"How can I ever repay you?" I say as I lean back into the passengers seat as Rayleen begins to drive us back to her hotel.

The leather of the car felt almost comforting as I rolled down the window to inhale the fresh air.

I was appreciating the little things in life.

"Stop thanking me. Aaron and Damon told me you were here and I drove here as fast as I could." She says as I admire her red hair sleeked back into a bun.

Her baby bump was forming and her long legs were covered by her tight blue jeans and sweatshirt.

"How is he? Damon?" I ask and she looks at me smiling.

"He's doing well. He's recovering quickly and is already sick of bed rest." She says and I feel a weight being lifted off of me.

He was okay.


"I don't know what I'm going to do about everything else though." I say with a shrug.

"Don't worry. I'll get you the best lawyer there is." She assures, gleaming at me.

Reminding me of the same grin her daughter, Gabriella had given me.

"I can't let you do that. Emily took all of my money so I couldn't possibly pay you back." I say and she begins shaking her head immediately.

"I don't care! Don't worry about paying me back. I'll take care of everything." She says and I lean back.


This was out of my reach and for once, I was going to allow someone to help me.

Not to mention I was practically desperate for help.

"Besides, the higher the paid lawyer, the more likely you'll win. Strategy will be different and so will everything else. My husband is away on training for the upcoming season and Gabriella and Evan are with their grandmother. Amy and her husband are still getting used to parenthood." She explains, so basically she had her reason to stay with me.

"Why are you doing this for me?" I ask her.

She was a rich wealthy business woman, with a husband and kids...a life.

"Because I know it feels to be victimized." That's all she needs to say because it was partially true.

I was a victim of a crime, but I hated to have that as a label for myself.

"We can also go see Damon soon if you would like." She offers.

"I would most definitely love that." I say honestly.



Her hotel was quite large and had a second bedroom for me to stay, I walk in and sit down on the large love seat and watch as she pulls out her cellphone.

She was calling for a lawyer and left me to do whatever I pleased.

I heard a knock on the door and rose to my feet.

My eyes widened as I noticed the face almost immediately.

The once blonde hair turned brown and her bright face had shaped gracefully.

"Haley." I say flatly. It was my sister.

She smiles at me and looks behind me. "Rosie," She says simply and I bite my lip nervously. What did she want?

"What are you doing here?" I growl at her and she frowns. "I've been searching for you, I wanted to see if you were safe." She says simply and I frown, what did she mean?

"Oh God, you think I'm still apart of them dont you?" She says slowly, she looked hurt by the thought. As if it was so absurd that it shouldnt have even crossed my mind. 

I look behind her and back away. "Maybe you should come in." I mumble and she steps forward.

I notice she's wearing a long coat and boots, her hair is up in a ponytail and she bleached her hair but it suited her. Her emerald green eyes were detailed with black eyeliner. "I heard." She says and I suck in my cheeks and turn around, leading her into the living area. "Our family never changed. Once the sirens were heard, everyone started running." I say and I watch as she studies my face.

"You changed too." She simply says in a hypnotic voice.

Haley and I looked alike, we were only a year apart and everyone thought we were twins.

"How'd you find me?" I whisper, denying her random statement. But I knew exactly what she had meant. "Rayleen found me. I've been looking for you, for months." She says with alight delicate voice. "Why?" I ask.

She pauses for a moment, as if she's trying to catch her train of thought and she leans back. "What did they tell you? Em and Keegan?" She asks me. 

"That you became a prostitue." I whisper nervously. The corners of her mouth twitch into a smile and she lets out a gurgle and I realize it's a laugh. She's cracking up as if I told some hilarious joke.

"They are all full of bullshit. Did you see mom?" She asks and I shake my head. 

"Good, that bitch is so blinded by the bullshit she put us through that she's probably avoiding you too." She says and I turn my head to the side. "What do you mean?" I ask.

Suddenly I notice her green eyes fill with tears and her nose turns red, like it always did when she cried. 

"Out here in the city doing big things, meeting new people. Flinging your ass around a pole, while guys admired you from afar, throwing money down to the throne you called a damn stage...while I....no I was sent off to a man twice my age, who took advantage of me for money." She spits out harshly...

I feel tears come out the corner of my eyes as I straighten my back. "You dont know why I did it." I whisper and she shakes her head.

"Yes I do. That night you told us we could live, we could survive and have a new life and you set the whole house on fire and you ran out the door, leaving me there. I felt the smoke choke me up but you kept running. You knew what would happen when you left. But you kept running, You said this life would be new and would be for us. But you kept running and you didnt look back." There's a silence as she speaks. I feel my hands begin to grow sweaty as I watch her.

Is that what she came here for?

I didnt even know how to reply. "You can fool Cody and Patrick and mom and dad and Emily and Keegan but you cant fool me. You looked up to Emily as if she were some God, you worshipped the ground Keegan walked on and you simply pushed me aside as you victimized yourself. Told everyone that you had no one to keep you going. Miranda was the only one while I stood in her shadow as nothing! I was rooting for you and you didnt even know it." I didnt even know how to embrace it.

"Haley, what happened to you?" I ask in a shudder and she scoffs again. 

"Now you care? No note? No phone call? Is this what you expected to do? Live your life and forget everything that happened? You know what happened to me? Once you went on your ape shit and left the state, mom hooked me up with one of her friends. She dressed me all nice and put makeup on my face and said 'Haley, just let it happen sweetie' thinking I was going to finally make daddy smile with my first kill when all I was going to end up doing was spreading my legs to 5 different strangers." She pauses and I cover my mouth, ym face straining as the tears pour faster.

I couldnt bare to hear this. "Does it hurt to hear this? Hurt to realize what you actually let happen?" Hold on.

"Mom tried to send me to that first so dont go there with me. I lost my virginity to a fucking hammer and was set up with a crazy sadistic bastard. You think you were the only one who wanted to make mom and dad proud? We didnt know better, we were kids." I remind loudly, forgetting that Rayleen was in the other room.

"Still avoids the point Rosie. You left, you didnt leave for all of us. You left and didnt even care who you were leaving behind, you think I was upset to see you go? Well I was, but I didn't have too much time to give you all my sympathy, no, I had to save some for myself." She says almost in a disgusted tone.

I ball up my fists slowly and swallow. "You thought it was easy for me really? That I just packed up my shit and left? No, hell no. I left with nothing by the clothes on my back and within my first week of living, I was abducted. I woke up in a room with a needle lodged in my arm, I was supposed to be a sex slave hooked on drugs-"

"Well news flash for you. That ended up being me. You still dont get it do you?" She says and I pause, wiping my nose with the back of my hand. "No you dont get it. I didnt know what life really was. I was going crazy Haley. Losing my mind, searching for help that I didnt know actually existed. Stealing candy from stores, luring people with riches to come to my safety as I stripped myself from my natural born innocence every cent I stole, every body I injured, every mind I corrupted. You dont get it! I didnt choose this life. My only escape was dancing! That's all I had but no...we couldnt do that, right? No activites, unless it was at school, but first I had to make sure I conned my teachers, made sure I cheated, made sure I lied. You...no you had it easy, want to know why? You stayed behind the scenes so fo course I looked to Emily and Keegan, they knew what they were doing.

Cody didnt care. Patrick didn't care. I just didnt want to fail so I left. No one listened, I didnt victimize my  self!" I practically yell in her face. "You just didnt come back." She says..

Two broken sisters, crying in each others presence.

"You all can just bury the past and then bury me with it, look at you. Dressed in those fine clothes, I'm sure you owned." She mutters.

"We're practically in the same work field." I mumble. "But are you carrying a child you dont even know who it belongs to? No." She says and looks down. I want to put my arms around her, I want to hug her...hold her, tell her that I loved her...despite everything but it was as if I were frozen with emotion,

"You weren't the only one who woke up in an apartment with a needle lodged in their arm, no I did too. I woke up with three needles, both infected and I contracted HIV from it." She says and I swallow the hard lump in my throat, immediately throwing my arms around her as she broke down in hard sobs.

"You left me. You left me with them." She shouts and buries her head into my neck, as I feel her hot tears drip down me and my neck and I cant help but sob with her. I didnt ever want this. I had no clue, not even the slightest thought had even crossed my mind.

"I'm so so sorry Haley." I say into her arms...and she hugs me back, holding me softly.

So there we were, two Merchants, raised on pride and greed, broken by the two...becoming nothing as our family triumphied prospered..leaving us nothing but diesased and dust and yet with her next to me,

I had never felt stronger.

~*~*~*~

This was emotional for me to write for some reason, I plan on making Haley a bigger character and I

ll update tomorrow as well. Thank you for your patience, so tell me what you think.

comment comment x

The Song: The One That Got Away x The Civil War