I decided to give an early update for Easter! (I know it's the day after, but I MAY have fallen asleep while editing lmaoo.)

TW: (please read!!) Violent acts including emotional, and sexual abuse and acts are discussed throughout the chapter. Please be aware, as I do not want to purposefully trigger anyone.

This chapter is very fundamental to Maggie's character, but please don't make yourself uncomfortable for it.

(I'm not entirely sure if it's the same for everyone since everyone's reading format on WP is different) but if you want to avoid the TW part, then you should be fine reading the first 15-17 pages, then skip to the last 10-12. (Apologies if I'm wrong, that's just how mine shows.)

"You're not a victim for sharing your story. You are a survivor setting the world on fire with your truth. And you never know who needs your light, your warmth, and raging courage." — Alex Elle

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Chapter 58
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Maggie

I hadn't moved. At least I didn't think I had.

My mind and my body weren't the least bit connected by anything else other than fear. That was all I could muster through the dark.

It was still dark.

With the dread, the clammy skin, the shudders, it had to be. There was no light, no source of anything that could beat what was in the abyss.

My skin rejected the feel of a hand, immediately. Fear rung through me until my blood chilled. I jerked back, nearly thumping whoever it was in the head.

"Maggie," I heard a voice whisper out. "Honey, it's me, Kimberly."

Under the blanket, my head shook on its own.

"We're not going to hurt you," she attempted, softly. I heard Raven add in the same reassuring tone, "We're here, Maggie. You're okay."

I didn't believe I was.

I didn't believe anything, or anyone. Not anymore. Not when the world was so full of lies.

Not when I was full of so, so many lies.

I could hear his voice. My father.

He was here, and anything else other than that was false. It had to be. I didn't believe anyone or anything, other than one name.

One name that could center me, despite how badly I wished to do it alone. It was the only light that seemed to peek through the dark.

"Luke," I managed to squeeze out of my burning throat. "I want Luke." My eyes squeezed shut to wield another round of tears. I pushed my head into the pillow, tightening the blanket around my shaky body until I was smothered. "Please."

It was the only request I'd made ever since my eyes opened. It was all I could muster before the fear took possession all over again.

"Luke..." I heard Raven whisper. "Wait...Luke, Luke?"

Once I heard a response, I paired it with Kimberly. "Kade called him about ten minutes ago, but the hospital is about a half hour drive—"

"Where the fuck is she?" a shout boomed right through the house.

I heard several crashes, curses, thumps, all of it, but above it all, I heard...

Pain racked through me until it physically threatened to ruin me whole. I shoved my face even deeper into the pillow, swallowing back the thick, vicious beginning of a sob.

It was a trick. It was a terrible trick—

"What the fuck were you doing with the lights off?" I heard that same voice yell. Another one followed up with a, "How the fuck were we supposed to know?"

I heard another curse, then heavy footsteps that seemed to rattle the floor. They ended just as the door swung open until I heard it slam back against the wall.

I squeezed my eyelids until it hurt, curling into myself. It wasn't real.

I heard another set of footsteps that were softer. They were walking away from me, I realized.

"It started about half an hour ago. We all heard screaming from her floor, so we came up. We found her in the corner, and tried to help, but she started throwing glasses, crying, fighting, everything," Kimberly whispered, her voice full of worry. "She tried to swing on Kade, and punched Levi. She won't let any of us touch her."

"I'm so sorry," I heard Raven say. "Levi and I didn't know. We thought that she was on the same floor as us. When we came through this one, we turned all of the lights off, and—"

"Baby," fell from him.

My body grew rigid. Him.

It was him. Luke.

"Baby?" A blend of four voices blended together.

"All of you, get the fuck out, and don't bother us," Luke bit at them. "I got her, now." Not even a second later, I heard the door slamming, then locking.

My fingers wanted to lift the blanket, just to have a view of him for confirmation, but I wasn't capable. My body was stiff, and no longer my own. I wasn't capable of anything, any longer.

My eyelids tightened to try gathering an image just to hold me over. It wasn't the same, though.

"Luke," was all I could muster in the smallest of voices.

His footsteps were slow, and careful, but with a mission. They didn't stop until he closed in on me.

As soon as he did, my eyes parted to get a view through the material of the blanket. When I caught his tall, blurry figure, my chest tightened.

"I'm here," he whispered out, taking another step. "I'm right here, baby."

A choked sob swung from the pit of my throat. It hurt, it all hurt. "I'm sorry."

Luke raised the blanket from me, but just as the cool hit me, he was blocking it with his warmth.

He shook his head. "Don't you apologize for shit, you hear me?" My eyes shut until the last image I had was his hand hovering just above my face. "Open these pretty eyes for me, Norris."

Slowly, I did. His river blues stared back into mine. I'd seen the sight millions of times, but this one was above all others.

"You're here," I croaked out past my aching heart.

Luke's eyes softened. "I wouldn't be anywhere else."

His hand lifted, and for the first time, I didn't shy back. It fell to my own, grasping it and bringing it back to his jaw. His own tightened around mine as he held it to the muscle. "I'm here."

I nodded, blinking past the tears. My eyes dipped to the flooring, the heavy burn of guilt searing, first.

I had said so much to hurt him that day. I called him worthless, and so much more that I knew dug into his insecurities. I knew it, and I had said it for that exact reason.

I didn't deserve to have him here. As badly as I needed him right now, I knew that I didn't deserve it.

I shook my head, willing the fresh buildup of tears away. "I'm so sorry. I-I was so mean to you. I said so many mean things—"

Luke knelt to eye level, his entire being gentle. "Hey, hey," he whispered, shaking his head. "Fuck that. I'm not worried about anything or anyone else other than you, right now. You're all that matters to me."

My head fell, the tears going right with it. My quivering lips parted to give something in return, but all I managed was a hiccup of a sob.

Luke didn't hesitate as soon as he caught it. He lifted his body, immediately heading to my side. The bed dipped before he was settled in with me.

His arm claimed possession of my waist, tugging me into him. His hand fell, dragging the blankets over the both of us until we were fully covered, and together under it.

His fingers trapped my chin, turning me to him. Without missing a beat, he leaned forward until his forehead was against mine. The arm around me tightened, drawing me in closer until we were flush together.

"What happened, angel?" he asked, softly, fingers grazing the side of my face.

I shut my eyes, attempting to concentrate on the hot familiarity of his skin. It was fighting against my own, but if it carried on with such power, I knew it would win.

"T-the lights were off when I woke up," I choked out. "And, it was dark..." I didn't even mean for it to happen, but at the reminder, my lips began to tremble all over again. "It was dark, and..."

Luke swept a gentle hand over my cheeks to catch the tears. "Shh, I know, angel, I know," he whispered, pressing a kiss to my forehead. He let his lips remain there with an added, "You're okay, baby." Pulling back, that same hand fell to the back of my head, cradling me into him. "You're going to be just fine."

My arms tightened around him for reassurance that it was true. I'd never wanted for something to be more true.

The moment I settled into him, I didn't, and, couldn't stop the cries and sobs from racking my body.

I fell apart.

Luke kept his arms tight around my figure, his body shifting into a rocking motion as I crumbled. "I've got you, Norris."

His touch loosened around me just enough to move me. Once he had me tucked me into his chest, he lifted my head to him.

I averted my eyes elsewhere, sniffling. It was bad enough that he had to see me like this. I didn't want to see a mirror of myself through his eyes.

"Maggie," he whispered, his thumb stroking at my jaw. "Look at me, baby. Please look at me."

When I didn't, Luke turned me back hisself, his expression softened with value.

Slowly, I raised my eyes to his, wincing against the expected impact.

Except...I didn't see any judgement, or repulsion. None at all.

His thumb continued to draw circles along my jawline. "He's not going to hurt you, Maggie," he whispered to me. "Nothing's going to hurt you. Not the dark, not those people, not him, no one."

"You're safe," he reassured me, leaning forward to kiss the tip of my nose. "What did I tell you the night you moved in?"

"I'm untouchable," I whispered, the words finding the tip of my tongue, immediately.

Luke nodded, his eyes stroking me and my fear over. "Fuck yeah you are. Right here, right now. In the future. In the light. In the dark. You're safe, and nothing in the world will change that, you hear me?"

I nodded, attempting to fight back another sob. The tears were no use; they were working to their own accord at this point. I was simply an accomplice.

Luke noted this, his chest dragging in. A pained expression passed over his face, his mouth dropping into a frown.

"Come here, beautiful," he whispered, tugging me back into him.

Strong arms bundled my shaky figure into his own. Past the fear, I felt a sense of security in knowing that they, it, he was there.

I felt his lips against the top of my head, a strong kiss following. "Let it all out, baby. I'm right here to catch it. I'm right here to catch you."

I did. Despite my wishes, my body gravitated toward him, and everything that he promised. Everything that he had kept his promise to.

Just as he said, he was right there to catch them. Every cry, every sob and crack that tore into me, he held on, continuously whispering sweet nothings in my ear to help mend them.

By the time I was able to open my eyes without them burning, my throat had gone hoarse.

I knew, though. I had to say it. I had to warn him.

I didn't want to look up. I didn't want to see the rejection, or the fear in his eyes. I didn't want to see my light leaving right along with him.

"Luke," I murmured past a sniffle. It was now or never. "I'm broken...I'm broken, and I can't be fixed."

"You don't need to be fixed," he responded with no hesitation, his voice barely above a whisper. "You're already perfect—"

My head shook, the hairs that weren't stuck to my cheeks from the tears turning with me. "I'm not. I-I—"

Luke sighed. "Maggie," he started, tipping my head up.

"No, okay? No," I rejected, snatching my chin away. "You can't..." my voice fell. I squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn't watch him leave. "You can't fix me, Luke. You can't...I can't give you what you deserve. It'd be a lost cause. You'd just be trying to find pieces of a puzzle that aren't there."

His hand stilled on my body. I felt him shift from under me, again. My head knocked around for a solution to help deal with the lost.

Except, I didn't have to. Just as I thought he was leaving, he was lifting me up with him.

With his back against the large headboard, he sat me down on top of him until I was in his lap. His hands grasped at my thighs, placing them on either side of his own.

"Then..." he started, his hands falling from my thighs, and instead going to my face. Honesty roared through the storm of his blues, attempting to find way through my own gray clouds. "I'll give you some of my own until we help you find yours, again."

Against my own will, my body slumped into him. My face planted against his shoulder as I bit back another wave of tears, quietly saying, "They can't be found because they're not there, Luke."

"Then, we'll go on without them," he whispered back, his fingers treading through my hair. His words were just as gentle in my ear, "With or without them, you're still my girl, Maggie. You're still mine. With or without anything."

My heart didn't tug, or clench. It nearly stopped. I had to will myself to continue, to give him a clear, whole picture of everything he'd expect if he stayed.

And, god, how I wished for him to stay.

"Even without children," I whispered against his shoulder.

"Especially then," he murmured back.

My chest shook under the guilty weight of it all. "You'll never...I'll never be able to give you children. Then what?"

I felt him kiss the side of my head. "We can adopt," he suggested.

"What if we can't adopt?"

"Then, we'll get a surrogate," he replied, softly. "And, if you don't feel comfortable doing that, then we'll buy a farm, get a fuck ton of animals, and raise them as our own. We can buy a shit load of land, adopt however many puppies and build another house for them. We can raise them, and they'll be ours, too."

As palatable as the idea sounded, I knew that it may not be enough. I may not be enough.

I sniffled. "What if—"

"Maggie."

He lifted my head from his shoulder to get a clear view of me. His hands trapped my cheeks, the admiration in his expression tucking away at my frown.

It continued to grow the longer he looked at me. "No matter what you say, I'll always have an answer as long as it ends up with me having you, and you having me," he reassured me, pressing a light kiss to my shoulder, up my neck, then back to me. His heavy eyes never fell from mine, again. "I just want you, Maggie. I want all of you. All of the parts you don't want, give them to me. Give it all to me, so that I can love it, so that I can keep it safe until you're ready to take it back, again."

Despite how much his words caved and scrapped at my insecurities, I needed to know. I needed to let him know. He couldn't promise that to me without it.

My lips parted for a sigh. I knew the hardest part was coming up, and I couldn't keep holding off the inevitable. Time was up. 

"Luke," I mumbled against him. My voice was weak, tired, a perfect representation of my soul. "What if...what if you get tired of me? What if you get tired of it all?"

"Then I'm dead."

I leaned back, barely catching the thump of my heart. His eyes caressed mine with heaps of honesty.

"If there's ever, ever, a time where I get tired of you," he whispered back to me, leaning forward to graze my lips with the softest of kisses. As soon as he did, he leaned back just enough to finish, "Then, I'm dead. Because there's no way in hell that if I have a beating heart, breath in my lungs, and life in my body, that I'll ever get tired of you."

My eyes watered at his words. They sounded so true; I believed they were true. I just hoped they'd remain that way by the end of the night.

Luke's hand ran comforting circles against my back, his kisses softening against my skin. They were the only thing maintaining my shaky figure to him.

"The pictures of me," I muttered against him. "You know that they're out there, right? That they've been out for years, now."

"They're gone, baby," he mumbled against my temple. "Preston traced every single one of those creeps that watched, or shared them, and reported them all. The websites are all gone, too."

My head raised in shock. I blinked at him, again and again until I finally managed to get out, "W-what?"

He nodded. "As soon as Preston called, I told him to track and erase any and all of it."

I tried to hide the quiver of my lip, but he caught it. His expression softened, his hand lifting to grasp my face.

"How..." I sniffled, barely making sense of it all. "How did—"

"He's one of the best at what he does, and he'll do anything for money," he reassured. "That's what the folder was about. A confirmation that it was all gone."

I swiped at my eyes with my wrist, though it really made no difference. My chest was hollow with the override of emotions.

Those images had been up for over a decade, and I thought it impossible to get rid of. I gave up after so many years of the bouncing between hope and crippling disappointment, and just accepted their existence.

But...they were gone, now. And, a part of my privacy was finally back.

I looked to Luke to catch him already watching me. "How much did you—"

Luke shook his head, knocking my question off. "It doesn't matter. Anything concerning you doesn't ever have a price limit for me," he said. "I would have paid...I would have done anything to make sure that you felt safe, Maggie."

My insides clenched so tight, I nearly took it for something severe. Gratitude and relief washed over my figure until I found myself crumbling into his neck, again. He caught me, as he had done all night.

I managed to get out, "I'll pay you back—"

I felt Luke shake his head, immediately. "You won't. You won't pay, or do a goddamned thing for me. I don't want it. It wasn't for me, or anything like that. It was for you." His fingers treaded through my hair. "Everything's for you. Everything."

My head bobbed on its own. I shut my eyes, willing the truth to come front, now. I was all out of diversions.

It had been years since I'd said it to it's full extent. The words would probably burn my throat on the way out. Even in therapy, I had kept some of it to myself in order to save the therapist a wretched stomach.

But, this was Luke. The one person that I felt safe in. The person that was my safe. He deserved to know.

I deserved to let him know. I deserved to be able to get the words out, as painful as they will be.

That little girl deserves it. I deserve it. We deserved to be heard.

My blurry vision concentrated on the wooden bed frame behind us. "Luke," I whispered to him. "I-it'll be a long story."

"I'll be here forever," he promised, maintaining his grip on me. "I'll be right here to listen to everything. Every pause, every stutter, every tear, I'm right here, and I'm listening." I felt him kiss my shoulder, his words muffled against my skin, "I'm still gonna catch my strong girl through it all, you hear me?"

I smothered a nod in his neck. The skin was wet with my tears, but he didn't pay any mind to it.

His arms remained around me, lightly squeezing in order to remind me that he was here. He was here.

"When Jax and I were kids," I started, quietly. "We were all the other had. Our mom was a literal crackhead who was practically my dad's prostitute, too. They both worked together, selling her, making and selling drugs, all of it."

My eyes squeezed shut, breathing against the cool of my blood. "Jax and I barely got by, but we still did, anyway. We would steal some of their money when they were strung out on god knows what, go and buy ourselves food, clothes, supplies, things like that. We stayed out of their way, and just kept to each other. We didn't have much, but we did have each other. It was more than enough."

Somehow, my fingers ended up in Luke's hair. A breath parted my lips as I trailed through the strands. It provided at least another hint of comfort.

"Like I said, my mom was basically my dad's prostitute," I repeated, letting my eyes hover over his blonde strands. "She did whatever he said, however and whenever he said it. If she didn't, he'd just beat the shit out of her, and have her do it, anyway."

"Which was why..." my jaw squeezed shut as I dared my next breath to turn into words.

I begged for something. Anything.

A miracle. A turning point that would give me the strength to continue.

My voice shrunk until it was barely that at all as I confessed, "Which was why she didn't say anything when he started to use me, instead."

I felt Luke stiffen from under me. I wasn't sure if it were because of disgust, or of anger. I didn't know if I wanted to find out, either.

My eyes burned along with every other part of me that was coughing the truth up. "I was five," I whispered out. "It was dark. I was still up, just thinking about what a five year old should think about. I was so excited for the next day, since it was supposed to be my first day of school. That was the last thing I remember thinking about before I heard him coming to my door."

"My dad was drunk," I mumbled, attempting to speak over the ringing in my ears. "He always was, but this time, he found his way into my room. I wasn't sure if he just mistook me for my mother, or what. All I know is that...he wouldn't stop coming closer. He didn't stop until he was to my bed. Then, he got on top of me, and..." My eyes fell to Luke's backside. The pit of shame only worsened. Then, my lips formed around the words I never thought of myself speaking again, "He forced himself on me for the first time."

The words nearly tumbled over one another the moment I had them out. I wasn't doing any better myself. Every single thing I thought I had built, and structured so well, was tumbling. It was crashing, and I was going right along with it.

Luke's chest sucked in so far, I could physically feel it. His pulse was thumping against me, so erratic and wild. As badly as I wanted to look into those homely eyes, I didn't want him to look back into mine, and see how much of a coward I was.

A big, wave of a sob ripped from the back of my throat before I could stop it. "The more I fought, the more forceful and angry he grew, and the more..." The memories were beginning to surface in a way that tore into me without an end. They were clouding my judgement, my words, my reality, me. "I-I couldn't get him off. I screamed. I kicked and scratched and..." My head dipped, my hand raising to soothe my burning throat as another sob left it. "I tried to fight, I really did. I swear I did—"

Luke cradled the back of my head, muffling another one of my cries to his skin. "Oh, baby," he whispered out, his voice strained alongside it. His arms tightened around my unraveling figure to secure me to him. His own was beginning to shake with tremors, too. "I know. I know you did."

His hand brought me back to him, so that we were looking at each other, again. His eyes were glistening with an abundance of conflict, raw pain wrapping his expression up.

Luke pulled me to him until our foreheads were flush together. Strands of my hair were stuck to my forehead from the tears, but he swept them away to get a clear view of me.

"Maggie," he rasped out, shaking his head. "Don't strain yourself, you hear me? You tell me what you want to on your free will—"

I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut. I couldn't bury this any longer.

"I want to," I whispered back. "I want you to know. I want you to know it...me."

Slowly, he nodded, pulling in a shaky patch of air. Either of his hands went to my arms, stroking the skin for relief. Luke leaned back again, his demeanor hogged with tension, but with patience and understanding, as well.

"It kept going," I murmured, focusing on the heat of his skin. "For five years, it kept going. He would come in nearly every night. Then, over time, he started to find others. His friends first, then partners, then strangers. Anything for money, or for a debt or two he needed to resolve. And after some time, he started to let them record and take pictures to post online, just as long as he got a cut of the earnings from it."

"My mother...she knew. After a couple of years, she grew jealous of the 'attention,' as she called it. As if it were something to fucking be jealous over." My head shook as I attempted to make way past the anger. It roared at the pit of my tummy as I recalled it all. "So, she threatened my father. Said she would go report it. I guessed my father realized she was serious, since he started slipping sleeping pills and other drugs in hers and Jax's drinks. That, mixed with her drugs, strung her out long enough to let him and his friends finish doing whatever they wanted to me."

I forced out a tearful sigh. "That's where the scars are from too, from him."

I heard Luke let out a sharp, quick breath. His skin had gone from cool to burning hot. His body was trembling so bad from under me, I wasn't sure how he maintained a grip on me.

The more I got out, the more something of something began to lift. Despite the memories, despite the treacherous content of those memories...I was managing to get them out. There was something that lightened my chest with each passing word.

The hardest part of the story had finally been set free, and Luke hadn't run. That brought more relief than I could have ever anticipated. It could mean much more.

Releasing my lip, I continued on, maintaining my grip on his hair. "Jax...he didn't know. I didn't let him know. I didn't want our dad to hurt him. Our dad made sure to give him an extra pill in order to keep him knocked out, though. He knew that Jax would have reported it in a heartbeat, if he didn't try to kill him hisself."

Luke's body had barely calmed down, but he continued on with his comforting touches. I embraced it entirely, letting it coax me into the rhythm of strength I so desperately needed right now.

"I was ten, now," I mumbled, gazing down at the pillow. "At this point, it was just a matter of habit for me. I knew the exact time they'd come. I knew what they looked like. I knew what to have on. I knew how to shut myself off in order to make it through. I knew what to think of in order to get my mind off of it. I knew everything that a child shouldn't have known at that age."

"I'm not sure how Jax caught on to the fact that our dad was giving him the sleeping pills," I continued, my brows drawing in on the other in concentration. "But, he did. He drunk it just to keep our dad happy, but he started fighting it off so that he'd be awake."

I drew out a sigh. "I still remember the day it all happened. The time. What I was thinking of. The clothes I was wearing. It all happened so quickly, but I remember it all."

"My dad, he was in the room this time, recording it all for one of the websites," I explained, tearing at the skin along my trembling lip with my teeth. "Jax and I had rooms that were on different sides of the house, so I guess he went to go confirm his suspicions, or something. But, when he came by my room, he heard it all. As soon as he did, he didn't hesitate. He broke the door down once he realized what was happening. He was still small, even broke his shoulder by doing it, but he managed."

"They were grown man, though," my voice weakened over again, so I tugged at Luke's strands to beckon some of that energy back in me. It seemed to work this time. "He couldn't take them all, but the moment he saw me, it didn't matter to him."

I shut my eyes, again, pleading with the roll of tears to fall back. "My dad always had a soft spot for Jax. He was still neglectful, but he never laid a hand on Jax for some reason. This time though, he was so high and shocked that he'd been caught, I wasn't even sure if he realized that it was his son, but..." I shook my head at the image that was trying so hard to clear my confession. "He stabbed Jax. He stabbed him eight times, then threw and locked him out of the room. That was the first time I fought back in years, because I knew, without a doubt, that my brother was going to die if I didn't. I was already dead, but he wasn't. I wouldn't let it happen."

Past the tears, I mustered a fraction of a chuckle. "But...that pesky little twin of mine has always been stubborn as shit. Even when it comes to death."

Luke squeezed my waist once to let me know that he was hearing me. I nodded down at him in thanks, breathing in, then out for any means of help.

I shut my eyes, again. "Even with eight stab wounds, he went and got help for me. We lived so far back in the country that the nearest police station was about four miles away," I told him, my voice thickening over. "He walked and ran four miles just to save me, even though he knew that he was dying. On the way to the police station, he passed a couple hospitals that he could have went to to help his injuries, but he kept going, anyway. He never told me, but I found it out, myself." I let out a choked laugh. "The idiot had no idea that they would have alerted the cops had he went in, but I think he didn't want to risk it. Instead of stopping, he kept going just to make sure that I was saved." The big, fat tears broke past this time, spilling over my cheeks until they were a running faucet. "W-when he made it to the station, he collapsed right outside from the blood loss, but he made sure to tell the officers my name, and our address."

My hand tightened into a fist, the nails digging into my skin. If it drew blood, I didn't feel it. All I could pay attention to were the words, and the way I said them. The fact that I said them at all, really.

"Jax ended up flatlining at the hospital. The surgeons barely managed to save him," I whispered out, wishing the pain in my body to still. "But, they did. From what he told them before he passed out, they went, and found me. By then, my father and his friend were confident that Jax was dead, that they could continue on without an issue. The moment the house was stormed, they were caught in the act, but tried to run. The cops shot the other guy for attempting to flee, but they arrested my dad."

"After that," I sighed, in both relief and dread. I'd gotten it out. "I was in and out of court. I was tested, and probed every other day by the hospitals." My eyes fall, elsewhere. "It didn't take long to find out that my body wasn't the same. That I couldn't, and would never be able to conceive a baby. I wasn't very shocked at it, but it still tore me apart. The doctor didn't want to tell me at the time, but I had to know. I asked him, and that was when I learned that I originally had the ability to have children before my..." my head dipped as I sighed again, the sound heavy. "That was one of the parts that killed me the most. Even gone, my father still managed to take something else from me."

I swiped at my cheek, then my hair. "It took years just to physically recover, but mentally, was another story. And that was when granny decided to move us here, and away from Kansas."

"The court, they tried to get the pictures and videos of me taken down, but there were too many in too many places. I gave up right along with them after a while. Until..." I looked to him.

Luke's hands squeezed down on my thighs, his head bobbing in understanding.

"We'd never ever met Granny before all of this, but when we did, she took custody of Jax and I, immediately." My lips tugged into a soft smile at the thought of her. "She was the first one to teach me...well, everything. She was right there through my nightmares, my breakdowns, the PTSD and recovery, all of it," I admitted. "Jax and I wouldn't have made it without her. She was the first good we'd ever known."

With all of my courage to follow, I slowly lifted myself to get a full view of him. I had gotten the truth out, the parts that I always thought, swore, would be kept under wraps. They were out now, though.

My eyes fell, again. "Kimberly and Raven don't know," I added, shamefully. "They don't know anything. Not at all. When I met them, I told them that our parents just abandoned us at our grandmother's house as children. The only part that was true was that we were from Kansas, and that we hadn't seen them ever since. That's it, though."

I searched my brain for anything else, but found none. Either that, or I was too drained to find it. Either way...

The truth was out.

Slowly, I raised my gaze to catch, possibly the last look I'd ever get of Luke.

His expression was blank, but the ball of fire in his eyes was undeniable. It was an abundance of raw anger, conflict, and sadness.

At my look, his lips parted, but nothing came out expect a single breath. My soul went right along with it.

My heart sank to my feet. "Please say something." I willed my breath to react on time. "I-I know that I'm not—"

Luke reached forward so quickly, I didn't have time to react. Either hand grasped my face, strong arms caging me into his hold. He caught my gasp of surprise, swallowing it whole as his lips crashed to mine.

My blurry eyes widened until they fluttered close at the sensation. I leaned in to further the kiss, allowing it to be the trail back to sanity. It was full of reassurances, of care, and passion. I needed all of it, right now.

Luke tore back first, his chest heaving. Hooded, rainy eyes met mine with an edge.

"You're so strong," he rasped out. "Jesus, you're so fucking strong, Maggie."

I blinked, dazed from the kiss and his response. "Y-you're not disgusted?" I repeated the action, leaning back to get a full view on him. If he was joking, I knew that I wouldn't be able to take it, mentally or physically. "You're not...you're not leaving?"

Disbelief and confusion swept over his face, nearly making it lose its color. "What? Fuck no, I'm not." His frown thickened at me. "Why would I?"

My eyes poured over the sheets. I couldn't respond before Luke was tipping my head back up to him.

"Maggie," he said to me, his voice riding along the lines of hard and gentle. "None of that was your fault. Not at all. They were grown men. You were an innocent little kid. None, and I mean none of that was on you, you hear me?" His fingers swept at a stray tear, his expression softening over. "They were the ones who were at fault. They were disgusting, and evil monsters capable of their own decisions. Not you. Never you. You were innocent. You were a baby. You were just a baby."

The image in front of me blurred all over again. "Luke..." I croaked out in a whisper.

"You're going to listen to me, Maggie," he murmured, pulling me closer. "And, you're going to listen to me, right now."

Sniffling, I nodded, then remained still. I didn't have an audible response, but my silence was enough.

He cradled my face in his hands. "I'm sorry, baby," he whispered to me, his voice cracking over. "I'm so sorry for everything that happened to you. I'm so sorry." His hand fell, chest trembling as he struggled for an intake of air. "If I could rip those memories away from you, I would. In a fucking heartbeat, I would."

"But, I can't," he said, his hand sliding up and down my back. "All I can do is tell you...show you so many things. That they won't touch you, again. That you're still so beautiful. That you've always, always been strong, even when you didn't think so. That you're still here. That your body, and everything in between is yours, and only yours."

"And, what those monsters did to you in that house, in that room..." I heard his voice thicken with struggle. "It doesn't change any of that."

Gently, he lifted me so that he was looking at me without interruption. My vision cleared enough to catch view of the pride, and adulation in his gaze.

His finger trailed across my lips. "This beautiful smile is yours," he whispered to me. The same finger fell to my stomach, stroking exactly where my scars were with extra generosity. "This beautiful skin is yours." It traveled to my head, stroking the back of my hair. "This big, smart, brain, it's yours." Then, to my heart that was beating in time with his. "This is yours, Maggie. No matter how badly they tried to take it, it's yours. All of it. Every bit of it. Yours, and only yours."

I choked back a cry, attempting to hold myself steady on top of him. I saw the scar along his neck jump as he swallowed past a knot. His shaky fingers returned to my face, again.

"I'll never, and have never felt disgusted by you, Norris," he reassured in a heavy voice that dripped with awe. "I'm proud...I'm so fucking proud to call you mine. It's a privilege, honestly. I got the strongest, bravest, and most beautiful girl in this fucking world. There's nothing, but pride in that."

An overwhelming volume of relief, and wonderment passed over me until I felt my body succumb. My body crumbled on top of his, and just as he promised, he was there to catch it. To catch me.

Luke positioned me so that I was on his chest, again. He tangled our limbs, together, never once letting me go as he laid back.

As soon as were situated, his hand dipped. It went to my chin, lifting my head until our gazes clashed.

A light smile claimed him as he stared back into my eyes. "You're still mine, Norris," he whispered his confession, kissing the top of my head. "You're still my brat. My little smart-ass. My baby. You're still my Maggie, and my biggest miracle. My version of an angel. My world. You're still, and always will be, my everything, Maggie."

I ripped right in half, in the most pleasing way possible. The roar of my demons had settled into a whisper until it was barely a speck of problem.

Getting it out, being heard, and being believed...it was freeing.

Luke had helped free me.

Luke tucked me under his chin, squeezing my body to him until we were flush together. "Now," he started, the single word shaky. "You're going to hold onto me. You're going to cry. You're going to scream, and you're going to get everything that you want to get out, out. Right here and right now. You're not going to hold back. You're not going to stop until you want to. You're going to take your time, and you're going to give it all to me."

"And, I'm gonna be right here to catch it," he reassured, holding the back of my head to him. His chest shook as he spoke. "I'm gonna listen. I'm gonna hold you. And, I'm gonna wipe these tears all night, no matter how long it takes. You're going to go to sleep, and I'm going to fight the bad dreams off if they try to take you from me."

Luke stroked my back. "I'm not going anywhere, and I'm not going to let you go," he mumbled, feathering a kiss to my temple. Then another, and another. "Not in a million years, you hear me?"

I tried to form a response, but at his statement, every single thing I had tried so hard to keep suppressed fell right through the cracks.

The moment I turned into his chest, the last one broke the icy mold, and let the emotions run free. My body, for the first time, turned off the fight or flight mode, and just allowed me to feel.

I cried. I sobbed. I screamed, and begged, and everything in between. Even when my throat grew hoarse, the pain ripped right through me. The moment I let it out, was me technically throwing away the key to its hiding spot.

For the first time, fifteen years of pain was unburdened from my shoulders, my body, my spirit, me.

Luke kept true to his promise. Not once did his word of comfort, truth, and promise, fall from me. It seemed to only build with each passing second.

He held on. He kissed me. He whispered sweet nothings to me through my tears.

Instead of trying to push the cries, and the pain away, he told me to feel them. To let them out. As badly as I wanted to argue, I knew, and my soul knew that he was right. They'd been building for the past decade and a half. The time was more than overdue for release.

My body remained in its place atop him, but my head lifted just enough to croak out past a swollen throat, "Luke?"

His hand swept under my hair to massage at my neck. "Mhm?"

"I want to..." Choking back the fear, I blew out a sigh. "I want to learn...you know, not to be afraid of the dark."

I felt him still from under me. He craned his head back to get a better view of me. The surprise was evident, but the pride overpowered it.

"Are you sure, baby?" he whispered back to me.

I nodded.

I had to. I wanted to, despite how fearful it would be. Despite how fearful it'd been for more than half of my life...

I wasn't afraid with Luke.

"I am," I forced out, attempting another nod. "I'm sure."

Luke tugged on his bottom lip in thought, then met my eyes, again. "When do you want to start?"

"As soon as possible," I responded before I thought it over. Meeting his eyes, I corrected, "Tomorrow. I want to start tomorrow."

Hesitation swept across his face, immediately. "Baby, you don't have to rush—"

"We're starting tomorrow," I decided, shaking my head.

I couldn't wait any longer. If I did, I'd used it as an excuse to not do it, and it would never get done.

Drawing in a sigh, I added, "It won't just be a one day type of thing but..." I shrugged, my eyes falling. "I just want to try."

Luke tipped my head back up. His lips went to my forehead, then my cheek. "Then, we will. We're gonna keep trying until you do get it. I don't care how long it takes, or what we have to do. I'll make sure to do it, and anything else to make it easier on you. I'm gonna be there with you every step of the way, okay?"

I nodded, parting my lips for another response. Nothing came, though.

Instead, I let myself fall into him, again. My face turned into his chest, again. My cries hadn't stopped or quite relented on me just yet, so, in Luke's' arms, I allowed myself to let it out.

I wasn't even sure how it happened, but after what seemed like hours, my eyes began to weigh in heavy from the tears. I hadn't moved in so long, it seemed like a task to try, now.

Luke caught notice, immediately. His arm stretched past me to reach for a blanket, which he pulled over the both of us. He tucked it in perfectly along my figure, then wrapped me up until I was sheltered under him.

I felt him feather a series of kisses to my face, enough to coax me into slumber. It approached despite how heavy my heart had been for so long. Luke had managed to make me forget all about it.

"You're okay, baby," he whispered into my ear, large hands squeezing at the small of my back. "Sleep. I'm gonna be right here. You know I won't let the nightmares take you."

I did. And, for the first time since I was violently ripped from a chance of life, a chance of quiet, and peace...

I found it.

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This chapter literally took me an entire month and a half to write, fully. (I'm not kidding; I literally finished half, then had to stop because I turned into a cry baby a million times over. I had to skip it then go and write the next ones instead lol.)

This one was so personal, and fundamental to Maggie's character. It hurt so much to write, honestly, and really drained me so many times. It was practically a note to younger me. It was all of the things that I wish I could have told her. It was every single thing that I wished someone had told us, so many times.

As painful as it was to write, it was genuinely such a healing feeling, too. Writing itself helps me so much, but managing and pouring myself out in a way that I can finally control is something so fundamental to my healing.

I've already said this, but there is honestly not an amount that can even touch the amount of gratitude I hold toward you all. Thank you so, so much for letting me express myself through these characters and my stories, and thank you so much for reading and enjoying them.

And, for anyone else who has gone through what I did as a child or anyone who has gone through it at any stage at life: just know that you were never at fault for what happened to you. It was never and will NEVER be your fault, and don't you ever listen to stupid motherfuckers who try to tell you differently. Allow yourself to feel and accept so many things. That may be anger, fear, guilt, disgust and so on. You can try to push it away, but it will happen, whether you want it to or not. It comes with acceptance. But so does growth, strength, and relief that you're able to get these feelings and those tears out, because you'll need to, one way or another. Either way, you're going to get back up, and you're going to keep going. What they did does NOT define you, nor will it ever. You're more strong than you know, and not a single speck of that was ever lost, no matter how much they tried to take it from you. You're still as beautiful, as amazing, and as strong as you were in the beginning, and that'll never go anywhere. You'll hurt, but you will heal in ways you thought were impossible. You win every single day you keep going, and you'll only continue to win as life goes on. You were never broken nor were you weak or at fault. I love you and you've got this till the end, my love. ❤️

You're all so amazing, beautiful, and sweet. Just perfect. I hope that you are aware of that, and never lose sight of it. I appreciate you so much. 🤍

Thank you for reading and being apart of so many journeys! I will be back Saturday. Have a fantastic week!🤍