"Hi Ava...and Taehyung, right? I remember you honey." Ms. Debra beams as we enter into the diner.

"Yes, that's right. Nice to see you again." Taehyung slightly bows with a smile and Ms. Debra begins to melt where she stood.

"I like him, Ava. You gotta keep him around." She winks at Taehyung.

We both chuckle while we follow her to a booth.

"Hey, we're actually meeting my dad here tonight. Is there a table available instead? Maybe one away from other people?" I ask stopping Ms. Debra in her tracks.

We sit down at a fairly secluded table on the side facing the door so we'll know when he enters.

Taehyung grabs my hand and places it on his lap, intertwining his fingers with mine. "Are you nervous?"

"A little, but we'll see how tonight goes." I say as I take a sip of water with my free hand.

Having arrived there a little early, we had plenty of time to talk and just forget the world around us. It gave me a moment to get myself together and focus on something positive.

Ms. Debra enjoyed chatting with us and sneaking long looks at Taehyung for a little while until her boss got onto her for slacking.

The front door chime rings which catches both of our attention. I see my father step in, surprisingly not in uniform and look around for us. Taehyung looks back to me and sees me starting to get uneasy.

"Hey," he gently turns my face to look at him, "I've got you. Self control."

He nods and waits for me to confirm by doing the same.

"Officer Young." Taehyung calls out to him with his hand raised.

I'm relieved that he's taking a lead tonight. My mouth felt dry and my body felt frozen. I don't want to go through the same old song and dance with my father. I don't want him to label me as a whore and I don't want him to talk down to Taehyung.

I take a deep breath as Taehyung stands to shake my father's hand. My dad walks around the table to give me a hug, but I don't move. He leans down and gives me an awkward embrace before sitting down in the chair across from us.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me you two." He says as if nothing ever happened between us.

We both nod.

"How have you been?" He continues as he looks specifically in my direction.

"Good." It's all I can seem to get out.

This is going to be an awkward night.

"Hello Officer Young. Would you like to order something to drink?" Ms. Debra asks.

"Just an iced tea for me." He replies to Ms. Debra and then back to us. "Did you two already order?"

"Not food. Just our drinks." Taehyung pipes up.

We all sit there for a moment. My dad looks around at everything in the diner and Taehyung does the same except for constantly looking over to check on me. I find a red mark on the table I've been eyeing for the last few minutes. Must have came from a pen one of the waitresses had.

"So," my dad takes a deep sigh, "I guess I'll get to it. Ava, I think it's time for you to come home. I already apologized on the phone last night and I think you're acting immature by trying to play house."

What the hell was that?

That lame ass apology on the phone last night should be all I need to come back to my parent's house? What about all of the years he put that stress on me? What about apologizing for calling me a whore? What about shaming me for just simply growing up?

What was even the reason why I needed to be there?

Control? Manipulation?

No thank you.

I tense up and I feel Taehyung press his leg to mine. I know what he's telling me self control.

I take a breath to steady my nerves.

"Dad, with all due respect, I don't think that's something I'll be doing. I'm a legal adult now and after years of stressing over being perfect in your eyes for fear of what you might say or do, I'm finally free from that. You know the things you've said to me and the way you've acted towards me while growing up. The apology you gave me last night isn't going to just erase that. I'm not sorry for growing up. Thank you for keeping a roof over my head and food on the table during my adolescence, but there's still a lot of damage that was done."

He gets angrier and angrier the more I speak my truth. I see it in his eyes and on his furrowed brow.

He leans in a little closer to me from the other side of the table so only we can hear as he begins to speak just above a whisper.

"Look you ungrateful little bitch. Pack your shit and get back to the house. You're too young to be his little slut. You can't even take care of yourself. You need me."

And there it is.

The same old song and dance. One minute he's nice and the next his true personality shines brightly through.

My breathing starts to increase as he stares me in my eyes and says those things to me until I feel Taehyung grab my hand and squeeze and I know what he's reminding me of...I've got you.

"You will not be talking to her like that in my presence. Not now, not ever. I don't care if she's your daughter." Taehyung stares directly at my father with an intense gaze. His voice deep and serious.

He stands and looks at me with a much softer expression and holds his hand out for mine.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" My father yells out and pounds his fist on the table causing everyone to look in our direction.

"Home." I state as I grab Taehyung's hand and stand to walk out of the door with him.

I see Ms. Debra nod at me in approval. She's witnessed our family drama over the years and like most people in this town, she knows how my father's temper is.

I don't look back on my way to the exit. Taehyung places his hand in the middle of my upper back to have me step in front of him as he puts himself in between my father and I.

"We won't be staying to eat tonight Ms. Debra. Have a nice night." He bows as we walk by her.

We walk out calmly and are halfway to the car when my father comes bolting out. "Ava! Ava honey. Stop. I'm sorry I lost my temper. Just come home sweetie. We can talk about this. Just us two."

Taehyung steps in between our two bodies even though we were many feet apart.

"Dad, stop! Stop trying to manipulate me. Stop with the mood swings. Stop talking down to me and stop trying to control me. This conversation is over. I'm not coming back to your house. Do what you wish with the rest of my things." I turn and open the car door and sit inside. Taehyung shuts the door for me and starts to walk around to the driver's side.

"This is all because of you! You broke up a family! You're taking advantage of my daughter. She's just some kind of sick trophy to you. I know your kind, kid." I hear my father yelling at Taehyung from outside of the car.

I quickly look back to make sure he's not in harm's way. He hasn't physically assaulted me but I don't know if he'll hold back from Taehyung.

"No. It's because of you. You broke up your family with your toxic behavior. She isn't a trophy to me and that just lets me know how little you know about me. Now, have a nice night, officer."

Taehyung opens the driver's side door and hits the lock button as he looks over to me and starts the car.

"Are you okay?" He asks as he put it in gear.

"I will be." I say closing my eyes tightly as we drive away.

Thankfully, there wasn't anyone parked in the spot in front of us so we were able to just leave. I don't think my dad would have moved away from behind the car if we had to reverse.

That night, I lay awake in bed. I'm half relieved I said what I've been needing to say and I'm half devastated that I'll never have that close heartfelt bond with my father. He'll never walk me down the aisle at my wedding and he'll never see my future children. It would be my responsibility to keep them away from toxic people.

Taehyung is sleeping soundly next to me, although he stayed up as long as he could. I knew I was safe here. I was safe with him and it was wonderful to know I'm loved but my mind just wouldn't rest.

I get up and slip on a pair of ripped denim shorts and one of his sweatshirts. I look back at him sleeping peacefully as I slip out of the bedroom door.

I slide on a pair of flip flops by the front door and grab my bag and keys.

I drive to the only place where I know I can clear my mind. Where I can find some peace and tranquillity and rid myself of my thoughts. As much as Taehyung is my safe place, I need a moment to just be.

I sit down on the beach. No blanket or light other than the moon and dig my feet into the sand. I thought I would end up crying, but I don't. I just stare blankly at the rolling waves and listen to the repetitive sound of the water and wind.

I replay my childhood memories, good and bad. The time I won my first soccer match when I was five and how my parent's were so proud of me that they took me out for ice cream afterwards. How when I was seven, I decided to quit soccer and was told I will never amount to anything because all I'll do is quit.

The time I got my first high school report card and it was perfect grades and how my dad posted about it on his Facebook page with a message that made me cry. The time I got my first B and I was grounded for a month and was told I must be some kind of retard.

The time I saw my father and mother yelling at each other all night when I was a sophomore and him slapping her because she didn't have dinner ready when he got home.

And then, I thought about nothing. Nothing at all as I continued to stare out blankly at the nature before me. I was numb. No tears to cry. My heart wasn't even beating at an unsteady pace.

The only thing that pulled me out of my daze was the sudden sight of car lights and Taehyung coming to sit next to me.

I turn to look at him, my expression unreadable still.

"I thought I'd find you here when I realized you weren't home. You scared me for a moment." He says in a soft tone.

"I'm sorry. I just needed..." I don't even know what to say.

"Peace? You said this place brings you peace when we first met."

I nod. "It does. I can't believe you remember me saying that or where this place even is."

"I remember everything about that night. That night brought me you." He grabs my hand and kisses my knuckles and I lean over onto his shoulder.

We stay like that. Not saying a word to one another with him just being there for me in utter silence. And it's more than I could ever ask for. He's still the only other person in the world that knows about my little sacred spot and I know in this moment that I chose the right person to share it with. He didn't have to be told to be quiet. He didn't have to be told where to find me. He just knew. He knew me and my heart and what would let me heal.

Eventually the moon gives way to the morning sun and we watch the sunrise come over the horizon.

"Today is a new day." He says quietly as he kisses the top of my head.

I nod and raise my chin to leave him a chaste kiss. "Let's go home."

He follows behind me in the BMW on the way to the house. I look into my rear view mirror occasionally and unknowingly smile at the gorgeous man behind the steering.

My phone begins to ring and I glance down at the dash to see who the hell could be calling me at this hour.

Taehyung ❤️

"Hey. Is everything okay back there?" I ask confused as to why he's calling.

"I love you." He says softly.

"I love you, too." I respond lovingly.

"Thank you for letting me sit with you." His voice was laced with a gentle tone.

I smile at the words being said through the speakers, feeling the comfort of his voice, "Thank you for wanting to."

We hang up as we pull into the driveway and he meets me by my car door, "Come on baby. Let's go have breakfast."

He wraps his arm around me and kisses my forehead as we walk back inside.