed the bowl away. If she was going to puke, she would find herself in the bathroom before she could do it anywhere else.

You’re still the same. Thinking about having to clean the bowl after being sick.

Tears pricked her eyes as she read those words from Butch. He remembered her aversion to puking in anything but the toilet because growing up, she was the one who had to clean it up afterward, and it would only make her throw up again.

You won’t have to clean it up, so use it. I’m going to take care of you from now on.

Raelynn was quick to wipe away the tears that streamed down her face. It didn’t look like he had changed at all, but she couldn’t help but feel a little worried. Worried that he was putting on a show so she would trust him, and then he would do something to hurt her.

“I’m okay. I don’t need anyone to take care of me. I’ve been doing it for a long time now,” she whispered, looking up at Butch and the doctor.

She had been doing it ever since he left to join the Springfield Sinners. He had been the only one to look after her, to be her Daddy, but once he’d left, everyone ignored her, and she had to put her big girl panties on and figure things out.

I know you’ve been taking care of yourself since I left, but you don’t have to any longer. I’m here, and I’m going to take over. I know it must have been exhausting to do that all these years.

A sob left her lips, and she buried her face in her knees, and she wrapped her arms around her legs. Her body was protesting the position she was in, but she couldn’t care right now. Butch just knew the right thing to say to her to make sure she was doing what she should or to make her feel better.

Someone picked her up and held her against their chest, rocking them back and forth. She knew who it was—Butch. She could feel the rumbling in his chest as he talked, to her or to the doctor she didn’t know. She imagined he was whispering sweet nothings to her, like he had all those years ago.

Rae cried into his chest, gripping hold of his shirt as he ran his hands down her back. She had missed this, him holding her tightly and making her feel safe.

Safe.

Something she hadn’t felt in eight years. And all it took was being back in his arms to feel it once again. Butch pulled her away from him and held the whiteboard so she could see it.