“You sure?”
“Hell yes, I’m sure, Jared. Do you—”
“I now pronounce you man and wife. Kiss that girl before I do.”
And, hell yes, I do. I kiss her, lift her up, and nod to the band that is already set up. When they start playing our song, her tears immediately start falling as the words begin.
I would never let her down. I would never let her walk behind me, always next to me.
“This song okay?”
She nods her head up and down, unable to speak.
I wipe her tears away. “I can’t believe I get to have you forever. I love you, Mrs. Caldwell.”
“I love you, too, Hendrix.”
While we make our way down the makeshift aisle to the bar area, Livi smiles up at me. Then, she looks to my brothers who both nod. She takes my hand and leads me out front where she points up as soon as we exit the door. Where the old sign to my dad’s place once hung is a new sign:
Caldwell’s
Established May 5, 2014
No two stories are the same, but the power of healing and forgiveness is universal.
This is my story of becoming. This is our story of overcoming.
I found good in a world of bad.
A letter to my former self.
Dear Olivia,
I write to you today to tell you that everything is all right.
The confusion about your body experiencing pleasure from touch wasn’t because you were ‘dirty.’ It wasn’t because you were ‘broken.’ Your body naturally reacts to stimulation.
You didn’t ask for it. You didn’t invite it. Hell, you didn’t even know what ‘it’ was.
The age of consent isn’t a number; it’s a birthright. We find our voice to practice that right when we are stronger and more knowledgeable to the world and our bodies.
It is now time that you allow yourself to accept. It is now time to forgive yourself for something beyond your control.
You Survived.
It is time to stop hiding in the darkness of your mind, wondering why you allowed this to happen and realize you didn’t allow it.
It was taken.
Step into the light now, celebrate that instead of falling further down into the rabbit’s hole.
You are stronger than most.
To the outside world you are intelligent and strong.
Classy and Fabulous.
You have learned to allow some people into your darkness to shine a light for your way through. Friends who understood, because they, too, have been violated. They helped you.
Own it. Overcome it.
Gone are the days you lay in bed crying and wondering what is wrong with you. There is nothing wrong with you.
You’ve got this, now rock this.
It’s time to help others heal and realize the same.
But never forget…
Consent is fucking required.
Love,
Livi Caldwell
(and her panties)
Resources
RAINN—
Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network
1-800-656-HOPE
www.rainn.org
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. More than 11,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year. The CDC recommends that all girls age 11-12 should be vaccinated. For more information on this and other precautions please visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website listed below.
www.cdc.gov
About the Authors
Chelsea Camaron
Chelsea Camaron was born and raised in Coastal North Carolina. She currently resides in Louisiana with her husband and two children but her heart is always Carolina day dreaming.
Chelsea always wanted to be a writer, but like most of us, let fear of the unknown grab a hold of her dream. She realized that if she was going to tell her daughter to go for her dreams, that it was time to follow her own advice.
Chelsea grew up turning wrenches alongside her father, and from that grew her love for old muscle cars and Harley Davidson motorcycles, which just so happened to inspire her ‘Love and Repair’ and ‘The Hellions Ride’ series. Her love for reading has sparked a new love for writing and she currently has a multiple projects in the works.
When she is not spending her days writing you can find her playing with her kids, attending car shows, going on motorcycle rides on the back of her husband’s Harley, snuggling down with her new favorite book, or watching any movie that Vin Diesel might happen to be in.
USA Today Best Selling Author MJ Fields