Disclaimers: I do now own PLL or the characters. I do own all OCs.
Spoilers: None
Rating: M – detailed recounts of child physical and sexual abuse. Please read with caution.
Notes: I had a thought and did not want to let it go. So I wrote this. It will be expanded/added to the story The Pink TuTu – chapter outtakes, but for now, it is this one-shot.
Trigger Warning: Detailed recounts of physical/sexual child abuse. Please read with caution – marked as the entire chapter.
June 27th, 2019 – Rosewood Hospital
There is no telling how long Aria and Spencer sit on the hospital bed with their little girl in their arms.
Rosie hugs her baby brother like her life depends on it, and she basks in the warmth of her family's presence. She had dreamt of this day – this moment – for three long, terrifying years.
Day after day, she hoped to be able to come home.
As the minutes passed and turned into hours and then days and then… 1 week…
Rosalie had hoped that someone would call the police. That, at any moment, she had told herself, any moment the police are going to come running in here like they do on TV. They will break down the door and arrest the bad guys and carry her home to her parents and little brother.
Unfortunately, as time passed, Rosie began to wonder…
Was her mommy right when she said, "Hope breeds eternal misery"?
But then, something magical happened.
The man had let her out of the "dark room" aka the closet, where he sent her as punishment. He allowed her to come to the living room while he had a guest over.
It was another man, and the two talked about grown up stuff that Rosie didn't understand.
She had to be quiet and well-behaved. Otherwise she would be sent back to the closet without dinner, and a whipping, as punishment.
She could not stop looking at her.
Rosie had never seen her before.
You see, this man, the one who took Rosie, and the other one, who this mystery woman belonged to, were partners in this whole thing. They each had three girls and, once a week, they would switch out. One would take a different three, the other would have the last three.
Jackass #1 (Rosie's kidnapper) had Rosie, a little girl named Olivia, who was 13, and an older girl, Jessica, who was 18.
Jackass #2 (Jackass #1's guest of honor) had a wife, who whom he wanted everyone to believe was his wife.
Her name was Stephanie, and she was 33 years old. Then the mystery girl, who was 28, although Rosie had not no idea of this because she could not tell what age they were. The last girl was 25 years old, and named Taylor.
Back to the point at hand…
One this day, exactly three years since Rosie was taken from the Rosewood Zoo, on her fifth birthday, Jackass #1 had his guest over.
Only one of his girls came with him.
She looked at Rosie, seeing this beautiful blue-eyed 8-year-old and all the innocence that she still possessed.
This woman, after 23 years of being here, made a decision right then and there.
She was going to do something for Rosie. She was not going to sit by and watch as this little girl slowly lost whatever innocence and childlike nature she had left.
She remembered this age – 8 years old was about the time that her kidnapped deemed her "a woman".
It was the time that the touches and slaps and belt-whippings escalated to…
Well…
Rape.
Everyday.
She would still get "punished" with the belt, but the worst part was having a man easily three times her weight laying on top of her tiny 8-year-old body, crushing her, suffocating her, entering her.
God the pain.
My god, the pain.
The first time, it hurt so bad she had gotten physically sick, and then almost aspirated on her vomit because the man did not notice right away, and therefore, she was laying flat on her back as the bile rose upwards in her throat.
The Mystery Lady made a decision right then and there…
It was going to end today.
This little girl was not going to have the last bit of dignity and innocence stolen from her.
So…
The Mystery Lady made another decision.
She made up some excuse for taking Rosie to the kitchen, something about needing to teach this brat how to properly clean the dishes and learn her place in this family.
Thankfully, both men (Jackass #1 and Jackass #2) believed it. #1 even agreed, because he had been having trouble for quite some time.
Rosie does not perform well under pressure and still, today, three years later, she is getting whipped for not "learning her place and cleaning this fucking house" correctly.
Once they were in the kitchen, Mystery Lady hugged Rosie. She choked up, whispering, "It is going to be ok, babygirl. I promise. Everything will be ok."
Rosie broke down in sobs, she was scared – terrified – she had not been spoken to or touched like this in three years.
God she missed her mommies. Her brother, her family.
She just wanted to go home.
It was easy…
Almost… too easy.
Mystery Lady noticed that the front door had not been padlocked back after Jackass #1 let her and his guest inside but no – it was too dangerous. They had to do it a different way.
Mystery Lady whispered for Rosie to stay right here, babygirl.
Mystery Lady left the room and Rosie, poor, sweet little Rosie, wiped her tears away because if the man came in and saw her crying, she would definitely be punished.
Rosie has no idea how long she stood there.
She just knows that shew as getting very anxious. It is – was – never a good thing when this much time had lapsed by without her being instructed – ordered – to do something.
But then…
Mystery Lady came back.
And that was the moment her life changed – for the better.
Rosie does not remember much.
Only that, suddenly, they were outside!
Gosh, she had not felt the grass on her feet or the sun on her face in so long.
She wanted to stay there but Mystery Lady picked her up and then…
They were running.
They were outside the house and they were running.
Rosie cannot recall any of these moments.
They ran and ran. Mystery Lady stopped, had Rosie climb on her back, and then ran even faster.
Rosie may not remember, but Mystery Lady certainly does.
She remembers her Master and the other man yelling for them.
She remembers thinking they would both be beaten so badly if they were caught.
But Mystery Lady just kept running.
Until they got to a house.
And she was pounding on the door, and begging to be let in, and calling out help! Help us, please! Please, help!
Mystery Lady will later tell the Detectives that once in the house, she frantically explained who Rosie was, – who she was.
The woman yelled out, wide-eyed and alarmed, to her husband, who came running.
Police were called. The girls were given some water and a peanut butter sandwich. Rosie was in shock. She was not speaking, was not responding to their questions, she was just… silent.
Rosie does not remember the nice lady and man who called the police and told them they had two little girls who were claiming to be Rosalie Montgomery-Hastings – the five-year-old kidnapped three years ago, – and one other girl.
Rosie does not remember it but what she does remember?
Right here, and right now.
Right now as she feels her baby brother's hand holding hers, and she listens as her mommy whispers in her ear, and as her mama kisses her forehead, and…
She looks over, to her right, to where Mystery Lady is sitting, after she came back from being checked over, herself, by the other doctors.
And she pulls away from Aria slightly, to ask,
"Miss… What is your name?"
It took me less than an hour to write this. I am sure it is riddled with mistakes but I am going to post anyway! Who do you think "Mystery Lady" is? What connection does she was to the men who were responsible for this?
Please review and let me know what you thought!