“Jesus, Pippa,” Hudson pulls her in closer.
I move one of my hands up her arm.Comfort.How can I give her comfort?I want to wrap her in a cocoon and never let her out. She’s been through too much. How did she survive it all?
“By the time they got a doctor to the island, he said I was dying. I had an infection that had spread and I needed surgery. I guess they found a surgeon they could fly in and pay off. When Iwoke, I was told they had performed a hysterectomy. I had never even heard that word before then.”
I’m shell-shocked. Judging by Hudson’s expression, he is, too. There are no words. I stand. I need to hold her. I pull her from Hudson’s embrace and into my own arms. I tell her I’m so sorry.
Hudson joins me and puts his arms around her. We hold her for a few seconds when Pippa wiggles out of our arms.
I release her, confused.
“I don’t want your pity,” she says, stepping away, creating distance. Building her walls, protecting herself. “I know it’s ugly and it’s hard, but it was a long time ago. Now you know. And I understand if you don’t want anything to do with me. I know I’m a mess and I know I’m broken, but I can’t handle your pity, I just can’t?—”
“It’s not pity.” I lift her chin to look me in the eyes. “And you’re not broken. In the few weeks I’ve known you, you’ve proven you’re stronger than anyone I know.”
She swallows, but I can tell she doesn’t believe me.
“Look at me, Pippa. Really look at me.”
She takes a deep breath and relaxes.
“Even if I never learned about this, I would still think you’re the strongest person I know. But now that I do know? Fuck,bella… Not only did you survive literal hell, but you also escaped, you put yourself back together, and you came back and fought. You didn’t have to doanyof that, but you did. And why, why did you do all of it?”
She tries to look away, uncomfortable with so much vulnerability.
I don’t let her, keeping her chin in my palm.
“To stop them from hurting more girls,” she says quietly.
“Exactly. Not for yourself, not even for your sisters, not even for revenge. To stop them—something no one else was willing to do, even when the truth was made public, right?”
A tear slips as she slightly shakes her head, confirming I am right.
“So, I promise you, we don’t pity you,” I insist, “but do we hate that you went through that? Yes. Do we want to wrap you up and protect you from ever being hurt again?”
“Fuckyes,” Hudson answers.
“We care, okay? We care about you. Is that okay?”
She stands still for a moment before offering a small shake of her head in confirmation.
I direct the three of us to the couch. We sit with Pippa in the middle. She pulls her feet onto the couch, legs to her chest. Hudson and I face her, and we take one hand each.
“Can we start over?” I ask.
“What do you mean?”
“We went about this all wrong. You are a force that came into our lives, and we acted on desire and lust—which I don’t regret.” I smirk. “But I want more.”
“Me too,” Hudson whispers.
“You do?” she asks.
We both nod.
She looks between us, probably searching for any lies or doubts. She won’t find any. “I’ve never done…more,” she says slowly.
“Me either,” I say.
