While Austin recovers in the hospital, Seth, Pixie and I are busy talking to the cops, who are working to round up those involved in the sex trafficking ring that stretches from Colorado to Mexico. Ray threw out a ton of names in exchange for a lighter sentence, but he'll still be looking at serious jail time. I'm pissed that the cops made a deal with someone so despicable, but on the other hand, it did give them the leads they need to track down Diego, the cartel in charge of the whole operation.

Now there's nothing to do but wait for the trial, which is scheduled for this spring, during which Seth, Austin, and Pixie will all testify. Some of the other victims who have been rescued are stepping forward as witnesses too.

Austin is getting better, slowly but surely. It's mid-February, and he's starting to get nervous about his eighteenth birthday and finding a job, a place to live, furniture, clothing and all the other things we'll need to survive on our own.

"I don't have anything," he says anxiously nearly every time I come to visit him.

"Once you get out of here, you can look for a job," I say.

Austin sighs. "Who's going to hire a high school dropout who can barely read and write?"

"Then go back to school."

"If I go back to school, I can't work full time. It's a catch-twenty-two. If I work, I can't get a diploma. If I get a diploma, I can't work," he says tiredly.

That gives me an idea. Needless to say, with the police chase, Ray's live arrest, and the busting of the sex-trafficking ring, Austin and Pixie's story has become locally known. After a few phone calls from strangers asking if they could help, I decided to set up an online fundraiser account to see if anyone was willing to donate after hearing their story. I asked the local news stations to play the information, but I definitely didn't anticipate it going viral, so I was shocked when donations started pouring in from all over the country.

I haven't told Austin or Pixie about the account. My original goal was to raise five-thousand dollars to help us get started with living on our own, but within a week, donations have quadrupled to almost twenty grand. On top of the cash, people have been dropping off clothing and furniture to the news stations that ran the story. Keeping Austin in the dark about it has been hard, but I make sure he stays off the news channels if he turns on the TV in his room, and I've told his nurses and doctors not to say a word. Pixie is much easier to hide it from because she's back in Texas with Blanca now.

Pixie's birthday is coming up, and after the unexpected success of the online fundraiser, I decided to press my luck one more time. Just to see what would happen I got in touch with Disney, hoping they would send her a few toys or something.

"She's literally your biggest fan," I told the representative over the phone. "She's seen every princess movie about a thousand times, not to mention all the Tinkerbell ones too. After everything that's happened to her, she's still just a kid who loves Frozen and wants a happy ending for herself. She still sees the good in the world."

They had already heard the story on the news, and I was completely floored when they donated an entire week-long paid vacation to Disneyworld for Pixie's sixth birthday, which is in May. That's the day I'm going to surprise Austin with the news about the donations and trip.

I can barely keep a straight face when I visit Austin now and listen to him worry about the future.

"Just trust me, everything will be okay," I tell him, fighting back a smile.

Austin narrows his eyes at me from his hospital bed. They moved him out of ICU awhile ago, and he's able to stand up and walk around on his own now, which has made him more restless than ever.

"What do you know that I don't know?" he asks.

"What do you mean?"

"You have this sneaky-ass look on your face."

"No, I'm just looking at the glass half-full," I say innocently, "I just know everything will work out somehow."

Austin studies me for a long time. "Rory, I know you're hiding something. I'm gonna find out what it is too."

I throw my hands in the air. "Go for it. Dig all you want. You won't find anything because I'm not hiding anything."

"Uh huh. Come here, I gotta tell you something," he says, motioning for me to come closer.

When I lean over him, he puts his hand on the back of my head and pulls me in for a long kiss. I smile against his lips.

"What were you gonna tell me?" I ask.

"Nothin'. It was just an excuse to get you to come over and kiss me," he says.

"I don't need an excuse to do that." I laugh, kissing him again.

He sighs against my mouth. "Rory, when I get outta here, I'm gonna make love to you in every position I haven't tried yet... which is most of them. So get ready."

I chuckle softly. "Looking forward to it."

"I miss you."

"I know. You'll get out of here soon," I say gently. "And when you do, you'll be the happiest guy in the world. Believe me."

"Of course I will, beautiful girl. I'll be making love to you in every position!"

"Not just because of that. You'll see," I smile mischievously.

Blanca and I spend a lot of time over the next few weeks planning an epic Frozen birthday party for Pixie. Gwen has agreed to play Elsa and deliver the Disney tickets to Pixie in person. Planning the party is a welcome distraction from worrying about the upcoming trial.

I've gone back home now that Austin is on the mend, only traveling up to Oklahoma on the weekends to visit him. There's not much I can do for him right now, and I need to be with Seth. Seth is doing better in general now that the cops are on Diego's trail and have already arrested Ray and six others. After the news stories and Seth's decision to testify in court, my father has completely changed his tune about the whole situation. He's publicly vowed to help the police crack the ring and is promising to put an end to human trafficking in the state of Texas in order to further his campaign.

At first I was pissed about him using Seth's trauma to get ahead, but then he unexpectedly knocked on my bedroom door one night, three weeks after Austin got shot. I had no idea what he might want to say to me, and I was nervous he was going to yell at me for going with Austin and putting myself in so much danger. But he surprised me.

"Rory, I wanted to say that I'm sorry," he started, sitting down beside me on the bed.

I raised my eyebrows. "Um... okay."

"I should have listened to you about Seth. And if you'd trusted me enough you could have told me about Austin and Emmie as well, but you had no reason to trust me. That's my fault," he said, looking down at the floor. I could tell it was hard for him to admit this.

"I've decided to put Seth with a different therapist, one who specializes in... this sort of thing," he continued.

"This sort of thing? What, exactly, is this sort of thing?" I asked, "PTSD?"

"Yes... and... sexual assault," he mumbled.

"Dad, you can't be afraid to say it. Seth won't heal if he thinks you're looking at him differently. He told me. He's terrified of your reaction," I said.

My father closed his eyes. "I don't look at him differently... I...." He paused and clenched his hands into fists. "I just hate the bastards who did this to him!"

I was shocked to see tears run down his face. I had never seen my father cry, not even when Mom died. If he mourned for her, he kept his grief hidden behind closed doors. I didn't know how to react. I awkwardly put a hand on his shoulder, and he cleared his throat and composed himself.

"Rory, I know you think I'm just a corrupt, ladder-climbing politician... and maybe I am... but I'm going to try harder to be a father to you and Seth. I know I've failed miserably at it since your mom died," he said softly.

"It's okay, Dad," I mumbled.

He looked at me then. "No, it isn't. But I'm going to make up for it. Starting now. I promise."

I didn't really believe him at first, mostly because his promises in the past haven't been the most reliable, but over the next week, I notice him acting differently towards Seth, taking him out after school, asking about his day, asking about my day. I finally put my suspicions on the shelf and decide that he's trying his best. Even if I don't trust him a hundred percent yet, I can at least acknowledge that he's trying. Besides, it's helping Seth.

"Hey, Rory?" Seth asks me that Saturday afternoon as I'm working on homework at the kitchen table.

"What?" I say, glancing up at him.

He looks nervous. "Um... it's Lacie's birthday this week."

"Okay," I say, wondering where he's going with this.

"I don't really know what she would want, but I wanna give her something special. Do you have any ideas?" he asks awkwardly.

I lean back in my chair, my heart melting at his request. I can't even remember the last time Seth came to me for help... it might have been when he was ten years old.

"I'm pretty good at shopping for girls," I say.

Seth looks up at me then with his big blue eyes. When he looks at me like that, I can still see the innocent little boy he used to be.

"Can you take me to the mall and help me find something for her?" he asks, "She's not a typical girl. She likes video games and metal and... I really like her, Rory. I don't want to screw this up."

I smile. I don't know what's changed, but something about that moment makes me realize that Seth is healing. I know it will take him a lot of time and that things won't always go smoothly, but I have hope that someday he'll be whole again. Just because someone takes your innocence doesn't mean you lose it. It's there if you want it back. Austin has shown me that anyone can come back from anything and still be soft, still be good, still be innocent and pure. I have to believe that about Seth, because you don't give up on the people you love.

"Sure thing. Let's go," I say.