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That night, Lio couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned for hours on end until she finally caved and began to cry.
JJ was passed out next to her, his arm draped across her stomach, his head resting on her shoulder. Lio lay there, cradling her precious JJ, only the subtle sounds of her sniffles and quiet whimpers, from her sobbing, hung in the silent, moonlit bedroom.
JJ stirs in his peaceful slumber every time Lio's cries are audible. He eventually wakes up, pulling her closer to his body.
"Hey, you okay?" He mumbles, placing a soft kiss on her temple.
"Mhm," Lio's voice cracks as she nods slowly.
White lie.
"Talk to me, baby. What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, I'm okay. Just go back to sleep, okay?"
White lie.
"Don't lie to me, Lio. Please." JJ situates himself for sit across from her, taking her hands in his.
"No, it's fine. It's nothing that hasn't happened before," Lio's mouth cracks a small, sad smile. "I just need to get over it and suck it up."
"If you're talking about what happened with Rafe, you're wrong," JJ cups her face in his hands. "Rafe is a fucking asshole. He's a rapist, Lio. He raped you once when you were completely defenseless and alone. The second time, in front of Kelce, Topper, Pope, and me. And I couldn't do shit about it." JJ clenches his jaw in anger. "That fucker deserves to be thrown into a four by six cage and fed literal sewage. He hurt you twice. And I swear on God's green Earth that if it happens a third time, that bitch will wish his father pulled out faster."
"JJ, he won't stop, we both know it."
"Lio, it's happened two times! You need to file a claim. Press charges!" JJ's voice begins to raise in frustration.
"It hasn't happened twice, J."
"What do you mean? I saw the aftermath of the first one, and Pope and I can protest at a witness in court."
"JJ."
"We need to file a police report, Lio. You've got two witnesses."
"JJ."
"And we can blackmail Topper into claiming his part as a witness too-"
"JJ! We can't file a claim. It'll open up a huge opportunity for DCS to take me. For good." Tears begin running down her face. "That's the only reason he chooses to keep raping me. He knows he can do it and get away with it, because he knows I won't press charges because of fucking DCS."
JJ's riled-up facial expressions falls, coming back to the reality that Lio could quite easily be taken back to the mainland and put through their fucking foster care system.
