Legitimately Us ||H.S||

Chapter 14

"In the life I live, I've realized in order to go up, I had to see rock bottom. And rock bottom, I have met. I know that I have always been close to scraping my knees across the bottom and it wasn't a comfortable place to be, but I got used to it. I dealt with it and it made me stronger. It made me understand what I wanted and didn't want in my life after all of this, and I have accepted it for all it's worth, because of that.

I know that I never should have had to live the way I did. No one should. But knowing it's all over now gives me hope that my future will be brighter. There's a light at the end of the tunnel that wasn't there before, and the answers are written in the stars above me, asking me to follow them out of the darkness.

You see, my father is a monster. Not the kind that lives under your bed or lives in the closet and creeps out at night to scare you in the dark. He's a much scarier monster than that. One that can look you in the eyes and make you feel like you can trust him and then shatter that trust in seconds just with his hands.

I've just spent a week in the hospital because of this monster. An entire week too long, not just nursing my wounds, but getting therapy. And all it has made me realize is that physical pain goes away, the bruises fade, and on the outside it's possible to look like nothing happened after time has passed. But as time heals wounds on the outside, it doesn't heal what's broken on the inside as quickly. I want to believe that one day I'll be okay, but for now I sit at rock bottom.

The bruises have faded, the pain has passed, but my soul is still aching. My heart is still shattered, begging for me to put it back together. And I am, without a doubt, ready to do that. Because there is possibly no better feeling than being free in my life after being a prisoner in my own skin; that much I know is certain.

Girl_Disconnected"

A week in the hospital is far too long. Too much time to think. And as much as I didn't want to be alone in that room, I didn't want to talk to anyone. Kate and Carter came every day to visit me, and as the days passed, the easier it was to talk to them. And despite the fact I told Harry I didn't need him to bring me anything, when I woke up from a nap that day, my phone was plugged into the wall sitting on my nightstand next to flowers he had gotten me. His card read: To my Sweet Girl, you will smile again soon, I promise. Keep your chin up. Yours Always, H.xx PS: I still think you're pretty.

It was the sweetest of gestures and it made me smile, even if it was just a small one. He didn't need to tell me that I'd smile again soon, because I knew I would. I knew I just needed to get passed all of this first. Because the hard part was over.

And even though I had my phone, I didn't reply to any of the messages Boy_Undiscovered had sent to me. He had apologized a dozen times for thinking my rendition of fun meant something other than actual fun and thought that's why I wouldn't talk to him. When in reality, I wasn't mad at that anymore. I wasn't mad at him at all. I just needed time, because this week was hard and I needed to find my bearings again.

Carter insisted on picking me up and bringing me home when I got released yesterday evening, and walking into my house wasn't what I was expecting. I'm not sure exactly what I thought it would be like, but the outcome seemed to have surprised me for some reason. The floors were mopped and swept, the curtains pulled open and tied back neatly and nothing was out of place. It smelled like pomegranate and vanilla and I instantly knew that Anne had been here.

It made me smile to remember how lovely she is. That despite everything, she would do whatever she could to make sure I was comfortable and happy. That once again, she could show me that even though I'm not her own daughter, she wanted to remind me that I am loved no matter what, just like she always had.