Kay saw her three big brothers' cars parked on the street. She knew they would come for dinner at her father's house tonight too. She wasn't close with her brothers but they all remained friendly around each other. She knew her father had an announcement and therefore had invited them all. She chuckled at the sight of a fourth, unknown car. Whoever owned that car had to be her father's announcement.
"Dad's got a girlfriend," she mumbled.
She opened the front door and stepped inside. She could hear voices coming from the kitchen.
"She'll be here soon," her father said.
Kay unzipped her jacket and then froze when she heard a female voice.
"I hope she'll be happy to see me," she said.
It had been many years but Kay remembered that voice as if she had heard it yesterday. She didn't want to believe it was real. Her father couldn't have let that woman back into his house after everything she had done in the past. Kay slowly walked towards the kitchen and her heart broke when she saw her mother sitting at the kitchen table.
"What is she doing here?" Kay asked angrily.
Everyone stopped talking and stared at her. Her father cleared his throat and took his mother's hand.
"We got back together," her father said.
"What?" Kay whispered. "How the fuck can you let her back into our lives after what she did to me?"
"That's all in the past," her mother smirked. "I'm back now so you better get with the program."
Kay looked at her three brothers. The oldest one shrugged as if he didn't care about her feelings.
"She's our mother," he said. "We deserve her in our lives."
Kay spun around and stormed out of the house. She never thought she would see her mother again. Her entire family had betrayed her by bringing her mother back into her life. She kept running until she reached Roman's house. She barged through the door and into the living room. She stopped and placed a hand over her chest while heaving for air.
"I can't breathe," Kay got out.
"Kay, what's wrong?" Roman asked.
"I can't fucking breathe, Roman!" Kay screamed. "She was there. They all forgave her and expected me to do that same. I can't fucking breathe!"
"Who was there?" Seth asked lowly.
"I don't know," Roman mumbled.
Roman got up and gently put his arms around Kay. He escorted her to the bedroom where they could speak privately. Tears were streaming down her face and he had no idea what was going on.
"Talk to me, Kay," he spoke softly. "Who was there?"
"My mother," she said.
He didn't know much about her mother. All she had told him was that her mother left the family when she was 10 and hadn't been in contact with them since.
"Maybe she wants forgiveness for abandoning you," he said.
"She didn't abandon me. She was forced to leave. They told my father they would take away us kids if he stayed married to her after what she did to me," she said.
"What did she do to you?" He asked.
She dropped her jacket on the floor, pulled off her sweater, and then finally her t-shirt. He stared in horror at her scared chest and stomach.
"What the fuck did she do?" He asked lowly.
"She only wanted boys. I was a mistake and she made sure to always let me know that whenever we were alone in the house. Her torture escalated over the years until she threw a pot of boiling water at me in a fit of rage," she said.
Tears ran down his face. He couldn't imagine the pain she had gone through, and she had to live with the scars everyday. No wonder she hadn't showed herself to him. It was a big mouthful to swallow.
"She still scares me," she said. "When I saw her, I went back to being that 10 year old girl who got scalded because my mother couldn't control her anger."
He shook his head from side to side. He had no idea what to say.
"I understand if you wanna break up," she said.
"What?" He asked.
"I've been left before because of how I look. It's okay. I understand that looks matter to other people," she said.
"I don't give a fuck how you look," he said.
He closed the gap between them and pulled her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around him and held on as tight as she could.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you more," she said.
"Not possible," he said.
"Are we really doing this right now?" She asked.
He broke the hug and looked at her. He moved his hands up to wipe her tears away. He moved his eyes down to her scars and sighed.
"Does it hurt?" He asked.
"Luckily not," she answered. "Don't worry. I'll continue wearing a shirt when we have sex so you won't have a problem with it."
"Fuck that!" He said loudly. "Can I touch them?"
She stared at him for a few seconds and then blew out her breath.
"Yes," she said.
He gently placed his hands on her scars and felt his way around them. It broke his heart that her own mother had hurt her like this. For so long she had been hiding her body away from the world, and she shouldn't be ashamed of how she looked.
"Please, don't ever cover up in front of me again," he said. "I love you, Kay. All of you. Scars and all. I wanna be able to see you and worship every part of you."
"I have to wear clothes when I go outside," she said.
"There's my silly girlfriend," he chuckled. "Come here."
He pulled her in for another hug and stroked her back.
"I'm so sorry for what you've gone through," he said.
"Thanks," she said.
"Please, stay the night," he said.
"I'd love to," she said.
She tilted her head back and looked up at him.
"Wanna go beat their asses in Mario kart?" He asked.
"Yeah," a little grin appeared on her face. "Let me just put my shirt back on. You might wanna see me without clothes but I doubt you wanna share me with others."
"Nope, just for me," he chuckled. "I love you, Kay. So fucking much."
