Foreign |l.r.h au|

1.8

Two months later

I haven't talked to anyone in days. Since what Alex's lawyer said in court, I have felt like shit. His words kept echoing in my mind.

Feeling sick to my stomach, I manage to peel myself off my bed and take a shower. Luke was in the court room at the time. He's seen more of my body in that room than in his bedroom, and they were disgusting.

Pictures of my body, Larissa's body, and many other girls bodies had been exploited.

Images of my fourteen-year-old body played into my head as I stare at my naked body in the mirror of the bathroom. Tears filled my eyes when I traced around the scars that littered my body.

I wanted to punch the mirror and I wanted to stop feeling like I was going insane. I sneer at my reflection and my brain begins to pound against my skull.

Removing my hands from my body, I open the drawer and pull out the scissors. My hands tremble as I open them up and before I close them, I stare at my naked body.

"So you ran away, on purpose, may I add." Alex stares down at me, a smile plagued across his face. Cold chills ran down my spine making my breath hitch in my throat.

"Am I right?" His lawyer turns around and looks at me, a shimmer of hope in his eyes. I have never wanted to punch someone so badly.

I never understood the people who defended inhumane civilians like Alex. I understand that it's a lawyer's job, but making your client look like a victim rather than the actual victim, doesn't sit well with me.

"Yes," I state, putting my trembling hands into lap, I try to study my breathing to prevent having an anxiety attack.

"Okay. And you met my client in a gas station, where you voluntarily went with him back to his place, correct?" I had no idea where this man was going with this, but I knew he was aiming to make me break.

The tears course down my face and I close the mouth of the scissors, chopping a chunk of my hair and letting it fall to the ground. I feel the scissors cutting through each strand, due to my hair being thick, it was rough.

I pull the other side of my hair in front of my shoulders and begin cutting it. With every lock that fell to the floor, scars around my neck became more visible.

As soon as I finish chopping off my brown hair, I throw the scissors down to the floor and cover my face with my hands, trying to muffle the loud sobs escaping my mouth.

"Rem.." I hear Luke's voice but don't move from my position. I didn't hear the bathroom door open, so his voice appearing was a bit startling. I feel his arms wrap around me , my naked body pressing against his clothed one as my head leans against his chest.

I can only imagine how he's feeling. Our relationship has gotten very strong, but ever since the trial started, I have become extraordinarily weak and lost.

Luke did everything he could to keep me from going insane, but either way, it seemed inevitable. Luke already hated being in the same room with Alex, he had told me. And now watching the person he cares for break, it was harder for him not to jump across the room and kill Alex right then and there.

Jason couldn't be in the same room with Alex for twenty minutes without vomiting. When they called him up to testify against him, he nearly threw up when Alex's lawyer asked him to look at him.

Detective Pacheco felt that we had a very strong case of winning and I prayed to God, if there was one, that that would be the case. The murder of Bella and the amount of prostitutes and child pornography that had been founded as evidence really didn't sit well with the jury. At least, that's how he felt. 

"It's gonna be okay. I promise." Luke pulls me back by my shoulders so I'm looking at him. His lips press against mine, and my eyelashes slightly graze his cheeks when I close them. Luke's hands cup my face and his thumb rubs against my tear stained cheeks.

When Luke pulls away he hugs me once more before brushing his fingers through my hair, while looking at the chunks on the ground.

"I like it better this way, anyways." He kisses my forehead once more before closing the bathroom door and sitting me down on the counter.

He opens the shower curtain and turns the knob to the shower head, allowing hot water to fall to the ground of the bathtub. As soon as he closes the curtain again, he grabs my hands and helps me into the shower.

The curtain is shut by my hand, blocking my view from Luke. The hot water rolled down my back and I close my eyes. Aside from the shower, I can hear the bristles of the broom sweep against the tile floor. When the noise subsided, I hear a buckle hit the ground and that's when I know he would be joining me.

When he got in, his hands reach up to my back before his thumbs press themselves in and he circles them around the tense area. I groan out of both pain and pleasure and allow my head to fall underneath the water.

After he ceases his actions, I turn towards him as he's squirting my body wash into my loofah. Luke motions for me to turn around and he starts to rub the loofah gently against my back. Drawing figures with the soap, I take a deep breath.

After Luke finished washing my body and scrubbing my hair, I stood behind him as he washed himself. When he finished, Luke turned the dial of the shower, shutting off the water. He dried himself off first, while keeping me in the tub. Afterwards, drying me off and wrapping his blue robe around my bare body.

Luke and I had never been much for talking which is why I think our relationship worked out. We always knew what the other one was thinking, but when we did speak, there was a purpose behind it.

Luke carries a dark past, he's never told me much about it, but it isn't hard to guess. He is secretive, but I've respected that, like he has very much respected my boundaries. And though, I don't know if I'd ever admit this out loud, but I was truly in love with Luke Robert Hemmings, for everything he is. The good, the bad and the ugly.

wooo so the next chapter is the last chapter and im actually a little emotional. this book has been hella hard to write but im about to start a new book called Speech, which is WAY more lighthearted than this subject, but does involve real world issues. And pretty soon I will be collaborating with my favorite author, Dani, who this chapter is dedicated to :) I love you all

-shannon xx