Pseudo Familia

“Sweetie, what do you mean?” Danneel asked tearfully.

“I told you. I was raped. Abused. Whatever you want to call it. I told Cooper that one day and he immediately told the head teacher who then called the police. It was this whole horrible mess for years. He was finally put in prison 2 years ago, and now he’s out.” I answered. Cooper came in and sat down on my chair.

“I’m so sorry, Libby. If I had any clue at all, I would’ve stayed a bit longer. Tried to get them to keep him in more.” He sighed. I shook my head.

“No, I would’ve wanted you to stay with me anyway. Oh god! What about JJ? What if he hurts her?” I asked in panic. Cooper came towards me and sat right next to me.

“Hey. He’s not going to hurt her okay? He’s not even going to hurt you. I won’t let them. Besides, Jensen has a bodyguard, right Danneel?” Cooper asked.

“Yeah. Absolutely. He’ll be here as much as we need him to be.” Danneel answered.

“I doubt it’ll help though. I don’t even know how he got my number. Plus he’s clever. Really clever. I don’t know what the hell he’s going to do next but it’s going to be bad for sure.” I answered.

“Unless he’s actually changed? I’m not saying you should forgive him or even go near him at all, but if he’s changed he won’t do anything.” She said with a hopeful voice. I shook my head.

“No. He wouldn’t have changed.” I said.

“And about your number, I think it may have been your mother who gave it to him.” Cooper said. I felt the blood drain from my face.

“Why would she do that?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” Cooper said, with anger about the situation evident in his tone.

“No. Seriously. Why would she do that? I thought that she was angry at me, and that’s fine, but I didn’t know she completely hated me. God. This whole situation is just one big mess after the other. All I wanted was a good life but it never has been and I doubt it ever will be now that he’s out of prison.” I said, starting to cry again. Cooper came up to me and hugged me and rested his chin on the top of my head.

“We’ll get it sorted, okay?” He said. I nodded my head. He could always calm me down. Suddenly JJ started crying, so Danneel went to sort her out.

“Will you stay here tonight?” I asked him.

“I’m not sure. I would in a heartbeat, but I don’t want to just waltz in these people’s lives and demand to stay over.” He said.

“Then I’ll ask.” I told him. Cooper sighed.

“Alright. But I’m only doing it for you.” He said, making me giggle. Jensen came into the room, still unaware of what’s happened to me.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?” He asked, stroking my cheek with his thumb.

“A lot of messed up shit.” I admitted. “Can Cooper sleep here tonight?” I asked, showing him how much I needed him to with my eyes.

“I’ll check with Danneel.” He said. “If she says yes, you two could catch up on some work maybe?” Jensen suggested. I nodded my head.

“Sure. Anything to get my mind off of this.” I said.

“Get your mind off of what?” He asked. I shook my head.

“I really don’t want to talk about it. Just stuff from my past.” I answered truthfully. “By the way, I’m sorry for lashing out earlier. I just get like that sometimes.”

“It’s fine, honey. God, you look so pale.” He said. I forced a smile while shrugging.

“I’ll be okay. Oh god. We left everyone downstairs. They’re gonna be so confused and they’re gonna be wondering what’s going on.” I said, starting to panic.

“Don’t start worrying. Now, you can come downstairs if you want, but if you don’t that’s totally fine too. What I want most of all is for you to be okay. Now, I’m gonna ask Danneel if Cooper can stay, if he can he’ll have to go get some stuff. If not will you be alright?” He asked. I shrugged.

“I’ll survive I guess.” I answered, not knowing if that was entirely true.

“Good. Now in the meantime, just try to relax.” He said in a soothing tone. I closed my eyes and nodded my head. All I could hear once Jensen left was the sound of Cooper’s heartbeat. It made me smile fondly. Just knowing he was there was enough to send me to the sweet state of unconsciousness. I was awoken a bit later on by a thumping noise. I woke up gasping. I immediately sat up and hugged my knees, dripping in a cold sweat.

“Libby, it’s okay. It’s just me.” A figure in the dark said. Fortunately it was the unmistakable voice of my wonderful teacher.

“Cooper?” I asked, just to be sure.

“Yeah. Sorry if I scared you. I was just putting the blow up mattress down. Everyone’s gone. It’s about midnight. I had a long discussion with Jensen and Danneel about what went on all those years ago. Just so you wouldn’t have to go through the pain of it. I’ve been in contact with Summer about this too just to update her. I’m gonna have a talk about what we’re gonna do tomorrow, but for now get some sleep. It’s been a long day for you.” He whispered. I nodded my head.

“I will. I just need to get into my pyjamas first. I’ll be right back.” I said.

I turned on the light, it took my eyes a while to adjust to the light, but once they did I grabbed everything I needed and went to my en suite. I undressed as I ran myself a bath. Once I got in the warm water hugged my body. It was exactly what I needed. I don’t usually like baths, but I just wasn’t in the mood to wash my hair. Once I dried up I got into my pyjamas. The shirt was black and read I need a bear hug and the shorts had little panda bears dotted all around them. I then put my dirty laundry into the laundry basket and climbed back into my bed.

“You forgot to turn the lights off.” Cooper stated. I shrugged.

“Maybe I want them on.” I mumbled tiredly.

“Libby, nobody’s gonna hurt you. The lights being on sure as shit isn’t gonna help anyone. Besides, look at me! I need my beauty sleep.” He said light-heartedly. I smiled and nodded my head. He got up and turned the lights off. “Sweet dreams.” He whispered as he got into his makeshift bed for the night. I closed my eyes.

“Night.” I murmured. I soon went back to sleep.

When I woke up Cooper was still there. Luckily it was the morning and I survived the night. Cooper was still asleep but I could hear some cooking from downstairs. They’re probably making bacon and pancakes like they do every Wednesday morning. It’s only pancakes for me however. I don’t eat bacon. I could understand why Cooper was having a lie-in. He wasn’t a parent and didn’t have many paternal instincts, but I could tell that when the time comes, he’s going to be a great father. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a case of when. I often imagine us having children and what it would be like. I wonder if they’ll have the same fluffy hair as Cooper, or they’ll have my green eyes. Either way, his kids are gonna be gorgeous. I just hope they’re mine as well. Cooper stirred a bit, then he blinked a few times, then he smiled at me. God. He has the best morning hair.

“You snore, you know?” He said in a gruff morning voice. I smiled and blushed a bit out of embarrassment.

“Did I wake you during the night?” I asked.

“Nah. I just barely got any sleep anyway. I was too busy on the lookout. I woke up at any noise. You must’ve been dead exhausted!” Cooper stated. I nodded my head.

“But I’m okay now it’s daytime. You can go back to sleep if you want.” I offered. He shook his head.

“Oh no. I can smell bacon. No rest for me.” He said. My eyes quickly darted to below his face. I then immediately looked away. I could tell he was only wearing his boxers. As many times as I imagined seeing him this way, I always imagined it differently, so I didn’t want to spoil it.

“Still, you didn’t even have anywhere comfortable to sleep. You could’ve slept on the bed, I could easily have taken the mattress.” I said changing the subject, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

“No way. You needed all the comfort you could get. Besides, I’m fine on the mattress. And it’s only for one night. Now, let’s get ready. It’s time for some food.” Cooper said. We both got ready in separate bathrooms. Once I got changed I met up with Cooper in my room and we went downstairs. As soon as Jensen saw me he gave me a massive hug and rested his chin on the top of my head, much like Cooper did last night. Only this was more fatherly.

“Libby, sweetie, I can promise you that you’ll be safe here.” He said before kissing my forehead.

“Thank you.” I said, beginning to get not only emotional, but uncomfortable too. He’s my real father. The one that should’ve raised me. I don’t want him feeling down about something that was in the past.

“Right, Libby, let’s get you some breakfast.” Danneel said, sensing what I was feeling. She managed to peel Jensen off me so he could cook me some pancakes. He also put some bacon on for Cooper.

“How’d you sleep, Cooper?” Jensen asked.

“Alright, thanks. I promise though, I’ll be out of your hair by tonight.” He said.

“Don’t be silly. As long as Libby is more comfortable with you around we’d be happy to have you.” Danneel said. Cooper smiled and had a look on his face, the emotion of which was hard to pinpoint. It almost looked as though he were glad.

“Okay. Pancakes for both of you, bacon for one of you.” Jensen said, plating up. He bought them to us on the breakfast bar and smiled. “Bon appetite.” He said in a French accent.

“Merci beaucoup.” Cooper said in an awful accent which made me laugh. The pancakes were awesome, although I could’ve been incredibly biased. Pancakes are one of my many favourite foods.

“This is so good!” I exclaimed.

“You’ve said that every Wednesday since you arrived.” Jensen said in amusement.

“Well she should. These are fantastic.” Cooper said. He then took another bite of his food. “And so is the bacon. I’m sure Libby hasn’t been able to comment on that though.” He said with a cheeky grin. God. I love that grin.

“Okay, so I don’t eat pork or shellfish. So what?” I asked light-heartedly.

“Not much rainbow fish.” He said. I giggled and we ate the rest of our meal happily. But then what came next made me want to crawl back into bed and never return.

“Okay, we need to talk about... Uh… we have to enquire about the events of…” Jensen began.

“We need to have a discussion with Jensen and Danneel about what happened with you and your dad.” Cooper said for him.

“But we don’t need to. It was just something terrible that happened and we all have to move on. We just need that man to go to prison again. That’s all.” I said, a bit unsure of what I was saying myself.

“We both know that’s not true. Okay? This guy traumatised you. He’s pure evil. Now there’s not much we can do right now about him going to prison, but we do have to do the best we can to keep you safe. As you know, I won’t be available to be around you all the time to guard you.” Cooper said.

“But…” I began.

“Uh-uh. No buts. We’re going to hire some staff, alright?” Cooper said.

“What?” I asked annoyed.

“Security guards and stuff…” Cooper began.

“So what? It’s like a prison now?” I asked.

“By no means. You’re free to come and go as you please, just as long as you’re safe. We can’t guarantee that until that man is locked up.” Jensen said, unable to say the word father. I just sighed. I ended up just playing with my pancakes instead of eating them. I completely blanked out everything that was going on. I do that sometimes. I guess I just tune out of the world to avoid even more heartache.

“Libby?” Cooper asked, snapping me back into reality.

“Huh?” I asked.

“Weren’t you listening?” He asked.

“Sorry.” I mumbled.

“We’re just saying that if you want to, we can hire a private investigator to track him down and see what he’s up to.” He repeated. I shook my head.

“No. No way. Enough is enough. I’ve had multiple therapies that didn’t really work out for me, I’ve had the police interrogate me and make me feel like I was the criminal, and on top of that I’ve had friends and family who to this day can’t even understand what’s going on in this stupid fucking head of mine.” I said.

“Libby…” Cooper began.

“No. I’m sick of having my life dictated because some weirdo who decided he wanted a kid to torture is now on the loose.” I said. Without any warning I jumped off my seat and grabbed my messenger bag.

“Where are you off to?” Jensen asked.

“Out.” I said. I slammed the door behind me getting sick and tired of everyone. I soon found myself at a park. I smiled. I may not know where I am, but at least I won’t have to worry about anything for a while. I made my way to the swings and sat down. It was pretty empty, but I could see some families and teenagers just having fun. It made me smile. I stuck in my headphones and started playing some music. I really needed to relax. I’ve had practically no time. I sighed and practically sunk into the seat I was provided.

“All Time Low? Nice.” A boy with hair as colourful as mine said. I pulled off my headphones. I then noticed my shirt. I got it when me and my friends went to one of their tours. I smiled at him.

“Thanks. I love them.” I said.

“Yeah, they’re pretty good. Who’s your favourite?” He asked. I thought about it for a bit, then answered him.

“Jack. We’ve got a similar sense of humour. What about yours?” I asked.

“Rian. I’m a drummer myself. Do you play any instruments?” He asked.

“Eh. Not really. I mean, I dabble in guitar a tiny bit but mainly I love to sing.” I answered.

“Go on then.” He said. I creased my eyebrows at him.

“Go on then?” I asked.

“Yeah. Sing for me.” He requested. I giggled.

“No way. I don’t even know your name and you want me to sing in a public park where people will actually notice?” I asked.

“Sorry. My name’s Charlie Lockhart.” He said.

“Well Charlie Lockhart, my name’s Libby Henderson, and unfortunately you won’t be getting a song from me.” I told him.

“Please?” He begged. I giggled and shook my head.

“No.” I said.

“Just for me? I won’t tell anyone.” He said, making me laugh even more.

“Hey!” Someone shouted. I looked over for the owner of the voice and groaned when I saw Cooper. I still love him, but to me he’s acting a little too overprotective for my liking. “Get away from her.” He said.

“Cooper for god sake, Charlie’s just a friend.” I said.

“Oh yeah? Where’d you meet him?” He asked.

“At the park.” I challenged.

“How convenient.” He said in annoyance.

“Sir, I wasn’t flirting with her. Libby, if your boyfriend’s giving you trouble…” Charlie said.

“He’s not my boyfriend.” I said.

“Wait, really?” Charlie asked sounding a bit creeped out.

“Yeah, he’s my teacher. It’s a long story.” I said. It’s weird. I felt oddly comfortable around Charlie. So comfortable in fact that I didn’t care if he knew my story.

“Strict school. I’m skiving too but that doesn’t mean my teachers will come hunting me.” He said.

“And what school do you go to?” Cooper asked.

“Just leave it. I don’t even go to a fucking school. God. Can’t you just leave me alone?” I asked angrily, changing the subject and getting him to focus on anything but Charlie.

“Of course not. You’re not thinking straight right now.” He said. I rolled my eyes. Tears were stinging at the back of them.

“I’m thinking perfectly fine, thank you.” I said adamantly.

“Sir, if it’s any more calming to you, I just talked to her because we both like All Time Low.” Charlie said, butting in again. Not that I minded. It was actually nice to have someone stick up for me rather than stand against me.

“How do I know you weren’t a sexual predator?” Cooper asked.

“Cooper!” I warned through gritted teeth.

“Why do you care so much? What? Do you fancy her or something?” Charlie asked Cooper. God. I wished he didn’t say that.