"April!" Mark called out, leaning against her bedroom door. His brows knitted in concern, not understanding why she was sleeping in till three in the afternoon.

The girl jolted awake at the last call of her name, her puffy eyes beginning to string as she abruptly opened them. Her head began to ache, a result from crying herself to sleep the night before.

"Do you need a hangover remedy?" Mark inquired curiously, walking into her room and sitting down on the foot of her bed, facing her.

This conversation was too sudden for April, having just woken up, her mind still couldn't figure out whether last night was just some sick nightmare, or actual reality. She only found out when she attempted to sit up straight, the pain circulating through her bottom half, reminding her of the realistic trauma she'd endured last night. The girl winced in pain, shutting her eyes at the sensation. She looked up at him, forgetting he asked her a question.

"Guess that stick finally came out." She joked, running a swift hand through her hair, going on to tie it in a messy bun.

She'd hope the sarcastic remark would throw Mark off from her swollen eyes, broken nose and scarred wrists. April bit her lower lip, noticing how the man's face began to contort to a mixture of being concerned and curious.

"What happened to your face?" He asked, despite staying calm, the undertone of worry was evident in his voice.

"I fell." She sighed, shifting her gaze away from him as he approached her closer, wanting to get a better look at her injury. "Hangover remedy?" April reminded. "What's with that?"

Mark pursed his lips, realizing it wasn't best to probe April any further. Perhaps she did drunkenly fall down he thought to himself, hoping she didn't get into unwanted trouble.

"Right uh...my ex-wife and son are coming over today. Nothing personal, I just don't think it's appropriate you being here while the two of them are here as well. So if you need a hangover cure, let me know right now an-"

"Uh huh...you don't want her to think we're fucking, right?" April finished his thoughts for him, knowing the drama between Mark and his wife very well – courtesy of the nosy and gossip-filled Patti Fenning. "Don't worry, I'll be in my room all day anyway."

Mark nodded his head, being thankful she knew the real reason and that he didn't have to have her feel guilty for being here in the first place – after all, what does she know?

"I'm seeing him after two years, so it's very exciting."

"You must be a shitty lawyer if you couldn't even get custody of your own son." She muttered under her breath.

Mark shook his head, opening his mouth to speak, but considered it better to just not say anything at all. He'd began to notice a pattern of April making snarky comments, and it was best for him to not respond.

April walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She slipped her jeans off, along with her panties and sat on the toilet. Her eyes caught the bright, red mark staining her panties, causing her to shift uncomfortably as she looked away from it.

***

April lost track of time, being too busy covering up her scars. She didn't bring any of her clothes from back home, so she was stuck in last night's short sleeve, over-sized band tee and now stained black skinny jeans. Thankfully, her body began to heal slowly, despite her mind being a complete mess. She wanted to ask Mark if she could go back home and collect her items, since she had absolutely nothing to wear.

The teen began walking to the staircase, making her way down towards the foyer.

"Hey, I was wondering if I could-" She stopped abruptly once her eyes met the nonchalant gazes of Lisa and Chad Santino.

"Oh, it's April." Lisa cheered, although she probably meant it genuinely, her tone was obviously laced with sarcasm, not liking the girl after what she'd done to her son's 18th birthday present. She instead pursed her JUVÉDERM filled lips, looking over at Mark with a questioning glare. "How are you dear?" She asked bluntly, while still glaring at her ex-husband.

The teen was still in shock, forgetting that the three of them were related. Her eyes began to turn glossy at the sight of Chad's smug face, his eyes burning through the denim material of her jeans. She felt extremely violated just knowing she was the one he was looking at.

He knew exactly what he was doing. Chad rubbed salt into the deep wounds he'd created on April Fenning, and he loved every second of it. The power he currently held over April aroused his ego, knowing she was too scared and paranoid to do anything about it.

"April?" Lisa said, a mixture of concern and irritation coating her words in response to the lack of speech from the dumbfounded teenager standing at the end of the staircase. "Is everything okay?" Her thin, micro-bladed brows arched in confusion. "Those two used to date, by the way." She added quietly, pointing Mark to April, stating their son's relationship matter-of-factly.

"Hey, April." Chad greeted, forcing the girl to react somehow. "You should come join us, this gathering is getting pretty boring." He suggested.

Although it wasn't his fault, April felt extremely betrayed by Mark. She was now living in the house of her abuser's father, the fact alone made her feel like vomiting all over the white, tiled flooring.

"No, I'm good." She replied to Chad's statement, forcing a fake smile. "I've got work to do anyway, so...I'll just get going..." April nodded awkwardly, stumbling backwards and going upstairs to her room.

***

Eric laid on his back panting for breath. The beads of sweat trickled down his forehead, triggering him to wipe them away. The male escort laid on the boy's side, slowly sitting up, eager to get his money and leave.

"It's on the dresser." Eric meekly spoke, looking over at the guy who grinned at the prospect, perhaps out of relief of finally leaving.

The escort got up, putting on his clothes rather messily, before walking over to the dresser and collecting the money. He counted it twice, making sure he got all of the money he was owed. With a grin of satisfaction, he walked downstairs, going past Chad who sat in front of the coffee table, snorting a line of cocaine.

Eric eventually came downstairs, sitting down next to his friend as he leaned his back against the royal blue, quilted sofa.

"Hey," Eric shyly called out, turning over to see his friend feeling the after effects of the drug intensely hitting him. He pursed his lips, looking away in embarrassment of having experienced something different with his sexuality.

"Hey," Chad finally greeted, looking over at his friend with hazy eyes. "How was it?"

"It was good." Eric nodded awkwardly, rubbing his hand against the nape of his neck. "Thanks, by the way. For paying and letting me do it here..."

"No problem, I owe you one anyway." Chad flashed him a lazy grin, resting his head back against the sofa as the high became too intense for him to handle, the sudden wave of euphoria hitting all at once. "April's staying over my dad's place." He groaned, rubbing his face with his hands. "Don't know what's up with that, but shit seems shady." 

Eric sat up, nodding as he mentioned April.

"Speaking of April, what happened between you two? There were a lot of blood stains on my carpet." He wanted to sound calm, but Chad knew he was upset at the mess the two of them left behind.

"We just fucked, she dipped halfway because she felt gross about it." Chad replied nonchalantly. "By the way, she is one freaky bitch." He added, showing his friend the marks she'd left around his neck and exposed arms that night. "So if you're wondering where those stains are from," Chad jerked his brow, indicating the roughness of the twos rendezvous.

"Yeah, I wondered..." Eric nervously chuckled, staring curiously at the boy in front of him, knowing there was more to the story than he was leading on.