I really needed the bathroom now. I desperately needed to set her down and go to the bathroom. I was nervous for her reaction though, so I was really trying my hardest to hold it in.

"Kiara, I'm going to put you down now." I said softly after I realized it was either I relieved myself where I was, or I ran to the bathroom.

She suddenly sprung up and clutched me tightly, grabbing onto me tightly and holding me close.

"Alright, alright." I said. "I won't set you down. I've just got to stand up, but I'll carry you."

I got up, hoisting her up into my arms and holding her tightly. My legs had pins and needles shooting through them now. I needed to move and at least get the blood flowing and I needed not to pee myself. As soon as I was able to stand without my legs giving way beneath me, I stood up. I started pacing back and forth hoping it would ease the need to relieve myself. I suddenly regretted the whole bottle of water I had at the construction site. I made sure I was swaying Kiara soothingly, hoping she would go to sleep.

When what felt like eight hours but was actually two minutes passed, I realized it was going to take her a lot longer than I thought to fall asleep. I decided, tantrum or not, I was putting her down.

I started setting her down on the bed but she whimpered and held me tightly, beginning to hyperventilate.

"I'll be right back, I swear. Just... I need to use the bathroom so badly." I told her, hoping she would sympathize a little bit.

Given that she probably had zero trust in me, she refused to let me go. I didn't have the heart to force her off me, so I just held her tightly again.

"Alright. It's fine, I'm not going anywhere." I told her, sitting down on the edge of the bed and rocking back and forth in an attempt to somehow make my bladder hold everything in for a little bit longer.

Her grip began to loosen and I forced my body to continue rocking in the exact same motion. Within the next five minutes she was in a deep enough sleep that I could slowly set her down and rush to the bathroom.

I was finally able to relieve myself, returning to her immediately after handling my business. I saw her on her bed and walked towards her, seeing how breathtaking she was. If you just overlooked the bruises scattered all over her, you could clearly see the overwhelming beauty that she held. You could see the innocence. Despite everything she'd been through, her innocence was not destroyed. She was just in need of someone to love her and be her provider.

I was so happy that it was my lap she landed in, because I was prepared to provide and care for her to the best of my ability. She was too precious to be thrown in a random facility and be left alone without the special care she needed. I just felt for her, I wanted what was best for her. I wanted her safe and the only place where I could guarantee that, was in my arms.

After letting my eyes scan her features, taking in all the adorable things about her, I laid down on the bed beside her. She shivered and snuggled closer to me. I looked down at her and noticed her long eyelashes. Their blonde colour made them hard to see, but from this angle, they were much more visible. Her lips formed a cute little pout and her hair was scattered messily all over the bed and her face.

I slowly brushed her hair away from her bruised cheek and then I planted a kiss on her forehead. Sure, I didn't really know her, only that she was a scared little thing. But I just felt something. It wasn't just pity and sympathy that I'd give anyone else. I just felt attached, I could see the potential she had to become someone happy and cheerful and it wasn't something I was willing to pass up.

Theo texted me asking where I was and why I hadn't come to dinner. Rico clearly hadn't explained what happened. I knew he understood how I felt. When he talked about Aunt Sophie, it sounded exactly like how I felt about Kiara.

T - Where were you today, bro?

V - I had some things I had to do. I'll tell you about it soon, alright?

T - You're weird. Tell me what's happening.

V - I found this girl.

T - You found a girl? Are you with this girl now? Where are you, Vidal?

V - Relax. I'll talk to you tomorrow, alright?

That's when my crazy cousin started calling me. I just ignored the call though. I understood that it was odd for him to hear that I had found a girl and skipped dinner for that reason. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have skipped dinner because of a girl. If it was that important to stay with her, I would have brought her with me. But that couldn't happen with Kiara. Kiara needed to be alone for now. I didn't actually know when she'd let go of me and allow me to see my family, but I hoped it wouldn't be too long before she became more comfortable letting me go.

Uncle Rico came by after dinner, bringing me food and a bag with some things I might need, then leaving to go home. Everyone was texting about me in our family group chat, asking what on earth I was doing and where I was. Missing a family dinner wasn't something we took lightly. I wished I had been able to go, no one would ever want to miss Aunt Sophie's delicious meals. I guess I hadn't really missed out on it, since Uncle Rico brought me some. But it's different to all sit around the living room and eat together. I loved how casual and happy it always was. My family was the best and I couldn't wait for Kiara to be more comfortable with people so she could meet them.

I realized I was getting a little ahead of myself. But I was a determined man. Kiara was staying with me, no matter what I had to do. I felt her shift around every now and then, I hoped she wouldn't have nightmares, but I wouldn't be too surprised. I just knew she had so much haunting her already so I hoped that at least her sleep could be peaceful.

I fell asleep after eating and sneaking off for another bathroom break. I changed into more casual and comfortable clothing, brushed my teeth and got ready for bed, then I went out to gather Kiara in my arms. She still slept soundly and it suddenly occurred to me that the last thing the nurses added to her IV had something in it to help her sleep.

Nurses came in and out throughout the night, checking on Kiara and handling some of her wounds while she couldn't freak out and break down. I woke up every time someone entered the room, but Kiara stayed sound asleep. She had no one to advocate for her, poor thing. That's why I realized I wasn't leaving the hospital until she did. It didn't sit well with me that they were touching her and doing things to her while she was unconscious and unaware. I definitely wasn't ok with it happening in my absence, which is why I wasn't leaving her side.

I was definitely acting as though she was my responsibility. I was just an overprotective, possessive man. I had never been this bad. But the sight of her was enough to hurt my heart. All those bruises and the fear in those pretty eyes. I just knew I needed to protect her and make sure she was alright. She was in no state to be looking after herself.

When I woke up the next morning, she was already awake. Her head rested on my chest, her hands stroking her bunny's head. She sniffled and hiccupped, clearly having been in tears a little while ago. I wasn't sure what had happened though and I didn't know how to announce my consciousness without scaring her.

"Kiara." I whispered ever so softly.

She let out a squeak and held onto me tightly. Her hands forming tight fists around my shirt.

"It's alright. Are you ok? Did someone do something?" I asked her.

I knew I wasn't going to receive and answer, but I asked anyway. I figured that once she got more comfortable, she'd start somehow responding to things.

"You're ok, I promise." I whispered, planting a kiss on her head.

My girl was a little smelly, but I knew a shower was out of the question. I could tell she was disgusted with herself. She probably really wanted to get cleaned up, but I didn't know how possible that was for her at the moment. I knew nothing about the injuries under the hospital gown, or how strong her legs were. I knew nothing about her physical state in all honesty. All I knew was that she was far too skinny.

Another bowl of fruits arrived and she cried at the sight of them. She turned her head away, not wanting to consume any of them. At this point, I had propped myself up in an upright position and she had crawled into my lap and cuddled close to my chest. I felt her shiver and goosebumps formed all over her arms. I wrapped a blanket around her and she tightened it around herself.

I started trying my hardest to feed her the fruits, but she just raised the blankets over her head in an attempt to avoid them.

"Kiara, you have to eat." I said to her.

She started sobbing and my determination flew out the window immediately. I just didn't want her to cry anymore.

"Alright. You don't have to. I'm sorry." I said, kissing her head and making her freeze up. She seemed confused but I didn't really know why or what I'd done to confuse her.

An hour passed and I tried again with the fruits, but she freaked out again and like a whipped man, I gave up immediately at the sight of tears. She was just too precious to cry. I didn't really understand why she was so against eating the fruits, but she just was.

I tried again every once in a while, and then finally, I decided that I needed to be strong in the face of that adorable face.

"Ok, Kiara, you really have to eat, Sweetheart." I said to her.

She looked up at me with a quivering lip and part of me felt like I was being messed with. It felt like maybe she knew I couldn't handle her sadness and she was using it to get what she wanted.

"No. None of that. Eat the kiwis at least. You like those, don't you?" I asked her.

She looked down at the bowl and the kiwis inside it. I could tell she was hungry, but she was scared to eat it.

"Come on. Open up." I said softly, bringing a piece of Kiwi to her mouth and raking my fingers through her soft hair. It needed some brushing, but that could wait until I took her home.

She begrudgingly took the little chunk of Kiwi into her lips and she ate it.

"There we go." I smiled at her, making sure she ate the rest of them. But she didn't seem to want any of the other fruits. She refused to eat them, insisting on staying hungry.

"You want more? We'll get you some more in a few minutes. Alright, my little Kiwi?" I said, playing with the beautiful strands of blonde hair that fell down past her waist. Her hair was beautiful, thick and blonde, but incredibly tangled at the moment.

When Uncle Rico came in next, he checked on her and he handed me a huge folder full of papers. I looked through it while Kiara hid in my arms. I wished she could at least be more comfortable with Uncle Rico, heaven knows she would be seeing lots more of him for the rest of her life.

"What's this?" I asked him.

"You want to take responsibility for another human being?" He asked me sternly.

I knew he was just worried about Kiara's well-being. In all honesty, I wasn't exactly one to take care of other people let alone myself. Which posed another problem because my apartment wasn't habitable at the current moment. So, I couldn't exactly take Kiara to the messiest dump on the planet once she got out of here.

"I do." I nodded, trying to convince him that I was perfectly suitable for the role of her caregiver.

"Alright. Well you're going to have to prove that you're up for it, to me and to a lot of other people." He said.

"Alright." I said softly, stroking Kiara's hair to try and calm her trembling figure.

"All those, are the documents, guidelines, lists of responsibilities, all the medications, recovery plans and documentation you have to handle for her, as well as all the appointments you need to take her to in the next two days before she's sent off to some facility. There's no getting used to this, Vidal. You're either ready or you aren't." He said, making Kiara begin to shake even more violently.

This was all definitely scary.

"Alright." I nodded, trying not to show him that I felt like passing out. I would do it, I would do anything I had to. It was just not going to be easy and I didn't know if I could succeed.

"Alright?" He asked me with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. I'm up for it, I'll do it." I said, trying to sound confident.

"Alright. Good luck." He said, walking out of the room and leaving another bowl of fruit for Kiara.

"Hey, Kiwi... will you eat some of this fruit, please?" I asked her.

She looked at the bowl of fruit and then up at me and she hid in my arms.

I decided that I had way too much stuff to do to be forcing her to eat when she didn't want to. I opened the huge file that had been handed to me and papers fell out all over the place. I sighed and picked them up, pulling her little table closer and beginning to go through her documents that needed filling out.

"Alright... date of birth..." I said, looking over at Kiara. "Kiwi, when were you born?"

She looked up into my eyes without uttering a single word and I suddenly realized that maybe I was being too overconfident with this. I needed help. I couldn't do it alone.

"Alright... it's fine." I said, trying to calm myself down.

If I lost her, I'd never forgive myself. I needed this. So did she. I would succeed because I had to.

I looked through all of the files, sorting them and making sure I was aware of everything I had to do. This was going to be the biggest test of my life and I knew that this is the one thing I had to pass.

"Alright. Kiara... my little Kiwi. I need you to listen." I said, tucking long strands of hair behind her ear for what felt like the millionth time that day.

"We have lots to do." I said to her. "I don't want you to be taken away from me. I want you to come with me and we can go home together and get better together. I'll prove to you that you can trust me, alright? But right now. I have to fill all these papers out, and take you to a bunch of appointments and stuff. Ok?"

She looked up at me, and I knew by the look in her eyes that she was absorbing all the information. When I looked at her, I saw an adorable, lost girl. But I knew that her mind was constantly running with thoughts. So I knew she was processing this information and I sure hoped she wanted to stay with me. Because she either cooperated or she made things harder.

She curled up in my arms and I read out the appointments we had that day. I looked at the time, realizing I had about two minutes to get her to her first appointment. I sprung into action, swearing several times as I grabbed the papers I needed for this appointment.

She looked so scared as I dashed through the hallways of the hospital, luckily knowing my way around it. I reached the MRI area and grabbed a number, talking to the woman at the desk who let me know that Kiara would be let in soon. I looked down at the documents and found her last name.

Kiara Davis.

I pulled out the document I was trying to fill out earlier and while we waited for a nurse to get us for her MRI, I filled in her last name. I pulled out my phone and I called Remi.

"Hey, Bro! What's up?" My brother immediately responded.

"Hey. Do you know anything about a recent discovery of a slave trade facility?" I asked him.

"Oh... the one with all the girls who were being trained to submit or whatever?" He asked me.

"Yes... So... I just need information about it and please don't ask why. I will explain eventually. I just need the quickest answers possible." I said to him.

"Alright." He said.

"So, I need you to try and trace back the file of one of the girls and find out her personal information." I said to him.

"Yeah... that's not going to happen, Vidal." He laughed nervously.

"Why not?" I asked him.

"Because you're just a random stranger to whoever this is. Do you know what that looks like? I can't do that without proof that you're permitted by the law to get the information." He said to me.

"Alright. Well how do I get this proof?" I asked him.

"You need to be her caregiver, bro. As far as I know, you're not even capable of caring for yourself." He chuckled.

"Romeo... it's not the time for that right now." I sighed.

"I can't be her caregiver without this information. So how do I get it?" I asked him.

"It might be in the hospital record." I said to him.

"She doesn't have a health card and I don't think I'll be allowed access to her hospital record." I told him.

"Why do you need this information? Like... what on earth are you doing, bro?" He asked me.

"Forget it. I need you to help me become her caregiver. I have all the documentation. I just need her date of birth and I need to get her a health card, a social insurance number, and all that other technical stuff." I said to him.

"Caregiver?" Remi asked. "Bro, what are you even talking about? Caregiver who? Have you stepped into your apartment lately?" He asked me.

"Remi, are you helping me or not?" I asked him.

"Chill. Fine." He said to me. "Do you have the application forms?"

"I think so... hold on a minute. I'll call you back, ok?" I said, seeing a nurse coming towards. I picked Kiara up, making her wrap her legs around me this time.

"Kiara Davis?" The nurse asked.

I nodded, following the woman with papers piled in my hands. Kiara was not happy when she saw the MRI machine.

And so the struggle began.