Clemson is beautiful.

I'm absolutely blown away by how much I love the campus. The program is just as beautiful if I'm being completely honest. Everything feels perfect and I'm not enjoying any of it.

Instead, I'm fixating on the fact my non-girlfriend-girlfriend won't answer any of my calls or text messages. It's been two days since our fight and I texted her an apology. Things got heated. We both got upset.

I didn't expect her to ice me out for this long.

That, on top of knowing Ashton was the one to save Saffron's day after her bullies ruined her night has thoroughly pissed me off. I didn't even know she was being bullied and Ashton gets to save the day like the magical prince he is.

Fucking asshole.

Scarlett begs me to drive faster on our way home, and even though I want to get home just as much as she does, I drive a little slower. After what feels like an eternity, I park in the driveway and she runs inside. Following my sister in, I collapse on the couch.

Pulling my phone out, I give Chloe a call and get her voicemail. "Hey, it's me." I clear my throat. "I'm home. I miss you a lot. Can... can I please see you?"

I follow up with a text message that says the same thing. Then I call her again, ignoring the commotion coming from the front yard.

"Oh my God!" Saffron screams, preventing me from calling Chloe a third time and I run to the entryway.

What could possibly be– Oh my God is right I decide, taking in the German Shepherd licking my little sister's face. Ashton and the twins come strolling in and as my sister tries to understand where the dog came from, I shake my head in disbelief. There's no way Ashton's this stupid.

"I bought him." Ashton announces proudly.

Jesus Christ, he's that stupid. Well, it was nice knowing him because he's a deadman now.

Actual steam is spewing from my sister's ears as she slowly loses her shit with her boyfriend. They go back and forth and I crouch down to the dog.

"Hi, there." I whisper, scratching behind his ear. A slobbery kiss is smeared across my face and I laugh. "Oh, you're a good boy."

"Fluffy deserves a good home." Ashton argues.

"Fluffy?" My sister asks my exact thought. What kind of name is that? "Fluffy deserves a good home somewhere else."

I think the fuck not. We've always wanted a dog.

The happy couple continues to bicker and we watch in mild horror. I haven't felt this way... since before my parents died. Watching parents fight always feels weird.

"I'm not keeping the dog." Scarlett states.

"We have to." Silver insists.

"He was going to be euthanized." Sterling says. "We can't let that happen."

"I think he's cute." I offer, giving Fluffy another through scratching.

"I love him." Saffron's eyes well up with tears. "Let us keep him."

The twins and I share a look of victory as Scarlett's anger dissolves. "We can keep him for a while and see what happens."

Scooping Saffron into a hug, I kiss her head. No one can resist the tears.

*****

Pacing a hole in my bedroom floor, I check the time. I've called Chloe three more times and she hasn't answered. Now I'm beginning to get worried. Dialing the last person on the planet I want to talk to, I prepare for an instant headache.

"What do you want, golden boy?"

"Have you heard from Chloe?" I ask.

"No." Wes offers bluntly.

"I'm serious, dude."

"So am I." He says. "I'm spending the weekend at my sister's with my nephew. She told me Friday she was pissed at you and Saturday she told me she made it home. That's the last we talked. Why, is something wrong?"

"She just isn't talking to me." I explain. "I guess she's still mad."

He snorts, "Good luck getting out of this one."

"Thanks." I offer dryly, hanging up.

I'm expecting our conversation to bring me peace, but it does the opposite. Chloe would never not talk to Wes. They text almost as much as we do and being mad at me has nothing to do with that.

Grabbing my keys, I head downstairs.

"Where are you going?" Scarlett asks, trying to keep Fluffy away from her.

"To see Chloe." I open the door, wishing I could stop and record the hatred in her eyes for the newest member of our family. "Love you."

I manage to almost cut my travel time in half as I speed down the road. Something just feels... off. I need to see her.

Stopping in front of her house, I call her one more time. It goes to voicemail. Looking at her window, I'm hoping to find her writing in her bed but it's pitch black in her room. Cracking my knuckles, I head to the front door.

Screaming and the sound of something crashing causes me to sprint up to the door and throw it open.

"You're a waste of space!" Zoe screams.

"Let go of me." Chloe begs weakly.

"Admit you lied."

"I didn't." She sobs.

A slap echoes through the room and I round the corner not at all prepared for the sight before me. Chloe's being held by a man while her mom stares her down. I've never seen her so scared before.

"Let her go." I demand, resisting the urge to punch the shit out of the woman in front of me.

"Look, you're little boy toy is here to save the day." Zoe sneers. "Pathetic. Fight your own battles."

The man, I'm assuming a boyfriend, tightens his grip around her neck and I shove him against the wall. In one swift movement, my fist jabs into his throat and he doubles over. Slamming my fist into his face, I scoop Chloe up and head for the exit.

"Don't bother coming back, you slut!" Zoe calls after us.

Turning around, I stare into her soulless eyes. This woman is... a monster. "Touch her again and I'll kick your ass. That's a promise, not a threat."

Kicking the door open, I try to soothe Chloe's panic but she says nothing. Silent tears roll down her cheeks as she stares blankly out the window as I place her in the passenger seat.

Getting behind the wheel, I just drive. Rolling the windows down so the cool breeze can wash over her, I drive until I find an empty park for us to sit at. Grabbing a blanket from the back seat, I gently lead Chloe to a spot in the grass.

I reach for her hand once we're seated and she rolls to the other side of the blanket.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes." She manages to say.

"Chloe, you don't seem fine." I interject, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm perfectly fine." She snaps. "I didn't need you to save me."

"Are you serious?" I ask in utter disbelief.

"I told you I didn't want you coming to me house!" She yells. "And what do you do? You come to my fucking house, punch my mom's shitty boyfriend and threaten her! What the fuck is wrong with you?"

I know she needs an outlet and right now that's me but I won't fuel her flame. "I needed to make sure you were okay and you weren't."

"I was fine!"

Biting my tongue, I try my best to stay calm. The hand print around her neck suggests otherwise. "Chloe, let me help you."

"What does it matter?" She looks at me with rage in her eyes. "All you're going to do is tell me how lucky I should feel for having a mother." Regret slams into me like a ton of bricks. "If I'm so fucking lucky, then try to justify this shit!"

"There is no justification." I assure her with nothing but remorse in my voice. "That woman deserves to rot in hell."

She ignores me.

"Chloe, I'm sorry for what I said Friday. It was insensitive." I admit, hating myself for even saying those words. "Please don't keep this in. Tell me."

"Go to hell, Sage." She snaps but I see her resolve crumbling.

"Chloe, you mean the world to me." I remind her. "Please let me in. You don't deserve to suffer alone." No one does, but especially not her.

Slowly, her anger dissolves and I'm face to face with a scared teenager. "I don't even know where to start." She hiccups and I rub her back. "Please don't touch me."

"Sorry." I pull my hand away. "Start wherever, just don't hold anything back. Your secrets are safe with me."

She's quiet for so long I'm convinced she's fallen asleep but then she sniffles. "I was a mistake. My mom was 16 when she had me and she's hated me since birth."

My natural instinct is to say no mother can hate their child that much but remembering what I saw shuts me up. God, I'm an asshole for even thinking that.

"My dad left before I was born. We lived off food stamps. We went wherever her newest boyfriend went. We've lived in 15 different states. This is the longest we've gone without moving. We lived in absolute shitholes with nothing to eat and no necessities like electricity or running water half the time." She offers. "A lot... a lot of the places we lived only had one bedroom so–" A silent sob cuts her off.

"You don't–" I try to assure her.

"So she would... lock me in a cabinet." Her voice is broken as rage heats my veins. "I stayed small the older I got so she never found a different way to deal with me. Even when I could barely fit, she still forced me in. I'd sit in the dark for hours. Listening to them fuck and eat and get high. If I made any noise, someone would kick the door so I learned to stay quiet pretty quickly. No matter how hard it got to breathe." My chest constricts at the thought of her experiencing that and I know her reality was worse than my most horrific thought. "One time–" Another sob breaks through. "One time she left me in there for a week. She hit the casinos while we were living in Vegas. I was 8."

"Chloe." My heart cracks in two and I reach for her hand. This time she doesn't force me away. Her eyes stay fixated on nothing but she squeezes my hand.

"I started hiding food and drinks in there after she left me overnight once so I was okay." She tries to make it better. "I thought I was going to die in that prison and... when she came back, she looked disappointed to find me alive."

The thought of being locked up for that long makes my palms sweat. The idea of her thinking she was going to die. Accepting it. When I was 8 my biggest concern was making sure I got to spend time alone with my mom everyday and making it to practice on time. I never feared for my safety.

"Before now, I've always gone to shitty schools in shitty parts of town. Kids learn to pick on the weak and I was the weakest everywhere we went." She wipes her eyes. "My size. My old, ratty  clothing. My occasional bruises. I didn't stand a chance."

"It made me bitter." She admits. "I hate people. I hate them for ignoring the signs. I hate them for letting me live with her. I hate them for never caring. I hate them for being happy while I lived in hell."

Everything makes sense. The missing puzzle pieces filling in the cracks as she pours her heart out.

"Have her boyfriends ever..." I can't even finish the thought.

"They always look. The bathroom door will magically stop shutting properly. I'd hear things in my sleep.  A few've touched me. She never believed me. It was my fault for wearing shorts. It was my fault that color looked so pretty on me. So I stopped wearing pretty things. I started hiding myself in my room. Not that it matters." Her face scrunches up as a tear falls. "Her boyfriend grabbed my ass today. She saw and flipped her shit. She was already mad I wouldn't give her any money and that sent her over the edge. That's what you walked in on."

"I should've knocked that piece of shit out." I spit, enraged that someone would allow a man to touch their child like that.

"That's why I am the way that I am." She wipes her face. "That's why I hate tight spaces. That's why I panic when you randomly grab me or when there are sudden noises. That's why I was a total bitch when we met. That's why I'm incapable of sharing anything."

"Don't do that." I whisper, gently touching her cheek. "Don't be negative about yourself."

"That's why I find it hard to believe I deserve someone like you." She whispers. "That's why I hate depending on you so much."

"I'm not going anywhere." I promise her.

"That's why I get upset when you snap at Scarlett and pout over Ashton stepping up because you are so lucky to have people who love you that much." She says. "I have never been loved by others the way you are and you don't even know how important that support system is."

My mouth opens but nothing comes out because she's right.

"I have spent my entire life alone wanting what you have." She pokes my chest. "So I get upset when you unknowingly take it for granted."

"I'm sorry." I whisper, lowering my eyes. Ashamed at myself for everything I've done this past week. The pity party I threw myself because someone loves my little sister enough to do for her what I don't want to. I have everything she's ever wanted and I don't even appreciate it.

"Don't be." She says. "Be better."

Nodding, I go for a hug and stop myself. "May I?"

"Please." She whispers, already reaching out for me. Lifting her body on top of mine, I pepper kisses to her head as I rub her back. Fresh tears fall onto my neck as she rests her face there. "I hate her."

"I hate her too." I assure her, placing another kiss to the crown of her head. "It's okay. I promise you she will never hurt you again."

"I have to..." She pulls back with genuine fear in her eyes. "I...I have to go back."

"You aren't." I will die before she steps foot in that house again.

"I'm not 18 yet." She hiccups. "I-I-I have to."

"No."

"She'll report me for running away." She cries harder. "I've tried before."

Part of me wants to know what happened but I don't think either of us want her to relive that horror right now. Instead, I take a deep breath and try to think. "You turn 18 in a week." She nods. "Once you turn 18, you're out of there."

"But–"

"No." I shake my head. "You can move in with Melissa and John. Shit, I don't care if you stay with me, but you will not, and I repeat, will not step foot in that house once you turn 18. Understood?"

She nods, leaning back into me and I hug her tightly. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for." I assure her.

"I do." She insists.

"No." I squeeze her. "You are a victim. You are in no way, shape or form to blame for this. I'm sorry I didn't help sooner."

"I didn't want you to know." She sobs.

"Why?"

"Because you look at me like I'm strong."

"Chlo-bear, you are one of the strongest people I've ever met." I tilt her red, tear stained face up to mine. "I will never look at you and see anything but a fighter."

"But I'm not."

Kissing her softly, I run my fingers through her hair. "Yes, you are."

Somehow Chloe falls asleep with her head in my lap and I wonder if she slept at all last night. Listening to her breathing, I trace gentle lines on her spine. Goosebumps spread across her skin and I smirk as her head shifts.

My smirk falls as I notice the bruising on her skin. A perfect handprint that spans almost the entirety of her neck and a mark on her left cheek. If I could, I'd go back and beat the shit out of them. The second she's out of that house, John is evicting her mother.

They don't deserve to tarnish the memories of that home.

Ever so gently, I lean down and kiss the mark on her cheek. Moving down, I follow the pattern around her neck. A hand rests on my cheek and I stop. "I'm sorry."

"Don't pay them any attention." She insists, pulling her jacket tighter. "I'll cover them in a minute. I'll look so good, you won't even know they're there."

My stomach clenches. "Chloe, I want to know they're there."

"They're disgusting."

"They're horrible." I agree. "But they do not make you disgusting."

Wordlessly, she stares at me and I see the gratefulness in her eyes. All the things she'll never say because she doesn't want to appear less than for thinking them. It doesn't matter, I'll always know.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner." I whisper.

"You saved me." She smiles. "That's more than I could've ever asked for."

It isn't enough. She shivers and I grab her hand. "Let's get out of here."

Shaking the blanket out, we head for the car. She stops and tugs on my hand. "Can... can I stay at your place tonight?"

"Of course." Like hell am I letting her go back there tonight. "Let's go home."

*****

Damn, this is the chapter IVE BEEN WAITING FOR!

ah, my sweet, sweet Chloe. I love you beyond words.

Also, LIH is only 10 months old, which is great considering LiL and ITE are 1 year old. Also, LIS was completed a year ago. which is CRAZY. Also, I'm 20 now so that's cool I guess.

LiH and ITE need to catch up to LIL. I've missed writing so much and I've been going through hell. ITE is going to destroy me, I know it already, but it should be out this week.

also, I absolutely wrote and edited all day instead of school. Happy Monday!