I didn't sleep much last night after Xavier took me out of my room. I woke up shortly after he placed me in his bed and tucked me in. I saw his backside as he shut the door and I didn't see him, Donna, Nicole, or Kyle all night.

I tried to sleep, but I kept seeing that man. My body hummed where he touched me, and I tried rubbing his touch off, but it stayed like phantom pain.

I folded in on myself and stared at my wrists in the moonlight.

29. At least I'm alive.

I stayed in that position until the moon tucked itself into bed and the sun awoke with a yawn. I heard the door open and slowly rolled over to see who it was.

It was Xavier trying but failing, to sneak into his room. He sighed and walked towards me. He bent down next to the bed and held a hand that was the closest to him.

"You didn't sleep, did you?" I nodded, and he sighed. "If it makes you feel any better, Donna and Nicole's shouts woke up the whole community. After hearing what happened, everyone wanted to punch him."

I gave a dry chuckle to humor him. "Was he from here?"

Xavier shook his head. "He is Jeremy's younger brother who went to another neighborhood. When he heard about his two big brothers, he took out his anger on you."

"Two?"

"Jeremy and the first doctor you had, Jack, are brothers" Xavier huffed. "This whole family is wack."

I sighed. Jeremy's face flashed in my head, and I closed my eyes at the memory. "I want to forget what happened"

Xavier helped me up and hugged me. It caught me off guard, and I didn't know how to react. I never had a hug from him before, but it eased my worries for a second before he let go. He held me within arm's length and patted my shoulders. "I know it hurts right now but time heals all wounds. Just give it time" He hugged me once more before getting up. He held my hand and helped me out of bed. He let go of my hand and held went to open a door in the corner of the room that I didn't notice before.

I made my way over and realized it was a bathroom. He turned on the water and took some towels from under the sink. I looked at the mirror at my blurry face and looked at Xavier when he came into frame. He undid my braid and put the white band on the sink. "A good shower always clears my head and puts me on the right path" He went to the door and started closing it. "Donna will be back with some toast and dress clothes. I'd rather have you stay here, but you are needed at the trial. Just think about it- once this is over, you can think about living life comfortably here" He forced a smile and then closed the door.

Then, I was left alone.

I took off my shirt slowly and then undid the tie on my pants. They fell to the floor, and the image of my pants falling before the man flashed like lightning in my head. I shook it off and continued with my underwear. I pulled back the curtain and stood in the shower.

I stood there stoically as water pelted me with incredible speed and made streaks down my face. It felt like my life was the musical score to the world's saddest song. It was being played dramatically slow on a piano and had viewers wondering when the turmoil would end. I saw my hands tremble under the weight of events and my purple wrists were made vibrant around the white tiles in the bathroom. I slowly sank to where the water couldn't hit me and hid my face between my legs.

I tried to cry, but nothing came out. Instead, water dripped onto my face and disguised themselves as my tears.

I sat there for a while in the fog of my internal pain that hugged me like a coat in the winter.

And then I turned the water off.

Even though I'm weak and feeling down, I still need to continue. Sitting and festering on what happened does not change what happened. I managed to be positive for twelve years of worse pain than what happened last night.

I stood and got out of the shower and walked over to the mirror. I swiped it with my hand and saw a dead man looking back at me. My dark hair and blistering green eyes were a stark contrast to my pale porcelain skin. I raised my hands and saw the water sprint down from my wrists and to the floor.

I lightly patted my cheeks and looked at myself in the mirror. I stuck up two fingers.

30. These new but temporary purple bracelets look cool.

***

I stood outside two big double doors with Donna and Nicole. Xavier and Kyle were inside the courtroom getting ready for the trial. I was slightly nervous ever since Donna and Nicole helped me into a suit that was black with a grey vest. Donna braided my hair while Nicole picked which tie I would wear. Nicole thought I'd look better with a green tie because it'd make my eyes pop. I didn't know what she meant, nor did I understand why I had to look good for a trial, but I went along with their fashion ideas.

They stood behind me talking in hushed tones. We were instructed to come inside when someone opened the door for us. I put a hand over my stomach. Butterflies swarmed inside me, and it was due to them that I didn't eat the buttered toast Donna made for me this morning.

I heard the ladies stop talking and turned towards them. They walked towards me and looked at each other before speaking.

"Kye," Donna started. "When we're in there, we are going to be saying some stuff that'll be going over your head. It's best to answer to the best of your abilities"

"Xavier will be standing right next to you. If you don't know how to answer then he will answer for you" I nodded with the new information given.

"Things over my head? What do you mean?"

Donna and Nicole fought to answer me but was silenced by the sound of the door opening. I took a deep breath as they held the door open and I walked through.

I first saw everyone standing. I saw men and women in pairs sitting on both sides of the aisle, and their heads were turned towards me like I was precious cargo. Their eyes showed pity, and I immediately knew that they knew what happened to me. I wanted to leave at that instant but kept walking down the aisle. I continued scanning the room, and my eyes eventually landed on Liam's. His eyes were widened, but besides that, I couldn't place the emotion. He was taller than the rest, and his head was angled downwards so I could see that had a braid down the middle. His black eyes pierced into mine and I could see the flames of anger lightening up his face.

I must've stopped walking and stared at him because Donna held my shoulder and pushed me forward.

I walked to the front, and Donna and Nicole led me to a table where Xavier stood. Kyle sat behind him, and there were two empty chairs next to him. His foot tapped in a steady beat until Donna put her hand on his leg. She and Nicole sat down in the two chairs next to him and crossed their legs. I looked at Xavier and saw a bullet of sweat run down his face. He was wearing a suit, but he seemed very uncomfortable. His muscles bulged against the restricting fabric and begged to be free with each movement.

I looked past him and saw a man in a briefcase stand all alone. Past him was rows of men and women sitting close together. They all eyed me down, and I felt sympathy from some and confusion from others.

A sound distracted me from the silence. A door on the far left side opened and out came Jeremy.

Two men followed alongside him in prison orange, and he stared me down with a sly smile. The two men I recognized and it took everything in me not to hide in fear. One was the doctor I met on the first day and the second was the man from last night. The man from last night had multiple cuts and bruises on his skin, but his nose was held in place with two small boards. Neither of the other two men noticed me, but Jeremy's sadistic eyes stayed glued to me. He remained standing and watched me with unblinking eyes. Xavier saw his actions and stood in his eye line. I looked up at him, and he smiled and patted my hair.

A balding man with stern eyes walked onto the podium and sat down. Several men dressed in uniform with gadgets decorated around their waist and chest stood emotionless but eyed the men in orange before staring off into space. The judge swung a hammer object down (scaring me slightly in the process), and everyone sat down but Xavier and me. On the other side, the man stayed still. Jeremy looked at the judge, and so did the doctor.

The man who tried to touch me last night, however, looked at me and licked his lips.

I held down a shiver and looked at the judge- who, thankfully, started speaking.

"Alright let's see what we have here. The defendants are Jeremy Fisher, Jake Fisher, and Jack Fisher. Jeremy Fisher is pleading not guilty for First Degree Kidnapping and Torture. Jake Fisher is pleading not guilty as an accomplice to Jeremy Fisher and Jack Fisher is pleading not guilty to attempting Statutory Rape" The judge looked at the documents in his hand and looked at their lawyer. "I hope you have something to combat this because one is looking at life without a chance of parole and the other is looking at the death penalty"

The lawyer tightened his tie. "I do have something to combat this, your Honor" The judge huffed and looked at Xavier.

"Well plaintiff," he gestured to Xavier. "Start from the beginning"

Xavier nodded. "Well on this past Monday, my beta Kyle, and his wife Donna, were out doing some house visits. No one has been to Jeremy Fisher's house or heard from him in a while, so they decided to make an unannounced visit to make sure he was alright. As Alpha, I have the keys to all houses and gave Kyle and Donna the key to Jeremy's. They walked in and noticed Jeremy walking out of a trap door in the middle of his living room. When confronted on what was down there and if they could see, Jeremy got defensive and started to throw Donna and Kyle off his path by jumping back into the hole and locking the door. Once Kyle and Donna were able to get into the hole, they gave chase after Jeremy. Donna noticed a person in a cage that Jeremy held with him. They also noticed a blood trail that leaked from the cage and continued to chase him outside. Jeremy threw the cage with the person inside towards some rocks and encountered Kyle. Once Kyle was able to subdue him, Donna and Kyle realized that a child rested in the cage. He was naked but dressed in bruises, cuts, and dirt mixed in with blood"

"Your honor-"

The judge cut off the lawyer with a rustic look. He gestured for Xavier to continue.

"The boy's name was Kye was brought to the clinic and treated for his wounds"

"I'm guessing you're Kye?" the judge interrupted.

I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. "Y-yes Sir"

He gave me a gentle smile. "I'm glad you're alright"

"You and me both" I said, and light chuckles played throughout the room. The judge waited for the silence to consume them all and looked to Xavier to continue.

"The doctor was Jake Fisher and attempted to subdue Kye and kidnap him from the hospital. We also searched Jeremy's home and found medical devices only checked out to Jake. Then last night, Jack Fisher snuck into the Kye's room and tried to rape him before returning him to Jeremy. I intercepted him with his right hand in the boy's pants and the other hand holding him up"

The judge gestured to the man with the broken nose. "Is that why he looks like that?"

"Yes, your honor" I could tell Xavier had more to say but decided to keep his mouth shut.

The judge chuckled and looked at the lawyer for the Fishers. "What is your rebuttal? There isn't much you could do since I have the proof right here" The judge held up ample amounts of papers and shrugged.

The lawyer cleared his throat. "I have some, but first I shall ask Jeremy Fisher to the stand"

A police officer went to Jeremy and undid his ankle chains from his brothers and led him to the stand. They swore him in on a book that I didn't recognize from the bookshelf in my room.

Once he was done, he winked at me.

I gagged.

"Now Jeremy, how did you meet this boy?" the lawyer started.

Jeremy placed a finger to his chin. "I was outside one day, and I just got done talking to my neighbors when I saw something slingshot past me. I live near the border, and sometimes I get rogues near the borderline. I followed the thing, and it turned out to be a little boy. He seemed hurt, and I invited him, out of the kindness of my heart, inside to give him some bandages. He was hesitant at first but came and sat down while I figured some things out. The original plan was to contact the Alpha and have him help the boy get back home"

"But that's not what happened" the lawyer pressed his fingertips together and waltzed with himself across the floor. "Why did the original plan change?" the lawyer faced the audience.

"Well, it changed because I found out that he wasn't human"