June 2022

Farkle's POV

Katy and Shawn came over for dinner. Maya and Josh are watching the twins, Maria, and Aaron.

"Thank you for inviting us," Katy told us.

"No problem," I said. "I like your new show, by the way. You play a really good cop."

"Thank you, Farkle," she told me.

KC set her fork down and looked at her mom.

"Hey, mom?"

"Yeah, KC?"

"Can I ask you something?" KC asked.

"Of course," Katy answered.

"When you were with Anthony, did you ever hate yourself?"

"It's kind of hard to hate someone you don't know," she answered. "For two years, he was my identity. I was his girlfriend and his punching bag. I guess I hated the part of me that stayed through everything. Then, one day, I questioned who I was. A light came through the window and shined on my bible—"

"The one you gave me?" KC asked.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "Then I felt you kick."

"I became your identity?"

"No, you became my inspiration to finally make a plan to leave, so I could have the identity I wanted," she told her, "as your mother and being faithful again."

"I hated myself," KC admitted. "I hated who I had become. I still have bruises that will never go away and I blamed myself for a while. Once I got with Farkle, I realized it wasn't my fault. It's his. Derrick made me feel like I had to stay to protect Aaron, Maya, and Farkle."

"That's what people like those monsters do," Katy said. "They gaslight you and make you think you're at fault. But neither of us were. Neither were you with Anthony. It all was his fault. He drove you to think dying was the only way out. I'm glad you realized the Friars were instead."

"Yeah, well, I almost gave that up."

"I read the letter after you left," Katy confessed. "How old were you?"

"10; my birthday and my and Jaxon's 2nd anniversary," KC answered. Shawn looked between KC and her mom. KC saw this. "I tried to drown myself." She started eating again. "Anthony pulled me out. He just didn't want me to get out of the pain."

"I'm sorry, KC," Shawn told her.

"Well, it's in the past," she said. "I get nightmares of it, sometimes, but it's the PTSD that does that."

Katy looked at KC.

"We're survivors," she told her.

"Yeah," KC said. "It's weird, though. Anthony's abuse was horrible, but for some reason it hurt worse with Derrick."

"That's probably because, at one point, you saw him as someone you might spend the rest of your life with," Katy told her daughter. "We were supposed to be able to trust them, but they destroyed that."

"Farkle and I have a show in a couple of weeks," KC said. "Would you do a song with me? I think we both relate to it."

"Sure," Katy told her.

Two Weeks Later

KC's POV

"So, we have one more song we'll be playing today," Farkle said into the mic. "This one will be performed by KC and her mom, and my mother in law, Katy Hunter!"

"You might recognize her from the Special Victims Force," I said, wanting to give my mom a boost. She smiled at me. She stepped up to her mic. "So, I usually don't curse, but this song is so powerful, and wouldn't as powerful without it. Here's aftermath by vaultboy."

I started playing piano.

[Katy, KC, Both]

I moved away and changed my number when I did it/ I'd hoped that cuttin' you off would make me feel different/ I know I'm weaker than I probably seem/ I can't lie I blame you for everything/ All pins and needles when I meet somebody new and I/ Get all choked up whenever they ask about you and I/ Feel so pathetic and I wanna scream/ I can't lie I blame you for everything/ And I think you know exactly what I mean

You really fucked me up/ Screamin' at my mirror like I'm fuckin' drunk/ Question who I am and what Icould've done/ But you're the one who told me thatyou were in love, ohh/ You reallyfucked me up/ Close my eyes and think ofanything but us/ Made me feel like I'm the one who'snot enough/ But you're the one who told me thatyou were in love, ohh

Try to forget how you could never meet me in the middle/ How all the pain that you inflicted made me feel so little/ A little tired of remembering/ I can't lie I blame you for everything/ You'd change so quick/ You'd start a fight, then you'd be saying sorry/ Made me look like a fuckin' idiot at every party/ It made me sick, it's so embarrassing/ I can't lie I blame you for everything/ And I think you know exactly what I mean

You really fucked me up/ Screamin' at my mirror like I'm fuckin' drunk/ Question who I am and what Icould've done/ But you're the one who told me thatyou were in love, ohh/ You reallyfucked me up/ Close my eyes and think ofanything but us/ Made me feel like I'm the one who's not enough/ But you're the one who told me thatyou were in love, ohh

You really fucked me up/ Screamin' at my mirror like I'm fuckin' drunk/ Question who I am and what I could've done/ But you're the one who said that you were in love, mm

I smiled at my mom.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading!