Description
(Trigger warning) "Because," I start, my voice trembling as the flashbacks flood me like a tsunami. All the years of abuse swarm my mind and I can almost feel the physical pain all over again, the scars on my body burning from his invisible touch. "I'm not safe." He steps forward, his hands moving to the side of my face to caress my cheek with love I've never felt before. All these years I've been running and hiding, scared to get close again and scared to let someone else in to take one of the few broken parts of me that's left. His voice holds a sense of promise and for the first time in a long time, I think I can find safety in his words. "You are now." *** Athena knows pain. After losing her once perfect family, she's forced into a life full of pain and suffering through the abuse of her step-brother. Athena knows the consequences of telling so to be sure her secret's safe, she closes herself off and remains silent. No one else can hurt her if they don't get close enough to try. River knows pain, too. He's felt grief through the loss of his brother; an accident that he's taken responsibility for. River's only just begun to let people back into his life and despite Athena's unrelenting walls, he's determined to show her that sometimes the end is just the beginning.
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