Shattered

In the middle of the night, Frank woke up to Evie sobbing softly. She was laying on her side, facing away from him. Frank had been laying on his back. He rolled over and put a hand on her shoulder to see if she was awake. “Evie?”

She sniffed. “I’m sorry.”

“Are you ok?”

“I just had a bad dream. I didn’t mean to wake you.” She said, her voice thick from crying.

Frank inched closer until his chest was pressed snugly against her back, the front of his thighs pressed against the back of hers, as he inhaled the sweet smell of her perfume invaded his senses, he inhaled deeper to take more in. He could feel that his actions were provoking a response from her. She tensed up, feeling too much of him on her, and a shiver went up her spine. This was not the response Frank was looking for, he was trying to comfort her, not frighten her. He tried to calm her further, but putting his hand gently on her side, softly running his hand up and down to soothe her. He seemed to tense further at that so he stopped and wrapped his arm around her body, settling for simply holding her.

After a moment of laying still like this, and feeling her body calm and her sobs stop, Frank knew that Evie must have realised he had no interest in harming her, because she put her hand over the hand her had wrapped around her and held it gently.



The next week was nicer. Evie was getting well caught up in her schoolwork so now she could unwind a lot more. She hadn’t had any more flashbacks and she was speaking to more people at school and shying away from them less. Now it was a Saturday and a couple of popular girls had been nagging Evie to come to a party on the weekend. She didn’t want to attend the party at all, she was too scared of having a flashback in front of everyone from school. But Frank was going and he’d been nagging her to go with him, assuring her that he would stay with her in case anything went wrong. Evie finally agreed when Frank assured her that his friends would be there too.

That night, Evie dressed in a tight lavender skirt and a black lacey top. She wore her hair down and put on make-up. She looked the part, a bit more modest compared to the other girls from school. She went to Frank’s room where he was playing video games with Gerard, Mikey and Ray to let them know she was ready to leave. They all looked at her completely shocked. As if she wasn’t already the most beautiful teenage girl they had ever seen, she had someone made herself even more attractive. Frank was speechless for a minute, then he cleared his throat and said “Ok, let’s go.” He couldn’t believe this beautiful girl had kissed him, that let him hold her during the night when she didn’t seem to trust any other man.



When they arrived at the party, all eyes were on Evie. Frank and the boys had expected that. Frank had spoked to them earlier about keeping an eye on Evie, explaining to them that she was prone to freaking out and being unresponsive if something set her off. They were as prepared as they could be.

As soon as they arrived some of the girl started trying to wisk Evie away and two others started talking to Frank and trying to flirt with him. He would usually have welcomed this and loved every second of it, but tonight he had a mission to stay with Evie and look after her and he’d only been there for a minute and had already lost her. While the girls kept talking and trying to hold Frank’s attention with pointless questions that just showed how little they knew about him, he gave Gerard a look and Gerard understood it’s meaning instantly. ‘I’m on it.’ He mouthed to Frank and went to locate Evie.

Evie was standing with a big group of girls who were being watched by group of guys from across the room. Evie didn’t look like she was doing any of the talking, but the other girls were talking so quickly they didn’t even notice. Gerard kept his distance and just stayed close enough to intervene if he needed to.

Over where Evie was standing, the girls had noticed Gerard watching Evie.

“Oh my god. Gerard Way is just staring at you Evie.” One girl said.

“What is his problem? Is he obsessed?” Another girl asked. “Wait your actually friends with him aren’t you?”

“Gerard is really cool actually. He can sing and draw and stuff.” Evie looked up at Gerard and smiled and waved.

“Yeah but it’s not like anyone would date him or anything.” Girl one said.

Evie wanted to snap at her, but decided to remain calm. “I would give him a chance. But I’m not interested in dating anyone right now anyway.”

“Except Frank right?” Girl two smirked.

“Frank isn’t interested in me.” Evie responded.

“But you ARE interested in Frank right?”

“Like I said, I’m not interested in dating anyone.” Evie said, and started walking over to Gerard. She had a point to make. She stood there talking to Gerard for a while where everyone could see them. Finally Gerard walked away to get her a drink. When he came back he handed it to her, she had spotted Frank and was watching him intently, looking upset. Gerard looked at her expression then looked to see what she was staring at. Frank was not talking to three girls and smiling and laughing, seeming to be having a great time. Gerard knew right away it was jealousy.

“Are you ok?” Gerard asked her.

“I’m perfectly fine.” Evie replied flatly. “I’m going to go see the rest of the house.”

Gerard didn’t know what to do. He wanted to follow her to make sure she’d be fine but he would start to look like a stalker if her did that. It was clear that she wanted to be alone so he let her go. A few minutes later Frank came up to Gerard asking where Evie is. Gerard told him he didn’t know and Frank started making his way through every room of the house looking for her.

“You were supposed to be watching her.” He said to Gerard on their way upstairs.

“No you were supposed to be watching her Frank but you were too busy talking to those girls.” Gerard corrected.

“Sorry, can you just find Ray and your brother and tell them to look for her.”

“Sure.”

Frank kept looking on his own and tried calling Evie on her cell phone but it went straight to voicemail. He asked a few people at the party if they had seen where she went and was told that they had seen her walk aimlessly away from the house, almost stumbling. That freaked Frank out enough that he almost called the police then and there. He got the others together and they got into his car and started driving to look for her out on the streets.

Linda and Steve were away for the weekend so Frank asked Mikey the phone at the house to see if she would pick up but she didn’t. He tried every five minutes for half an hour before they gave up and headed back to Frank’s house to figure out what to do next. They went up to Frank’s room and Frank sent a few messages to see if she had gone back to the party. Apparently she hadn’t. All four of the boys were panicking now so they decided to call the police without hesitating any longer. As Frank spoke to the 911 despatcher and requested the police, they heard the sound of someone coming up the stairs. Mikey raced to the door to see Evie walking up. “It’s her!” Mikey shouted in relief.

“She’s back. Thank you.” Frank blurted out and immediately hung up the phone racing to the hallway. He grabbed her arm and said “Get the fuck in here” angrily at her.

Evie gasped as she was pulled into Frank’s room, the bedroom door slammed shut behind them. She suddenly found herself in Frank’s bedroom with the four of them and none of them looked happy. But mostly Frank didn’t look happy.

“What the fuck were you thinking Evie?” Frank asked aggressively.

Evie was completely confused. “Wh-what did I do?”

“What did you do?!” He yelled. “Are you serious Evie? We couldn’t find you anywhere!”

Evie started breathing heavily and trembling. “I-I’m sorry Frank. I d-don’t remember.”

“You don’t remember!?” He shouted, unable to keep calm.

Evie looked around panicking. “No Frank. I-I don’t r-remember. I was at the party and th-then I was on the r-road. Please don’t be mad.”

Frank wasn’t taking that. “No, Evie I AM fucking mad. Why did you take off any put me through that? TELL ME!” Frank shouted.

Evie tried to respond but she couldn’t make the words come out. She was shaking way more violently now but Frank was too enraged to notice. She had just put him through hell, thinking someone had abducted her on her way home. Or worse.

“Frank, ease up on her.” Ray warned, seeing the effect Frank’s anger was having on her.

“Stay out of this Ray.” Frank warned him. “Evie, tell me what happened right fucking now.”

She tried to speak “I-I…”

“SPIT IT OUT EVIE!” He yelled.

Evie whimpered and backed away “F-Fr-Frank, pl-please, don’t.” She put up her arms defensively, tears starting to fall.

Frank wasn’t thinking straight and made the stupid decision to grab her arms to stop her from backing away any further. She came undone. Her eyes went from terrified to looking extremely sleepy, like she was daydreaming. She stopped looking at Frank and now it was like she was looking through him. She was still tense all over but she had stopped shaking.

“Evie!” He shouted. Nothing. No reaction from her at all. “EVIE!” He yelled again.

So softly he almost didn’t hear it she said. “I’m sorry. Please. I’m sorry.” She seemed like she was looking at nothing, but then looked up in his eyes, but still she looked vacant.

Frank’s entire demeanor changed. He’d made a mistake. A big one. She was looking at him but not. Talking to him but not. “Evie?” He asked gently, like he was asking if she was there.

“Frank. What’s happening?” Mikey asked.

Frank ignored Mikey, he was too focused on his foster sister. “What have I done?” He clutched her face and leaned in to look into her eyes. “Evie, are you there baby?”

It was too late and he knew it. She was in a flashback. Trapped in some violent memory. But then why was she so calm?

“I’m sorry. So sorry. Forgive me, please.” She said softly and looked into his eyes and for a moment he thought she was back, out of the flashback. But she wasn’t. He rigid body was slowly going limp.

He had to undo this, fast. “Evie, you’re with me. You’re with Frank. Come back baby.” It was too late.

She looked past him at a blank space on the wall behind him, and put one hand on his lower-abdomen and whispered. “So sorry sir. Don’t be mad.” She slowly sunk to her knees in front of him, then looked at his belt buckle. Her hands moved to the belt buckle, her face in line with his crotch, focused completely on getting his pants undone. In the last few seconds before Frank snapped out of his shock and realised what was about to happen, Evie was undoing the button of his jeans and had pressed her face against the bulge in his pants, nuzzling his member, then leaned back, looking up at him, opening her mouth. Presenting it to be fucked by him.

“Evie no!” He grabbed her hands and stepped his crotch away from her face. “Stop this. You don’t… I’m not…” He couldn’t find the words. The last shred of hope, the last fragment of the illusion that she might not have been sexually assaulted in the past, was gone. It had happened. Frank didn’t get to be ignorant and pretend it might not have happened anymore.

The girl he was falling in love with, letting herself be nothing more than an object to get him off. Like she was property. Like she belonged to him, when the truth of the matter was that he belonged to her.

The others were frozen from the shock of what had just happened right before their eyes.

Frank pulled a still lost Evie up to his level and pulled her firmly and suddenly into an embrace. He held on and wouldn’t let go, tears starting to form in his eyes. “I’m not him baby. I’m not them. Any of them.” She didn’t respond, just let her body remain loose, able to be controlled by Frank’s superior will. “Sweetie, come back to me, please.” He held onto her face. “Evie, it’s Frank...” He took a few breaths, then the words he remembered that brought her comfort came to him, so he softly told her. “Frank doesn’t hurt you.”

A spark of recognition flickered in her eyes.

He repeated himself. “Frank doesn’t hurt you.”

Her expression changed to a frown, as if trying to work out some kind of riddle. She looked at him again and her eyes widened. “F-Frank?”

Frank pulled her back into his strong embrace. “Oh sweetie. Oh my sweet girl.”

Evie looked around the room at the shocked, distraught faces. Ray, Gerard and Mikey looked like they’d seen a ghost.

How did she get here?

“Frank? What happened?” She asked.

Notes

This was very difficult to write. I thought I needed for Frank to see the extent of how damaged she is and that what he thought before was just the tip of the ice-berg.

Please comment and tell me what you think.