So sorry for the long update! Finals are coming up!

Thanks to those of you who reviewed! Fashion Fairy 26, michan-natsu, brendatorres113

anony: thank you I did pretty well on my midterms :) thank god haha

Anyways! There are adult themes in this chapter. Nothing explicit or in thorough detail though.

Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 10

The ride home from the police station was a quiet one. Sakura could feel the tension in the air, the anger radiating from Lalan. Lalan jerked her clunker into the driveway, getting out and slamming the door roughly. She stormed over to the passenger side door and threw it open, yanking Sakura from the car. Sakura stumbled as she was pushed roughly ahead, across the lawn and into the house.

The house was in complete disarray. The kitchen was disgusting from lack of cleanliness and Lalan's vodka bottles littered the front room. There was a broken, stained bat next to the stairs. Lalan pushed her up the stairs and forced her into the room with the locked door. The door closed quickly.

Sakura sighed and retreated to the large bed. The room clearly showed signs of her struggle with David. The chair was on the floor, contents of the desk laying beside it. The bed sheets were astray. The rug in the middle of the room was askew.

Thinking about the struggle only made Sakura wonder about David. He clearly had an ulterior motive the last time she saw him and that was truly her biggest fear. Even bigger than the threat Lalan posed. Sakura knew that David lusted after her and it scared her that he might actually come after her. She shuddered. The thought was repulsive, but she didn't put it past him. She never thought much of him since he always acted sleazy around her.

Sakura shook off the thought. She had to stay positive. Even though, she had to admit that her situation was pretty dire. The Tachibana's would be wondering where she was. She mentally smacked herself for not telling them where Lalan had moved to since abandoning Sakura's family home. They may have been the only people to help spring her from this prison. She sighed, staring out the window.

That was when she noticed the pane. Unlike her window in the attic, this window wasn't forcibly closed. It did have bars but she could at least stick her head outside the house and breathe in the fresh air. Sakura could have cried. This could be her only means of safety, whether she screamed for someone or waved her arms and legs like a mad woman, someone would still see her. Happy, Sakura closed the window and laid down on the bed, thinking.

Sakura thought about it for a while. If she pushed hard enough, maybe the bars would fall away from the house. As she thought of the plans, the door swung open, and in walked Lalan with the angriest look on her face. Sakura sat up and inched as far back on the bed as far as she could go. Lalan made it to the bed in quick strides and yanked Sakura off the bed by her hair.

"What did you tell them!" Lalan screamed into her face as Sakura desperately tried to pry Lalan's fingers from her scalp.

"Nothing! I swear!" Sakura managed. Lalan threw her roughly to the ground. Sakura looked up then and noticed she left the door wide open. She jumped up taking her chance and sprinted toward the door.

But, Lalan was faster. She guarded the doorway and as Sakura came up to her, Lalan raised her fist and punched Sakura in the cheek. The punch threw Sakura to the ground, dazed and in pain. Just as she was about to get up, she felt pressure on her right ankle. Then pain. She cried out and tried to wiggle away, but the pain increased. Then exploded. She screamed, turning over. Through her tears, she looked up into Lalan's eyes full of malice. Lalan smirked, pulling her foot from Sakura's leg, then brought it down hard on Sakura's ankle. Sakura screamed, her body racked with pain.

Lalan stepped away from her, giving her a menacing look. "I don't know why you're crying. You deserve much worse then that."

Sakura wiped her eyes and breathed deep to help alleviate the pain. She looked at Lalan with the most hateful stare she could muster. "Then just kill me. You've won. You've taken away everything that I've ever loved and made my life a miserable hell! Just kill me! Kill me!" she screamed, raising up to sit.

Lalan's expression didn't change. "Where's the fun in that?" At Sakura's slightly shocked expression, Lalan exited the room, slamming the door behind her. Sakura screamed into her hands as more tears spilled over her cheeks. What did she do to deserve this...?

It was late at night. The Tachibana's sat in their living room, worried about their dear friend's child. It was past curfew, yet the young woman hadn't come home yet. They knew this may have been a possibility since Sakura was a minor running from her abusive guardians, but somehow, they just felt the situation was completely wrong. The pit in Mari's stomach worsened as she watched the clock ticking by. She turned to her husband.

"We should call the police," she said, worried.

"And do what?" he answered her. "She's a runaway from one house. They'll believe she's just running away again." He sighed. "It's a messed up situation she's in. I wish her parents were still alive so that poor child didn't have to go through the horrors she is. It's a shame."

Mari grabbed the phone anyway. She knew he was right, but it didn't settle her fear. The 911 operator sounded on the other side and Mari tried to calm herself.

"We've been housing a young woman. Sakura Kinomoto. She hasn't come home yet. She's almost 17. I think something happened to her!"

The phone operator told her to try and calm herself. Mari could hear the typing on the other end. "A girl, Miss Sakura Kinomoto, age 16, was returned to her parents at 10:23 am by police officials. Runaway," the operator said monotonously. "She's at her place of residence."

"But she can't go back there! Those people abuse her and starve her and-" She was cut off.

"Ma'am? The police released her to her parents. They would not have if there was any speculation of abuse."

Mari was about to yell at her for her rude tone, but the dial tone rang loud in her ear. "Those evil people are not her parents," she said to herself, placing the phone back on its cradle.

"So?" her husband asked.

"The police took her back to her stepmother's." Both knew that the next time they saw Sakura, it would be at her funeral.

Sakura woke up groggy, her limbs stiff from being on the ground. She stared up at the ceiling as her vision cleared. She didn't know how long she was out, but it wasn't long enough for the pain to go away. Putting it in the back of her mind, she gritted her teeth and began to inch her way to the bed. She managed to put all her weight on her left leg and eased herself onto the bed. When her leg plopped onto the mattress, she tried to hold in her scream. Her ankle radiated pain and the throbbing was so intense, she felt her vision blacken. Sakura took deep breaths and after about five minutes, the pain became bearable.

She looked down at her foot. It was twisted funny, dark blue and completely swollen. She couldn't feel past her ankle and trying to wiggle her toes proved worthless. Her heart jumped to her throat and she had to fight down the urge to cry. But the tears came anyway.

Syaoran slammed his fist into his desk. Meiling had just called him to update him about Sakura. Meiling told him that she was taken away by police and she didn't know what happened after that. He didn't know why he was so worked up. The last he knew about her was that she was back in Lalan's home, probably being subjected to every which torture imaginable.

Maybe it was because she had enough wits about her to get herself out of her situation without any help. Maybe it was because he loved her. His fist came down again.

Damn the clan and damn their rules! He wanted to rush out of his lavish room and get on the first flight to Japan to save the girl he loved.

But he couldn't. No matter how much he wanted to...he couldn't. It ate at him knowing that he couldn't be Sakura's knight in shining armor. Too many people were dependent on him being here. He sighed. It truly was a messed up world they all lived in.

Weeks passed. Sakura hadn't once been outside the room. Thankfully, Lalan didn't forget about her. Every couple of days, she left a meager meal with a cup of water on her desk, which sustained her, but she was getting weaker and weaker.

She was able to wiggle her toes on her right foot now, which was a good sign, but she was afraid that the bone was growing back together incorrectly. Her foot was cocked at a weird angle and the bruising and swelling hadn't gone down. The pain had gone down considerably thankfully.

The door slammed open and an angry Lalan rushed into the room and tossed a thick packet of papers straight at Sakura's head.

"What the hell is this shit!" Lalan screamed in her face. Sakura gathered the papers as well as she could and skimmed the first page she came to. It was for her court case. Lalan was being served. A small smile grew on her face and Lalan smacked the back of her head. "What is it! You know!"

"Looks like you're being summoned to appear in court," Sakura smirked. "Sonomi is requesting transfer of guardianship and 100% time." Lalan's face grew red and she snatched the papers from Sakura. She stormed from the room.

Once the door closed, Sakura let out a happy laugh. She couldn't contain how happy she was. In less than a month, she was going to be free of Lalan! She let the tears fall and cried into her hands. After five years... Finally...

It was pitch black when she was awoken by the sound of the door opening. She couldn't see who entered the room. The door closed with a resounding click. Then whoever it was stumbled through the darkness and grunted. It was David.

Sakura's heartbeat quickened as she strained to hear him. She reached up and quietly opened the window. A stream of cold air blasted her and sent her uncovered body into a shivering panic. She calmed a little and let her eyes adjust to the slightly lit darkness. Thanks to the full moon, she could see the bed clearly, but the rest of the room was still dim.

The bed depressed as David fell onto it. Sakura backed up against the headboard and tried to hobble out of bed, but David caught her ankle. He pulled her down on the bed and hovered over her. She stared into his crazed eyes.

"Oh, don't look so scared, dearie. It's fun, I promise." As Sakura tried to smack his hands away, he grabbed both her wrists in one of his massive hands and held them above her head.

"David! Please! Don't do this!" she pleaded. He all but ripped her jeans from her frame. She shook from fear.

"Oh you're cold, baby. Don't worry, I'll be quick." He gathered her shirt in one hand and forced the fabric over her head, making a makeshift knot, tying her wrists to the bed frame. Sakura shook with fear and as he ran his body down her chest, Sakura smelled beer on his breath. His eyes were blood shot and his pupils dilated. Sakura half wondered if he was even there mentally at that moment.

He ripped one strap of her bra and threw it to the side off her body.

Sakura struggled with all her might, but David was heavy and she couldn't move under his weight. He stared at her before lowering his head.

"What about Lalan!" she screamed. She was hoping Lalan would hear him and he'd jump off her in fear of his wife's wrath, but he didn't.

"You can try screaming, but Lalan's out for the night and I've been waiting for this moment since I first laid eyes on you... There's just something about the young ones..." He kissed her, putting his whole weight on her. Sakura couldn't breathe and had to turn her head for air. David just continued, running his tongue down her chest and stopping to kiss her navel. Sakura twisted and turned and tried to cross her legs, but to no avail. His hands ventured where no man had gone before the and foreignness of his fingers forced out her unshed tears. Sobs wracked her body, but he continued, covering her whimpers with his hand. No matter how much she screamed, there was no one to help her.

Sakura cried the whole night, laying beside the man who had raped her repeatedly the night before. The tears never stopped. She felt nothing.

She turned her head towards the fast approaching daylight. Outside. Away from everything. She wanted to get out. She had to get out.

Sakura dressed as best as she could. The buttons were missing from her shirt and there was a huge gash through the leg of her jeans, but she didn't care.

David moved then, his arm trying to find her. He awoke suddenly and jumped off the bed, searching around the room. Sakura backed up against the desk, grabbing the top of the chair. He advanced on her, and just as he was about to lunge and grab her, she swung the chair as hard as her adrenaline would allow her. He fell to the floor and she rushed around him, racing for the window. She fought against the iron, pulling and pushing until she felt it start to give. The window slammed hard into her back, raining glass over her body. She screamed, kicking and punching the air, trying to connect somewhere on David's body. She kicked him violently in the head and he released her leg.

Sakura scrambled back up on the bed and pushed more at the iron. The bars pushed out slightly as the stripped screws fell to the ground several feet below her. David grabbed her by the end of her hair and yanked hard, pulling her to the bed. She felt the glass beneath her shirt. Grabbing a large slice, she sawed at her hair. In one nice sweep, her long locks fell to the floor along with David.

She returned to the window and shook the iron ferociously. One screw popped out easily and as she swung the gate to the side, she prepared to jump. It was almost there. Freedom. It was only a few feet away. The tears pricked at her eyes as she put one leg on the sill.

Only to be pulled back onto the bed. David was atop her, but she wouldn't let him win. Not with her escape so close. She grabbed another sliver of glass and ran it along David's face a couple times. Blood sprayed her face as he clutched his face. She took the opportunity to get out from underneath him. She pushed him to the ground, swung the grate and jumped out the window.

She fell hard on her good leg. She rushed, hobbling down the street, happy tears streaming down her cheeks.

The tears didn't stop. She sat huddled in a remote park, sobbing, rocking back and forth. They just wouldn't stop. Her face was in her hands again as new sobs wracked her small frame. She just wished everything would go away. Her thoughts replayed the horrible event in slow motion accentuating every detail. She pressed her fists into her eyes, willing her mind to just stop. But it didn't.

She lowered her hands and stared into the blackening sky. The realization dawned on her then just how alone she was. There was no one there to help her. No one telling her it would be okay. She was alone.

Syaoran...

She cracked a small smile. Syaoran...the one person she wanted close to her, but couldn't even come to help her if she needed him. She bowed her head as more tears fell. Wrapping her arms around her body, she shivered with the oncoming cold.

She could go to the Tachibana's... They would help her. Or Meiling... That's right Meiling stayed behind...

Sakura stood then, wrapping her arms tighter around her body and walked the rest of the way to Syaoran's old house.

The house looked inviting as she walked up the stone pathway to the front door. There was almost an immediate response when she tentatively knocked. Not five seconds later, Meiling's cheerful face appeared in the doorway. Sakura could only stare back at her best friend as her smile faltered and tears sprung to her eyes. Meiling jumped on her, crying, as Sakura tried to keep from crying herself.

"Sakura! I was so worried!" Meiling cried. "Are you okay, Sakura?" Meiling pulled back only to see the torturous look on Sakura's face. The dirt. The tear streaks. Then the fresh tears. Sakura bent over using her fists to try and quell them, but to no avail. She couldn't stop the sobs from wracking her body. "Sakura, what happened...?" Meiling asked slowly.

Sakura could barely speak through the tears. "He raped me, Meiling... He...raped me..." Sakura's sobs overcame her.

Meiling called desperately for Yelan, who appeared at the door with a frightened look on her face. She helped Sakura stand and brought her in out of the cold. Meiling rushed away and when she came back into the foyer, she was holding a small cell phone.

"Call Syaoran! He needs to come home!" Meiling said urgently. She thrust the cell phone into Sakura's hands, but Sakura shook her head. Syaoran wouldn't listen to her. He wouldn't come home.

Meiling dialed the number and held it to Sakura. She heard it ring. Once. Twice. Then the hello. It was his voice. How she missed him. Tears threatened to spill over her cheeks as she tried to find her voice. Syaoran said hello again.

"Syaoran...?" Sakura spoke timidly. Her voice sounded so foreign, cracked and broken. "It's me...Sakura..."

There was a long silence at the other end of the phone. Sakura moved closer to the front door to allow for some privacy.

"Syaoran...?"

Syaoran ran his hand through his hair. Everything was so frustrating! One second he thought he'd be done with his duties, then all of a sudden there would be more that he would have to complete. He hadn't heard from his family in so long and it pained him that most of his occurrences with them were not ones to be remembered. Thinking of the past for a moment, he wished that he hadn't acted so rash with his family. He wished they were here with him or he was back in Tomoeda with them...and Sakura.

He missed her so much. Their last conversation wasn't exactly the best one and he regretted everything. He wanted to stay by her side, but instead he chose the clan and their stupid rules. He had no update as to her situation, only that Sonomi finally got a court date for custody that was fast approaching. At least she would be out of that horrible situation and Lalan and her sick husband would probably get carted off to jail for a while.

He sighed. He knew these things took time but he just couldn't handle the torture she was going through. He clenched his fist and released it with a sigh. He wanted to be near her.

There was a large knock at the door. Without warning, the door swung open and an adviser to the clan elders pompously walked in, holding a cell phone. Syaoran snarled at the man. He was despicable in every sense. Syaoran hated him.

"Good evening, Master Syaoran. A word from your elders." He thrust the phone into Syaoran's face. "You are to call your mother and cousin and tell them you're not returning. Ever. They are to pack immediate belongings and be ready to be taken back to Hong Kong. We will contact them with information regarding flight and their other belongings."

Syaoran couldn't believe his ears. He was never going home? What? He felt the phone's weight in his hands, then dropped the object.

"What no! I'm not telling them that and I'm most certainly not saying here forever! I have someone to return to!" Syaoran said, raising his voice.

"Council orders. They are to be obeyed, not questioned." He picked up the phone and held it out to Syaoran. "Now call."

Just as Syaoran was going to protest, the adviser beat him to it. "You might want to call if you value your family's life as well as Wei's. Meiling's only family is you and Yelan. Wei, when discharged from such a prestigious job as this one will find it hard to find a job elsewhere. Same thing goes for your mother. What'll happen to your family once they're out on the streets with no money? And it's...all. Your. Fault." Syaoran's mouth closed and a sickening feeling settled into the pit of his stomach. The phone was handed to him again, Meiling's contact number highlighted in blue. He could only just stare at the bright screen.

The adviser pressed the call button and thrust the phone to Syaoran's ear, but just as it touched his ear, it began ringing, Meiling's smiling face popping up on the screen. It rang once.

"You might want to answer that," the adviser said.

Twice.

Syaoran slowly pressed the call button answering with a hollow hello. He couldn't hear anything on the other end and repeated himself.

"Syaoran...?"

He barely recognized the voice, but he'd know that sweet sound from anywhere. It was Sakura, but she sounded so wrong. There was no confidence in her voice. She sounded scared, hurt.

"Syaoran...?" she asked again, this time more clear. He looked up at the adviser's evil smile. Syaoran gritted his teeth and answered.

"I'm here." It was quick, immediate, and abrupt. His tone sounded off. Foreign. "Listen, Sakura..."

Sakura cut him off. "Syaoran, we need you here!" she said urgently. She gripped the phone hard. "Things...happened...I need you here, Syaoran..." she continued slowly, her voice cracking.

"Sakura. I...can't. I'm needed here and I can't leave."

Sakura's heart tightened. What...? That's when the tears started. She wiped her eyes on her shirt, smearing the dirt on her face.

"Syaoran," she started, desperately. "But I...I need you..." She felt someone hug her. Meiling looked up at her, encouraging her to go on. She opened her mouth to speak, but Syaoran's voice started lowly from the speaker.

"Sakura, I'm not coming back to Tomoeda. My family wants my mother and Meiling to come back to Hong Kong."

Sakura nearly dropped the phone. What was he saying?!

"Can you tell them that the clan's adviser will contact them with details as to their flight and belongings?"

"But. Syaoran!" Her voice was drowned out and trying desperately to get him to talk to her was frustrating Sakura so much that her tears fell freely and refused to stop.

"Sakura, I know they're listening in. Just tell them. I need to go."

"Wait, Syaoran!"

"I need to go, Sakura. Goodbye."

"Syaoran!"

"Bye, Sakura."

Then she said it. Broken and defeated, she slid to the ground, clutching the phone in her hand. Her tears clouded her vision and no amount of wiping them off stopped them. Her heart tightened and it was difficult to breathe. "I was raped...Syaoran..." she whispered, wrapping her arms around her legs. "I was raped..."

Syaoran's heart broke. He felt a stabbing pain in his chest as he heard her say those words. He gripped the phone so hard his knuckles were white. He wanted to kill. He imagined murderous thoughts as Lalan's face appeared in his mind. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The girl that he loved? Raped? It wasn't supposed to be like this...

He looked up to the adviser, who just stared back at him with a bored expression. That only angered him more. This...this...asshole didn't care about him or his feelings. Let alone his family or the girl he loved! Why couldn't people just be good in this world? Why did there have to be evil people like Lalan, or the clan, or this stupid adviser asshole in front of him. Syaoran clenched his fist, ready for a fight.

"Remember, Syaoran, the consequences if you don't stay..." the adviser said in his sarcastic, sing-song tone. That alone almost made Syaoran punch him. But the bastard was right. And he hated admitting it. His heart stung with the realization that he wasn't going to be there to help Sakura at all. She was going to have to rely on herself to get her through this horrible ordeal. There was just nothing he could do.

He sighed heavily when his beloved spoke his name brokenly. "I can't come, Sakura. I'm sorry for what happened, but I can't come." He shut the phone, ending the call.

The phone sounded a 'click' signaling the end of the call. Syaoran hung up on her. He wasn't coming. He wasn't going to help her.

The pain in her chest grew immensely. She was alone. Even with Meiling and Yelan standing next to her, worry apparent on their faces, she felt more alone than the day her father died. She tried to hold back her tears, but no amount of strength could hold them in. She felt hot. It was hard to breathe. She couldn't take it. She dropped the phone and fumbled with the door knob of the front door. She leaned her weight on the door and when it finally flung open, she nearly fell. She didn't care. Not anymore. She righted herself, sprinting down the street. She heard Meiling call her name, but even that didn't stop her.

She was downtown when she finally stopped running. She was disgusting, she probably smelled horrible. Her face was a wreck. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore.

She took a couple more steps before her legs gave out, sitting down on the last stair of a stoop. Her muscles were screaming, but the pain from her thighs surpassed that. Nothing would ever be the same anymore. She was disgusted. No one would want her. She was forever damaged. Fresh tears spilled over her cheeks and she covered her face with her hands.

She continued sobbing not even realizing that someone had dropped down to sit next to her. They wrapped an arm around her, but Sakura didn't react. She didn't feel anything anymore. Only the throbbing pain from her thighs that continuously reminded her of what happened.

"Hey, you okay?" the person asked. Sakura shook her head. "What's wrong. You can tell me. Maybe I can help you out? Did someone hurt you?"

Sakura cried into her hands. "I was raped! My stepmother's stupid husband!" She cried harder. "No one cares...even he wouldn't come help me. Even when I needed him the most, he didn't come!" Her sobs rippled through her body. "So what can you do!" she screamed, raising her head. "What can you...do?" She stared right at the bright gold medal on the person's chest. Looking up, realization dawned on her. "Oh..." She was staring right at a policeman, and craning her neck, she took in the bright sign reading 'Tomoeda Police Station' right above where she was sitting.

Only she would be the one to sit right in front of a police station and not even notice.

Dread washed over her then as the policeman gently pulled her into the warm room. She said too much. David would be arrested. Sent to prison. She fainted in the policeman's arms realizing that after all this was said and done, Lalan was going to kill her. Literally.

Okay seriously guys, tell me what you think! :) I was so said only seeing 4 reviews for the last chapter and I know it's probably cause it was filler XD! Anyways give me your thoughts, I love reading them!

Btw! Probably 2 more chapters left :) I'm really excited and I think you should be to! I've been daydreaming about this for a while cause I all ready knew how this story was going to end!

Thanks for reading!