Divorced! Now what?
Chapter 95

Bethany POV

The horror. Was it a dream or a memory?

Hank took my vitals as Theo rocked me back and forth, saying soothing words to calm me down. I was so upset, this dream or memory had terrified me. Could my Mum do such a thing? Would Cynthia?

It breaks my heart to think either would, but the dream was so real.

Hank gave me a sweet tea, not something I like, but he said I needed the sugar after the trauma I had just been through. I sipped it, and it had some brandy in it, too, and the alcohol burned my raw throat as it went down; I felt the warmth go all the way to my stomach.

'Bethany, did you have a memory or a nightmare?' Hank asked me, concern laced his voice.

'I do not know, it felt so real, but I do not understand why?' I whimpered back because it was true. I had no idea.

Dad arrived, and behind him was Kitty. Both of them rushed over to give me a side hug, as Theo was not going to release me. As the others approached us, Theo pulled me closer to him.

Kitty looked me over, just like Hank had, while I stayed seated on Theo's lap and nodded to Hank about something only they knew about. The two of them seemed to be communicating without saying a word. I might have appreciated it more if I had not felt so bad at that moment.

'Honey, tell me what you saw.' Dad encouraged me to speak of the nightmare, one I did not want to think about, but after a few more encouraging words to all three of them, and about how I would feel so much better if I talked about it, I nodded. 'Start from the beginning and go through as much as you can remember. Try to give details; it could be important. Dad pushed me harder than I had expected, but then I knew there was still more of my memory yet to come back.

'I was in the back of a van; it had no windows, and I could not see the driver from where I was lying. I have no memory of what happened before being placed in the back. I was being jostled about like a rag doll on the cold metal floor, and I was in so much pain; my head hurt, and so did my arm, which was at an odd angle, telling me it was most likely broken; I tried to move it so it was not hurting as much. The van was traveling at speed, not giving a care about me being thrown about in the back. I am not sure how long we traveled. I blacked out for a while, and when I came to, I could hear voices. A large man, rough looking, six-foot-three, built like a wrestler, opened the back of the van, grabbed me by my feet, and dragged me out of the van. He threw me over his shoulder like a bag of spuds and walked inside a tunnel cut through the mountainside, for traffic to drive through rather than around. It was a large one; I think I have seen it before, but now I do not remember! Kitty gave me some water as tears flowed down my face as I discussed this.

'Thank you.' I thanked Kitty for the water.

'Keep going, you are doing great Honey! Dad urged me to continue. He had a notepad and wrote down what I was saying.

'From what I could see from where I was dangling, it was a tunnel inside the large roadway. I was dumped on a dirty cot, landing hard, and he grabbed one arm and tied it to the bed, then the broken one. I screamed out in pain as he pushed it up over my head. I was not sure what hurt more. My broken arm or my shoulders throbbed out in pain; he then tied my ankles to the bottom of the cot, securing me to the four posts of the cot. I guess he walked away and went to the other side of the cave and called someone on the phone. He told whoever he was talking to that they had me, and I was secure. He stood over there at the computer and typed away; I faded in and out of the pain until the last people I expected to see walked into my view. Mother and Cynthia and another couple of men, one in an expensive suit, that I have seen before but cannot place his name at the moment. Anyway, Cynthia said some awful things to me, wishing me to die, and alongside her was Mother, taunting me, saying they wished I was dead, had the large rough man who carried me in hit me in the face, sending blood spurting out of my mouth, he hit me over and over again, as Cynthia yelled at me to die. I told Dad precisely what Mother and Cynthia said and how they egged the man on to keep hitting me, how Cynthia threw rocks at me and screamed at me, saying I was not worthy of sharing the womb.

'When I stopped screaming and had nothing left in me, Cynthia came over and slapped me across the face and spat on me. Before, they both left along with the man in the suit, who trailed along behind them as if he were a puppy following his master. The man removed the ropes, securing me to the cot, and watched me for a while. I lost consciousness at some point, giving in to the pain, and then the next memory is waking up here! I was exhausted; I wanted to sleep, but I was afraid I would have that nightmare again. 'Sweetheart, you did good getting that out! Hank said. Kitty was in his arms, tears rolling down her cheek, sympathy in her eyes.

'If we got some photos, could you identify the men?' Dad asked, still in his police officer mode; he was doing well separating his emotions while doing his job.

'Yeah, I can. I will not forget those faces anytime soon. I was sure I would have them in my nightmares for a while yet, and with that thought, I wished I had not gotten my memory back of that incident. Out of all the things I had to remember, why did that one come back so soon? Why not the gap from when I left school? I still have so many gaps in my memories, and if this is any indication of what I have to look forward to as I start to remember, let me stay ignorant of it all.

Theo was rocking me still; he, too, had tears running down his cheeks. I lifted my hand, wiped them away, and gave him a small kiss on the lips, which he decided to make into a longer kiss. When he pulled back, he looked at me with such love in his eyes. 'I brought Indian food. Would you like me to heat it up, and you can try and eat?' he asked, looking up at the others as if asking them, too.

'I need to get this recorded, and I will bring back the statement for you to sign later, but thank you for the offer! Dad shook Theo's hand and gave me a side hug and kiss before leaving in haste. I think Dad was close to tears himself and did not want me to see him break down. Hank and Kitty stayed for dinner, and Kitty helped Theo in the kitchen. I could hear them whispering. Maybe Kitty was consoling Theo or the other way around. Either way, they both needed some comfort.

'Bethany, I can leave you some Valium. If you need some, take it. Don't try and fight to sleep. It is not good for you, as I am sure you are worried about falling asleep again and that nightmare reoccurring, but you must. Eventually, this, too, will fade away to just a memory that you wish you never remembered.'

'You can say that again, Hank, out of all the things I need to remember, this was not one I had expected to remember or wanted to remember. He chuckled along with me, but it was not a humorous chuckle. He came and pulled me to him and held me close, taking deep breaths; I got the feeling he was trying hard not to let his tears fall; hearing what I had gone through was as traumatic for them hearing it as it was for me going through it. Hank had said it was a memory and that I had actually gone through that, and if Bob had anything to do with it, those two would be in jail for a long time.