Please, check out my first ORIGINAL NOVEL! The Breaking of Poisonwood by Paradise Avenger. (Summary: People were dead. When Skye Davis bought me at a slave auction as a birthday present for his brother, I had no idea what my new life was going to be like, but I had never expected this. It all started when Venus de Luna was killed and I was to take her place, to become the new savior… Then, bad things happened and some people died. In the heart of the earth, we discovered the ancient being that Frank Davis had found and created and used to his advantage. The Poisonwood—)

I jacked the title from the movie "Lilet Never Happened." (It's a movie about Lilet, a maladjusted Filipino-American street-girl, who becomes Manila's most famous child prostitute. I've watched the trailer about 20 times and I'm very exicted for it to come out.)

For some reason, the title just speaks to me so that's why I'm using it. (Lots of random stuff inspires me with story ideas.)

I give you my word that there will be no child prostitution in this story! Really!

Anyway, I have MOVED this story COMPLETELY to another site. You can find this STORY and all its subsequent UPDATES here, remove spaces and asterisks (*): h*t*t*p :/*/ archiveofourown. o*r*g /works/1032787/chapters/2058058

I have the same penname there as I do here: ParadiseAvenger

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Because that's the awful truth about bad things. Once it's all over, it's like nothing existed. It's like Lilet never happened…

But that's not the beginning of the story. That's the end!

The beginning began on a cool summer afternoon when Kairi was sixteen, just as the sun was sinking below the horizon and the lights of the great city were coming on haphazardly like fireflies through the darkness. Kairi had spent the day at the mall with friends, casting shy little glances at her beautiful friend—Sora Strife—as she shopped. He's so beautiful, she thought as she walked down the street with her shoulder bag and her few purchases clutched in her hands. She wondered what exactly she felt for him. They had been friends for so long and she didn't want to ruin their friendship, but…

She shivered a little, wishing she had worn a light jacket just to cover her bare shoulders. She should have let Sora walk her home. She could have shivered and gotten his jacket from him. She could have inhaled the scent of his body and snuggled deep into his soft hoodie that held her like the arms she dreamed of.

Smiling, she hugged herself and hurried along with her head full of whirling thoughts of Sora. Looking back, she might have wondered if she was paying attention to the world around her… would it have happened? Would Lilet have happened?

Maybe yes.

Maybe no.

But either way, Lilet happened, but that's still not where the story begins.

The story really begins when the two men stepped out of the alley. One was big and broad-shouldered with thick scruffy red eyebrows peeking out from under a cap slouched low on his ugly face. The other was tall and slender with long-fingered birdlike hands and pale skin. They smiled at her predatorily and ice filled Kairi's veins. She clutched her bags to her chest, lowered her eyes, ducked her head, and tried to push past them.

Why was she that stupid? Did she think they would just let her go?

No.

Not a chance.

Looking back, she was glad she didn't let Sora walk her home. What if they had done something horrible to him as well?

Their hot hands grabbed her cold bare shoulders and she felt the brick wall bite into her back as they pushed her against it. Her throat froze, clenched in fear and agony. She wanted to beg them not to hurt her, but her lips were trembling so badly that only a little animal sound came out. They talked about her, talked about who was going to take her first and how they were going to do it. The shopping bag slipped from her fingers and lay on the ground like a small body crushed dead and flat.

Kairi put her hands out as if she would be able to push through them like shadows, but those hot hands only gripped her wrists hard enough to bruise. They laughed, breath hot and heavy on her flesh. Then, they pushed her down and the concrete of the alley bit into the back of her head. Her vision swam and a scream finally escaped her mouth.

"Shut her up!"

"I know, I know!"

What was in her mouth? A sock, a shirt, a fist, a dick? She couldn't remember and she couldn't see. They put something over her face as if to smother her.

Then, she felt their hot hands pushing up her denim skirt, her soft tank top, and her bra. The cold air kissed her skin, tightened in the pit of her belly like a block of ice. Her panties provided no obstacle and they simple ripped them down over her legs. Kairi tried to scream ad fight, tried everything to get away, but her arms were so limp and heavy from the blow to her head.

She just couldn't…

Then, the first man was inside her, tearing her apart like a finely wrapped gift. She screamed, but her voice didn't go any farther than her lips. The gag was too effective. No one was coming to help her. The thrusting, fucking, and tearing went on forever until she thought she would die. Then, she felt wet and uncomfortable and the hands that had been holding her down let go. She thought they were finished with her, but it was only the second one's turn. Again, the anguish and vile touches went on and on and on.

The cold from the concrete had frozen her body like ice, like a statue. They let her go and she just lay there, unmoving, and listened to the sounds of them zipping up their pants. She though they were finished with her now. They had to be.

No.

Not a chance.

Not even close.

After all, rape wasn't about sex.

It was about violence.

The first blow of their heavy muddy work boots to her chest cracked a slender rib, ripped it like a sliver of paper, shattered it like glass. There were strikes to her covered face and she was almost thankful for the gag in her mouth that cushioned her teeth and prevented them from shattering. She wanted to scream, to cry out, but she couldn't. They beat her for even longer than they had fucked her and she didn't remember half of what they did to her. Blessed darkness took her into its warm safe arms.

The only thing she remembered was waking up in that dark alley, cold and violated and beaten and broken, and feeling the agony all over and the air being heavy with the scent of blood. Her blood, all her blood. She felt like a discarded porcelain doll—paper-thin white skin, stripped naked for someone else's pleasure, redressed in blood and sex, staring blue glass eyes, and tousled unbrushed matted hair.

Someone was leaning over her, a pale moon-white face, and soft moth-like hands touching her throat. "Doll, are you alive?" The voice was floating in from far away like a memory, but she would never forget it. "Doll, hey, blink if you can hear me."

Kairi did blink and she saw the impression of white teeth, of a smile.

"That's a good girl. I'm going to get you help. You're going to be okay."

Then, for a while there was nothing but darkness, blackness, a never-ending abyss of night surrounding her.

After that, whiteness, blinding whiteness. Hospital… She was alone in the sterile white room save some sickeningly bright flowers and few cards. She couldn't feel half of her body and her breath was difficult in coming. Outside her door, she saw a policeman in dark blue. He looked tired. Struggling, Kairi called out to him. He looked so shacked, as if he was seeing a ghost, seeing someone come back from the dead. Then, there were nurses all over her like flies on a carcass. She didn't know what they did to her, but the pain went away and the darkness came back.

She dreamed for eternity.

She had nightmares for eternity.

The blackness went on forever and ever.

When she woke up again, it felt like an eternity had passed and her mother was sitting at her bedside reading a book. Her throat was dry and tight. For a long while, she couldn't speak and her mother didn't notice her open eyes. Then, there was a light knock at the door and then a heartbreaking crash.

Flowers, water, and chips of glass spread across the white linoleum.

Kairi's mother leaped up in her chair, book flying out of her hands and clasping both to her breast. She turned around, that expression on her face—sour, not angry, just unhappy. "Sora!" she snapped. "You must be quiet!" Then, she saw the expression on his beautiful face and turned back to the bed. Her eyes welled up with tears at the sight of her daughter's open eyes. She embraced Kairi so tightly, but she felt no pain.

Kairi's eyes were locked on Sora as she hung like a ragdoll in her mother's arms, arms limp. He didn't look like himself, though no less beautiful. His face was pale, as if he hadn't been in the sun for a long time, something that wasn't possible for him. His hair was more tousled than usual, there were dark bruise-like circles beneath his cerulean eyes, and he looked too thin. Kairi tried to call out to him, but he backed away to give her mother this moment alone with her.

When Kairi's mother finally eased her back against the pillows, a nurse was gathering up the flowers, sweeping up the glass, and mopping up the water with a rag in the doorway. Her mother gave her some cool water to drink and asked her how she was feeling.

But Kairi wasn't feeling anything except confusion.

"What happened?" she croaked.

"Oh, sweetheart," her mother whispered and her eyes filled again. "When you were walking home, you were assaulted."

"I was…" Kairi remembered the tearing pain deep inside her.

Her mother nodded. "Raped, sweetheart," she whispered and her voice broke off in sobs.

Kairi lay there for a long time, listening to her mother cry. She felt curiously numb. "How long has it been?"

"Two months."

Kairi's hand felt cold and she touched her ribs, her chest, her collarbones, her stomach. Was there a bump there? Swollen and heavy?

No, that wasn't possible.

Since she had spent two months in a coma, her body had healed but she was so weak from not moving on her own. It took more than two weeks for full use of her body to come back. Then, she was less than eager to set foot outside her room. She lay, trapped beneath the covers, afraid to breathe the outside air. Her friends came to visit her, but she wouldn't see them. Any of them, not even Sora. Then, never to be perturbed, he climbed the tree outside her window and tapped on the glass.

She had to smile.

She had to let him in.

Sora sat beside her on her bed. She was so relieved to see some tan on his face and some light in his cerulean eyes. Timidly, he reached out to take her hand, to touch her as he always did, but she shied away from him. "I understand, Kai," he murmured. "But, please, don't throw me out." His face was soft and sweet, the face of her best friend, but Kairi was only reminded of the men who had raped her.

She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and then opened them slowly.

His face was the only thing there—no monsters, no nightmares, no rapists.

"I… I wanted to talk to you, too, but I was afraid…" she confessed.

"You know I won't hurt you." His voice was soft and tender, not even a little bit hurt at her words.

"I know," she whispered. "I'm afraid of…" She looked at her bedroom door, feeling coldness in the pit of her stomach. She already knew what her mother would say, but what would Sora say? Would he hate her too? Would he scream and yell? But he was her best friend. She could trust him with everything and anything. Then, she pushed down the covers of her bed and pulled her baggy shirt against her rounded belly.

Sora's face went a little pale, but to his credit, he did not show anything else—no judgment. "What will you do?"

Tears flooded her eyes. "What can I do? This is a child… a child of rape."

When he reached out to touch her, she allowed him to. "What do you want to me to say to you?"

She sobbed, clutching his hand until it must have hurt him but he didn't pull away. "What should I do?"

"You know you have options," he whispered.

"I know I could, but… I've never liked the idea. But this child is…" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks.

He squeezed her hand tenderly, stroking it with his fingers until her harsh grip on him eased a little.

"Will you stay with me, Sora?"

"Yes. Of course. You're my best friend. I'd never leave you alone."

She embraced him tightly, sobbing into his chest. He held her, breathing deep and even to calm her down. She was still afraid of men, of what had happened, but Sora was different. He was her best friend and she trusted him. Hell would freeze over before he would hurt her.

When she told her mother about the baby, the child of rape, her mother wanted her to get rid of it, to kill it, but Kairi had made up her mind.

She was keeping the baby.

Seven months later, Lilet was born. She was so beautiful and, thankfully, she looked like Kairi rather than her terrible villainous fathers. Sora was the only one to be with her in the delivery room, holding her hand even though she was digging into his skin with her fingernails and making him bleed. Her mother was still in a rage over the dirty child, shouting and screaming in the waiting room, and Kairi's father had never been in the picture.

Lilet happened.

And so, the real story begins.

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Is it crazy that I've posted a new story already?! Do you know anyone else who does that or am I the only one?! Am I special (and not just special ed)?! Yeah, yeah, I know I'm crazy. I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it!

I know this is a little confusing to start off with, but I wanted this kind of tone for the first chapter—the whole past-present-tense mysterious what-the-hell tragic tone. Stick it out, everybody. I know you can do it! Next chapter is normal tone.

Questions, comments, concerns?

And I removed the original mature content that continued from that point due to the trolls. Please read this story and all its updates in its original context on Archive of Our Own.