Chapter Rewrite Complete

Maddie nearly had a heart attack when she came to get Danny in the morning. I knew what it looked like with my clothes thrown across the room and the two of us in bed together. She started going on about responsibility, and I didn't have the will power to stop her. Danny patiently waited for her to finish her rant before telling her what happened. As he was telling the story, I curled up in a ball again and hid under the blanket. It was bad enough that I had to live through it, I didn't want to listen to it, too.

"Sam, sweetie?" Maddie asked, trying to get my attention. I peeked out from under the covers and caught a glimpse of the horrified expression on her face. She reached out to touch my shoulder and I screamed.

I knew it was just a friendly touch and that it was nothing like what happened the night before, but I still screamed. The second she touched me, I had a vivid memory of Dash touching me, putting his hands and... other thing in places they definitely did not belong.

Maddie pulled her hand back immediately and Danny wrapped me in his arms. "You're okay. He's not here. You're safe now, I promise," he said. He kept repeating it over and over until I finally started to calm down.

Maddie stood there in silence for a few minutes, just watching me freaking out and Danny desperately trying to calm me down. I didn't like people seeing me when I was weak, but there wasn't anything I could do about it now.

"Are you okay, sweetie," she asked. I could tell from her voice that she didn't really know what to do. She sounded like she was about to cry, but I had crying reserved for the foreseeable future.

I just shook my head, I didn't feel like talking.

"I know you probably don't want to think about it, but you need to decide whether or not you're pressing charges. I think you should, but it's not my decision to make."

I didn't respond. I hadn't thought that far ahead.

"If you're going to press charges, then we need to preserve the evidence. The sooner we act, the better."

I didn't know what all needed to be done in order to preserve the evidence, but I knew part of it involved DNA and I didn't want anyone touching the place that had most of it for a long time.

If I didn't press charges, Dash would get off scott free. God only knows how many others he would go after before someone finally came forward. I didn't know if I was the first, but I likely wouldn't be the last.

The decision felt harder than it should have been. I didn't want Dash to get away with it, but I also wasn't sure how much I could take mentally and emotionally.

Then it hit me. There might be a third option. While I tried to avoid using it, the Mansons had power and money. They could force Dash out of the state, maybe even the country if they wanted. It wouldn't be as good as putting him behind bars, but it would force him to start his life over without breaking what little sanity I had left. All I had to do was convince mother there was a reason to do it.

Surely she would believe me, right? Her obsession with status couldn't blind her that much, right?

"I don't want Dash to get away with this, but I also don't want to deal with the courts and collecting evidence. I'm going to let my parents take care of it," I said, sounding more confidant than I felt. It was a compromise that would hopefully let me take care of both myself and others.

I couldn't quite read Maddie's face. I guess it wasn't the answer she was hoping for, but it was better than the answer she feared.

"Okay, if that's what you want. I'm sure you want to shower, but need to be absolutely certain this is the path you want to take first. Once you shower, most of the evidence will be gone and there's no going back," she said. She probably hoped I would change my mind.

"I'm sure. I can't handle what it would take to get him convicted, but I also don't want him to just keep living his life here like normal either. Going through my parents is the only way to get both things." At least, I hoped I could get both. I knew there was a chance mother wouldn't stand up for me. This should be serious enough for her to back me up, no questions asked, but she also tended to assume that people from high-class families can't do terrible things.

Maddie sighed. This was definitely not the way she wanted to handle things, but she had told me it was my decision and she wasn't going to go against her own word. "Okay. Do your parents know where you are?"

"No. I don't have my phone, and Danny brought me straight here when he found me."

"Okay, sweetie. I'm going to call your parents and let them know what's going on. If you're absolutely sure you don't want to formally press charges, then you can go take a shower. You probably need it." Maddie looked at her son. "Keep an eye on her and don't do anything stupid." With that, she walked out the door.

I curled up against Danny's chest. "Please don't leave me."

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Sam, but I can't exactly follow you into the shower."

I thought about it for a minute. "Yes, you can." I wasn't really fond of the idea of Danny seeing me naked, but I hated the idea of being alone more. Danny had become my safety blanket and I needed him with me more than I needed anything else. It might be awkward, but at least with Danny, I was safe. He'd probably already seen everything after the event last night anyway.

"Okay, but please tell me if you change your mind. I don't want to make you uncomfortable, okay?" I nodded. "I think you left some clothes around here somewhere." He got up and started digging through his room, thowing everything from last night in a box out of sight. He finally returned with some sweat pants and a t-shirt I left for emergencies long ago. I had honestly forgotten about it and thought they had been tossed out when mother purged my wardrobe. I had never been so grateful to see such a simple outfit.

He grabbed a change of clothes for himself and we headed to the bathroom. As I turned on the water, he asked "Do you want me to stay out here or get in with you?"

It was a good question. Normally, there was no way in hell I'd ever invite him to shower with me, but I wasn't ready to seperate from my safety blanket.

"If I'm getting naked, so are you." I froze for a moment, realizing I wasn't ready to see another... one of those things. "Well, n-not entirely. Please keep your- your..." It was a lot harder to say than I thought it would be.

Danny nodded. "I understand. Don't worry about it." He stripped down, leaving his boxers in place. I was glad I didn't have to finish the sentence for him to understand what I needed.

We stepped into the water and I blushed as I realized exactly what situation I had gotten myself into. I was naked, in front of Danny, in very close quarters. Things could happen here, things I wasn't even sure I wanted.

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, an image of Dash flashed in head and all I could feel was his hands running across my body. I grabbed the soap and a washcloth, and I started scrubbing everywhere. I didn't even care that it hurt, I just didn't want to feel that bastard's hands on me anymore. I had to scrub it off. I had to get him off me.

Suddenly, Danny grabbed my hand and took my washcloth away. "You're going to hurt yourself." I reached for it, but the little shit made it intangible to keep it out of my grasp.

"I just want him off me."

"I know, but you can't scrub away a memory." He paused, biting his lip, considering something. "Do you want me to do it?"

I wasn't really sure. I had been able to let Danny touch me, but this would be different. That would cross so many lines. Then again, just having him in here with me was already crossing some. I wasn't convinced I could stop myself from scrubbing my skin raw. He was right. I probably would end up hurting myself. At least Danny wouldn't cause any new damage.

"Okay," I said quietly.

"Tell me if you want me to stop." I nodded and Danny started to run the cloth over my skin. He was gentle, and if I wanted to lie to myself, I could even say it was loving. He worked his way up and down my body, carefully avoiding the areas that Dash had thouroughly abused the night before. His movements got erratic anytime he approached those areas and I realized it was because he was doing his best not to look. It was kind of impossible, given the situation, but the thought was nice.

Letting him wash me made me feel cleaner than when I was obsessively scrubbing at my skin. I thought I would tense up, but he actually managed to calm me down.

He stopped and handed the washcloth back to me. "You'll have to finish yourself. I don't think you want me touching the rest of it. Just please be gentle with yourself, Sam."

I nodded. "Can you step out?" It felt so stupid, but I didn't want him to see me clean the rest of myself. He's already seen it, but that was different. If he was here, he'd be watching to make sure I didn't hurt myself and that would mean he'd actually be paying attention to the private parts of me that I wasn't really ready to share with anyone. Right now, I could at least pretend that even though he'd seen it, he wasn't really paying attention.

"Promise you'll be gentle."

"I will."

"Okay. I'm going back to my room before mom realizes where I am. She'd probably kill me for coming in here with you." I laughed a little. After the way she reacted this morning, he was probably right.

After he left, I finished washing myself. I wasn't as gentle as Danny had been, but it was nowhere near as rough as when I first started.

When I finished, I stepped out and stared at myself in the mirror. My skin was red where I had scrubbed it too hard and a few nasty bruises were staring back at me. I knew it was me, but it didn't feel like it. The breast that Dash had practically crushed in his hand the night before had bruise in the shape of his hand. I turned and saw another bruise forming on my back. Probably from when he pushed me to the ground. I hadn't even noticed it hurt when it happened. I was too focused on him, touching me in ways I had never wanted him to. Doing things that I didn't want anyone doing to me yet.

I shook my head. I knew I was getting dangerously close to losing myself in those dark memories. Tears were already threatening to fall. It was all far too fresh to be thinking about.

I went back to Danny's room to find him sitting on his bed, fiddling with his phone and waiting for me. He was probably telling Tucker what happened.

I curled up under his blankets again, and Danny wrapped his arms around me. I turned and buried my head in his chest. I couldn't stop the memories from taking over my mind, but at least I knew I was safe in Danny's arms. Danny wouldn't hurt me. I don't think he was even capable of it.

I don't even know how long we stayed like that. All I know is that it ended with some screaming downstairs and Danny's door being thrown open.

I pulled myself away from Danny's tear soaked shirt to see who had caused such a commotion. I hadn't even realized I was crying. My mother stood in the doorway and I couldn't tell if she was worried or just pissed off.

"Don't leave me," I whispered. Danny nodded and I think he kissed the top of my head, but I'm sure I had just imagined it.

"Get your filthy hands off my daughter, Fenton!" my mother screeched.

"No." Danny was firm- he refused to let my mother walk all over him. We sat up, but he never let go of me.

"This is not up for discussion!"

I heard a low growl come from Danny's chest. It sounded a little possessive, but I didn't care. He could claim me as his for the time being. I sure as hell couldn't take care of myself.

"Sam asked me to stay, so that's what I'm going to do."

"She is coming home with me, without you!"

"She's not going anywhere unless she wants to! You need to leave."

"I do not take orders from teenagers! Let go of Samantha! You're probably the one who did this to her in the first place!"

"You know damn well that's not true! She's safer with me than she will ever be with you!"

Maddie appeared in the hall. "Pamela, Sam's very fragile right now. It's probably best not to force her into anything."

"Do not tell me how to raise my daughter when your son is the one harassing her! You need to get him under control, Madelyn!"

"Danny's done nothing wrong! You're the one making a bad situation worse!"

"I've had enough of this! You're coming home with me right now, Samantha."

Mother reached out and grabbed my arm. I screamed and broke out of Danny's arms to get as far away from her as possible. I knew it was just mother, but all I could feel was Dash's hands on me and him violating me. I could see and feel it so vividly I forgot where I was for a moment. The memory felt so real, I completely lost touch with reality until someone new started yelling.

It was Jazz. She must have come running when she heard me scream. "I think we all need to leave and give Sam some space for a few minutes."

Maddie stepped back, like Jazz had asked, but she stayed close enough to keep an eye on the situation.

"I don't know who you think you are Jasmine, but you do not tell me what to do!" Mother was not giving up. A part of me was starting to think about just going so things wouldn't get any worse.

"Pamela, Danny is the only that can even touch Sam right now, and considering what happened last night, I'd call that a miracle. You need to leave her alone before you traumatize her more!" She stay out in the hall, but Maddie had her arms crossed. She was getting tired of dealing with my mother's shit, but she knew she couldn't take care of the problem herself.

"I am her mother! I don't care what you think is best for her, what I say goes! And I say she's coming home, NOW! You people have done enough to her!"

Jack appeared in the doorway. "You're upsetting my family, Pamela. You need to leave."

"I am not going anywhere without my daughter!"

Jack's gaze hardened. "Yes, you are." Jack picked my mother up and carried her off. "If you want to scream, you can do it from outside."

A few moments later, I heard another of mother's trademarked shrieks and the sound of the front door being slammed behind her. She was still yelling, but at least it wasn't in my face anymore.

I heard Jack coming back up the stairs. "You need to come get your wife and she is not coming back here until she learns to behave herself." There was a pause before he spoke again. "I do not care. If she shows up here screaming like that again, I will call the cops and have her arrested for trespassing. Do I make myself clear?" Another pause. "Good."

I heard him slam the phone down before he came back to the doorway. He looked to me. "Are you okay?" I nodded. "Good. If you want to talk your mother, then by all means, do so. I just don't want her here if she's going to scream her head off like that, and I don't you do either."

"Thank you," I said, truly grateful for the one Fenton that knew how to handle my mother. Mother couldn't be talked down, she had be handled with brute force.

"Of course, sweetheart. Maybe she's just being overprotective, but her behavior was absolutely ridiculous. There is no reason to barge into someone's house yelling like that." He chuckled a little and turned to his wife. "Maddie, I think we need a new phone. I took my anger out on the poor thing, and it's not even a ghost!"

We all laughed a little. "Well, better the phone than Pamela. The last thing she needs is a reason to sue us." Maddie said. "We'll be downstairs if you need us, kids."

Danny wrapped his arms around me again as his parents left and I let myself relax into it. I had hoped my mother would be on my side, but after that exchange my hopes were starting to dwindle. She had already tried to blame Danny for the event once, and it wouldn't surprise me if she did it again.

Jazz sat down at the foot of the bed, keeping her distance. "What happened, Sam? I've only got bits and pieces of the story."

Danny opened his mouth to speak, but Jazz cut him off. "I want Sam to tell me. I know you're trying to take care of her, but she'll never heal if she doesn't tell her own story."

"I... Dash... I can't." I knew she was right and I needed to do this, but the words just weren't coming.

"It's okay, Sam. I'm not here to judge. You don't have to go into detail. Just take your time."

I nodded and started to slowly work my way through the story of what happened. Everytime I started to get lost in my memories, Danny hugged me just a little bit tighter to bring me back to reality. It was slow, painful, and more than just a little vague, but I did it. I told someone what happened for the first time. It was way too soon for details, but that wasn't the important part. Just telling the story at all was the important thing.

It would take a lot to fix my broken mind, but this was a start.

Fair warning, due to how this chapter was rewritten to fill in some plot holes I left in the original version, the beginning of the next chapter doesn't really fit with the events of this one. If the beginning of the chapter says "chapter rewrite complete," then there shouldn't be any issues, but if you've started this story and get that far before I fix it, things may be a little confusing. I'm guessing this will be a recurring problem as I work my way through this.

Invisible One