"Marley?"

I tensed hearing my mother's quiet voice fill the eerie silent room. I'd made sure that Louis wouldn't be here when I came to pack my stuff for the trip I was taking with Gage and his parents, but I had completely forgotten that my mother would be home.

"Mar, sweetheart, where are you going?"

I zipped up my bag, refusing to look at her, as I whispered, "I'm going out of town with Gage and Alyssa for the weekend. I'll be back for school Monday."

"Sweetheart—"

"I better go. It's a three hour drive." I tried to dodge her hand, but she was able to catch me and stared into my eyes so long that I slowly deflated, my guard dropping entirely.

"Did he. . . did Louis do something to you?"

I wanted to laugh in her face. To ask her how in the world it took her so long to accept the fact that her stepson was a monster. But I only stared, hoping my facial expression didn't give sight into the war I was fighting internally.

"Did he. . . did he touch you?" she struggled to get the next words out. "Did he force himself on to you?"

Yes, he raped me. Yes, he had someone record it. Yes, he's a Goddamn monster.

"I don't understand what you're trying to insinuate." I answered flatly.

"Did he. . . did Louis rape you, Marlene?"

Hearing the words leave her mouth was enough for a tight knot to form in my throat. This was my chance to tell her. To explain everything in detail. But I couldn't. I couldn't watch her face crumble the same way it had when she'd walked out of her bedroom where she'd found Dad dead. I couldn't destroy the perfect life she'd rebuilt for herself. Telling her what Louis did would bring it all crashing down.

"I have to go. Alyssa is outside waiting for me." I whispered, brushing passed her without a direct answer to what she'd asked. Hopefully that'd be enough for her to sit and consider what kind of monster Louis truly was. If not, I'd just have to pray she'd understand why I couldn't stay.

*

I wasn't sure who in the car was emitting so much tension, if not all three of them, but I continued to shift uncomfortably in my seat all the way to Gage's grandmother's house. Mayor Griffin sat in the driver's seat, occasionally ridiculing something Alyssa did on the interstate, to which she'd curse him out until he held his hands up in surrender and shut up. Gage hadn't spoken much since his confession last night, and though he'd promised he didn't, I knew he had that prescription bottle in his luggage. There was no way that an addict, especially for the reasoning behind the addiction, wouldn't have his fix when he'd be walking head first into the fire. I knew he was also uncomfortable with his father being in the car, and if he had it his way, they'd have all drove separately. But Mayor Griffin was trying to maintain his reputation, so he'd have his ex at his side with their son not far behind.

"Your mother and I are going to go in and let your grandmother know we're here. You can grab the bags from the back."

Mayor Griffin didn't even bother to look back at his son, but had caught his eyes in the rearview. Gage saluted him, but made sure when he moved his hand from his head that he was flipping his father off. He shook his head and muttered incoherently under his breath, and the second Alyssa stepped out to join him, they started to bicker. Gage remained seated beside me, his lip curled up in disgust as he watched his father touch a hand to the small of his mother's back.

"He's such a prick."

"Gage." I touched a hand to his forearm. "The only way you're going to survive this today is being above all of them. Pretend none of it affects you. Not your dad, not—"

He snorted. "That's a lot easier said then done."

"I know." I unbuckled my seatbelt and added, "But I'm here. You start to freak out, grab my hand and we'll walk away. Or run. Whatever you want."

"What I want to do is beat that motherfucker's face in." he snarled.

I raised an eyebrow at the vulgar language. "Your father or your uncle?"

"Both."

I squeezed his arm before climbing out of the car and shutting the door behind me. Reaching up, I pulled my mess of dark hair loose from the ponytail it'd been in and raked my fingers through it with a sigh. Gage popped the trunk and grabbed everyone's bags, throwing them over his shoulders and slamming the trunk shut. He stepped up on to the curb next to me and pinched some of my hair between his fingers.

"I haven't seen you with your hair down much." he smiled weakly, the first genuine smile in the last three hours. "It looks good."

"Thanks." I nudged him playfully and we started up the driveway toward the mansion.

Gage wasn't dressed in his usual sweatshirt and sweats either, but had been forced into a button up black shirt and slacks by Alyssa. Though she hated her ex husband, she did care about good impressions. I was in a pair of leggings and a white blouse, but she'd reassured it'd be fine and that everyone would have their eyes on Gage anyway.

She was wrong. Because as soon as we broke passed the gates and toward the Griffin Manor, eyes from all around fell on me, not Gage. It was as if every pair of eyes could see through me, could see the scars on my thighs, the bruise under makeup on my throat, the scars that weren't visible to the naked eye. Breathing out, I moved closer to Gage and let my eyes fall on the building.

It was a nice, modern style home from the outside. Two stories, white picket fence, fake grass that didn't even budge under my shoes. The door was sitting open at the top of the steps that led up on to a nice patio with a deck, a few people standing out and leaning over the white railing and watching kids race around the yard.

"That's my father's younger sister and her husband and their kids." Gage leaned in to whisper, following my gaze. I nodded, smiling and lifting my hand up in a wave as we climbed up the stairs.

"Maverick, look how much you've grown!" the woman exclaimed, throwing her curtain of blonde hair over her left shoulder and rushing to her nephew beside me. She hugged him tightly before turning her hazel eyes on me. "Oh, and you got yourself a pretty girlfriend. I'm Candace."

I offered my hand and shook her own with a forced smile, not sure whether or not to correct her observation. "Marlene, but I go by Marley."

The smile that lit her face was that of the one I'd seen on Gage's on very few occasions, but seeing it now there was no doubt they were related. "It's nice this kid finally got a girlfriend. He's been through a lot. So glad he's finally happy again."

That seemed to flip a switch in Gage and he nudged me toward the open door. "See you around, Aunt Candace."

She nodded and wandered back over to her husband. Gage remained unreadable and stone faced as we broke passed the threshold and into the house. It was as spacious inside as I'd imagined by looking at it, which in result made it appear sparsely furnished. There was a cherry red L couch in the living room on top of a white rug that had the texture of a Pomeranians fur. Opposite of it was a plasma mounted to a wall, currently playing a news story on something going on in a foreign country. A few formally dressed people that Gage just brushed passed without as much as a glance in their direction stood watching. He stopped at the end of the hallway, nudging the last door on the left open with his foot, and sighed.

There was a frail, petite elderly woman with hair as white as her rug in the living room, standing at the foot of the bed. She was touching a shaking hand to her chest and the other was gripping the bed frame as she shook her head side to side. My eyes followed her own to where a family portrait hung over the bed. It had been superimposed, and the way it was positioned almost looked as though Gage and his parents were watching over whoever was to sleep in the bed.

"Grandma." Gage said softly, careful not to startle the woman. "Hi."

She turned slowly, and her mouth fell open as she clutched at the cross hanging loosely from a necklace. She looked from Gage then back to the little boy, looking no older than Xavier in the picture, then back at Gage once more.

"Maverick?"

She had a slight limp in each step, but when she reached us, I saw those gold eyes, the soft amber that Gage's would melt into anytime he allowed his guard to drop.

"Hey, Grams." he whispered, dropping the bags and pulling her into his embrace. If I had thought the woman was small and delicate before, seeing her in his arms confirmed it. She looked like a small child clutching their parent.

"Look at you, honey. You've grown so much." Grams said, touching both hands to his face. "Where'd my baby boy go?"

Something flickers in Gage's eyes, and his Adam's apple bobs as he tries to respond.

"You look so great, Mav." she says, slapping a hand against his chest. "Staying so strong and fit for all the girls, huh?"

He smiled and forced a laugh, but the look in his eyes had me wishing I was brave enough to step in and lace my fingers through his own. His eyes looked to me, and finally the elderly woman stepped away from him and let out a breathy laugh.

"Oh, please excuse my ignorance. He's staying fit for a girl then, yeah?" she grasped my hand between both of hers. "I'm Rose. I hope my grandson is treating you alright."

I smiled. "Marlene. And yes, he's been a sweetheart. He's helped me through a lot."

"That's my boy." Grams boasted, then gave my hand a gentle squeeze and looked toward the open door at Gage's back. "I better go greet the rest of my children and grandchildren. It was such a pleasure to meet you, Marlene. Welcome to the family."

She hurried passed Gage and he finally let the fake smile drop as soon as she was out of sight and hearing range. He rubbed his hands against his face, then peeked at me through his fingers. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, she's so sweet." I said with a laugh. "She loves you too, you can see it in the way she looks at you, Maverick."

His eyebrows shot to his hairline. "Oh, you don't get to use that name. I don't like the way it sounds out of your mouth."

"It's your name though." I pointed out, then looked to the picture hung over the bed. "Or it was his, I guess."

He reached out and rubbed my shoulder. "Thank you for coming with me."

"Of course." I tore my eyes from the picture and offered him a weak smile. "That's what we do, isn't it? Be there for each other."

He looked as if there was a thousand other things he wanted to say, but suddenly grew stiff and his hand found mind immediately. I hadn't seen anyone pass by, but he must have heard it, because when I walked around him and peeked out the door, a man stood with his back to us. Touching my hand to the knob, I shut it in his face and locked it before he could turn and find us in the room.

Only when I looked back at Gage, though he was physically still beside me, he was long gone mentally. I led him over to the bed and he sat at the edge, eyes still on the door. I didn't try and get him to talk, or move, or even lay down. Instead I sat beside him, my thin arms around his waist as he sat tense, hoping that he'd come back to me.