Was this all a dream? Had I really just made it out of there?
I wasn’t sure whether I was hallucinating but Ty’s touch felt so real. I shook my head, hoping this wasn’t some kind of cruel trick that my mind was playing on me.
My eyes stayed on Ty’s as Corey went to get Ava. So many men ran after him and piled through the door. I had no idea how many girls were being kept in there, I just hoped that it wasn’t too many.
Looking over at Lindsey, I could see that Kitty was comforting her and had covered her with a blanket. Feeling Ty’s t-shirt touch my skin made me shiver and my whole body sagged in relief.
It was real. We really had made it out.
“I shouldn’t have left her,” I whispered. Why had I left her? I’d just gone through the door and left her with that brute.
“Sweetheart...” Shaking my head at Ty, I couldn’t quite meet his eyes while I was admitting that I’d just left her there. That poor innocent girl had been left with all those men. The lump in my throat became bigger and I desperately tried to hold back the sob that was bubbling up.
Ty walked me over to Lindsey and we held each other tight, neither of us looking away from the door, waiting for Ava to come out.
Corey walked out after what felt like hours, cradling Ava in his arms. He held her tight, her face buried into the crook of his neck as she clutched onto him. Rushing forward, I tried to check on her, but as soon as I touched her, she whimpered.
“What happened?” I asked Corey, his eyes blazing in anger.
Shaking his head, he walked straight out of the warehouse and into the truck. Not acknowledging anyone. What had he done to her?
“Kay, we need to get you checked out. You all need to be checked out,” Ty said, coming up behind me. Nodding my head, I moved toward the truck, Lindsey still holding onto me.
Hearing Serena shouting, I turned my head. “Just leave it,” Ty whispered in my ear.
Closing my eyes at the sensation, I did what he said, knowing that if I was to see her face, I wouldn’t be able to hold back from hurting her again.
“Ty,” I whispered, the lump in my throat becoming bigger. We were out, we were actually out.
His arms opened and I turned, going straight to my safe place. His arms came around me and I snuggled into the nook that was specially shaped just for me. At least, that’s what I liked to tell myself.
I was tired and drained, all I wanted was a bottle of water, my bed and a cuddle from Eli.
I hadn’t even registered the fact that Corey was here, or how they’d found us. I didn’t even want to know why Daley was stood talking to Charlie.
“Let’s get you checked out and then we can get you home.” Nodding into his chest, I let Ty lift me up into the passenger seat. His face coming so close to mine as he did my belt for me, that I couldn’t help but lift my hand up so I could run my fingers through his scruff.
“I missed you,” I whispered, my eyes filling with tears.
His brown eyes told me how much he’d missed me, without having to say a word. Leaning forward, he kissed me softly on the lips and leaned his forehead against mine.
“I missed you too,” he said, his voice deep and gruff. “So much.”
“Guys, I know you want a reunion and all that,” Corey said from the back. “But Ava needs to be checked out. Like, right now.”
Pulling apart, Ty grinned at me and shut the door.
For the next few hours, we were poked, prodded and examined. We’d all been split up; Ty stayed with me, Luke turned up and stayed outside Lindsey’s room and Ava still hadn’t let Corey go.
They stitched me up and sent me for x-rays, telling me that I had two cracked ribs and a broken finger. Something that I could have told them without the x-rays. They wrapped my ribs and feet in bandages because of the abrasions and taped my two fingers together.
All of the other injuries were just bruises and cuts that would heal with time. Though they wanted me to talk to a shrink but I refused. There was no way that I would be telling a stranger all about my life.
Ty wouldn’t let me walk out of there so I hobbled into a wheel chair, my feet still sore from the cuts on them, only now, I was wearing a pair of hospital issued slippers so that gave me some relief.
We all met back up in the waiting area and waited for Ava and Corey to come out.
“Ava?” I whispered as they came through the doors.
Corey shook his head at me and mouthed, ‘not right now’.
Looking down at my knees, I frowned. It was all my fault. If I hadn’t left her there alone, she wouldn’t have been like this right now.
We all went out to the truck and piled in, my head spinning with so many different things that I thought it would explode. All I wanted to do was see Eli but Ty told me that he was with Elena and Trevor at their house. Which was probably for the best because I wanted to get all the formal stuff out of the way first. Then I could concentrate on Eli, and getting better.
Ty’s hand drifted over to my knee, looking down at his fingers drumming his beat, I smiled. I’d missed that, the constant rhythm. Reaching down, I ran my finger over the top of his hand, running along his knuckles and down his fingers. Turning his hand over, I placed my hand inside his and looked over at him.
Without words, I knew exactly what he was thinking. I could see that he had lots of things whirling around in his head. Lifting our linked hands up to his mouth, he planted a gentle kiss on my hand and brought them back down to rest on my leg.
The sight of the gates had me releasing a breath, my ribs screamed at the motion but I didn’t care. This place really was home.
You know that feeling, where everything just seems fine, even when it wasn’t? That’s how I felt when I came into the compound. That no matter what was going on, as long as I had the people behind these gates, everything would be fine.
It was pure torture listening to Kay give her statement. Every little thing that she said made me angrier and fed to the need to find Max. I wished I could go back to change it all and for her not to get hurt again; to do more to protect her.
I hadn’t been there the first time he’d done this to her and I hadn’t been there this time.
The only difference between this time and last time was that she was more confident in herself. I could tell that she was being strong for Lindsey and Ava but she was also being strong for herself. Only time would tell how affected she would be by all of this, I just hoped that we’d be able to move past it all and start a fresh.
Charlie assured all of them that Serena and Max were being charged and wouldn’t get away with any of this. It was one less thing that we all had to worry about, the only downside being that I wouldn’t be able to get my hands on Max.
Time. I’d wait. I’d wait for twenty years if I had to but he wouldn’t get away with.
“What will happen now?” Kay asked Charlie.
“A social worker will be here soon to talk to you,” he said to Lindsey and Ava.
“They’re going to be put into the system?” Kay gasped. Charlie looked away, not confirming or denying. She looked over at Lindsey and Ava, wide eyed.
“It’s fine,” Lindsey said. “I’d rather be anywhere but there anyway.”
She didn’t seem to bothered by it, but Ava, she was freaking out. She looked around the room, searching for something. Her guttural sob bounced off the walls and I could practically see Kay’s heart break at the sound.
“Ava?” Kay whispered. She leaned closer to her as she whispered something back and frowned.
Turning her head to me, and then looking at Corey who was stood behind me, she tilted her head at him and he moved forward, crouching down in front of Ava. Whatever had happened inside that place when Corey went to get her, must have been bad. Her face was full of bruises and she hadn’t stopped shaking.
I saw the door handle move out of the corner of my eye and jumped up just as it flung open.
“Mama!” Eli shouted, running at her, a huge grin on his face. He stopped right in front of her, scanning her body from head to toe. His little face scrunched up as he moved his hand forward, cupping her cheek.
“What happened?” his little voice asked.
“Mama got hurt. But I’m fine now, sweetie,” she said softly, turning her face and kissing his hand.
Corey stood, helping Ava up and looked over to me. “I’m taking her back to the house to get some rest.”
Nodding, I moved over to sit next to Kay, bringing Eli up onto my lap. “We need to be extra careful, bud,” I said when he tried to move closer to her.
I spotted Ma stood at the door and I nodded, letting her know that it was okay.
“Lindsey? Would you like to wait out in the warehouse with me?” Charlie said, standing up and waiting by the door. Lindsey stood up, giving Kay a small smile before she followed Charlie out of the room.
“Right!” Kay announced. “Now that all of that is over, who wants to make popcorn and watch a movie?”
Shaking my head, I smiled. That was the woman that she’d grown into, she’d come such a long way. Even after all that she’d just been through, she was still putting on a brave face. Remembering back to the last time she was in this office, after Max had hurt her, to now. The difference was incredible.
“You can choose the movie, mama,” Eli said as I put him down on the floor. Pushing up off the couch, I held my hand out and helped Kay up. She let a small groan slip but just smiled it off and squeezed my hand.
“Hmmm, I think I want to watch, spider man,” she said, limping to the door.
“Really?” Eli asked slipping his hand inside Kay’s.
“Yep!”
We walked slowly through the warehouse, Kay stopping to talk to Lindsey who was on her way to the station with Charlie.
“Social worker is gonna meet us at the station,” he said to me.
“Thought she was coming here?” I asked, keeping my eyes on Kay.
“She was but I think Ava needs some more time.” He looked around, not wanting to say what we were all thinking. She still hadn’t given her statement yet so we had no idea what had happened to her.
“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.” I nodded.
Lindsey walked back over to Charlie after her and Kay had hugged, and gave me a nod before she walked off.
“I’ll be over tomorrow,” Charlie said before he walked off. I watched as he gave Kay a hug, whispering something to her before following Lindsey out of the warehouse.
Kay turned and smiled, looking down at Eli and then back up to me. “Ready?”
Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I said. “Always ready for you.” Winking, I moved forward, wrapping my arm around her shoulder.
Having her back made our little family complete, only time would tell how we would move on from here. I hoped we could move past everything and start again, this time without all of the drama.