NOTE: Some descriptions of events in this chapter may trigger people who have been molested and/or raped and/or abused. Please, PLEASE let us know if this is a problem and we will be happy to send you a version without that part in it.

Today was the day.

After weeks and weeks of training, Lucas had finally prepared himself enough to announce that he was ready for the Nationals.

Of course, Carissa had known the exact date and hour of the championship- August 6th, 2013; training from twelve to four in the afternoon, then the competition at six- for nearly two weeks because Lucas kept talking about it. To be honest, she didn't really care, but to see him so ecstatic over something was quite a change from him being moody and uninterested- characteristics she knew she couldn't change, but decided to tolerate anyway.

Carissa had gotten news that Harry was allowed to participate in the Nationals, and she shook her head in disbelief. Why would they let anybody with a criminal record participate in organized sports? It struck her as confusing, but she wasn't going to waste her time deciphering the minds of the officials.

"They probably just felt bad," Lucas said, "he's been training really hard and he hasn't won in the six years he's competed."

"Are you on his side?"

"I never said I was. I'm just saying that the officials have their reasons for letting things slide. Maybe they needed more swimmers because of Tyson. Maybe he bribed them, I don't know," Lucas reasoned before he kissed Carissa on the cheek.

"Are you nervous?" she asked. He shook his head as he grabbed his keys from the kitchen counter.

"Nope. I've no reason to be. I've got a really good feeling about this year."

"You've practiced really hard! If you win, you deserve it."

"What do you mean 'if'?" Lucas grinned, lunging at her and tickling her, causing her to sink to her knees in a fit of giggles. He tugged on her hand and made their way out the door, driving to the swimming arena.

The car ride wasn't silent, but it wasn't filled with song either. Lucas told Carissa about his hopes for the Nationals, and she listened, but with half her attention wondering if Harry would acknowledge her as she sat in the stands. Lucas was going to practice for the full four hours, so she'd be there for a while.

As soon as they pulled into the parking lot, Lucas held her hand and guided her to the main entrance, which was already crowded with people waiting to get seats. Carissa was used to having people run up to take pictures of Lucas because he was a local celebrity- all of them fawned over how handsome he was. She let him go up and hug people, sign autographs and pose for photos, while some asked to pictures with her. She didn't understand the amount of love they had for people who were hardly famous.

Up near the entrance to the door was a small group of people holding up signs that read, 'WE LOVE YOU HARRY'. She was confused- wasn't he the most hated man in California? She felt a little sorry for him, but at the same time she knew she couldn't feel bad for someone like him- he was treacherous, as she forced herself to believe.

"Miss Lim! Are you aware that Mr. Styles will be at the Nationals today?" news reporters called out. She ignored them, but they continued.

"Are you the one that bailed him out of jail? What if he kills more people?"

"Are you and Mr. McCoy trying again in terms of a relationship?"

"Do you know why Mr. Styles wanted to kill you?"

"Hey, piss off!" Lucas snapped at them, grabbing Carissa's hand and pulling her away from them. They walked into the building and out of the clutter of people outside.

"They love you," Carissa said quietly, acknowledging Lucas' fans. He chuckled and kissed her on the lips.

"Not as much as I love you," he cooed. She forced a smile and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm going to change. I'll see you in the stands, okay? Get yourself something to eat."

He handed her his wallet and his cellphone and waved good-bye as he ventured off into the change rooms. Carissa looked around- the main lobby was huge. This was Lucas' first time competing in the Nationals after all his years making his way up from the district level. If she didn't take up cooking as a career, she might have gone on into sports physics due to Lucas convincing her to pursue it, but her passion resided in the culinary arts.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a tall man with a flop of curly hair guarded by two even taller men. He hugged the small group of people and smiled solely with his teeth- Carissa knew exactly who it was without even having to turn her head all the way to see him.

He listened to each and every single one of them, nodding and genuinely caring about what they had to say. She could hear them telling him that they believed he was innocent from day one and that they begged the officials- wrote them letters, signed petitions, held a protest- to let him compete. He spent more time with his fans than any of the swimmers- Lucas included- and he seemed so thankful for their support. He smiled, posed for photos, gave people hugs and signed autographs. Though his group was small in comparison to everybody else's, they were the crowd that clearly loved their swimmer the most.

Carissa made her way into the stands after promptly buying a sandwich from the concession stand before Harry could see her- she didn't want to have to face him after everything that happened before. It was a shame because throughout the entire duration of them being apart from each other, though it wasn't very long, she felt as if a chunk of her life had been ripped forcefully from her hands. In all honesty, she hadn't stopped thinking of him; there were only scarce periods of time when his essence didn't plague her thoughts as much.

It never occurred to her how many people actually came out to sporting events such as these. As a child, and even in her teen years, she never really paid much attention to sports that had all-star teams, let alone to those that didn't. But it seemed that all of California was attempting to fit into the arena for today- the only places that weren't crowded were the swimmers' areas, specifically sectioned off for them through a tunnel that connected the private change rooms to the interviewing area and finally to the pool.

Carissa sat and watched all the trainees- Lucas, Kevin, Rick and Harry- swim lap upon lap alongside each other. Harry had by far the most stamina, but Lucas soon caught up and in the span of fifteen minutes he managed to finish two more laps than Harry. Upon finishing second to Lucas, Harry chewed the inside of his cheek in frustration, taking off his swimming cap and chucking it against the wall. He went off into his room for a while to cool down, but came back out shortly after to watch everyone else swim.

She found herself rooting for the one person she was supposed to hate the most.

Once they all went on their break for the second round of swimmers to train, Carissa played around with her phone and took pictures of the crowd and the pool to pass the time. The seats were filling up to the top of the building, and it wasn't even close to the competition time yet.

Just then, Lucas' phone rang. The shrill jingle caught her attention and she picked it up. The screen read 'Lucy'. Who was Lucy? She decided to ignore it and remind Lucas of the call later, turning the volume down so it wouldn't disrupt anybody else. She watched Harry's head perk up from across the arena. He looked around and walked over to his belongings, situated on a bench in his section. At that time, Lucas' phone's screen read '1 missed call'; Harry picked up his own phone, frowned, then set it back down again.

That's weird, she thought. Carissa finished the last of her sandwich and continued watching Harry. Lucas was nowhere to be seen, but he was most likely in his change room.

She watched a woman talking to security just outside of the swimmers' areas. She clutched her purse tightly in her dainty hands. Carissa could only make out her average frame and her dark, long and wavy hair. The woman seemed to be having a great deal of difficulty reasoning with the guard- it looked like she wanted to talk to one of the swimmers, but she wasn't going anywhere in terms of her pursuit. She was pointing and trying to explain herself before Harry tapped the guard on the shoulder and excused the woman. With a grimace, the guard let her in and Harry pulled her in for a hug.

She wanted to assume that the woman was one of his next victims, but they hugged as if they hadn't seen each other in years. The woman wiped her eyes and Harry bent down slightly to assure she was okay. She nodded and turned to look around, and that's when Carissa noticed that the woman looked quite similar to Harry. Of course her face was done up with makeup, but their eyes echoed each other's. She was far too young to be his mother, so there was only one logical conclusion.

It was his sister.

Realization surged through Carissa as she picked up Lucas' phone and looked at the screen again. Lucy. Lucy.

Harry's sister's name was Lucy.

Lucy lived in Wales. She recalled him mentioning she was going to school there for law.

It didn't make sense- if she knew the basics of the law, why would she waste her time visiting Harry if he wasn't innocent? Why did she fly all the way here from Europe?

More importantly, why did she call Lucas? Harry and Lucas had only known each other for two and a half years, give or take, and Harry's sister went to Wales long before Harry had even moved to America.

She retraced what she saw step by step: Harry looked over to his phone the same time Lucas' started ringing; Harry put down his phone the same time Lucas' stopped.

It wasn't coincidental. It couldn't have been.

Carissa dialled Harry's number and brought the phone up to her ear. She felt her hands shake as she impatiently waited for an answer. She was watching Harry, who had his phone in his hand. He didn’t react to anything- did he not hear it? The dial tone kept going, and suddenly Lucas' phone rang. She looked at the screen.

Carissa (H).

Why was Lucas' phone ringing if she was calling Harry? And why did her name have an 'H' beside her name on Lucas' phone? She had a hunch, and she hoped she was incorrect.

She picked up her belongings and placed her phone and Lucas' phone in her pockets, making her way down the stands and onto the green carpeted platform that led to the swimmers' area. Harry and his sister were nowhere in sight- she had to find them. She waved at a guard, who let her in upon recognizing her relation to Lucas.

"You lookin' for Mr. McCoy?"

"Um...yeah. Do you know where he is?"

"In through the tunnel, seventh door down. It'll say his name on it so you don't get lost."

"Thanks," she replied, heading off to her destination. The platform led straight to the cream coloured, dimly-lit corridor. She looked upon the walls and read the names of the swimmers beside their doors as she passed them- Addisu, Curtis, Chang, Furlow, Harris, Leesen, McCoy, Nekita, Patrick, Roy- until a familiar voice called out her name.

"Carissa? What are you doing back here? Why do you have your stuff? Are you leaving?" Lucas asked. She turned to see him standing in front of his door in a pair of shorts and a tank top. Like Harry, Lucas had a very defined body that looked amazing in clothes that allowed her to see how fit he was, but he would never be as enticing as Harry. Lucas looked quite confused.

"I didn't want anybody to take my things. I was just looking for you," she lied, smiling and stepping over to him.

"And you passed my room?"

"I was thirsty and I thought there was an entrance to the concession from back here."

"You can only access the concession from outside or from in our change rooms. Do you want something to drink?" Lucas held out his hand for hers, but she shook her head.

"I'm okay now. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Why wouldn't I be? Come inside."

"I'm okay, babe, I'm just-"

"I said come inside," he demanded, grabbing her wrist and tugging her into his room, slamming and locking the door behind him. He shoved her against the lockers on the left wall closest to them, making her wince at the impact. She dropped her things upon being dragged into the room and they lay all over the floor, which she noticed the majority was covered by a plastic tarp. Lucas tightened his grip and grabbed her other hand.

"Lucas, what the fuck? Let go of me!"

"You were looking for Harry, weren't you?"

"No! Honestly, you're hurting me-"

"Then why were you back here with all your things, huh? If you wanted to leave, you could've just asked."

"Since when do I need your permission to move around?"

"Answer the fucking question!"

"I told you I was looking for you!"

"Why?" he snarled, placing her wrist in the lock of the hand that was already grasping her other. She struggled to real free, but he was much stronger than her.

"I want you to tell me why Harry's sister was calling you. I want you to tell me why his calls go to your phone! His phone rang the exact same time as yours, and it stopped at the same time too! What the hell is going on?" she spat, glaring at him. Lucas' jaw clenched; his hand reached up and grabbed her neck, cutting off her ability to breathe properly. She gasped and pleaded for air but he would not allow it.

"Why the fuck were you going through my phone?" he pressed on. He was getting angry- a side of him she would never miss. "Tell me!"

"I wasn't!" she rasped, "I swear-!"

"Don't you fucking lie to me! I gave you everything! I protected you from him; I gave you a place to stay; I took you back! I changed for you and I put up with you and this is how you repay me?"

"Get off of me!" she fought, tears streaming down her face as she scratched at his hand and hoping he'd release. He squeezed his hand harder around her throat and pulled her forward, then threw her against the lockers with a clang. She hit her head and collapsed to the floor, weak and much too feeble to move. If she didn't have a bruise from the impact, she didn't know what would hurt her.

Lucas brought his leg up and pinned her right knee to the floor with his foot. The heel of his shoe dug into her delicate skin, leaving red marks etched onto the surface. She tried to wriggle away, but he was too strong for her. He crossed his arms against his chest again in triumph.

"You really wanna know why, babe?" he chuckled, licking his lips and grinding his heel into her kneecap, "I had to monitor his phone. If you weren't such a little slut, maybe that wouldn't have happened to him."

"It was you! You're the reason why he didn't get my calls!"

"And guess what, sweetheart? Harry never texted Morgan either. The video of you two fucking on his balcony? I had his phone wired to mine so that anything he did, I would know- he never sent anything to me; I got it automatically."

"You're fucking sick!" she snapped, trying to push him off with her hands but he wouldn't budge. Too many pieces of information were hurtling towards her at once and she couldn't keep up.

"I had to make sure you didn't keep talking to him. If you weren't such a fucking whore-"

"I'm not! Get off of me!"

"Yes, you are! Do you think I'm stupid? I know you weren't busy at work on the night of our date- you fucked him in his car!"

"What?"

"Don't play dumb with me! I know everything! I know you let him into your place after you quit because I watched the both of you! I know you fucked him right in the restaurant on his first day of work! You're a fucking slut and you know it!"

"How...?"

"I hacked the restaurant's security cameras, that's how! I watched you every day and when he got the job I recorded it to make sure he don't do anything to you. I didn't think you'd stoop so low as to bang him on the tables! I couldn't have you working with him anymore. I was supposed to take you in after you got fired and help you get back up on your feet but no, you had to ruin everything and sleep with him!"

"You sent the video to Dale! How could you? That job was my life-!"

"Well it wouldn't have happened if you didn't go for him instead of me!"

Carissa reached her hand out for the cellphone just out of her reach, but Lucas kicked it away with his free foot and a tsk tsk tsk, crouching down and applying more pressure to her knee. He tickled her thigh with his fingers, inching up towards the hem of her skirt, making his way to her core. He stroked her through her panties, watching her writhe away from his touch. Carissa whimpered and begged for him to stop, but he covered her mouth with his palm.

"Don't cry, babe," he crooned, wiping her tears away with his thumb, "you look better when you smile."

He stroked her thigh and moved her skirt up; she shrieked into his hand and squirmed to try and shift her skirt back down; he smacked her in the face, and she cried even harder. He unbuckled his belt and left the button on his jeans undone.

In this moment, the only way she could stop thinking about what was going to become of her was to think about Harry- she had it completely wrong and she kicked him out the door while he was trying to explain himself. All of Harry's faults, whether he had performed them or not, seemed irrelevant now that Lucas was hovering over her and trying to pry her legs apart to access her private area a little better.

She deserved this, every single bit of it. She was disgusting; she was filth; Harry would never be able to save her. She was going to get raped by someone who was supposed to love her- who constantly told her he loved her. Harry never let the three words slip from his mouth (perhaps because he just wasn't that type of person who believed in words governing his actions) but she knew that he cared about her more than Lucas ever would.

She reminded herself of how he made her feel- comforted and cared for- in relation to how Lucas made her feel; she was correct in knowing Lucas would never be the same man that Harry was.

"You listen to me, Carissa. I don't want to hurt you, but that doesn't mean I won't. If I hear another word out of you, I'm going to make you regret it. Do you understand?"

The instant that his hand was removed, Carissa cried out for help. She called out as loud as she could before his hand slapped her face again.

"What did I just say? What did I fucking say?" he bellowed. He grabbed her wrists with one hand and pinned them to the floor while the other kept her mouth shut, his lips drawing to her cheek and planting kisses there. She fought hard against him, closing her legs and keeping them shut when he ground his pelvis into her in attempts to get her to succumb to his demands, which only made him angrier. His mouth travelled down to her neck where he sucked purple bruises into her skin. She cried and cried as he made a little trail of them- should Harry find her, he'd know who she belonged to. Carissa spat into his golden hair, and his blue eyes resurfaced from his markings.

"So you let Harry do all these things to you and not me? WHAT DOES HE HAVE THAT I DON'T?" he demanded to know. "If you open your fucking mouth one more time, I'm going to make sure you never see Harry again."

Lucas stood up, keeping a firm hold of his foot on her knee. He smiled and beamed down at her. Carissa's face was stained with her tears, reddened from the impact of Lucas' hand, and her hands were reaching desperately to push his foot off of her. She sobbed as she fought the urge to yell again- she had to stay quiet for Harry. Someone had to hear her- there must have been people passing by outside.

"Tell me you love me, Carissa."

She didn't say anything. She refused to. If she was going to die, she wanted to die strong. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of hearing her bow down to him.

"I said tell me."

Nothing.

He sighed and pivoted on his foot, turning around and clutching her ankle.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself, darling?"

"Go to hell, you fucking psycho," she snarled. His face twisted in ferocity and the veins in his neck stuck out from the blood in his system rushing through his body.

Lucas pushed his foot down onto her knee, securing her in place. In a swift motion, he pulled her ankle upwards, still pushing down on her knee. Carissa screamed in pain and pleaded for him to stop, spewing out worthless 'I love you's and 'I'm sorry's- the knee was never meant to be bent in such a way. Her brain pounded as her pain receptors worked at hyper speed to tell her that her leg was about to be torn off.

She could feel her ligaments giving in. She could feel her muscles tearing. She swore her heart stopped beating. Every piece of her mind was focused on her leg, as if there was some higher force that was able to stop the inevitable from happening- there was no stopping the inertia of a boulder once it picked up enough speed upon the downward incline of a steep hill.

With a final, simultaneous upward tug of her ankle and a stomp down upon her knee, Lucas tore her joint from the bone like a lever or the automatic gearshift of a car. She screamed and screamed until his palm came down upon her mouth again, muffling the excruciating pain from escaping through her mouth. Lucas let go of her leg and they both watched it fall limp to the floor. Blood spewed from the open hole in her leg onto the tarp- her femur was no longer attached to her tibia except by the skin of her kneecap.

Carissa didn't know what was going on anymore; she felt dizzy and was unable to speak. She ran out of breath. She couldn't fight anymore, her systems getting weaker and weaker. Her eyelids were getting heavy. The skin of the back of her knee tore to expose where her joint should have been, and she caught him smiling at her, releasing his palm from her face and kissing her hard on the lips.

"We could have lived a perfect life together. Such a shame."

Lucas casually walked over to his phone, which was laying on the floor, and looked through his phone. He placed it in his pocket, then grabbed one of his t-shirts and tied it around her leg to stop the bleeding- the pressure he applied caused her to whimper; nothing in her life had ever hurt this much. It was as if someone had lit her aflame and she couldn't do anything about it. He bent down to pick her shaking body up.

"I'm taking you to the hospital. If you say a word- anything to anybody at all- I will kill Harry, and unlike you, I actually want to get rid of him for good. Be a good girl now, won't you?"

***

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