"He…He raped me, Jenna." Elena began to sob. Now there was silence from Jenna's end.

"What?" was all that Jenna managed to say, her voice growing quiet. "THAT BASTARD! I AM GOING TO KILL HIM!"

"Please come here and get us, I'm sorry I'm asking you so quick but I'm afraid of what he'll do next. He was drunk, he hit me…"

"Elena I want you to tell me exactly what happened. I'm packing my stuff now, I'll be on the next flight out."

"Dad and Jeremy got into it and he knocked Jeremy out. He came upstairs and I tried to hide under my bed. He told me I could come out voluntarily or he was going to drag me out. I wanted to calm him down so I tried to reason with him. I mentioned mom and that sort of sent him back into a rage and he hit me and knocked me out. When I woke up I was tied to the bed. He raped me. I've never felt so dirty and wrong." She sobbed into the phone, clutching her chest with one hand as she gasped for breath. Jeremy rushed back into her bedroom and swept her into his arms, taking the phone from her.

"Elena, honey. Calm down, it wasn't your fault. Here's what I want you to-"

"Jenna, it's Jeremy. Elena's too upset to talk."

"Jeremy! Are you and your sister okay right now? Where's that bastard?"

"He's asleep in his room, but I think he may be starting to wake up."

"Okay, that's good. I need you and Elena to pack your things and go to a hotel, alright? I'm coming in on the next flight and you both will be coming back with me. I knew he was a little messed up after your mother died, but I didn't think he would ever do something like this. Have you called the police?"

"No. Elena doesn't want to involve them."

"Well she doesn't exactly have a choice in the matter, Jeremy. We are going to call them and make a report when I get there. He isn't going to get away with this, he will do it again if we don't."

"Okay. But how am I supposed to pay for the hotel? I don't have any money."

"Your mom kept a hidden compartment filled with about three-thousand dollars in case an emergency ever happened. It's underneath the sixth floorboard from the left in Elena's closet. Get that and use it to pay for anything you guys need until I get there. It looks like the next flight leaves in an hour and it's about a six-hour flight so I should be there around ten tonight. I want you to text me as soon as you get checked in to the hotel so I know you got there safely. I love you both and I'll be there soon."

"We love you too. Bye." Jeremy hung up the phone, relieved that they would be getting out of here. "Elena," he said softly as he pulled her away from him. Start packing, Jenna is on her way. We're going to stay in a hotel until she gets here."

"But I have to work!"

"No buts, Elena. You'll have to quit your three jobs now anyway because this is going to be permanent. I'll call them and tell them we're leaving and you can't work there anymore. You just focus on packing your things. Grab clothes and whatever stuff you want to take. We don't have long." He stepped away and walked over to her closet, pulled out a duffle bag and tossed it to Elena. She sniffled and walked over to her dresser as Jeremy counted the floorboards to find the sixth one. Once he found it he knocked and noticed it was hollow, indicating that he was in the right spot. Peeling back the board he saw a wad of bills in a Ziploc bag and grabbed it, his eyes bugging out at the sheer amount of money in front of him. Tucking the bag safely into his jacket he reset the board and stood up as he closed the closet door.

"Money..." Elena muttered to herself.

"What was that?"

"Money, Jeremy. We don't have any money to pay for the hotel room."

"I have it taken care of. Just pack." He kissed her hair and walked out of her room to go pack his own bag.

Alone now Elena's mind kept replaying the horrible event over and over. She could still feel could still feel his hands grasping her, surely leaving bruises in their wake. Elena frantically began just grabbing assorted items of clothing and tossed them into the duffle bags. She figured she could always buy more clothes later.

What she was unsure of though, was what she should take and leave behind. She walked over to her desk and grabbed her laptop and cell phone as well as the chargers for them, deciding to take only the necessities. She placed them on top of the clothes and zipped up the bag. Meticulously, and to serve as a distraction, she cataloged everything left in her room. Pictures of her and her friends, her old cheerleading pom-poms, a locket her ex-boyfriend gave to her… Something caught her eye; in the corner of the room, nestled in her chair next to a pillow was the bear her mom had bought her when she had her two week stay in the hospital as a child. There was no way that Elena could leave such an important part of her childhood, and her mom, behind. She walked over and grabbed the bear, holding it tightly against her chest. As she held it, a memory came back to her.

A frail, tiny Elena laid in the hospital bed curled up on her side. The doctor had just taken another blood sample; the third in the past week. She was scared and didn't feel well. All she could do was lay there as the medicine dripped into her IV and silently cry. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Elena, baby?" Her mother spoke softly as she stepped into the hospital room. "I have a surprise for you…" Elena sat up and her eyes brightened at the mention of a surprise. Was she getting to go home finally?

"What is it, mommy?" She asked as her mother pulled a bear out from behind her back.

"His name is Mr. Bear, and he isn't feeling too well. I think he needs a hug." Her mom smiled as she walked closer to Elena, sitting on the edge of the hospital bed. Elena gasped and grabbed him from her mom, cradling him in her arms like he was a baby.

"Is he sick like me?"

"He is and I think you're just what the doctor ordered." Elena smiled at the bear as her mom kissed her forehead.

From that day on, her and Mr. Bear were inseparable. At least they were until Elena turned thirteen and realized that having a teddy bear was a childish thing, but she couldn't stand to get rid of it because her mom gave it to her.

"Elena, are you ready?" Jeremy's voice brought her out of her happy memory and she frowned.

"Yeah," she sighed softly. "Yeah, I am." Elena walked back to her bag and unzipped it, placing Mr. Bear inside before zipping it for the final time. "Is he…?"

"Still asleep? Yes, but barely. We need to go now if we're going to make it out of here without a confrontation. Come on," Jeremy held out his hand and Elena took it, smiling. Things were going to start getting better from here on out. Hand in hand the two walked down the stairs and out the front door, locking it behind them. Jeremy took his sister's bag and tossed it into the back seat of the car along with his and climbed in the driver's seat as Elena opted to sit in the passenger.

"I'll protect you, Elena. I promise." Jeremy took her hand again and held it tightly.