finally found the ability to speak. "Dad, Gabe, could you leave the room for a minute?"
"Guys, give us a few minutes. Please?"
"Okay, Mom."
"Alright, Dear. We'll be in the den."
The men in the Newsome family stood up slowly, looked at Sarah with a compassionate gaze and left her bedroom.
After the door closed, Sarah, without saying a word, slowly took off her long sleeved knit blouse. With some embarrassment and more shame than she thought she could bear, she held out her arms for her mother and sister to see. What they saw shocked them both.
The bruises on Sarah's arms were painful enough for her mother to witness, but the deep abrasions on her forearm, ones that would almost certainly leave a scar, sent her to her knees. "Sarah... what has that monster done to you? How could you let this happen?"
Sarah couldn't respond. She suddenly felt very alone in her own bedroom with her mother and sister.
Sensing her discomfort, Ruth retrieved a soft t-shirt from Sarah's drawer and helped her slip it on gently. She sat behind Sarah on the bed and put her arms around the older sister she loved and respected so much to give her strength.
Everything that happened to her, all that transpired between her and Brian, seemed like part of their "loving relationship" up until that moment. Now, it seemed horrific, like it happened to someone else. "I... I don't know, Mom. I don't know how I could have let this happen. I can't explain it."
"Well, we are going to do something about it. We need to talk to your Dad and Gabe. I'm sure they are sweating bullets out there." Loretta couldn't get her body to move. She sat motionless staring at her daughter. Her worst fears were borne out. She finally reached up and wrapped her arms around Sarah's head and held her close.
For a moment there was no sound in the room.
Then, they all cried in each other's arms until they were ready to face the men.
Sarah made the long trek down the hallway surrounded by the support and protection of the other Newsome women. Protecting her from what none of them could have said. Everyone in the family wanted the best for their beloved Sarah.
"Dad, I have something to show you, but promise you won't get mad."
Jim broke out in a nervous sweat. He knew something painful was about to come to light. "I won't get mad, sweetheart. It's alright."
Sarah walked closer to where her father and brother were sitting. It was easier to show her wounds this time. The emotional release from the first exposure to her mother and sister gave her strength to face her father. It was her brother she should have worried about.
Jim gingerly took Sarah's outstretched hand into both of his. What he saw destroyed him, but made him want to lash out at the man, no... beast that hurt his little girl.
"I am going to kill that..." Gabriel Newsome stood up in a rage that frightened Sarah so much she pulled away from her father and wrapped her arms around herself, ducking her head.
"I'm so sorry Sarah. I don't mean to hurt you. It's Brian that's going to get hurt." With that, Gabriel stormed out of the house to calm himself down.
"Sarah, are you alright?" Jim talked in soothing tones to the daughter he thought was hurting but now realized was nearly broken.
"I... I think so, Dad. It's not as bad as it looks." Sarah still tried to downplay the severity of the problem.
"Sarah, how did you get those awful scratches? They're pretty deep."
"I pulled my arm away from Brian and scraped it on his watch."
Jim looked at the gashes on his daughter's arm with a mix of anger and revulsion toward Brian and compassion for his little girl. How could a man who was supposed to cherish his child do something so hideous? As he held Sarah's hand and looked at the wound, he wondered how this could happen if she were just pulling away from Brian's grasp? It didn't make sense. "Sarah, is there something you're not telling me?"
"What do you mean, Daddy?"
"If you were just pulling you're arm away from him, your
"Guys, give us a few minutes. Please?"
"Okay, Mom."
"Alright, Dear. We'll be in the den."
The men in the Newsome family stood up slowly, looked at Sarah with a compassionate gaze and left her bedroom.
After the door closed, Sarah, without saying a word, slowly took off her long sleeved knit blouse. With some embarrassment and more shame than she thought she could bear, she held out her arms for her mother and sister to see. What they saw shocked them both.
The bruises on Sarah's arms were painful enough for her mother to witness, but the deep abrasions on her forearm, ones that would almost certainly leave a scar, sent her to her knees. "Sarah... what has that monster done to you? How could you let this happen?"
Sarah couldn't respond. She suddenly felt very alone in her own bedroom with her mother and sister.
Sensing her discomfort, Ruth retrieved a soft t-shirt from Sarah's drawer and helped her slip it on gently. She sat behind Sarah on the bed and put her arms around the older sister she loved and respected so much to give her strength.
Everything that happened to her, all that transpired between her and Brian, seemed like part of their "loving relationship" up until that moment. Now, it seemed horrific, like it happened to someone else. "I... I don't know, Mom. I don't know how I could have let this happen. I can't explain it."
"Well, we are going to do something about it. We need to talk to your Dad and Gabe. I'm sure they are sweating bullets out there." Loretta couldn't get her body to move. She sat motionless staring at her daughter. Her worst fears were borne out. She finally reached up and wrapped her arms around Sarah's head and held her close.
For a moment there was no sound in the room.
Then, they all cried in each other's arms until they were ready to face the men.
Sarah made the long trek down the hallway surrounded by the support and protection of the other Newsome women. Protecting her from what none of them could have said. Everyone in the family wanted the best for their beloved Sarah.
"Dad, I have something to show you, but promise you won't get mad."
Jim broke out in a nervous sweat. He knew something painful was about to come to light. "I won't get mad, sweetheart. It's alright."
Sarah walked closer to where her father and brother were sitting. It was easier to show her wounds this time. The emotional release from the first exposure to her mother and sister gave her strength to face her father. It was her brother she should have worried about.
Jim gingerly took Sarah's outstretched hand into both of his. What he saw destroyed him, but made him want to lash out at the man, no... beast that hurt his little girl.
"I am going to kill that..." Gabriel Newsome stood up in a rage that frightened Sarah so much she pulled away from her father and wrapped her arms around herself, ducking her head.
"I'm so sorry Sarah. I don't mean to hurt you. It's Brian that's going to get hurt." With that, Gabriel stormed out of the house to calm himself down.
"Sarah, are you alright?" Jim talked in soothing tones to the daughter he thought was hurting but now realized was nearly broken.
"I... I think so, Dad. It's not as bad as it looks." Sarah still tried to downplay the severity of the problem.
"Sarah, how did you get those awful scratches? They're pretty deep."
"I pulled my arm away from Brian and scraped it on his watch."
Jim looked at the gashes on his daughter's arm with a mix of anger and revulsion toward Brian and compassion for his little girl. How could a man who was supposed to cherish his child do something so hideous? As he held Sarah's hand and looked at the wound, he wondered how this could happen if she were just pulling away from Brian's grasp? It didn't make sense. "Sarah, is there something you're not telling me?"
"What do you mean, Daddy?"
"If you were just pulling you're arm away from him, your
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