Authors notes:

Here's a short one. Will try a post another by Friday. Thanks for sticking with it. Im itching to get to Everlark stuff! Thanks

Just as my eyes seem to rest, they flutter open as the soft morning glow rises through the window. Sleep didn't come last night. Cato was waiting for me when I got home. I tried to lie and told him I got called into work, but he said he had called the restaurant. "How dare you disrespect him like that? Where were you? Off with some other guy?"

"No", I begged him to take pity on me since my cheek still bore a bruise from our last discussion, but to no avail.

"You will remember who you come home to next time. And now, since I can't trust you, you are now on curfew. You go to work, you come home. You call every time you arrive somewhere. You ask to go anywhere else." his screaming eased when he noticed me shaking in fear. "I love you honey. I worry about you." I wanted turn my face away from his palm as he reached out to caress my face, but I thought better of it.

Still sitting in the fetal position by the window, I admit defeat to the sun and get ready for work. Its not so bad today, Madge is working the same shift as me and while she will never know to what depths Cato has hurt me, she is the only person in this world who I trust to talk to.

My sister is down stairs when I finally emerge from my room. Sitting at the kitchen counter, her two braids fall to each side of her face as she eats her cereal. And as I walk past her, rounding my way to the coffee pot, I pause to tuck in the back of her blouse into the skirt of her girl scout uniform.

"Seriously Prim, soon I'm going to have to stop referring to you as 'little duck'. You are almost as tall as me."

"Yeah, but somehow the nickname 'duck' just doesn't have the same ring to it."

The laugh we share lightens the air. "Well I gotta get going. Don't forget to take a key with you. Grandma is picking you up and you know she always forgets to bring it."

"What would I do without you sis." Unable to look her in the eyes, the profile of my smile the only response I can offer her. What if one day, I wasn't here for her?

The drive to the restaurant only takes eight minutes, and concludes with me parking my car in the same spot I have every day for the two years I have worked here. I clock in and tie my apron around my waist, not as tightly as usual due to my newest infliction. Right on the top of my left hip, easily hidden, yet offers a painful reminder with every move I make. Ever stealthy, Madge sneaks up behind me just in time to notice the wince I let out.

"Rough night, huh?" I nod, not needing to tell her anymore. "You know how badly I want to just shake you until you wake up, girlie? How much more can you take before he breaks you?"

Tears well up in my eyes but they don't fall. My words flow easily, as I let go of the breath I have been holding. "I'm already broken."

Madge's eyes soften, no longer set on lecturing me, she knows I need a sympathetic ear. "Well, you know I'm here for you, sweetie. Now let's get this place set before the early birds get here." She offers a superficial smile and nudges my shoulder as she walks past.

The shift was normal, a nice quiet reprieve from earlier events. One of my regulars came in, this middle aged couple with four kids. Rambunctious group they are. I don't know how they do it. But every time they come in, the youngest seems set on making the hugest mess. While other servers would look down on such behavior, I remember Prim acting out similarly as a young child and sympathize. This was, after all, the parents attempt at a nice night out. Why should I ruin it by making a fuss? Anyway, they always leave a nice tip, usually over 30%. So what's picking up French fries and macaroni and cheese at the end of the day?

I cash out with my boss and tip the bartender before heading out to my car, remembering at the last minute to call Cato. "I'm getting in my car. I'll be home in ten minutes."

"Okay honey. See wasn't that easy? Now I will always know where you are." The farewell between us is blurry, its irrelevant. Only one phrase matters to me…..

"I'll always know where you are."