Thomas' POV

After I had talked to Chan and Chloe and I cried my eyes out, the rest of our little makeshift family stayed for another thirty minute until I was wiped out and all I wanted was my man.

Having all those people around, even though I knew and loved them, made me paranoid and scared that something was going to happen. Ben stayed in the guest room until after they left and came to have lunch with me. His fun personality that I grew to know and love seems to have disappeared, replaced with a cold, empty person that has nothing left and it makes me worry for him. We're sitting in the living room after lunch while Ares cleans up when he looks at with with the first spark of emotion I've seen from him.

"I'm leaving today, Thomas. I can't be here anymore." He tells me and I straighten up. When he would bring me food, he always told me about how he wouldn't stay here in Kaulike for long after we got free but it's only been a day and he's talking about leaving. My heart clenches in my chest. As much as I want him to be free of the demons and fears that are chasing after him, I also formed a connection with him.

We both bare scars of a man that should have never laid hands on us. We bonded more after getting kidnapped and abused for months than actually being friend over the years, and a sad as it is, it's a different and deeper connection than I share with anyone else.

The connection of shared trauma.

"So soon? I though you were going to at least stay a week!" I tell him not wanting to let him go just yet, but also knowing I have to if I want him to be okay.

He's silent for a moment staring off into space thinking of something I'm glad that I don't know about. He turns towards me and what I see in his eyes were haunt me for the next couple weeks. His gaze and looks so tortured so broken down and worn out that I send a prayer to the goddess that he will be okay. "I'm pregnant, Thomas." He tells me in the whole world just stops.

I look at him in a mix of disbelief and horror at the words that just fell out of his mouth, wishing that he could grab them and shove them back in. I shake my head in denial, never wishing anything like this on even my worst enemy. The idea that Ben is pregnant by the man who defiled and spat on the most precious bond in the world, is the sickest joke I've ever heard.

"No. You can't be." I tell him and he looks up from his lap with such a broken down gaze that it breaks my heart and I know that he knows that there is no escaping this reality. And though I wish for it to be a sick joke for him to stay with me selfishly, I know that he has to get away. "Where will you go?" I ask him and he sighs.

"I don't know. I probably won't until I get there." He says and I completely understand. Trying to find a home after what he just went through is it going to be hard in one of the most important decision he makes in a while.

"Will you keep in contact?" I ask hopefully and he looks at me for a moment and I can't tell if he's thinking or if he's surprised. He turns away from me but I don't miss how he wipes away a tear form his eyes.

"I will. For you, I will." He tells me and I feel my own tears start to prick. I pull him into a hug, ignoring the way he tenses up the same as I until he returns the hold.

"I have to go talk to Ares. If you're gone before I come back, I love you. And you're the strongest person I know." I tell him and that makes his tears flow freely, the droplets dripping into my shirt as he holds me tighter.

"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have made it. Thank you." He tells me and I sigh into his hold. We break apart just as Zack enters the room and he stops at the entrance before he gives us both a sad smile.

"You ready, kitten?" He asks me and I nod my head before getting up off the couch. I walk over to my man and watch as he gives Ben one last nod. He reaches out his hand and I grab it in mine as he tugs me out of the room. I turn my head to give one last look at Ben and the smile he gives me lets me know he'll be okay.

     I follow Aries to the bed in through the door to our room. He closes it behind us and he grabs my hand once more before leading me to the bed. I feel my heart race anxiously knowing this was the conversation that I've been dreading since he walked into the basement.

     We sit down on the bed facing each other and I watch as both of his hands grab mine before settling down in between our bodies like a bridge.

     As expected he's the first one to speak up and it brings tears to my eyes with how patient and sweet he is. "I know that this is hard for you. And it will be hard for me to hear, but in order for us to heal each other and ourselves I have to know what happened to you." He tells me and though I know he's right it scares me to no end on how he's going to react to the words that I have to spill from my lips.

"You love me?" I ask him not because I believe that he doesn't but because I need to hear the words in order to calm down my anxious heart and my racing mind.

"To the day I die. I'll never let you go again." He tells me once more and though I should be tired of the reassurance all it does is continue to build the love that I have for this man. His gray eyes are sincere as he watches me and I know that no matter what comes out of my mouth that won't change, and it is that fact and that allows me to let the words finally spill out of their dam.

"The biggest concern he had since of the day he caught me was you." I tell him and though it looks like he already knew his information his jaw still clenches as he thinks about the possibilities of what I've been through. "At first he just asked me questions like where were you, where did you live, and what your real name was. I never told him and always act oblivious and it worked for a while."

I have to pause for a moment, my voice and throat getting too thick to continue as I think about what I have to tell him next. And the thing that breaks me down the most from the inside out is that it's not even the worst thing that I have to share. 

      Zack's hand squeeze mine in a comforting manner and I hold onto them tighter as I look down at them before I continue the wretched story.

     " Once he realized that I wasn't going to comply..... He tried to beat it out of me." The last part is nothing but a whisper but I know Ares hears it as his breath catches in his throat and his hands begin to tremble in mine. "At first it was small. He would punch me or he would stab me with a knife. Sometimes it was as simple as withholding food and water for a few days."

     I stop once more preparing myself for the anger and the guilt that I know is going to flood Zack and as much is I wish I could grab it and hold it till my chest, I also know that he needs to hear this so that he can have at least a sliver of a peace of mind.

     "When that didn't work he started to drug me. He would shoot me up with some drug that made me feel pain ten times worse than it actually was...... He carved my body with a knife day after day until I was covered in his scars and markings." Tears and sobs are following from me but I know that if I stop I won't be able to continue so I push forward. "He had left me alone for about two weeks. And then the day that you came he came downstairs and told me that he was going to break me in for you like he promised the day we met. He..... he forced himself on to me when I was sick and weak from weeks of not eating or sleeping from paranoia. That's when Ben saved me. And then you came."

     The room is silent once I finish telling him what happened to me in those months, summarizing it, knowing that if I go too into detail, it's going to shove me right back into that time.

      Zack doesn't say anything for a long time, but his hands stay in mind, his grip clenching and unclenching as he tries to work through the range of emotions slamming through him.

"Can I see them?" He finally asks and I look up at him to see his perfect grey eyes filled with tears and so much regret. I don't comment on it as I shake my head no. He nods his head in understanding before lifting our hands to his mouth to press his lips against them. "You'll always be beautiful to me. Show me when you're ready. Not when I am." He tells me and I smile as he reminds me why I love him all over again.

"I love you." I tell him as he keeps his gaze on mine.

"You're my everything." He says to me and I believe him.

~~~~~~~~~
Guys I really can't believe it. It's almost the end. I'm not gonna tell you how close it is, but just know, you're not going to be happy lmaoooo.

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QOTD: Which chapter made you cry the most?