The Debra Dilemma (The Lone Stars Book 4) Read Free Page B

blue eyes clouded with sadness. “When I get scared, he keeps me safe.”
    “How about we find Mr. Snuggles a new friend? Don’t you think he’d love a new friend?” Somehow, Debra would find a way to get Mr. Snuggles back to Ellie.
    Many times she’d fantasized about giving the abuser a little taste of his own medicine, but life just wasn’t fair, and Safe Place frowned on the idea of her beating up the beater-uppers. She’d even tried teaching a self-defense class, but no one showed up. Apparently, the psychological abuse inflicted on these women made it impossible for them to stand up for themselves. She could almost understand that, but she wasn’t quite there yet. It seemed to her that for the price of a baseball bat, these women could have peace of mind. After all, everyone had to sleep sometime, and applying the business end of a baseball bat to a sleeping abuser sounded like a great plan to her. Oddly, every time she’d voiced that opinion, she’d gotten in trouble. The job of a victim was to not fight back, and every abuser used that to their advantage.
    Reluctantly, Ellie nodded.
    They walked hand-in-hand down the hall and around the corner to what used to be the toy closet, but was now—thanks to Debra and the millions her father had left her—a toy room. Spending her father’s money on helping the weak and scared was the ultimate fuck-you to the man who’d centered his life around fucking up other’s lives. She glanced down, sure that he’d departed in that direction, and mentally shot him the finger. She hoped mind reading was a big pastime in Hell.
    As she opened the door, she glanced down just in time to see Ellie’s face light up. That was the reason Debra had come to work here—seeing that moment of joy on the face of a blameless victim. For a split second, they forgot all the terrible things they’d seen and just lived through one perfect moment of joy. It was payment for all the shit that Debra had to wade through, all the late nights working the hot line, where she listened to excuse after excuse why the victim couldn’t leave the person who was making their life a living Hell. This work at Safe Place was her own way of making up for the devastation that she’d caused when she’d been so blinded by revenge that she hadn’t noticed the collateral damage she left in her wake.
    She could never make up for the things that she’d done…all she could hope for was a tiny bit of good karma, because she’d finally wised up and was trying to make a difference now. It was too little too late, but it was better than nothing.
    “Really, I can have anything?” Ellie was skeptical…they were always skeptical.
    “You can have anything you want for free. And it’s yours forever…no take backs.” They only ever took one toy. She never got used to that—these kids needed so much—but every single child she brought to the toy room only took one item, usually something small and easy to conceal. No one could take it from them if it was hidden. The psychologist had told her that it was a coping mechanism. Children of abuse learned to fade into the background. They had to hide, and the things they loved had to hide with them.
    Ellie walked slowly around the room and finally settled on a small pink stuffed bunny. “This one.”
    The toy selection process was always fun to watch. It fascinated Debra. The criteria seemed to change for every child.
    Children really were a blessing, and maybe someday she’d be blessed with another child. She was finally getting her life together once and for all and this time she would be a better mother—the perfect mother.
    Ellie glanced at Debra and then the bunny and then back at Debra. She was waiting for Debra to hand it to her. It wasn’t real until the toy was in Ellie’s hands. Debra picked up the soft pink bunny and gently handed it to the little girl. Her eyes locked on the bunny and her whole body radiated happiness. Children did everything at full