Karson and I never spoke a word the next day at school. During lunch, he sat across from me and never spared a glance. I was glad that he didn't try to talk to me, because I knew I wouldn't be able to contain my anger.

Nora ended up telling me about her and Braxton on the phone last night. She doesn't necessarily have feelings for him, but she could possibly see something happening between them in the future. She said it's just fun to flirt with each other, which I totally understand. Flirting is fun especially when you know the other person is joking around as well.

I was standing in the driveway in front my house, trying to get Liv unbuckled out of the backseat. Her seatbelt was pissing me off. "Motherfucker."

Her seatbelt was stuck so I had to keep tugging until it finally let me push down on the button. I watched as Liv furrowed her eyebrows, trying to focus on something. "Motherfu-"

"Don't you dare finish that word," I stared at her, pointing my finger at her petite body. She just giggled in return, finding it hilarious that she tried to copy what I said.

I let out a breath. I need to stop cussing in front of her.

I heard a click as the seatbelt finally came undone. She wiggled out of her seat and ran to Jace who was already patiently waiting by the front door, his attention drawn to his phone. Now they were both waiting for me to unlock the front door. I huffed, grabbing all my school shit and locking my car.

I trudged my way towards them and unlocked the door. The first thing Jace did when he got inside was grab a snack from the pantry. He threw himself on the couch, eating his snack as he turned on Shameless. Yes! I've taught him well.

Olivia grabbed some of her toys from upstairs and eventually brought them down to the living room. She played with her dolls on the carpet, occasionally glancing up at the TV above her. I huffed, walking over to the living room as I sat next to Jace. We watched Shameless as Liv played with her dolls below us.

I felt relaxed for the first time in a while, my aching muscles finally being able to rest. I felt drowsy as I stared at the TV screen. I was so exhausted from the constant arguments with Karson, my mother, and the sleepless nights I encountered every night.

I laid my head against the cushion, resting my eyes as I focused on my breathing. I knew I needed to sleep, so I eventually let the darkness take over me, awaiting the horrid dreams I had just recently gotten with Jason who often occurred in them. I now understood what that man was talking about the one time he visited the coffee shop.

Not being able to sleep was a blessing in disguise. I used to hate not being able to sleep, but recently I've been getting small nightmares of Jason touching me. They weren't always bad, but some would be worse than others, leaving me sweaty and feverish. I would randomly wake up, panting and violently shaking as I remembered the events in my dream. Jace doesn't know this, but there have been times where I was afraid that my nightmares had woken him up when I jolted awake.

The nightmares only started the day he tried forcing himself onto me. It was the first time he had done it in a while, so it triggered a lot of buried memories that I tried my best to keep submerged. The nightmares were the same one every time, the scene of him in my living room touching my lips, my face, and my body. I shivered as I thought about it. I was never able to control them, so I just let them take over my thoughts because I knew there was nothing else I could do.

~•~•~

"Dakota!" My mother's voice boomed as she slammed the front door. My body shot up, like a bucket of cold water was just poured over my body. I didn't know she was home. I glanced at the clock on the wall, 9:40pm. 

I scrambled off the couch, glancing around the living room as my head spun. My body felt weak from getting up too fast, but I pushed the feeling down as I concentrated on what was around me. Jace was sleeping on the couch as well, but he was knocked out. Olivia on the other hand, was wrapped in a small blanket on the carpet, her dolls surrounding her as she held on tight to her favorite. I guess we all fell asleep down here.

My limbs felt achy from sleeping in a weird position, so I tried stretching them out fast. I quickly walked out of the living room and was greeted with my mother. She didn't look very good. Her blonde hair was tangled and her mascara was smudged against her cheeks. Her clothes were slightly ripped as she stumbled over to me. I got a better view of her eyes as she got closer. Her under-eye bags were dark, similar to mine, and it looked like tears were threatening to spill out.

"Mom?" I hesitated, slowly walking up to her. She was staring into space, a weird glint covering her eyes as she was distracted with her thoughts. "Are you okay?"

She jerked her head back into reality, blankly staring at me. She was looking at me, but it felt like she was looking straight through me. She looked completely out of it, almost like she was on multiple drugs.

"Do I look okay to you?" She harshly asked, her voice sounding parched. I hesitantly shrugged my shoulders, not wanting to say the wrong thing to her. "I'm only on 3 different goddamn drugs."

I gulped, the palm of my hands sweaty. I was right. "Do you want me to get you water or something?"

She abruptly threw her bag against the wall. I winced as it knocked over a vase, sending it to the ground. The vase shattered into pieces when it hit the ground, sending ceramic pieces everywhere. She knelt down, grabbed a piece and hauled it towards the wall. The piece that she threw was stuck in the wall as a smirk crawled onto her face.

I backed away as she grabbed another piece. She threw it in my direction causing me to duck down before it hit me. I felt my body cling to the floor as she tried throwing another sharp piece at my body. I've never seen her so violent. She wanted to hurt me.

"Mom, stop!" I pushed myself off the floor and took short steps in her direction. I held out my hand as she stared at me, trying to figure out what her next move would be. She held another piece in her hand, her eyebrows furrowing as she stared at it. She twisted the piece around before holding her hand out. I smiled, trying to put on a brave front, but on the inside, I could feel my heart racing.

She held out the piece for me to grab, finally coming to terms that she needed to let go. I was close enough that I was able to grab the piece, so I reached out to take it from her hold. She abruptly shot her hand back, a sly smirk tugging at her lips as she grabbed my wrist. My body was jerked forwards, her tight grip holding onto my wrist.

"Let me go," I struggled, but her grip was painfully tight. I fought against her grip, but she just held on tighter. She twirled the piece in her hand before placing the sharpest edge on the palm of my hand. My eyes went wide as I started violently shaking my head. "Don't do this, p-please."

"This is what you get, you ungrateful bitch," she hissed as she dragged the sharp piece against my bare skin. I screamed out in pain as she dug it in deeper, a trail of blood following after she cut my palm. Blood was gushing out of my hand as she continued to cut deeper. Dizziness hit me as I looked down to see how much blood I was loosing. My whole hand was covered with my own blood as it started dripping down my arm and on the floor.

My head spun as I felt enormous amounts of blood pour out of my hand. She finally released the pressure, the ceramic piece now covered in the red substance. The smell of metal filled my nostrils, my eyebrows furrowing as I was surprised with how much blood I was losing. I would definitely need stitches.

She barked a laugh as she released her tight grip. I stumbled, the dizziness getting to be too much. I lost my balance as I tripped over my own feet. She used this to her advantage and roughly pushed me to the ground. I felt my head connect with the hard tile, my body sprawled out on the ground. I hissed in pain as my hand began to throb.

"What the fuck is going on?" My brother roared from above me. He looked down at me, his eyes widening as his body froze. I guess my scream woke him up. "D-Dakota?"

"I'm okay, Jace, just a little dizzy," I told him sarcastically as I tried to put pressure against my wound. It wouldn't stop bleeding. I used my other hand to press against it even though it was painful. I bit my lip, trying not to scream out as I pushed on the wound. I still laid on the ground, not able to get up as I clutched my pulsing hand.

"Where did she go?" I asked, trying to look around from where I was laying, but I hissed in pain when I raised my head up, a rush of dizziness following soon after. Jace immediately ran to my side, slowly pulling me to my feet. My body felt weak as I continued to lose precious amounts of blood. He held onto me, my whole body weight relying on Jace.

"I'm not sure," He told me as his breathing got heavier. "Goddamnit. We need to get out of here."

"She's high on multiple drugs, she's not thinking straight," I explained, my pounding head resting on his shoulder. "I've never seen her this violent before, Jace. We need to get Olivia out of here."

I heard our mother rummage through shit upstairs, not entirely sure what she was trying to do. I heard something click as Jace and I whipped our heads to look at each other. His face went pale as I bit the inside of my cheek, refraining myself from screaming out.

"Dad's gun," he whispered as his body went rigid. "We need to get out of here right now, Dak. Can you walk?"

"I'll be fine, go get Olivia and go straight to the car. I'll get the keys and we'll find somewhere to go," I explained, stumbling as he hesitantly let go of me to rush to the living room. He quickly returned with a groggy looking Liv who looked like she had just woken up. I didn't have time to explain to her what was going on so I told Jace to wait outside while I got the keys.

He tightly held Liv against his chest as they ran out the front door. Olivia was now crying, scared because she didn't know what was going on. I put the pain in my hand aside and trudged towards my car keys that were on the kitchen table. I shakily grasped my keys before turning on my heel, heading to the front door. My keys were covered in blood, making them hard to grasp.

Before I could make it in time, I felt something metal connect with the side of my jaw. My body fell to the ground because of the force, my body screaming out in pain. I groaned as I held my jaw with my clean hand, my eyes not being able to focus on what was in front of me.

I felt blood trickle down my nose as my eyes regained focus. My mother was standing over me with my fathers old rifle. She used the end of his rifle to strike my jaw. I moaned in pain, my body aching everywhere.

She laughed at me, about to lunge on me until the front door shot open. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jace rush through the door and run up to my mother and I. He looked absolutely furious as he quickly pushed her off of me.

My mother screamed as she flailed her arms around. Her body hit the wall beside her before she crumpled to the ground, dropping the gun in the process. I gasped as I watched my mothers body become limp. She hit her head against the tile, knocking her out immediately.

"Come on," Jace breathed as he tried to get me up once more. He used all of his strength and eventually got me up. He had his arm wrapped around me for support as I limped outside. I glanced behind me one last time, noticing a small movement in my mothers leg. I let out a breath, she would be okay.

"I'm driving," he instructed, not giving me any time to argue. He held the passenger door open for me and helped me get in. He shut the door behind me and quickly got into the driver's seat. "You're not going to like where I'm going but I have no other choice. Braxton gave me their address when you and Karson were outside in case we needed a babysitter for Liv. I saved it in my phone and this is the only place I could think of, I'm sorry."

I wasn't mad, I was just glad we would be somewhere safe. I nodded my head in response and rested my head against my leather seats, too tired to talk. I glanced down at my hand and found more blood spilling out, making me feel nauseous as I watched the thick substance rush out.

Olivia lashed out in the backseat, bawling her eyes out as I saw her staring at me through the rearview mirror. "What happened to sissy?"

Jace clenched his jaw before breathing out of his nostrils. His eyes were glazed over, tears threatening to fall down his cheeks. I frowned, they shouldn't be sad. "Sissy is just hurt, okay? Don't worry though Liv, we are driving to get help right now."

"The doctor?" She sniffled.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened as he stared at Olivia through the rear view mirror. "No, not the doctor. We can't go to the doctor."

"Why not?" Her voice breaking as she began to cry even harder. My poor baby.

"We can't have them ask questions about mom because they might separate us, baby," he grit out gently, trying to keep his composure.

My head felt heavy as my neck tried supporting it. Blood was spilling out of my hand, the gash was deeper than I thought. Every inch of my hand was covered in my own, dark blood. I kept pressure on it, the only thing I knew how to do that would stop the bleeding. Maybe Braxton or Colton knew how to fix this.

I looked outside as I saw the boy's house come into view. Olivia sniffled in the back, her small sobs filling the tense atmosphere. Jace pulled into their driveway and quickly put the car in park. I slowly pulled the door handle as I slid out. Jace grabbed Olivia from the back, immediately coming to my side as he used his empty hand to grab my elbow, guiding me for support.

My knees almost gave out and I kept getting dizzier. I was losing too much blood, fast. He knocked on the door, impatiently waiting for them to open the door. Olivia buried her head in the crook of our brother's neck, not wanting to see me covered in my own blood. My eyes felt heavy as I heard the door click.

"Yes?" Braxton asked, not looking up to realize who was at the door. When his eyes met mine, his eyes widened in surprise as his gaze lingered on my bloody nose and bruised jaw. His eyes traveled down to see the deep gash on the palm of my hand. "Jesus Christ, what the hell happened?"

"I'll explain later but she needs help now," Jace quickly got out as he led me inside the house. "I didn't know where else to go, because we can't really go to the doctor so you guys were our best option."

He hesitantly nodded, curiosity and concern swimming through his eyes. My blurry vision saw Colton and Karson walk out of the kitchen, joking as Colton patted Karson on the back. When they looked up to see who was here, they both froze in shock.

Colton stared at my hand as he watched blood drip onto their hardwood floor. Karson held an unreadable look before his gaze connected with mine. Colton rushed over to me, his eyes scanning my whole body, studying my injuries.

"Oh my god, Dakota," he looked queasy as he stared at my deep wound, before giving a look to Braxton. "She needs to sit down, look at her, she's losing a shit ton of blood."

"Jace, take Liv upstairs and stay there," I demanded, my focus going in and out.

"What?!" He fumed, still holding onto Olivia who hasn't looked up once. "No way in hell."

"Please," I begged, my knees giving out once more. "I don't want her to see me like this, just keep her distracted."

He didn't say anything for a moment, he just stared at me with a pained expression. He sighed, firmly nodding his head before heading somewhere upstairs.

I felt someone grab my elbow as my knees gave out again. They led me to the dining room table, holding out a chair for me to sit in. I leaned my body against their chest, their strong, familiar, cologne filling my nostrils.

My body slumped in the chair, too tired to move. My eyes were met with a pair of emerald eyes, intensely staring at my jaw, then all the way down to my hand.

"What the fuck do we do?" Braxton sighed uneasily. He paced around the dining room as I pictured the gears turning in his head.

"Let me handle this," Karson snapped, kneeling in front of me.

"Like hell I'll let you touch her," Braxton scoffed before pulling him away. "We can't afford for y'all to get into another goddamn argument."

"Fuck off," Karson pushed Braxton away as he came towards me again. "I was the one who fought, remember? I know what I'm doing."

Colton stiffened beside him, giving Braxton a serious look. "Let him do this."

Braxton glared at Colton, but eventually nodded as he roughly ran his fingers through his hair. He placed a hand against his chiseled jaw as he watched Karson come closer to me.

"It hurts so bad," I whimpered, finally speaking. I looked at Karson who stared at me with a pained expression. I didn't care who helped me, I just wanted the pain to go away.

I rested my head against the back of the wooden chair, slightly hissing in pain when my sore head touched the wood. I felt the dried up blood under my nose, causing me to squirm in discomfort. My hand was in excruciating pain, but I bit the inside of my cheek to keep my sobs back. I can't cry in front of them.

"Fuck," Karson cursed under his breath as he gently grabbed my hand. His eyes studied every inch of my palm, inspecting the gash."The wound is a good inch deep. It starts a little above the wrist and stops right below your fingers. Goddamnit, Dakota, what happened?"

I opened my mouth, but I wasn't able to form any words. I shook my head as I finally let the first tear fall. The adrenaline came crashing down on me as excruciating pain erupted in my hand.

His finger trailed against my jaw, inspecting the bruise that was probably there due to the force from my fathers rifle. I felt tingles on my swollen jaw as his hand traveled up my cheek.

"Go get peroxide and those bandages from under my bed. I used them on myself when I got hurt after a bad fight," he abruptly told Colton, pointing upstairs. Colton quickly sprinted upstairs as he went to get the supplies Karson had asked for.

Karson pointed to Braxton. "Bring towels, ice, and some water."

Braxton turned on his heel and went into the kitchen, gathering those specific supplies. Karson turned to face me again as his eyes trailed down, staring at my hand. He carefully raised my hand up, making me hiss in pain as more blood spewed out.

"Fuck, I'm sorry," he cursed, furrowing his eyebrows as he studied the wound. "I know we aren't on good terms, but I really need you to trust me with this."

I did trust him. I knew he wouldn't do anything to physically hurt me, only a few words that he would throw at me here and there. Our arguing has never ended with us being physical with each other, we both would never lay a hand on each other.

"Just get it over with," I huffed, my jaw clenching as a sharp pain shot down my fingers.

He stiffly nodded his head as Colton and Braxton came running back into the dining room with supplies stuffed in their arms.

Karson grabbed the peroxide from Colton's arm and held it out in front of my hand. He glanced at me with a glint of uncertainty in his eyes. "This is going to sting like a