A/N: This chapter is quite sad, and to answer Guest/Cat's question: Yes, Maria has Georg's contact and she had been texting him; he just left her on read. Sorry for not clearing that up before! Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

P.S: I own nothing besides Livia!

-typicallyali

Tw: Sexual assault and self harm!

So there was nothing I could do to stop
Her from cutting
Her beautiful blue hair off

Blue Hair- TV Girl, 2018

"Thank you so much, have a good rest of your day!"

Maria had just finished a job interview at a restaurant. She really hoped that she would get the job, she didn't want to take all of the money that the von Trapps gave. Maria checked her wristwatch, 4:58. She had plenty of time to walk home, Elsa was babysitting Livia until tomorrow. So, Maria had a lot of time.

She walked through the streets, it was getting darker as she walked. She watched as the cars passed by, one by one. People walked in the streets, one by one, passing by. The darker it got, the less people there were. It got to the point where there was no one walking in the streets anymore. You're almost there, Maria assured herself.

Today was a good day, so far. Maria had her long, silky strawberry blonde hair in a ponytail. She smiled to herself, she was feeling confident that she would get that job. I have confidence in confidence alone, she thought. Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her. Naturally, she turned around- she would later quote: 'curiosity killed the cat.'

Behind her was a man dressed in a black jacket and black jeans. Hidden in the darkness. Maria shrugged it off and continued walking, she was deciding whether she should buy dinner or make dinner at home. Make dinner at home, Maria quickly decided. Then, she heard the footsteps getting closer and closer. She was starting to feel uncomfortable, really uncomfortable. Maria pulled her phone out and quickly texted Elsa:

[Maria]: Elsa, I'm walking home. There's this man and I think he's following me.

[Maria]: He's getting really close to me.

[Maria]: I'm near the local coffee shop, please help.

She turned around again. This time, the man pulled her ponytail- Maria yelped. He proceeded to pull her into a dark alleyway.

"Stop!" Maria yelled.

"Shut up!" the man warned. "Your skinny and weak body isn't gonna get you out of this one."

She couldn't see his face but his tone was lusty and demanding, she stared at the darkness in fear.

He gripped both sides of her head. His nails dug deep into her face, drawing blood and he crashed his lips onto hers.

Maria tried pushing him away, but he pushed her more against the wall.

His hands gripped everything he could- her waist, her breasts, her thighs.

Maria was incapable of doing anything, he was twice as big as she was.

She moaned in pain as he seeked entry into her mouth, his tongue fighting for entry against her lips.

The only free part of her body were her legs, she swiftly kicked him in the stomach.

He pulled away and she threw a punch at his face. He fell to the ground, groaning.

She took off running as fast as she could, sobbing as she ran.

Never had she felt so violated, never in her life.

Finally, home.

Maria rushed into the bathroom, shut the door and locked it even though no one else was there. She looked at herself in the mirror, there were marks on her tear stained face from his nails. His words were engraved into her head, skinny and weak.

That was really all she was: skinny and weak. He reminded her of her uncle, the one who abused her for 6 years.

7 year old Maria ran back to the farmhouse as quickly as she could. It had been a year since her parents tragically passed in the car accident. A year since she moved in with her uncle. There was one thing she learnt: he was always drunk. She knew that if she arrived home late, her uncle would beat her and he did.

"You useless piece of shit!" Her uncle yelled, taking one step after another towards her. Maria stumbled backwards and fell to the floor. "A fucking waste of time!"

Then, he would beat her. Like he always did. With the same wooden stick.

That was how she felt right now, she slapped herself in the face.

"You useless piece of shit!" she cried at herself. "Why didn't you protect yourself? Why didn't you stop him?"

She couldn't.

"I can't do this anymore!" she sobbed before walking out of the bathroom. She grabbed scissors and a lighter.

Maria grabbed handfuls of hair and cut. Handful by handful, she cut. She cut until her long hair was as short as a little boy's.

Then, she grabbed the lighter and burned herself. Her thighs, her arms. She felt as if she was out of her mind.

After, she looked at herself in the mirror again. She now had very short hair and burn marks all over her arms. A few things didn't change though, her face was still stained with tears and the marks were still on her face- some things just never change.

She was still the weak woman from an hour ago, she was still the poor 7 year old child that had to endure her abusive uncle's beatings, she was still the mother of a 6 month old baby, she was still Maria.

She would always be Maria. Poor, fragile, stupid, annoying, flibbertigibbet Maria.

What would her mother think of her right now?

Probably irresponsible and dumb, Maria thought as another tear slipped down her cheek at the thought of her mother.

Elsa sighed as she walked out of her room, where Livia's bassinet was. She picked up her phone, 3 messages from Maria.

[Maria]: Elsa, I'm walking home. There's this man and I think he's following me.

[Maria]: He's getting really close to me.

[Maria]: I'm near the local coffee shop, please help.

Sent 5:28

Elsa checked the current time, 8:12.

She rushed to her car, and drove to Maria's apartment.

Please be there, please.

She opened the door with the spare key that Maria gave her.

"Maria?"

Elsa heard sobbing noises coming from the bathroom, she opened the door to the bathroom and found Maria sitting on the floor. Elsa was shocked to see Maria's hair short, her gaze immediately went to the pieces of hair in the sink. Elsa stood in the doorway for a few seconds before she noticed marks on Maria's arms, her arms were locked across her chest- almost like she was hugging herself. Elsa moved closer to examine the marks, Maria didn't look at her until Elsa reached out to feel Maria's arm.

"Don't touch me." Maria moved away from Elsa, her voice trembling. She whispered, "Please."

Elsa simply nodded. She had an idea of what might've happened to Maria and what she had done to her arms. They looked like burn marks. Elsa scanned the bathroom and noticed a lighter on the counter, Maria burned herself.

"I'll give you some time to recover." Elsa gave her best friend a sad smile, even though she couldn't see it. "I can keep Livia for a while, text me when you're ready again. Please take care of yourself. If not for you, for me. If not for me, for Abby. If not for Abby, for baby Livia."

A/N: I personally think this chapter is really sombre and sad, my grammar isn't exactly the best since English isn't my first language so I apologise for any mistakes. Feel free to review and give feedback on my writing, I'm open to criticism!

-typicallyali