❛ What's the worst that could happen? ❜

chapter thirty nine.

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    WHEN SCARLETT awakens, she has no clue how long she's been out but the agony from her the wound on her collarbone continues to bring fresh tears to her eyes as she forced herself to look down at the damage. Her lip wobbles as she runs her gaze over the burnt skin. She's spent years looking in the mirror at the tattoo, and she'd always curse Jax for coercing into getting it done with him but now as she stares at where the delicate writing used to be, she wishes she'd cherished it more before it was gone.

"You can always get another one," A familiar voice speaks from the dark corner of the basement.

Scarlett flinches at the sudden words and her head swings around as she searches for the person who just spoke. She recognises the voice, but it's impossible for them to be stood in the room with her.

"Maybe the new one could go on your arm to match his placement," They speak again, "Or is that too openly romantic for you?"

Scarlett squints frantically through the darkness of the far corners as she tries to seek out the person who's speaking to her.

There's a shuffle of clothes and Scarlett feels eyes burn right back into hers as she shivers in the chains, "Not speaking?" The person asks in surprise, "You usually have so much to say. No matter what you always have something to say," They scoff, "That bastard really has fucked you up. And I mean your father, not Jackson."

After hearing the longer sentences, it's impossible for Scarlett to shake the thought that the person speaking is someone who was pronounced dead months ago, "Donna?" Her voice croaks through the hollow basement.

A pair of boots hit the floor and after a few slow clicks of the heels, Donna Winston presents herself in front of Scarlett. Her arms are folded over herself and she's dressed in the exact same clothing as the night of the incident with her brown haired tied loosely back in a ponytail.

With wide terrified eyes, Scarlett's head begins to shake, "You're not. . . You're not real."

Donna sighs, settling down on the bottom step of the stairs leading up to the basement door that are directly opposite Scarlett, "Obviously I'm not," She says, "You watched me get shot through the head. There's no way of coming back from that."

"I'm fucking insane," Scarlett forces out a choked laugh and she drops her chin to her chest, "He's— He's made me fucking insane."

"Scarlett Miller," Donna scolds, "You would've imagined me at some point in your life. It happens when people die. Don't make yourself believe that it's your cunt of a father ruining you permanently. You're strong enough to get through and past this."

Scarlett's eyes raise and she smirks, "Never thought I'd hear the word cunt leave Donna's lips. She hated it."

"More proof that it's you imagining me," Donna chuckles softly while her eyes wander around the gloomy room surrounding Scarlett before they land on her, "Why did you never tell me?"

"I'm not speaking to the empty bottom step about my childhood trauma," Scarlett huffs, almost in frustration at herself for hallucinating someone who means so much to her.

Donna tilts her head, "You've got nothing else to be doing," She says, "You should've told me the truth after your overdose, Scar. I mean, I always suspected something was up with your parents. We all thought it whenever we would drop you off at your house. You'd slow your steps and take deep breaths as you approached your home. We all watched from Opie's car as you unlocked the front door and slipped silently inside, but not one of us ever mentioned how weird it was that you were so wary entering your own home," She tuts at herself, "And when you made me promise to keep your overdose a secret I should've known that it was your home life that had messed you up. Why didn't you tell me about it all, Scar? Me? One of your best friends?"

At the memories of her teenage years when she was too afraid to admit to Donna the truth Scarlett squeezes her eyes shut and releases a shaky breath before replying, "Didn't want people feel sorry for me. People treat you differently once they find out the truth about things."

"We would've helped you!" Donna argues, "Jax especially."

"I couldn't, okay? I didn't want Jamie to— I— I don't know. . . I would've just felt horrible shoving all my shit onto you all," Scarlett rambles, blurting out a random out excuse as she struggles to find a good enough reason for her secrecy, "The six of us were making the best fucking memories and I didn't want to ruin any of it by revealing how my dad beats me, my mum's a raging drug addict and my little brother is too terrified to even look at his own parents."

"We would've helped you," Donna repeats softly, "Both of you. You didn't have to tell all of us, why not just me? Or Cami?"

"Because you'd tell Ope, and Camille would tell Luke," Scarlett explains with a small huff, "Nothing was ever really a secret in our group."

"You and Jax were the same," Donna reminds her, "No one could ever tell either of you a secret without the other founding out within a few hours. I know you've tried to push every memory about you and Jax to the back of your mind, but I feel the need to remind you right now that you and Jax were once joined at the hip."

Scarlett grinds her jaw and she glares at Donna in annoyance, "Why do you feel the need?"

"To get you through this," Donna waves a hand towards Scarlett, motioning towards her current agonising state, "I would remind you of our memories but that's still too painful for you apparently."

"Obviously," Scarlett mutters, "Jesus christ, I fucking watched you get shot in the head. I—" Her words catch in her throat, "I heard as your laugh was cut short so. . . fucking quickly. You were not even a metre away from me when you died!" Tears begin to brim in her eyes and she can't make herself look at the ghost sat on the stairs, "Everything was finally getting good again and then. . . you. . ." She chokes up and a sob racks her body once she forced herself to look at Donna. The ghost peers back at her sympathetically with the familiar gentle gaze that Donna always had in her eyes whenever Scarlett got upset. There was always something so motherly and warm about her gaze, "I miss you, Don," Scarlett blubbers, her chin wobbling. She knows damn well that the hallucination sat opposite isn't real, and is just a part of her own mind that's playing tricks on her.

"How are the kids?" She questions in response, not being able to respond with 'i miss you too', because the vision wasn't Donna and never will be.

Scarlett swallows her tears and shakes her head to rattle herself back to slight sense, "Kenny's finally understood that you're not coming back but he's struggling to wrap his head around why, and. . . Ellie's struggling but apparently getting much better at opening up to Ope. Every time I've stopped by they've been okay. Still their usual hug obsessed selves," She smiles gently at the remembrance of how she was bombarded with hugs as soon as she stepped foot into the Winston's household last time she went around to check on the family.

Donna nods slowly at the information, "They always loved you so much. Ellie used to say to Ope that she wanted to be like you when she grew up."

Scarlett forces out a disgruntled chuckle, causing the chains to shake slightly and she's quickly reminded of her current state and predicament, "I hope she's changed her mind."

"When you get outta here, she'll look up to you even more," Donna says, "You're strong, Scarlett. Really fucking strong. Do you need me to tell you everything you've done that ninety percent of the population wouldn't be able to do?"

Grunting, Scarlett shakes her head, "Don't need reminding."

"You killed Kohn, you—"

"Hey!" Scarlett snaps harshly, "How the fuck is myself not listening to myself? I said I don't need reminding. I'm the one having to live with that shit buzzing around my mind twenty four fucking seven."

Donna nods in understanding before humming lowly, "He is coming, you know? You're starting to think that he's not. He is. He always does."

"Is that so?" Scarlett scoffs, "I mean, like, how long have I fucking been here? A week? A month? It feels like a ye—"

"Not even a full day," Donna cuts her incredibly word out before raising her hand and pointing towards the barred window and the sunlight that shines through, "The sun's only just started going down now. It's around 5pm, and you know that."

"Right," She swallows thickly in slight embarrassment, "That's not too bad."

"I'm sure he's on his way right now," Donna smiles.

"Why the hell do you keep going back to Jax?" Scarlett mutters.

"Because you won't stop thinking about him," Her eyebrows raise and Scarlett groans in annoyance as she knows that's the truth. She can't get Jax out of her head. She just wants him to come and get her.

A wave of fear washes through the basement as the sound of keys jingling makes it's way down to Scarlett and she stiffens as she realises that her father's at the door, planning to come down and do his worst with her.

"And here he comes," Donna sighs, standing slowly from the bottom step and tucking her hands into her back pocket as she wanders over to the window, "I'm just gonna look out here. I suggest you do the same. Don't give him what he wants."

The agonising pain in her shoulder begins to grow once more as Scarlett burns her eyes into Donna's distance figure and can't bring herself to look up at the basement door while her father unlocks it. The basement floods into silence once more and Scarlett's quickly reminded that the figure stood by the window is her own imagination and won't be able to save her from what's to come.

"Who you talkin' to, girl?" Robert stomps down the stairs, and Scarlett notices that the door has been left slightly ajar but she's quick to move her eyes so that he doesn't catch onto her hopeful thoughts, "You gon' mad?" His head snaps around the dim room and his eyes flow right over Donna and Scarlett hangs her head, "Must've done. There ain't no one here, Letty. No one but you and me, your dear old daddy."

Scarlett grunts, "How could I forget?"

"Dunno," He shrugs, stepping way too close her. His stomach is at her head height and he looks down at her with a grin, "Maybe you need reminding. . ." His hands drift up from his sides to cup both of her breasts and she shivers at his touch, ". . .that it's just gonna be us for a while."

She tries to ignore his hands as they squeeze and grope her boobs that are slightly protected by her bra. She pulls her eyes up to meet his, "What about Mom?"

Robert rolls his eyes at the mention of his wife that Scarlett hadn't seen in a while, "Jane don't know what she wants right now. She's. . . uh, she's relaxing in our room."

"Is that right?" Scarlett speaks quietly before shaking her head gently at her father's atrocious lying and she moves her eyes back down to the floor. She has no clue where her mother is, but she most definitely isn't relaxing in the bedroom.

"I don't like this," Robert's face pulls up into a frown of disgust as he nods down at the right bra protecting her breasts from his rough hands, "I don't like it at all," Keeping one hand on her chest, the other goes behind him and a moment late he reveals the same knife he used to slice off her dress and in process ended up cutting her stomach.

Scarlett's eyes wide in realisation but instead of speaking up in protest, she bites down on her lip and allows her eyes to drift off towards the window, where Donna stands leant against the concrete wall motioning for Scarlett to look her in the eyes and never glance away while the cold blade of her father's knife pricked at the skin beneath her bra strap. She was giving Scarlett a place to disassociate to.

No longer hearing his antagonising words or paying any attention to his actions, Scarlett drifts away as her father curls his knife under the centre strap of her bra before swiping up, causing the fabric to split in half and hang onto her arms like bags. Immediately, the cold air strikes her body but instead of being able to react or shy away from him, she just continues to stare at Donna, who's smiling lovingly and nodding occasionally. Robert then moves onto the straps hooking over her shoulders and in two fluid movements, he removes the bar completely from her body, leaving it to fall to the ground behind her, along with her dress.

A rough grip around her breast is the cation that causes Scarlett's eyes to dart away from Donna, causing the apparition to yelp out a small no in protest. Tears spring to her eyes once she looks up at her father and sees how he stares directly down at her breasts like he's just been served steak. His tongue wipes over his lips and a menacing smirk grows on his cheeks while his hands squeeze and push at her breasts.

A sob slices through her throat and she glares up at her father furiously, "Get your hands off me."

In response, one of his hands swipes across her face and her head whips to the side at the impact, but he always has a grip on at least one of her breasts. Her mouth floods with blood and she's surprised at this point that she has any blood left to loose.

"You're all mine now, Letty," Robert chuckles, twisting her nipple tightly and she releases a small yelp of pain, "All mi—"

"This should be the one," A male voice speaks out from somewhere above the basement, presumably outside of the house. A few footsteps trudge along the front path leading to the porch, "Looks like it houses a fucking abuser, that's for sure."

Opie.

Scarlett's eyes widen and her head snaps to the small window, but she struggles to see anything due to how low the positioning of it is. All she can view is the grass from the small patch of garden at the front. But this wasn't one of her imaginations like Donna. This was real. Her boys were actually outside.

Robert's back straightens and his hands release Scarlett, "What the fuck. . .?" He whispers quietly to himself, slowly backing away from his hanging daughter, "Who the fuck. . .?"

"Shout!" Donna begins to instruct loudly, noticing outside of the window, "Scar! Shout!" She stares at her friend, her eyes softening at Scarlett's expression as she seems too terrified to call for help, "Come on, Scar. It's him. It's Jax and Ope. I'm sure the other boys are here with them. Shout for them! Look at you, for fucks sake. What's the worst that could happen?"

Scarlett swallows thickly and her bottom lip wobbles as she hears the a rough knock rattle the front door. Her eyes flick to Robert, who is still trying to figure out who's approached his home at this time then she moves her gaze back to the window, where her imaginary Donna is pleading for her to make some noise. She was right. What else could he do to her?

Scarlett releases a shaky breath before she straightens up slightly and his name falls from her lips as a plea for help, "Jax!" The loud yell vibrates through the entire basement and carries through out of the window, "Help!"

. . .

slight cliffhanger x

word count,
2729

not proof read