My mother continued to thrash in his hold as Henson tried holding her down as well. She was screaming and cussing at the two officers to let her go. Her wrists were bleeding, blood dripping down her forearms from the handcuffs that dug into her flesh.

Everything around me was blurry. I could hear Jace's voice, but it sounded so far away. I couldn't focus on anything around me, until I felt someone shake my shoulders. I shook my head, my eyes focusing on my brother in front of me.

I slowly sat up, scooting backwards until my back hit the nearest wall. My cheek started to throb from the force of my mother's hit. Jace scanned every inch of my face as his eyes were swimming with concern.

I stayed silent, not able to form any words. I was in shock. I flinched when I heard someone roughly open the door, hitting the wall behind it with a startling thud. At some time, Jace sat beside me, holding my hand in comfort as he tried to say reassuring things.

We both sat on the opposite side of the room where my mother was held as she continued to scream. I let my eyes wander to the ceiling, searching for security cameras, and stopping when I found one hidden in the right. They got this all on video.

I averted my gaze, looking back down to the three security guards that were trying to pry my mother off. They had restraints, holding her back as she continued to thrash around in the security guards hold. Her hair was a tangled mess as they finally got her off Dawson.

I was so fucking embarrassed to say that she was my mother. She was making a complete fool of herself as she continued to act like a fucking maniac. She really needed help.

The three men eventually dragged her out of the room, her feet dragging against the tile as we watched them stumble out the door. I heard her yelling at me down the hallway until she was too far away to be heard.

I released a shaky breath as I felt a trickle of blood travel down my nose and onto my upper lip. Dawson immediately got up, darting over to my side as he kneeled down. His eyebrows furrowed as he scanned my jaw and bloody nose. I was so used to this shit, that I didn't even feel the pain in my jaw anymore. I was numb.

"Fucking hell," he cursed, reaching out his hand for me to take. I hesitantly reached my hand out, my injured palm shaking as he pulled me off the ground. "Are you okay, Dakota?"

I shrugged my shoulders, too shocked and embarrassed to form any words. I felt Jace's presence behind me as he soon got up after me.

"Goddamnit," Henson cursed from behind him as he ran a shaky hand through his hair. "I'm so sorry this happened. Jesus, I don't know what to say."

I stared at Henson, forcing a small smile onto my face, trying to tell him it's okay. The door was still open as police officers peeked inside, briefly looking at all of us standing inside. "Ma'am?"

I turned my head to look at one of the officers that leaned against the door. I cleared my throat. "Yes?"

"We've received news that you two will no longer be able to see your mother for a while. She is not allowed any visitors and will be on a 24 hour watch. Because she attacked you, she will now be charged with battery which will be used against her in court since we have video footage," the officer explained as his eyes traveled between Jace and I. "Is there anyone you would like to call before we have a conversation about what's going to happen?"

Wow, this officer was so fucking considerate.

"How about we give her some time, Jacks?" Dawson advised, irritation lacing between his words.

"Yes, of course," he nodded his head, looking ashamed as he turned to look at me. "I'm sorry, take as much time as you need."

I nodded my head, trying to put on a smile, but it faltered. I was so fucking tired of dealing with my mother. I just wanted to go home.

"I do want to call someone," I abruptly got out, even startling myself as I wasn't expecting to say those words out loud. Dawson gave Jacks a knowing look as he quickly nodded his head.

"Who are you going to call?" Jace asked, his voice only loud enough for me to hear as he was slightly hidden behind my frame.

"A friend," I quietly responded. "We need someone to be with us. We can't handle this by ourselves, it's too much."

"After this phone call, why don't you go to the bathroom to clean up your nose, yeah?" Dawson softly advised as his eyes held a look of guilt.

I nodded my head before pulling out my phone from my back pocket. I scrolled down my contacts, and stopped when I found the specific name I was looking for. I remembered saving his number in my phone after we all exchanged numbers a few weeks ago.

I clicked on his name, the phone immediately ringing as I pressed it against my ear. My hands shook as I held the phone. I impatiently waited for him to answer as the phone kept ringing. When the ringing stopped, my gut immediately twisted into knots when I heard his voice.

"Hello?"

"Hi."

"Princess?" Karson asked, his voice rough as I heard some ruffling in the background.

"Yeah, it's me," I responded, staring at the floor as I randomly felt a rush of emotions hit me all at once. I wanted to scream, cry, anything.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" He rushed out as I heard Braxton's voice in the background, asking who was on the phone.

"I need help," I quietly admitted, my voice breaking at the end of my sentence. He was the only person I knew that would make me feel like my whole world wasn't crashing down on me. "I-I don't know what to do."

"Where are you?" He growled, sounding concerned as he quickly answered Braxton, telling him it was me on the phone.

"I'm at the police station near city hall," I sighed, glancing up at the ceiling as I tried to hold back the tears that rested on my water line. I knew I was going to break down sooner or later.

"I'm on my way," he got out, quickly ending the call. My eyebrows furrowed together when I heard a car engine start in the background before he ended it.

"Karson?" Jace asked, raising his eyebrows as he eyes held no look of judgement. I bit my lip, releasing a shaky breath as I nodded my head. I put my phone back in my pocket as a small chuckle slipped through his lips. "I knew something was going on between you two. There is a thin line-"

"Fuck off," I quickly cut him off, flicking his forehead as I jokingly rolled my eyes. I repeatedly kept blinking to try to and make the tears go away before Jace was able to see them.

"You two can sit in the lobby to wait for whoever you called. We're going to give you some time before we come talk to you," Dawson explained as pity flashed across his face. "I'm deeply sorry for what she did. I should've stopped her before, but she moved too fast. I didn't see her in time."

"It's okay, really," I smiled. "I'm just grateful you two were in the room and were able to get her off of me as soon as you saw her. Don't worry about it, I'll be okay."

Dawson only nodded head, hesitantly glancing at my bloody nose before resting a hand on Henson's shoulder. They whispered to each other before Henson nodded his head and left the room. Jace and I just stood still, waiting for Dawson to tell us to leave.

I gently nudged Jace's shoulder when Dawson motioned us to follow him. We trudged out of the small room with Dawson in front of me and Jace behind me. My body felt slightly weak, the exhaustion catching up to me as I thought about everything that just happened.

I tried not to stress myself out, and just told myself to deal with everything as each day went on. I didn't know how I was going to tell Liv about this, and I needed to tell Stan that I really needed to make money, even though my palm wasn't completely healed.

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts as Dawson led us into the lobby. There we're chairs scattered across the floor, no one occupying any of them. I walked to the nearest chair that was only a few feet away from the front desk. The young officer was still sitting there, typing away as his eyebrows pinched together in concentration.

"I'll check up on you two soon. Just take some time to yourselves, because I know this is a lot to handle all at once," Dawson explained, resting his hand on his gun that was attached to his waist.

I let my body fall into the seat, sinking further into the seat as I breathed in the intoxicating smell. The police station smelled of strong chemicals, like they cleaned all surfaces every ten minutes. I shut my eyes for a brief second before I connected my gaze with Dawson.

"Thank you," I gently smiled, my voice merely above a whisper as I felt exhaustion hit me like a train.

He nodded his head before turning on his heel and heading towards the opposite direction. I felt Jace's presence as he sat next to me, leaning his elbow on the arm of his chair. His jaw was locked as his eyes fluttered shut.

"What are we going to do, Dakota?" His raspy voice asked as he kept his eyes closed. He was just as scared as I was.

"To be honest, I have no idea. We're going to follow what they tell us to do and just take every day step by step. Mom's going to jail, so when I turn eighteen, I'm going to court as soon as possible to gain custody of you and Liv," I told him as I stared at the stitches that were deep inside my palm. I gently traced over them as I realized I only did this when I got anxious.

"I'm sorry, Dak," he whispered, his voice slightly breaking as he turned his head to look at me. His under eye bags were dark, and his eyes were filled with sadness and despair.

"Hey," I blurted as my eyes met his. "None of this is our fault. Our mother put herself through this, got it? We are not at fault, we just unfortunately have to deal with the consequences of her bad decisions. We are going to get through this together."

"You shouldn't have to be dealing with this," he sighed, his eyes swimming with guilt as a frown pulled at his lips.

"I shouldn't, but I have to. We're going to get through this, and before you know it, we'll be free from mom or anyone who has caused our lives to be shit when I gain custody of y'all. We're going to be okay as long as we stick together," I told him as a lump began to form in the back of my throat. I needed to listen to myself. We're going to be okay.

"Where is she?" I heard a rough voice ask, breaking me away from my thoughts as I subconsciously looked to see where the voice was coming from. My eyes immediately landed on Karson who was looking around the police station.

I almost breathed a sigh of relief when his head turned in our direction. His eyes connected with mine as my heart began to pound in my chest. I watched as his eyes darkened when he scanned every inch of my face. Shit. I forgot to go to the bathroom to clean up my bloody nose.

The young officer behind the desk raised one of his eyebrows at Karson, but ignored him when he saw him staring at me. He broke his gaze away from Karson and stared at the screen in front of him once again.

Karson immediately strode towards Jace and I as I shot out of my seat. My legs almost gave out, but I forced myself to get up. I instinctively moved towards Karson, my legs having a mind of their own.

He took long strides until we were directly in front of each other. Neither of us stopped moving until I practically ran into his chest. Karson had his arms held out as our bodies roughly collided against each other. My arms subconsciously wrapped around him as my face buried into the crook of his neck.

He gently wrapped one of his arms around my waist, pulling me into his chest. My body relaxed when I inhaled his strong cologne, the smell immediately making me feel calm. I tightly gripped the back of his shirt as his hand traveled up to cup the back of my head.

His hands gently raked through my hair as his grip on my waist tightened. I heard him sigh in relief as he held me in his arms. I bit my lip, grabbing a fistful of his shirt as I tried to hold back a sob. All I wanted to do was cry while he held me and told me it was going to be okay. I needed someone to tell me everything was going to be okay. I needed to know if I was going to be okay.

He slowly released my body, the warmth of his hold disappearing as his viciously dark eyes connected with mine. He dropped his arms from my waist and soon cupped either side of my cheeks, holding my head in place as he studied my injuries.

"Oh, princess," he sighed, a small frown tugging at his lips as he lightly traced over the sensitive spot where my mother hit me. "I was so fucking worried about you when you ran out of the classroom. You and Jace looked so scared, I hated it."

I bit the inside of my cheek, totally forgetting about anything and everything that was around us. I was only focused on the pair of emerald eyes that burned with so many different emotions as he stared at me.

"Fuck. I didn't know who to call, so I called you. You were the first person I thought to call. I'm sorry, I just don't know what to do," I rambled as a small tear escaped my eye. His thumb gently grazed over my cheek, wiping the small tear away before it fell onto my lips.

"Hey, hey, calm down, princess," he whispered, his eyes swimming with concern as he glanced at my bloody nose. "I'm so fucking glad you called me, okay? I'm here. I'm here with you and you're going to be okay."

I nodded my head as his hands fell to his sides. I glanced down at the floor, my cheeks heating up from embarrassment. I raised my head, connecting my blurry gaze with Karson's.

"What happened, Dakota?" He hesitantly asked as he grabbed my hand. He held it, rubbing small circles with his thumb as I pulled him towards another part of the building. We held each other's hand as we walked over to the corner so I could talk to him in private. I slightly glanced over my shoulder at Jace who had his eyes close and head resting against the wall. His chest rose with even breaths as his mouth was slightly ajar.

I looked back at Karson who continued to rub small circles on the back of my hand. We now stood farther away from the front desk, slightly hidden behind a wall that separated the lobby into two smaller spaces. Karson's eyes never left mine as we stood only inches away from each other.

"Princess," he whispered as his eyes darkened into a different shade of green. "What happened to your nose?"

"My mother punched me?" I explained, even though it came out more like a question. My voice slightly rose an octave higher at the end of that sentence.

"She what?!" Karson fumed, his nostrils flaring as his grip on my hand tightened.

"Let me just start from the beginning," I huffed as he released my hand, letting me cross my arms over each other. The blood under my nose was now dried as I waited too long to clean it. I scrunched my nose, causing my skin to feel tight from the dry blood. "When Jace came into our classroom, the reason we looked scared was because he just told me our mother got arrested."

"Fuck," he cursed under his breath as he briefly averted his gaze to look at my little brother. His gaze found mine once again as his jaw clenched.

"I was in shock, so I kind of just ran out of the classroom," I explained as he gave me his full attention. "Anyway, we immediately went here and talked to a few officers about what the fuck happened. Turns out she was arrested for drinking and driving, as well as possession of drugs."

"She's going to court for her sentence, to see how long she'll be in jail. With her being in jail, that kind of leaves my siblings and I fucked. I'm only seventeen, so I can't necessarily gain custody over them until I'm eighteen. One of the officers, Dawson, is bending the rules a little bit, and he's letting me take care of my siblings as long as an officer comes and checks up on us every once and a while. He's only doing this because he knows I turn eighteen next month, and the foster care system is a bitch," I continued, trying to get out as much information as I could.

"Foster care?" He frowned, a small glimpse of worry flashing across his features.

I slowly nodded my head as the thought of being put in foster care clouded my thoughts. I didn't want to think about that. "We got to see our mother when they brought us into a small room with her and two of the officers inside. I tried talking to her, telling her she could go to rehab to help with her addiction, but she completely lost it. She was handcuffed, but she charged at me and grabbed my hair, pulling me to the ground. The officers called security as Dawson tried prying her off of me. He was able to get her off of me, but she landed a hit on my jaw, hence the bloody nose."

"Jesus Christ, Dakota. She hit you? Your own mother hit you?" He growled, his chest rapidly rising up and down as anger filled his emerald eyes.

I slightly looked down, embarrassed to admit that. If only he knew that I was used to this kind of shit. I was used to the punches she threw and I was used to her verbal abuse she put me through, everyday.

I silently watched Karson as he glanced down to my palm. He gently grabbed it, taking it in his own hand as he lightly traced over the stitches. His body immediately went stiff, almost as if he realized something.

"When you came to my house with your hand bleeding, what actually happened?" He pushed, his eyes narrowing into slits as he stared at the stitches.

"I-I got jumped, remember?" I hesitated, my voice faltering as I tried to remember the lie Jace had made on the spot.

"Bullshit," he snapped. "The way your mother talked to you the one day we were at your house, you not being able to go to the doctor, flinching every time someone raises their arm, and when your palm was fucking cut open with God knows what. It was her, wasn't it?"

No. No. No. He was finally able to put the pieces together. I could feel my breaths come out shaky as I felt dizzy. My head began to spin as I violently shook my head. I put a hand against my chest, trying to control my ragged breaths.

"Baby," Karson whispered, his voice small as he took a step forward. I didn't move. I couldn't move.

"Karson," my voice broke as tears began to fall one by one. I held a hand over my mouth, trying to suppress the sobs that threatened to break through. I immediately felt the warmth of his arms around me, firmly holding me as I let the tears soak into his shirt.

"I'm so fucking sorry, Dakota," his voice was firm as I felt him shake his head on top of mine. I felt his hands grab a fistful of my shirt as his body shook in rage. "Fuck."

"I don't know how much longer I can take this," I told him as each tear fell one by one. My hands were resting against his chest, grabbing his shirt as he pressed my body against his even tighter.

"I'm going to ask you a question and promise me you'll answer it honestly," he sighed as he gently rubbed up and down my back. I nodded into his chest as he took a deep breath. "Does your mom hurt you? Is she the one responsible for every injury you've had the past few weeks?"