Recovery Pt. 06

I leaped to my feet and turned to Steve and William. "Show them what you got, I have to go. I'll be back." Steve looked out at the audience and nodded but William looked confused. I dropped my guitar and jumped off the stage, ran past a stunned Celeste and forced my way through the crowd.

When I got to the back, trying to avoid people cheering me on and slapping my back, I spotted a frantic Carlie searching all around. She looked at me with panic in her eyes.

"Peter, I don't...I'm sorry, I didn't know." She was on the verge of tears.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Carlie," I yelled as I ran past groups of confused teenagers. "I turned back to her. "Find Mollie."

A quick search of the rear of the barn turned up nothing, so I ran outside. I could hear a robust crowd from inside the house but the area between the two barns was quiet. I ran past a startled Aaron and Jane, who were tucked in close in the dark.

"Pete, what's wrong?" Aaron asked as I blew by him.

"Looking for Dottie."

Near the second barn, I heard soft voices. Rounding a rusted and long-abandoned combine, I spotted Dottie pushed up against the machine. Dipshit had one hand aggressively groping her breast and the second squeezing her ass.

"I want to feel those lips on my cock," he said with profound lust. "Get down on your knees."

"No, no, no," she moaned. "Please." She was sobbing.

"The fuck?" I screamed as I burst on to the scene.

He turned to me in confusion. "What the fuck you want, ass­—" He didn't get to finish the word before I shattered his nose, spraying blood across my fist, my sister, and the tractor. He wobbled but didn't fall, though he was obviously dazed. I pounced on him again, murder in my eyes.

"You picked the wrong girl," I said, my voice shaking.

"Get the fuck off me," he yelled before taking another fist to his left eye.

I reared back for another blow, before feeling a strong hand stop my forward momentum.

Aaron pushed me back gently but firmly. "I got this, Peter. Take care of Dottie."

My sister had dropped to the ground in a heap, weeping quietly. I grabbed her gently by her arm and pulled her up, her eyes not fully focused on me. She was still terrified.

"Come with me, Dottie," I said as softly as I could, trying my best to mask my anger. "Let's go home."

Dottie held my hand tightly and followed me toward the barn, where I could still hear music playing, though it was evident that things had chilled out quite a bit.

"But Peter, you have a show to do," Dottie said quietly. "Everyone will be so mad."

"There are more important things."

I worked my way toward the back of the stage and caught Steve's attention. He leaned toward me.

"What the hell happened?" he asked.

"I have to get Dottie home," I replied. "I'm sorry."

Steve nodded solemnly. "I got you. I'll bring your gear to you tomorrow." He nodded toward the crowd. "I'll let them down easy. Don't worry about us, this isn't our last show." As I turned to leave, Steve said, "Take care of her, she's a good girl."

I pulled Dottie along with me and ran into Mollie and Carlie at the door.

"What the heck happened?" Carlie asked as we headed toward my Jeep. "Are you okay, Dottie?"

"It's fine, we'll talk later," Dottie replied, her voice still shaky.

Mollie stepped up to me. "Dottie, I'm so sorry. I just ran into Jane." Her voice quavered and she had black streaks running from her eyes. She looked to me. "Peter, I'm sorry...there was a guy...." She began to openly weep.

"It's okay, Mollie," I said. "We'll talk tomorrow."

As we drove away, I held Dottie's hand tightly, but she stayed as far from me as possible. Her face was ashen and showed her fear and sadness, though she said nothing for a long moment.

"I'm sorry, Peter," she said quietly.

"What happened?" I asked.

She looked at my hand holding hers in her lap. "He was so nice. We weren't alone when we first went outside but the others just disappeared." She glanced to my face. "He's Samantha's older brother, Joshua. I've known him since I was a kid."

I lay my hand on her leg. "I saw him give you a drink..."

"Yeah, it smelled really strong, like vodka or something. I didn't drink any of it."

Dottie continued sniffling quietly, then leaned into me, her head resting on my shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Peter," she said quietly. "I don't try to mess everything up. I keep just trusting everyone too much." She looked up at me. "You're the only one I can really trust."

I sighed heavily. "I wish I could have gotten there quicker. You were so scared."

Dottie kissed my cheek lightly. "You saved me. I love you." She dropped her head back to my shoulder. "Sorry you had to break his face."

"He's not getting anything he didn't deserve. I don't want to know what happened when I left. Aaron can be a scary guy."

"He's a teddy bear."

I snorted. "I don't think Joshua would agree with that assessment right now."

I ran my fingers through her hair. "Are you okay?"

Dottie thought for a moment. "It was pretty scary for a minute. He changed like a light switched. From Blue's Clues Steve to the Boston Strangler in an instant." She placed her hand on my chest. "But as scared as I felt, I knew you were going to save me."

I pulled her in tight to me and we were quiet for a long moment.

"Peter."

"Hmm?"

"Mollie knows." She hesitantly looked up at me, searching my eyes. We just looked at each other briefly, before I turned my gaze back to the road.

"Of course, she does."

"She just told me tonight. She said she just knows, and you know I can't lie very well." She sat up quickly. "But she was so happy! She loves us. She won't ever say anything. Please don't be mad."

"I'm not mad, Dottie. Like we said before, we are apparently really bad at keeping this secret."

Dottie slowly dropped her head back down to my shoulder, quiet and pensive. We were quiet the rest of the drive.

When we got home, my sister and I both showered, and I stripped down and climbed into bed. Momentarily, Dottie padded down the hallway and stood in my doorway.

Clad in a pair of simple pink cotton panties and my Dinosaur, Jr., T-shirt, she looked so beautiful, skin matching her panties from the hot shower.

"I'm sorry for being so difficult and causing problems," Dottie said. "And thanks for coming to save me." She had uncertainty etched into her face.

"Can I still sleep with you?"

I smiled warmly at her and pulled my covers back. She hopped quickly into bed with me, snuggling into me, head nestled into my shoulder. She put her hand on my chest and played with the sparse hairs there.

I held her tightly for a moment. "We have a lot of things to discuss, a lot of decisions to figure out."

Dottie looked up at me lovingly. "Yeah. But not right now, okay?" She reached up and turned out the light.

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