I actually felt proud of myself for once and I only hoped that my parents would be proud of me as well.

After one last final spin, I took off down the hall and gripped the railing as I made my way downstairs and to my mother’s room.

My father would be gone for a few more hours and I really wanted to get the chance to share my happiness with mother. She always seemed less angry when he was around.

There was even a little part of me that believed she would be better if he wasn't around. Maybe even a good mother. The thought of that still gave me some bit of hope. It was all of the hope that I had left.

I just had my fifteenth birthday, and the dress that I bought myself was the only gift that I had gotten. I could tell that my mother felt bad.

As I stepped into my mother’s room, my legs gave out on me and I ended up crumpled up on the wooden floor.

The sight in front of me was enough to take my breath away and I felt all of my hope slipping away. My mother lay naked on the ground, her eyes wide open as her body twitched and she struggled to get air. I reached out with shaky hands and grabbed for her arm.

"Mother!" I cried. "Get up. What did you do?"

"You little bitch!"

I looked up to see my father step into the room and reach for my mother’s head. "See what you did," he spat. "She can't handle having you around. You made her want to kill herself."

I backed up against the wall and gripped onto the door. My heart stopped and I wanted to die.  I struggled to pull myself to my feet as I fought for air through my sobs. "No. I…no."

My father shot to his feet and was standing over me in an instant. He reached out and in one fluid movement, he had me knocked back down to the ground and lying flat on my face.

"Don't just sit there you, little whore. Call 911."

"Avery. Wake up."

I sat up in bed fighting for breath. My whole body was wet and my hands were shaking uncontrollably as I reached for my hair and tugged. I felt as if I was about to hurl or fall over dead. Whichever would happen first. "Jace," I cried.

"I'm not Jace." Caleb's voice soared.

I slowly brought my eyes up to see Caleb standing shirtless in just a pair of blue sweats.

His eyes burned into me as he cracked his knuckles and crawled onto the foot of the bed. "It's me Avery. I won't ever let Jace hurt you again," he spat. "I will keep him away-"

"No," I cut in. "No." I laid back down and pulled the quilt closer to my face. "Jace would never hurt me, Caleb." I shook my head as the tears continued to fall down my cheeks. It made me angry that he would even accuse Jace of hurting me.

Caleb gradually got closer to me until his body was just inches away from mine.

He pursed his lips and then reached out to caress my face. "You can tell me. I have people that can take care of him for you and then we can be together. Just the two of us." His voice came out confident and smooth as if he was sure that's what I wanted.

He was wrong. That wasn't what I wanted and I never would. I backed away from Caleb's touch and turned my head away from his gaze before rolling my eyes.

"No, Caleb," I growled. "You're not listening to me. You have no idea what I want or need so leave Jace out of this."

Caleb's eyes hardened as he reached out and firmly gripped my wrist. He briefly squeezed it before he released his grip and placed his hand next to his side, a look of hate in his eyes.

"I know what you need." He paused. "You don't know what you need." He stood back to his feet and ran his hand over his stomach. "I'll be in the kitchen eating. If I hear you screaming again I won't hesitate to come back in here and crawl in bed with you. I want to make sure that you feel safe." A slight smile crossed his hard face before he turned around and left the room.

A feeling of relief crossed over me as I sank back into the bed and snuggled up in the quilt. Caleb was making me feel really uncomfortable.

As I closed my eyes and tried to force myself back to sleep, I felt an empty feeling in my stomach. Not only had I gone all day without eating, but I was also beginning to remember how safe I always felt when Jace crawled into bed with me. It was a feeling that no one else had ever been able to give me. The thought made me sick to my stomach and a completely new set of tears were threatening to form.

Without thinking, I jumped out of bed and reached in my purse for my phone. I clutched it firmly to my chest and wiped away my tears with my free hand. I wanted nothing more than to talk to Jace, but I couldn't even begin to think about hurting him again. The thought was too unbearable and it left me feeling empty and ill.

I carefully crawled back into bed while running my fingers over the smooth phone. I pressed my head into the stiff pillow and then slammed my face into it to try to escape the hurt. I got startled when suddenly the phone vibrated under my touch. My heart did flips in my chest as my stomach dropped to my feet. I knew who it would be and I didn't know what to do. All I knew was that I missed him. I actually missed him.

I guess we'll make that two missed calls...

Chapter 12

Early the next morning, I woke to the sound of Caleb leaving. A wave of relieve washed over me as I realized that was my chance of getting ready and out of here before he could return. After what happened last night, I really didn’t want to deal with him again.

I slowly opened the bedroom door, poking my head outside; to be sure, that Caleb had really gone. When there was no sign of him, I sauntered out of the bedroom and down the hall to the bathroom.

I flipped on the light switch, realizing that in the whole eighteen hours that I had been at Caleb’s house that I hadn’t even bothered to use the bathroom. The sight astounded me.

It was complete with a two-headed shower, a gray granite sink, decorative mirrors that lined three of the four walls, and another Jacuzzi that sat in the back corner. The glass on the shower was crystal clear and looked as if it were brand new. It was incredibly beautiful and over the top. This is crazy!

I tiredly stared at my reflection in the mirror and frowned. Pulling my eyes away from the mirror, I slowly let out a deep breath and leaned into the sink for support. I still felt a little weak from my lack of sleep and was finding it hard to function right.

Turning on the faucet, I ran my hands through the frigid water and splashed it over my heated face. Even though it was cool in Caleb’s house, I still managed to sweat through the whole night. My skin felt hot and my stomach felt ill.