"Mommy, Aunt Tori no picking up!"
Two year old Samuel handed the phone to his mother, frowning as he heard the ring. Kelly took the phone and listened for a minute.
"I think she might be out, sweetie," Kelly smiled to her son, hanging up the phone and putting it on the counter.
"But daddy said Aunt Tori no like Christmas," Samuel told his mother as she put him in his chair. "He said she stays home."
"Aunt Tori's probably sleeping then," Kelly answered. She didn't want him to ask too many questions about his Aunt on Christmas. It was a hard time of year for everyone. The last thing Kelly needed was for her son to know about Kalea.
"I go make airplane for her," Samuel got off the chair and ran to his room. Kelly smiled as she watched her son leave, before looking into the living room at Dustin.
He had tears in his eyes, like he did every Christmas. This was the day he had said those mean words to Kalea to make her run away. Tori still hadn't forgiven him for it, and he obviously hadn't forgiven himself.
Kelly sat next to him, placing her head on his chest, "Tori's not answering the phone."
"When does Tori ever answer the phone?" Dustin asked. "She hates this family."
"She's upset at you," Kelly reminded him, "but she never ignores us. I think something's wrong."
"If we don't hear from her by the end of the day I'll check up on her, okay," Dustin assured his wife.
---
Kalea looked around the room, clinging to the bars of her cage. She wanted to get out.
"Where are you going to go, Kalea?" Jacob asked her, seeing her sad face. "You don't have a home."
To Kalea, this was true. She remembered vaguely a happy life, before the cage, but she had been too young for the memories to stick. The earliest memory that she could muster was her being thrown in the cage.
"C'mon, brat," Jacob smiled, cupping her cheek with her hand, "Smile a little, it's Christmas. You should be giving me presents. What and I going to get this year? A foot rub? A massage?"
"Nothing," Kalea growled, pulling away from her father. "I hate you!"
"Well," Jacob smirked, walking over to the hook beside the computer. Kalea's eyes widened in fear as she watched her father grab the belt, "looks like I'm the one giving you a massage."
"Daddy, that hurts me," Kalea pleaded, grabbing the bars to her cage as her father tried to pull her out. Jacob ripped her out aggressively and threw her onto the bed. Kalea quickly got up and tried to run, but Jacob grabbed onto her collar, snapping the belt on her back.
"This hurts?" he asked her, snapping the belt once more.
Kalea nodded, holding back the tears. Jacob knelt down in front of her, holding her arms in his rough hands, forcing her to look at him.
"I could do much worst to you, brat," he told her. "You're lucky I don't go to extremes with you. Now give me a massage, or you get the belt."
"You're not getting the money!" Kalea yelled, pulling away from her father. Jacob ran after her as Kalea tried to make it too the door. He caught her just in time and pulled her back, dragging her down the hard metal stairs, by the collar. He attacked the leash to her neck then tied the other end to one of the poles supporting the roof.
"I'm not a dog," Kalea frowned, pulling on her collar.
"Shut up," Jacob snapped, hitting her with the belt once more. "You're just as stubborn as your Aunt."
Kalea tugged on the collar once more as her father grabbed the cage. He brought it closer to her before untying her from the pole. He put her inside the cage, locking it up.
"Kalea I have half a mind to kill you right now," he muttered to her, pulling on her leash. "I can use your sister to get the money if worse comes to worse. Think before you disobey me again, got it, bitch?"
Kalea nodded weakly. Jacob grabbed the leash and pulled on it, chocking her as he laughed.
"Got it?" he yelled, kicking the cage forward. Kalea and the cage went tumbling over, before landing on the side. Kalea laid motionless on the ground from her father's aggressive behaviour.
"Maybe now she'll finally shut up," Jacob sighed, returning to his chair to watch her suffer.
Kalea curled into a ball and began rocking, trying to remember life before the cage.
"I don't wanna die," she muttered, "I don't wanna die... I don't wanna die."
---
"Tor, we've searched everywhere," Lily sighed, sitting on a bench by the side of the street. "She's not here!"
Tori looked down at her niece. Their feet were hurting and they were hungry as well, but neither one complained. Their priority was to find Kalea.
"She's gotta be around her somewhere," Tori smiled to her niece, keeping hope.
"Where?" Lily asked, "Where the hell is she going to hide? No one's seen her, no one's heard of her! She's gone! DEAD! Six feet under!"
"Under..." Tori frowned, turning away from her daughter.
"What?"
"We never checked underground!" Tori smiled grabbing her niece's arm and pulling her down an alley.
"Under... what?"
"When Kelly told us what happened between her and Jacob, she told me he mentioned his basement apartment!" Tori explained before she began throwing boxes around, looking for a door.
"He might be keeping Kalea there," Lily clued in, helping her aunt.
"Exactly!" Tori pushed a heavy box out of the way and stepped on something hard. She looked down, brushing off the dust and dirt before noticing it was a metal trapdoor.
"I got it," she whispered to her niece, opening the door quietly and walking in. "You coming?"
"You have to ask," Lily smirked.
---
Jacob heard footsteps down the stairs and quickly turned. He could have sworn her heard a hush, but no one was there.
"That was close," Tori whispered, pulling her hand off Lily's mouth. She noticed Jacob turning to look and quickly jumped off the stairs, taking Lily with her. She then pulled the girl behind a stack of boxes.
"Daddy's hearing things again, Kalea," Jacob laughed, looking over at his daughter.
"I don't wanna die," Kalea continued to chant.
Lily turned to her Aunt. She recognised that saying from the day of the flash three years before.
"What do we do?" she asked.
Tori smirked, stepping into the light as she called for Jordan's attention.
"Jackass, the kid belongs with me."
Kalea looked up when she heard then new voice in the room and smiled. She didn't recognise the woman standing before her, but the face was familiar.
Jacob stood up, clapping as he walked over to the cage.
"Three years on the dot," he smiled. "Not bad, Tori. Too bad I don't have a prize for you."
"Call to the beast inside, bring out the cheetah!" Lily yelled before a cheetah spirit smashed through the piles of boxes and rammed right into Jacob. The man screamed in pain as the cheetah pushed him up against the wall.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now," Lily hissed, coming out of her hiding spot.
"I'm your father," Jacob smirked, thinking he had all the answers. He was soon going to find out just how wrong he was.
"You were never a father!" Lily yelled as her cheetah clawed at Jacob. "You left me, you left mom and you left Kalea!"
"I never left Kalea," Jacob smirked, pointing to the cage. Kalea looked over at him, her eyes filled with fear. "C'mon brat, tell them you want to stay with me."
Tori knelt down beside the cage, looking at her niece. Even if Kalea was thin, beaten, bloody and bruise, she was still beautiful to Tori. The blonde reached her hand inside the cage, waiting for Kalea to accept it.
"You don't want to live with him, do you?" she asked gently, carefully not to frighten her niece.
"Kalea, don't listen to this woman! She's going to hurt you!" Jacob yelled, before the cheetah pressed her paws against her chest. The claws dug into his skin as he howled in pain.
"SHUT UP!" Lily yelled.
"Lea... sweetheart," Tori called to the girl, still waiting to be able to touch Kalea. It had been three long years, and Tori was eager to have her niece home safe and sound. "I won't hurt you, I promise."
Tori reached into her bag and pulled out a tiara, "Look, I brought this," she smiled, giving the tiara to her niece. "It's yours, remember?"
Kalea shook her head, but accepted the tiara. She didn't know what to do with it, so Tori placed it on her head.
"There," she smiled, "You're a beautiful princess again."
Kalea looked up at the woman who had just called her beautiful. She hadn't been called beautiful in three years.
"You have to trust me, Kalea," Tori said softly, looking her niece in the eyes. "I love you, I would never hurt you."
"Keys are by the belt," Kalea whispered, pointing to the hook. Tori ran over, grabbing the keys to unlock the cage. As soon as she did, Kalea jumped out and into her arms, crying.
"I love you too, Aunt Tobi," she whispered.
Tori felt the tears burning her eyes. Kalea remember who she was. She had called her Aunt Tobi. Beforehand, Tori had wanted to teach Kalea to say her name properly, with the 'R' instead of the 'B', but at the moment, that 'B' sound was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard.
"Kalea, princess, you're not going to leave your dad like this are you?" Jacob winced as the claws dug in deeper.
Kalea turned away from her father, burying her face in her Aunt's shoulder. Lily called her cheetah back and watched as her father dropped to the ground in pain.
"You're done, Jacob," she yelled. "No more games, no more suffering."
"I can do what I want!" Jacob yelled, jumping up and attacking Lily. The dancer didn't have any time to react and was trampled by the angry man.
Jacob grabbed the belt and ran over to Lily, snapping it on her arm. Lily held her arm in pain as she looked up at her father.
"You're disguising," she hissed. She summoned her cheetah once more, attacking her father one last time before it returned.
Jacob laid on the floor in pain. Lily dropped to her knees beside him, taking the belt and wrapping it around his neck.
"Choose," she smirked. "Life, or death?"
She dropped the belt and turned to her Aunt and sister. Tori nodded, running out of the basement with both her girls.
Jacob screamed as he watched them go, before pulling on the belt, taking his own life.
---
"Aunt Tobi, stop," Kalea called as Tori and Lily ran into the alleyway. Tori respected her niece's wish and stopped in her tracks. She put the girl down, supporting her with one hand.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Is it over?" Kalea looked up at her Aunt with her now shinning blue eyes. Tori turned to Lily and smiled as they dropped down beside Kalea, pulling her in a hug.
"It's over, princess," Tori nodded. "It's finally over."