"You knew…you know" Her silence confirms it. "And you let him stay, you stayed and kept her there?"
"It was just the once, and I never left her alone with him after it happened."
"Too little too late, the damage was done. She was just a kid."
"Lisa was always very mature for her age, and the way she was always clinging onto her father…"
"Oh I see it was her fault, your 12 year old daughter seduced your husband…the hussy." I spit out and I swear I have never wanted to hit a woman more than I do at this moment.
"Oh my God," Lisa's voice rang out and both Elise and I look up to find that she had returned from the bathroom, and had heard our conversation.
"Lisa, honey…I" Elise stood as she spoke, but Lisa turns and walks away. I grabbed her belongings and follow behind her. We get to the door of the restaurant just as Mr. Cuddy is re-entering. Lisa continues walking past his questioning face. I on the other hand couldn't walk by before punching the FFB in the face, laying him flat on his ass.
"What the hell!" He roared as he sat nursing his sore jaw.
"Sorry I don't like men who rape children." I say loud enough that surrounding tables could hear. When I hear the gasps and see the disgusted looks many were sending Mr. Cuddy, I smile with satisfaction as I leave.
When I finally got to the car, I found Lisa leaning against it waiting for me to unlock the door. "Sorry you forgot your things."
"Thanks," She says in a near whisper as she grabs her handbag. I could see she didn't want to talk, and I was relieved because yet again I didn't know what to say to her. So we drove in silence back to my place.
"You can take the first shower, and if you need a shirt to sleep in, just grab one from the closet." I say as we enter my apartment. Lisa only nods and then makes her way to my bedroom. I decide to give her time to get what she needs; yet when I enter the room I find Lisa laying on the bed, curled up crying. Normally, I would have turned around and hobbled away as fast as my legs could carry me, and the voice in my head screamed for me to do just that. Instead I remove my jacket and shoes, and then climb onto the bed with her, spoon my body with hers and securely wrap my arms around her. After a few seconds I feel her shifting, as she turns to face me. She buries her face against my chest and begins to sob harder. We lay like this until her sobs turn to whimpers, until her breathing slowed and evened out. I continued to lie this way until my leg couldn't take it any longer and the pain screamed for me to get up, and that's a scream I can never ignore.
"House," I could hear my name and I could feel someone shaking my body, but I still took my time opening my eyes. When I finally did open them I found electric blues staring back at me. "If we don't get up now we'll be later for work." I groan as I roll over and grab the bottle of vicodin from the bedside table. Lisa knowingly gave me a moment, sitting silently until I turn to face her again.
"You feeling up to work, maybe you should take some time off." I throw out with genuine concern.
"I can' take time off."
"Sure you can, you're the job. Your baby will be fine without you for a few days, and I'll even be on my best behavior, no 'new' lawsuit until you return." That got a chuckle.
"Gee, thanks…but honestly I 'can't'." I open my mouth to further protest but her eyes fill with fresh tears, and it silences me. "Greg, I really can't. If I don't go to work, if I don't have that to focus on I'll…" She bows her head, unable to finish, and I can see she's fighting to contain the tears.
"Maybe you should see someone…someone professional." I suggest even though I knew there was no way in hell she'd actually consider it.
"You mean a therapist?" She asks and I nod. "I'm not even ready to admit things to myself, not really. There's no way I would or could tell a stranger."
"You told me."
"You're not a stranger, you're…you've been a friend. And I'll probably need to see a therapist about that to eventually." She jokes and I can't help smiling. There's still some fire left inside of her, she's still my Cuddy or as I like to call her the, hell bitch.
"So you wanna get ready first?" She shakes her head.
"I've invaded your space enough already, today you go first. Then we can swing by my place, if you don't mind."
"What if your parents are still there?"
"They had reservation on the redeye, remember. Besides I doubt either of them would have the balls to face me now."
"Ok then, give me ten minutes." I say and with a smile and a nod Lisa hops from the bed.
"I think I can have a quick breakfast whipped up my then" She says as she heads out of the room.
"You don't have to…"
"Yes I do." With that she leaves, shutting the door behind her.