Okay, I'm back. I worked hard on this chapter, so I hope you all like it. Next update is next Monday, most likely.

Trigger warning: Strongly implied rape.

I woke up in a dingy motel room, on a mattress stripped of the sheets and pillows. I opened my eyes, light immediately making my head hurt. I sat up, almost collapsing again from the pain in my skull. I grimaced before looking down at the bed. There was a pool of blood on the mattress where my head had been. I couldn't seem to grasp what exactly what was going on. Everything was blurry, and the pounding headache kept me from thinking clearly. My memories were all blurred together, and the last thing I remembered was reading in the bookstore.

Luck wouldn't have brought me to a place like this. This couldn't be him. I searched my mind for the other possibilities, but something seemed to be blocking me from the conclusion. I dropped my head in my hands, groaning from frustration and pain before it hit me. Accompanying the revelation was the sound of the doorknob. Unable to move fast enough, I was only able to press myself against the bed post and watch with horror as my step-father walked in the room.

He was exactly how he'd been last night. The door closed behind him, and I could clearly hear the locking mechanism click into place. My face twisted into the most menacing expression I could manage, but it obviously did nothing to phase the man quickly approaching me now. He stopped just at the edge of the bed.

"I was starting to worry you weren't going to wake up." he said, thoughtfully. "It really would have been a shame, too. You know how much I hate when you aren't awake to feel everything. It takes a bit of the enjoyment out of it."

My stomach turned with disgust. I knew exactly what he was talking about, and it made me want to curl up and die. I felt nauseous at the memories of him touching me, of his hands and mouth. The very idea of it happening again struck fear deep into me.

"Don't look so scared, Caroline." he said with a laugh. A cruel laugh that sent shivers down my spine. "You're used to this by now. You know what to do."

"Right now?" I asked, tears filling my eyes.

"I haven't seen you in a very long time. I've missed it."

I just shook my head, not willing to go along with whatever he wanted willingly. I'd been raped and abused for years, and I wasn't ready to let him do it again. Instead, I would fight him, and maybe he would give up on me. If I got away from him again, I'd find Luck and have him take care of it. Right now, I realized that I should have already told him. He could have prevented this. It was my idiocy that had gotten me into this mess, and now I'd have to get myself out.

Suddenly, he reached over and grabbed my ankle, pulling down the length of the bed so I was on my back in front of him. I cried out in pain as my head cracked against the top of the headboard. My vision swam and by the time my senses had somewhat returned, he was on top of me. His heavier body pinned mine against the mattress. I struggled but it was no use. He was much heavier and stronger than me. I tried screaming, but suddenly he shoved a piece of fabric in my mouth. It was probably a sock or something. My hands were tied above my head to the headboard.

That's when I realized I was completely powerless against him. Whichever way I turned, the ropes burned my wrists and scraped the flesh until blood was dribbling down my arms. I struggled a bit more until his fist slammed into my stomach. With tears streaming down my face, endlessly, I gave up. I let him do what he wanted, only letting out strangled sobs every few minutes until the pain and exhaustion hit me again and I passed out.

When I woke up again, it was completely dark. I forced myself up, surprised that I'd been untied. I looked around and realized that Robert was not there. I cringed, realizing just how badly my body was hurting. I forced myself out of bed and over to the door, but it was locked. I banged on it for several minutes, but nothing came of it. I stumbled to the window and pulled the curtains, realizing it was a tinted window with bars in front of it. There was no way out of it.

I felt desperation building inside me. I couldn't get away from him. He'd always figure out a way to hurt me. If only Luck could come and find me. I bet that elixir could heal up my aching body nicely. But, it was too late to be thinking about that. I shook my head to clear it, and grabbed my pants that had been thrown onto the floor. I looked through the pockets, but only came up with a penny and two nickels. Of course, Robert would have already taken anything that could be useful. I put them back on, wanting to be covered as much as possible when he came back, then sat on the edge of the bed.

I didn't move again until I could just make out a few rays of light coming through the thick window panes and curtains. I stood up again and walked over to look outside. My stomach sank to my feet. I could just make out Robert walking towards the door. Quickly, I stumbled back a few feet and ran to the opposite side of the bed. Not a second later, a key turned in the lock and my step-father walked in. A bit of bile rose in my mouth when he had the audacity to smile at me.

"We're leaving." he said. "We have to get back home in a few days or your mother will start getting worried. You don't want to cause her anymore grief do you?"

I shook my head, wondering if it was a good choice to let him get me in that car again. It seemed better than staying in the hotel with him for another night. However, I couldn't make my feet move to go to him. He didn't wait for me to decide. Walking over, he grabbed my arm and pulled me from the building. I blinked in the harsh sunlight, looking around at my surroundings for the first time. The first thought that struck me was that we couldn't possibly be in New York City anymore. He'd definently driven a long way while I'd been passed out in his backseat.

"Get in." he said, roughly shoving me into the passenger seat. I was too stunned to do anything until he was already in the driver's seat. "You thought about what you're going to say to your mother when you get home? She'll want to know the reason you left."

"I'll tell her the truth." I said, wanting my voice to come out strong and confident, but flinching when I heard the tremor in it.

"Sure you will. And if you do, I'll kill you."

"She already knows. She just won't admit it to herself."

"Sure she does. Whatever you want to believe." I looked down when I felt his hand resting on my thigh. "Just remember who really runs the house, and we won't have any problems, okay?"

"You make me sick."

"You and I both know you love every minute of it, slut. You just fight cause you like it rough."

Had he really deluded himself into believing his spew? He certainly sounded like it. I relaxed slightly when he took his hand off me to place back on the wheel of the car. I wondered where we were as we drove out of the small town and into a more wooded area.

Hours passed with darkness encroaching on the car. I turned and stared out the window, feeling myself falling asleep to the sway of the car. I jerked awake however, when I glanced over and saw the same thing was happening to my step-father. I actually almost couldn't believe what was happening. He was slumped over a bit, staring out the windshield. I heard him yawn as I turned back around to the door. Thanking God that he still had an old fashioned vehicle, I popped the lock on the side. Carefully, I opened the door and took a figurative leap of faith out into the cold, biting air.

I landed hard on my side, feeling my arm crack. As I stood up to run, I knew it was broken. The pain was horrible, but luckily, my legs and feet were fine. I took off running into the trees, hoping to quickly disappear into the foliage. Just a short distance away, I heard the car screech to a stop and a door open.

"Caroline! Get your ass back here! I don't want to hunt you down this late at night!"

Well, he was awake now. I ignored his demands and kept going, quietly creeping along. It was dark out, and there was a good chance the man might not be able to find me. I prayed silently as I walked along. I realized several minutes into my trek that I had no clue what state I was even in. I should have paid more attention to those road signs. I assumed we couldn't have been out of New York State yet, but I honestly had no idea. I had to find civilization, and a phone to call Luck.

I never expected to find a house out here. Not in a million years. But, as I approached the small wooden home, that was really more akin to a cottage, I felt a sense of elation. Rushing as fast as I could in my weak state, I walked up and pounded on the door, not even considering waking up whoever was inside. That was, until they came to the door.

He was a very tall man, early twenties I would guess, muscled beyond what I could believe. His very dark skin contrasted with the scarce light that came from the room behind him. I stepped away from the door, and his menacing expression. "I'm not giving you money or anything else. And I'm not going to buy into any sob story about your car breaking down on the road. You need to get out of here."

"I'm sorry, sir." I said, gulping. "I just…really need to use a phone."

"Well, too bad." He almost shut the door. Almost.

Another man, much shorter in stature, walked around him and blocked the door. "What are you doing, James? You shouldn't be so rude." He looked at me with kindly eyes. He pulled the door open completely. "It's freezing out there. Please come in."

I nodded and walked in, the other man starting to complain. "Tony, she could be a druggie, or a thief. We don't know. Who shows up at someone's door, in the middle of nowhere, at two am?"

"Someone who needs help." the shorter man answered. "And honestly, look at her. She's seen some bad things in the past few days. Let's not judge a book by its cover, and help her out. Go make some tea, dear. It always calms your nerves."

The imposing man grumbled and walked off into another room. I could only assume it was the kitchen. "I'm so sorry to disturb you. I didn't know it was so late."

"No. Don't think twice about it. Sit down, please." I sat on his couch, while he sat across from me in a big armchair. His eyes showed genuine concern. "What's going on? Is there something I can help you with?"

"I…" It was uncertain to me whether I should tell him or not. He seemed trustworthy, but Luck had told me to always be cautious around strangers. "My car broke down on the road several miles back, and I ran through the woods to find someone with a phone. I don't have a clue how long I've been wandering around."

"See, that's a lie." he said, smiling knowingly. "But I'll bite. Do you need to call a mechanic?"

"No, but I need to call my boyfriend."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea. If, he's the one who caused this."

I sighed, immediately seeing where he was going. In his defense, it wasn't that big of a leap. I might have made the same guess in a similar situation. "No. He's not. But he is probably worrying where I am. I don't even know how many days I've been away from him. Where am I, by the way?"

"Just outside of Hazelton, Pennsylvania."

"Pennsylvania? I was in New York yesterday… I think…"

"You really are messed up, aren't you?" He looked me up and down for a second, obviously noticing how I was cradling my arm. "What happened here?"

"I…I think I broke it. It hurts like it."

"I'll look at it, if you want." James said when he walked back in, carrying a tea tray. "I'm a doctor." I nodded. He walked over and kneeled in front of me, taking my arm gently. He examined it, as tenderly as possible. "I'm sorry I scared you earlier. I'm just really wary of strange people appearing at my house looking like they just stepped out of a gang war."

"No, I understand. I would be the same way."

"It seems like it might be broken." He let it go and stood up. "I'd have to x-ray you to be sure, though."

The other man handed me a cup of tea which I took with my uninjured hand. "Thank you."

"Who did this to you? It's obvious you didn't do it to yourself. You can tell us. We won't let him hurt you again." Tony said, smiling sweetly. "But you have to tell us."

"Can I just call my boyfriend?"

The two exchanged a wary glance, before James pulled out his cellphone and handed it to me after I set down the tea. I immediately dialed Luck's number from memory and took a deep breath, praying he would answer.

"What could you possibly want from me?!" a very gruff, sleep deprived voice came through the other side. "I swear if this is a damn telemarketer I'll bring down your whole company."

"It's me Luck." I said, watching their expressions. He'd been loud enough that they had heard him.

"Caroline?" His voice rang with relief. "Caroline where are you? What's going on? There was blood in the bookstore and you disappeared. What's going on?"

"Look, I can't talk about all that right now. Can you just come get me? I'll tell you everything this time, I swear."

"Yeah, give me the address."

Suddenly, the phone was taken from my hand. James placed it at his ear. "Look," he said. "If you're the one hurting her, I'll hunt you down. She doesn't deserve it." Silence. "I swear, if you're lying…" More silence. "Fine." He gave him the address and hung up. "He's on his way. It's a few hours' drive, though."

We sat in silence for a few second. "Thank you, both, again." I finally whispered.

"We're happy to help." Tony smiled at me. "Just as long as we're not sending you back into a bad situation.

"You're not. Trust me. I left that behind me a long time ago. Luck didn't even know about it. Well, not everything anyway."

"Well, why don't you tell us everything?" James asked, sitting down.

"I'd really rather not."

James started to say something, but Tony cut him off. "We can't force her. Let's go back to bed. You can sleep on our couch. I would offer you the guest room, but we don't have one. Please make yourself comfortable." He stood up and dragged James out of the room, before he could say anything else.

I watched them go, confused at first, but just shrugged it off. I tried to find a comfortable position to lay in, but couldn't seem to lay on any side that didn't scream in pain. Eventually, I just laid on my back and decided to tough it out. I fell into a tumultuous, uncomfortable sleep, but somehow it was better than my two previous nights.

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