Chapter 39

Stef's POV

I've been sitting in the parking lot of the house where Lux is currently staying for over 3 hours, and I can't even explain why. But something about that woman was off… The bruise didn't ease my mind at all… And as much as I hate to admit it, I don't want Lux anywhere near her because I didn't know how close they were until now.

The fact that Lux referred to her as mom pisses me off even more. According to her file, she had only stayed with them for two years. Then, I remember that Jude and Jesus started calling us moms earlier than that. Mariana found it more difficult and Callie still doesn't use the term in front of us, but the kids tease her that she still refers to us as such.

But I didn't need for Lux and Valerie to get any closer because she wasn't going to stay there, whether she realized it or not. We have all been trying to make things work with our family so that Lux could come home. And the entire time, Lux has been making things work with her other foster mom, who from the looks of it is the one abusing her…

The thought of Lux being abused by that woman, while I have to sit on the sidelines and watch, makes my stomach turn.

After a few more seconds with my staring contest with the house, I'm distracted by the sound of a car pulling up behind me.

I glance at my rearview mirror and see Mike getting out of his car and coming towards mine.

"Great," I mumble. Another voice of reason attempting to get me to go home, I think to myself. It wasn't bad enough that Lena called me over a dozen times since I left Fern's office. Now she had to send Mike's ass to come and bring me back…

I unlock my car door when I realize he's coming this way, regardless of what I tell him.

He gets in and I turn around and notice a Dunkin Donuts bag and a cup holder with what looks like two cups of coffee. I squint my eyes at him.

"Surprised the neighbors haven't called the police on the psycho watching the pink house yet," Mike joked.

"Surprised you're not here because my lovely wife sent you to scold me for not being home by curfew," I admit as I grab one of the coffees from him and peel back the lid.

"I am. You're supposed to be home, Stef. You missed dinner," he says matter-of-factly as he hands me a bag.

I shake my head and smile, "This will do just fine. Did Fern tell you anything?"

"I don't know," he shrugs his shoulders, as I pull two warm sandwiches out of the bag and hand one over to him. "I never listen to that woman anyway. The only useful information she gave me was that Lux stayed with Valerie and Trey Gilbert for over two years before she got moved. They even started the adoption process and everything. Why? What did you find out?"

I sigh, "Well we already know why Lux left. But what we didn't know was what happened just a few days before..."

Mike looks at me as if urging me to continue.

"She was admitted into a hospital nearby. Had an accident, which I don't believe for a second now."

"Why was she admitted?"

"Hospital records said that she claimed to have fallen down the stairs. She was brought in unconscious and it appeared that she had a stroke. They kept her a few days for observation."

"Did they tell you why she had a stroke?"

"Blow to the upper-chest. She claimed she fell down the stairs," I tell him.

"And Callie didn't mention any of this?" he questions.

"Nope. She wasn't there. They took her in few days afterwards."

"And you think it was this woman? Valerie?"

"I'm not sure what to think. That's what I'm here to find out… It would help it Lux actually bothered to text me back though. I get that she's mad but…" I shake my head as I take a bite of my sandwich.

"You texted her?"

I finish chewing. "Oh yes," I answer. "And our lovely daughter has read all fifteen messages," I hold up my iPhone to show him. "And it appears as if she doesn't know how to use the device," I say sarcastically.

"Maybe I should try?" Mike suggests. "What's the number?"

Lux's POV

Why weren't these two letting this go?

17 texts were way passed the borderline of obsessed.

And the two of them were both saying the same thing.

Why are you scared of Valerie? You don't have to be. Say the word and we'll take you out of there. Or is she not the one hurting you? Is it Trey? Please text me back.

I was beginning to hate that I kept this phone. I should have trashed it the second I found it in my bag.

It wasn't like I could tell them what actually happened.

Trey was right. Who would believe that I would voluntarily come back to the house to live with my rapist? I was so damn stupid!

And if things couldn't get any worse, Valerie confronted both Trey and I about the bruise. I told her I fell down the stairs a few days ago and I think she believed me. I already knew that Trey would act clueless about it, so that was that.

I'm able to hide the cellphone that Stef gave me under my pillow immediately after I hear my bedroom door opening.

"Lux, I'm going to my book club. I'll be gone for a while. Do you need anything from the store while I'm out?" Valerie asked after she walked in.

I guess I was right about her believing us.

She'd probably believe Trey was innocent even if she saw it with her own eyes.

"No, I'm okay," I assure her with a smile. "Wait a minute, book club? At ten pm?"

"It's Friday. Give me a break," she smiles and I nod.

She looks at me skeptically, "What are you doing?" she asks. And I can tell that I look like the biggest weirdo just sitting on my bed, while being wide-awake and staring at the ceiling. "Uh… I was just about to shower and go to bed," I answer innocently.

I didn't want her to find out about the cellphone. For all I knew, I might not even be allowed to keep in contact with my previous foster parents.

That probably includes Stef and Mike.

And even though I wasn't, I wouldn't be surprised if Valerie thought of it as a bad thing.

She was my mother and I knew that now.

So I didn't think she would take kindly to the idea.

"Okay. Trey is downstairs. I should be back in a few hours. Call me if anything?"

"Got it," I nod again as I watch her smile and leave the room.

"Good night," she says as she walks out.

I tried to shower as fast as I could after I got off of the phone with Tasha. It bothered me that they didn't approve her emancipation. And I couldn't help but feel guilty for it.

I was supposed to get approved first.

It was all of my money, which I had saved up, that was supposed to get us out of this. My emancipation was supposed to help her. And now she was going back to Sunnyvale, the worst group home of them all, and it was mostly because of me.

I would visit her tomorrow. Maybe we would try to figure out another plan… something that wouldn't involve emancipation or running away.

But who was I kidding?

We had been through this road over and over again and it never worked to our advantage.

I stop my train of thoughts the second I hear a knock on the bathroom door. I quickly grab the towel from the rack and get out of the shower.

"Yeah?"

"Are you almost done in there?" Trey asks. "I have to take a shower."

"What happened to the shower downstairs?" I ask him.

"There's no hot water. A plumber is coming to look at it this week," he answers.

Okay… Lux, I tell myself. He doesn't sound mad.

"I'll be out in a minute," I say as I try to dry myself real quickly and put my bra and underwear on. I throw my robe over my body and grab my clothes from the floor before I open the door. The last thing I needed was to piss him off right now.

When I get it all the way open, I could see him staring back at me. I glance down, "All yours," I tell him before I begin to walk away.

"Lux?" he stops me.

I freeze and force myself to turn around and act casual, "Yeah?"

"You remember me telling you to hide that bruise, right?" he asks in an accusing tone.

Here we go. I knew he wouldn't just let things be.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I forgot about it and put my sleeves up. But I didn't tell anyone it was you," I answer. "I wouldn't," I shake my head slightly.

"Valerie asked me about it," he informs me as if I didn't know. "Do you know how embarrassing it was for my own wife to think something like that of me?"

To consider the truth for a second? I wonder.

"She doesn't," I try to assure him. "She wouldn't believe me after the last time, remember?" I try to remind him, realizing that I came off a little rude, but I was only trying to repeat what he had said to me.

"Are you making fun of me, Lux?" he questions sarcastically as he squints his eyes at me.

"No, Trey. I wasn't. I was just saying—"

"You were just implying that people might take your word over mine if it were to come down to that."

"What? No," I shake my head. "That's not what I meant."

"Then prove it," he shrugs his shoulders as he looks at me.

I stare at him and shake my head before I turn around and walk back to my bedroom, "I'm going to bed," I say as I try to shut the door, but his hand slams it back open, causing me to back my body up instinctively so that it wouldn't hit me.

"Trey…" I try to reason as I face him.

"If you really have no intention of splitting me and my wife up, if you really want to stay here with Valerie…then prove it…" he continues as he leans his body against the dresser and crosses his arms over his chest, making sure to lean the lower half of his body slightly forward.

I swallow hard and watch the look on his face. His eyes are slightly red and wet and his lips are relaxed. He was clearly drunk and I couldn't help but feel like this was déjà vu all over again.

"What is it that you want from me?" I finally ask.

He loosens the harsh expression on his face and for a second I think that he's coming to his senses. But then what he says next proves otherwise.

"You're a smart girl. I'm sure you can figure it out…" He tilts his head before he slowly begins to walk towards me.

I back myself up until I end up having to sit down on the bed. But he apparently takes my instinctive and fearful action as an invitation to join me. I keep my eyes focused on his legs while they come towards me until I feel his body sink down into the bed beside me. I turn my attention towards the new mint-green lamp on the nightstand. That's when I begin to remember when I slammed the last one against his head in an attempt to get away two years ago.

But it hadn't worked because he still caught me before I got a chance to leave the house.

And I knew it wouldn't work this time either…