Ok, so I was giving a whole lot more credit there than I was sure belonged, but it didn't matter. However Teal had made it happen, he'd done it. The nuances of confidential informants and handlers would probably be too much for Faith right now. It also wasn't what she really cared about.
"But how did Teal know?" she asked, proving me right. "Did he see the videos?"
"Sounds like his girlfriend did," I explained. "She wanted to make sure that no boys were watching, just in case you were undressed. See, someone did bad things to her too, so she was trying to protect you."
"Yeah?" Faith asked. "Took videos?"
"I don't know," I said softly. "I know she's a rape survivor, though. Do you even know what that means?"
Faith nodded. "Yeah."
"Well, from what I heard, she wouldn't let anyone else look because she didn't want them to see, and she knows when to look away. So she saw it was you, and that was enough. She also won't tell, Faith. This? All of this? It doesn't define you, ok? You are not the girl who had a video taken. You're Faith Barrett, a pretty young lady who is our friend, and Luke's daughter. This? It's just a little pothole. Knocked you off course for a second, and we're all going to help you recover, ok?"
She leaned closer until her arm rested against mine. "They don't hate me?"
I knew she meant everyone else in the house. "Not at all," I swore. "They hatehim, Faith. How dare someone mess with one of us, right? Family stands up for each other, and they don't love you any less because of this. They just want to make sure you're ok, and we know it's gonna take a little time."
"I didn't cut," she told me. "I wanted to, but I didn't. I came out here to see the horses instead."
I leaned a bit into her. "I am so fucking proud of you. I can't even imagine how much strength that took."
"Yeah?"
I nodded. "Yeah. So, does talking about it help?"
"More than just thinking about it," she admitted. "I won't tell anyone about what happened to you, though, ok? Because this kinda sucks."
"Yeah, it does," I agreed. "But they know, Faith. I told all of them at one point or another. Even your dad."
"Why?" she asked.
"Because for me, it makes it easier. For you it might not. I don't want everyone to know, but my friends? I know they won't judge me."
"Even my dad?" she asked.
I nodded. "I told him not too long ago. I like your dad. He's a good guy."
She giggled. "Ash is going to get jealous!"
And I groaned. "Yes, your father is very handsome. I also think he's nice, and he's one of my few friends. I don't really have that many, so I treasure the ones who give me the chance."
She turned to look at me. "You're kinda my only friend. I mean, all of y'all here, but mostly you and Ash. Kids my age don't like me. After all this? I don't want to go back to school, Cy."
"We'll take it one day at a time," I promised. "You'll make notes of everything that happens, and then you can tell me when you get home. The good things and the bad, ok? Good ones, because I never got to go to a school like that, and I always wanted to."
"Where'd you go to school?"
I jerked my thumb behind me. "Here at Southwind. We're trying to get it restarted, and when we open up again, maybe your dad will even let you transfer?" I only said that because I knew that was what Luke really wanted.
A relieved little smile touched her face. "Really?"
"But you have to make it through real school until then," I told her. "It's why Violet's trying so hard to get this place open again. It might be a whole year, though."
"But I can do that," she promised. "And then I can go to high school at Southwind!"
"That's the plan," I agreed, and damned if I wasn't going to do everything I could to make it happen.
The look on her face? Even if Luke didn't get custody, I'd find a way to get Faith into school here. If not, I'd ask Ash for a loan and pay for her to go to a private school. Hell, maybe I should do that anyway, but the closest one was more than an hour away. Faith wasn't stable enough to go to boarding school. I knew she'd just start cutting again.
