"August, you awake?"

"If that is God, heaven really sucks." I hear a few bursts of laughter. "There's a lot more pain and beeping than I thought there would be." I say opening my eyes and looking around the room to find a lot more people than should probably be let into said room.

"Hey baby girl." Dad says smiling as mom just tries not to cry anymore.

"You just had to go and get yourself Laura Wolf'ed didn't you? You jerk!" Emi cries as Jack just wraps his arms around her.

When did that happen?

"Hi." I say after turning and looking into a set of gorgeous eyes next to me. "Hi." He says smiling as he takes my hand.

"Okay, first question, how long was I out? Second question, when did the whole Emi and Jack thing happen? Third question, do I have to be on some kind of bag or can I still, you know...well yeah. fourth question, have they found Rex yet? oh and another thing, was I just hearing things or did you...never mind the last one." I ask looking over at Sam.

"Not yet." Adriana says answering the last question.

"We didn't happen!" Emi says defensively.

"Yeah we did." Jack says smiling brightly as Emi fumes. "It's pretty cute. I like it." I say turning to my mom for answers.

"Let your doctor answer the third question." Dad says just fluttering away trying not to think about it.

"You've been out for a few days not long." Sam says kissing my hand.

"Thanks." I tell him smiling still weary of his forehead kisses.

"So, what's going on here? Like first you actually leave the house of your own free will, then what? You meet this guy?" Adam asks.

"Hi." Sam says waving. "And now because he's supposedly your hero your fauning all over him?" Adam asks pointing his finger just anywhere.

"Technically Jack called the ambulance not Sam, so if I was after him souly because he saved me I wouldn't be after him." I tell Adam. "I was just making sure." He says crossing his arms. "Twerp." I tell him sighing.

"Yeah, she's after dream cookies." Sam says matter of factly.

The room fills with silence before uncontrollable laughter.

"I have got to hear how that happened!" Adriana says smiling leaning closer to hear all the dirty details.

Sam starts to tell the story while I hide under the blankets my hand still in his wishing I was in the fortress of solitude and lightyears away from this conversation.

"So I offered to buy her dream cookies and she lit up like a firefly she was so beautiful." Sam says smiling.

"Didn't we tell you never to accept candy, cookies, or Cheetos from strangers!" Dad says faking his frustration. "Don't forget the ice cream dad."

"Cheetos and ice cream?"

"Don't tell me you haven't had Cheetos and ice cream!"

"Okay then I won't."

"You haven't lived if you haven't had it!" I tell him smiling.

"We had to keep that one on a leash, literally, she would go with a stranger for anything food, a slice of bread enticed her!" Mom said chuckling.

"Those were my fat days..." I say embarrassed. "What happened? I would have loved to see adorably chubby August." Sam says smiling. "No, you wouldn't, or the me after." I tell him in a whisper.

"And there goes the happy, you have a gift woman, a pure gift." Emi tells me turning to leave. "You didn't have to bring that up while we were trying to lighten the mood!" Emi says slamming the door behind her cutting off Jack till he opens the door and rushes out following after her. "She's right you know, your pretty darn negative." Adam tells me just kind of standing there. Before I just tune him out and go back to Sam.

"Sorry, I'll stop." I tell him putting a totally fake smile on. "Okay, why don't we let August get her rest so you guys just head out into the waiting room and we'll have you come back before visiting hours are over." A nurse says.

I reach out and hold Sam's hand.

"Stay?" I ask.

"Sure." He says smiling leaning down and kissing my forehead.

I wait till everyone has left the room and Sam sits in the bed next to me his hand in mine. "You don't have to keep that fake smile on for me." He tells me brushing my forehead with his lips. "Thanks." I say willing myself to curl into him and be comfortable for this uncomfortable conversation. "My books are apart of me and most of the time apart of what I've been through. My fat days were really crappy, I was always eating and stuffing myself which just made everything worse...kids at school would laugh at me I was froggy Auggy, Fatty A and it all got worse the older I got. I would stress eat. Try to get through everything but again it just made it worse." I tell him.

"I had bulimia, I would stuff myself and soon I ended up shoving crap down my throat to get myself to throw it all up...it was bad, really bad. I was abandoned as a kid, I was obese then I was bulimic, my fat stage went to unhealthy thin to being hospitalized. I was kidnapped just after I got out of the hospital that time. I was terrified, had no idea where we were all I knew was I was terrified. At first he would just cut me here and there, hit me, yell at me but then it changed...he started touching me and caressing and it made me feel so nasty...it was about a week in when he raped me..." I tell him.

"Oh God..." he says his hand over his mouth.

"He enjoyed watching me bleed out, he liked it when I turned white. He said I was prettier...he cut me down my legs up my arms across my stomach...his name is etched into my back and the feeling of his hands into my mind...I can't keep up this charade that I'm okay. My parents and my siblings and even Emillia, none of them know what really happened, I made them stay out of the court room. I didn't want them to look at me the way all those people in the hospital and the court room did. Like I was something to be pitied, I don't need pity."

"I know you don't." Sam tells me leaning down and kissing my knuckles as tears are covering his face and mine.

"The fact that he's come back into my life just really freaks me out, I thought I was over it and I thought that we could really work, you know, this somewhat unspoken thing..." I say pointing back and forth between the two of us. "But then Rex came back and now...now I don't know what to do...my minds a mess..."

"Just focus on getting better, okay? Forget trying to make us work, we'll be fine." Sam tells me kissing my forehead.

"We're moving so fast...too fast."

"Are you afraid of that?" He asks.

"Yeah...I am..."

"I'm not." He tells me kissing my cheek sweetly.

"You don't think I'm dirty or anything?" I ask.

"Never. Your beautiful and I don't care what happened in the past. I am here now and I'm not leaving, no matter what." He tells me.

"Okay."