Belle looked up at me and I winced, torn between giving Belle the information she needed and further traumatizing Mari. Jerking a thumb toward the door, I offered, "Maybe we should go outside?"

Mari's hand shot out and gripped Belle's wrist tight. Belle glanced up at me and muttered, “Guess that answers that."

Grimacing, I said gently to Mari, “I'll keep it brief."

Mari swallowed thickly and nodded, staring at me through tear-streaked eyes.

“Long story short: Mari wasn't actually a virgin when we had our date last month," I explained.

Belle's eyes got BIG as she recognized the implications.

I didn't feel the need to elaborate. "He was an uncle of sorts. Mari grew up with him. Trusted him. She started sprouting... The guy groomed her and... yeah..."

Mari mumbled quietly, “He said I had a body built for sex. He kept saying it, actually. Blamed me for being so irresistible he couldn't control himself."

I winced, now realizing where everything had gone wrong; those had been

MY words less than ten minutes ago. I took a deep breath, and when it became clear Mari wasn't going to be any more forthcoming, I Looked at

Belle and finished, "Mari told her dad she'd been raped, but rather than call the cops he just made the guy leave the country. She hasn't seen him since. That's basically all I've got."

Belle pondered that and stroked Mari's cheek. "That's why you were always covering up your body when I told you to be proud of your growing curves. I was so jealous of you, and you wanted to make them go away."

Mari sniffled, closed her eyes, and tried to hide under the pillow again. Belle looked up at me.

I exhaled slowly.

“She started eating a ton, gained a lot of weight in eighth grade. I mean, the signs were there if we'd known to look for them."

Shaking her head, Belle stroked Mari‘s cheek again and sighed, “I wish you'd have told me. I mean, I get why you didn't, but I could've helped you through that period. It certainly explains why you never took any interest in boys."

Mari shook her head.

“Always scared of boys. Didn't feel safe. Not... well... not until Matty." Raising her gaze to my face, she reached a hand out towards me.

I quickly slid off the desk chair and knelt on the floor beside the bed. Then, I took Mari's hand in between both of my own and kissed it.

“I've always felt safe with you," she murmured with a small smile.

“And I'd like to make sure you keep feeling that way,” I replied warmly.

She reached her other hand out to me, and I elevated so she could wrap both arms around my neck. My Latina angel drew me close so we could tenderly kiss, just a small one, and then she disengaged so we could hug tightly instead.

“Thank you, Matty," she whimpered softly. "Thank you for making me feel safe."

I rubbed her back, replying warmly, “Always, Angel. Always.”

Something tickled my balls, and with a start, I jerked awake.