The smell of homemade pizza floats around us as I push open the front door, warmth from our small house hitting me in the face, relaxing my tensed jaw. It's one of the nights my mom gets off, thank god, which means she likes us all to cook and eat together- she's insistent on family time, feeling guilty for working as much as she does. Atlas is tucked under my arm, her lip body clutching at my back as I try and hold her up. She's drained, physically and mentally and it kills me to see her like this, a shell of such a bubbly girl. The ride here was silent bar her ragged breathing and occasional whimpers, I held her hand the entire drive. I didn't want to let go, petrified she'd slip away. I don't think she wanted to let to either, her tiny hand squeezed mine like it was her last lifeline- and I swear to god, I won't let her slip away... but I'm slightly concerned she already has.

I close the front door with a slight bang causing my mom to look around the corner of the kitchen, "There you are, you could have texted me... oh I didn't know we were having a diner guest Blaze." Her tone is boarding on harsh with an edge, her face is tight when she disappears back into the kitchen. She hates when I don't let her know what's going on or if I'll be late home and she's not fond of me just turning up with people... I don't blame her and I know as soon as she sees Atlas her strict parent demeanour will vanish, she's too kind and loving to be a strict parent.

Atlas tenses under my arm looking ready to bolt out the door but I edge her into the kitchen, my hand on the small of her back trying to miss any of her bruises.

"Mom..."

She doesn't look up from the oven, "I didn't know you were coming Atlas otherwise I would have made more food."

"Mom."

"Practice ended over an hour ago Blaze, where have you-" She finally turns away from the oven ready to lash into me but her eyes widen barbarically when she looks at Alas' frail body, face pailing, "Honey, oh my lord. What happened." She rushes over to her, cupping her face. Atlas jumps back, tenses up, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes.

"Sorry," She wobbles. I squeeze her shoulders.

"It's alright... why don't you come to sit down." My mom cautiously pulls out a barstool giving her a wide berth but Atlas won't let go of me. She looks up at me frightened and so unsure of herself so I make a show of pulling out the other barstool and setting it close to hers. She flops down into the seat, wincing when her torso slouches.

"They... they look like nasty marks on your face. How did you get them?" My mom places her hand on her arm lightly. She settles into the touch, looking at the bruises under her fingers. Having cried off all her make up the dark patches of skin on her face look much more horrific in the kitchen light.

"I...I..." She looks like she's struggling between telling the truth and lying, torn between the freedom of letting people in and the life she's been living for god knows how long. It's all too much and she bursts into floods of tears again. My mom acts on her motherly instincts and quickly pulls her into a hug, only holding Atlas tighter when she tries to flinch away. My mom looks over at me concerned, lips parted in shock.

"Oh sweetheart, it's okay." She coos in her ear as more strangled sobs fly out of her mouth. She looks at me expecting some sort of explanation but I don't want to tell her without Atlas being okay with it, it's her story and I won't pressure her into it but she's already looking at me, her bright blue eyes pooling with tears, empty and lost. She nods nervously at me.

"It was her asshole father." I strain... "Well... adoptive father..." Those bright blue eyes squeeze shut looking ashamed and bury her head further into my mom's hug. She shouldn't feel ashamed and I know it's partly because she feels like she hurt me by lying to me. I don't give a flying fuck where she came from, I just want her to be happy and healthy. Maybe I'm a little upset she felt she couldn't tell me but I'm angrier at myself that I couldn't be there for her. "There's more all over her body. Her ribs look really bad mom." My mom nods knowingly and gently pulls away from Atlas scanning her face with troubled eyes.

"Can I take a look... I'm a nurse, I'll be able to help if there's any really bad pain." Atlas looks guarded, hugging her arms tight around her hoodie looking at me cautiously.

"It's an okay butterfly, we just want to help, no one is going to make you do anything you don't want to do. We just want to make you more comfortable." I link my fingers with hers again and squeeze. Slowly she unwraps her arms and my mom helps her pull her hoodie off. She audibly gasps and her eyes are as big as fucking snowglobes, glassing over reflecting the marks that line her body.

"I'm sorry-" Atlas splutters.

"You have absolutely nothing to say sorry for alright?" My mom says sternly already grabbing some ice from the freezer. She assesses each mark, carefully pressing on areas that make Atlas yelp and hiss.

I hold her hand tightly running my thumb across her skin to try and take her mind off the pain. Her cheeks have flushed a dark red so I think it's working... slightly.

"That defiantly feels like two broken ribs honey." She carefully places the ice pack on her ribcage, "The others are very bruised though. There's not much we can do but let them heal naturally. Painkillers and icing it will help lessen the pain and swelling though." She pulls some painkillers out of the medical cabinet, "Have you eaten anything today?"

Atlas shakes her head tentatively. That would explain why she's so weak, her body needs the energy to heal and not having that her body is exhausted.

"Let's fix that then. Dinner's nearly ready." My mom chirps handing her back the hoddie so she can slip it over her chilly body, "Whilst we eat... why don't you tell us what's going on?"

"Where's Gem?" I ask realising I haven't seen the little terror since we'd got in.

"She has an extra dance rehearsal tonight." My mom clatters around with the plates.

She plates up in silence, smiling, but I can tell she's really worried. It's not every day a teenage girl comes to her with broken ribs in floods of tears... although being an ER nurse...

Atlas pushes the salad around with her fork, staring aimlessly at the lettuce leaves. Nobody says anything, the distant crunch from our mouths competing with the silence.

"So... Atlas. What's been happening, honey? Blaze said it was your... adoptive dad..." My mom tries to approach the conversation as best she can but I can tell she's struggling. Atlas's eyes remain on her salad and a single slice of pizza.

"It's not his fault- it's been hard for them." She mumbles.

"Hard or not it doesn't give him the right to abuse you. When... did it start?" Atlas wriggles on her chair playing with her hoodie cuffs, wet with tears, then she turns to me ignoring the question.

"I'm really sorry I haven't been honest with you. Especially after you were with me. I didn't lie about anything else... I...I just couldn't tell anyone." She bites on her quivering lip trying to stop the tears from falling. She's scared I'm going to leave because she didn't tell me what was happening.

"Hey." I grab her hand, "I'm not going anywhere Atlas. I'm not angry okay? I understand. I want to help, we both do but maybe we should start from the beginning?"

"It's hard, I haven't spoken about... this." Her voice cracks.

"I know it's difficult love and if you don't want to talk to us that's fine. We can find someone else. We don't want to push you... take your time with whatever you decide." My mom disregards her dinner to focus on us.

"No, it's fine. I want to tell you... I don't want to talk to anyone else. Please." My mom nods and my heart flutters feeling thankful she trusts us. "Uh... I don't really know where to start..."

"You don't have to tell us right now Atlas, you can take some time," Mom says.

"No, I'll lose courage if I don't do it now... I'm so sorry to put this all on you." She bows her head, small droplets running down her face. I lean over and wipe the tears from her face, bringing her head up.

"Don't be stupid. Take your time Blondie."

"Okay..." She takes a few breaths in- short so she doesn't feel the pain from her ribs- focusing on the kitchen cabinets on the wall, "Well uh...I was adopted about five years ago from Illinois and moved here to start high school. I didn't- I didn't want to be adopted but my social workers kind of convinced me it would be for the best." She scoffs tearfully. I move my chair a little closer to her so I can hold her hand tighter. "It was... okay when I first moved. They kind of just left me alone and left me to my own devices. Which I was fine with since I was still..." She looks down at her fingers, her damp cheeks glistening. She hasn't said why she was adopted or what happened before she was but I'm sure it'll come with time.

"After about a month things changed and they started getting invasive and... controlling... they didn't want me to go out and they constantly checked my room and my phone." She lets out a long breath trying to keep her voice steady. My stomach churns and my temper rises through my bones. I don't want to believe she's lived like this for so long, "It was little things at first... just getting screamed at or ridiculed. Then it moved onto the odd shove or slap. We wouldn't mention it... you know... it just became normal. I was used to it-" She stops and closes her eyes tight, pushing back something, something deeper and darker surfacing at her iris's. "Then a few weeks later, before I was due to start at East Meddow I wanted to see if there were any cheer teams nearby. I've been cheering since I could walk and I thought being on a team would help me settle in... I wanted to do something dance-related again. I asked and I got.... hurt for asking but they took me anyway and I joined a team in Atlanta. That was when it got really bad. I would get... beat... after every practice. It gradually got worse and worse than I found out their daughter had died only a year prior."

I think back to what Carrie said about seeing her dad with another girl. It makes sense now.

"I was her replacement. Constantly being compared to Jenny and because I wasn't Jenny I would get punished for it. Jenny did cheer and it was too painful for them to see me enjoy something she did so I would get hurt. I don't blame them... losing someone is so painful and you want nothing more than to bring them back." She squeezes her eyes shut again then turns to me, "That's why I quit cheer in the first place. I lied when I said stuff got in the way. It didn't I just couldn't stand the pain anymore- it was getting harder to hide." Fresh tears roll down her cheeks and I'm quick to pull her into my side, her sobs are muffled by my chest but she talks through them, " But after I quit cheer it got worse. I don't know why. Maybe I did do something-"

"You didn't do anything. None of this is your fault." I interject, fuming that she feels she's even partly responsible for anything those fuckers did.

"His wife- my adoptive mom- she drunk, a lot, until she blacked out most of the time so she didn't pay any attention to what he did. She just ignored It, sometimes she'd sit and watch nonchalantly. Spaced out like she wasn't really in the room. I kept to myself because they didn't like me having friends. That's why I was such a recluse these past few years. I wasn't trying to be Mousey Atlas, I just didn't want to stir the pot, I learnt if I stayed quiet it hurt less. I also knew I had to focus hard. I've been maintaining high grades because I need a scholarship. It's my only way out of this town and away from them. I've been working at the diner since I was fourteen to build savings for when I'm able to get out and make a life somewhere else. But their condition when I got a job was that I paid them more than half of what I earned- they demanded I pay rent since the money they got from the government for me wasn't enough... they don't know my plan, I can't think what they'd do if they did." She buries her face in her hands and claws at her face. I have to pry her hands away from her and hold them in mine feeling them shake beneath my fingertips.

"I never wanted you to go the other night Blaze but I couldn't stand the thought of him hurting you too." She cries through her tear hazed vision, "And I wasn't trying to avoid any of you I just couldn't lie to you anymore. It was killing me because you're all so lovely. I couldn't drag you into my messed up life, you couldn't be the ones to get hurt but I've messed that up too. I'm so sorry." She looks at my mom with sorrowful eyes. My stomach caves in on itself, she wanted me to stay but I walked away. I should have fucking stayed!!

"Don't be stupid Atlas. I just wish you'd told us sooner. None of us are mad or upset, we were just so worried." I wrap my arms around her shaking body and stroke her back waiting for her tears to subside slightly. I feel guilty that I didn't pay enough attention to the little things she easily lied about- the way she flinched when people touched her or the odd limp she developed, I should have questioned it more! Fucking idiot.

"I-I thought I'd e-escaped it once but really I'd just been pushed back into the same v-vicious cycle." She mutters through gasps of air.

Escaped what once?

Even my mom has tears falling from her face, she looks pale and suddenly more aged. I clutch Blondie tighter to me never wanting her to leave my arms. Her pain makes my muscles ache and my head spin. It physically hurts to see her so traumatised. A girl known for her ribboned hair and bubbly personality, her adorable laugh and her ability to bring light to any room. I want to make things better. I need to make things better for her!

"Honey... if you don't mind me asking... what about your birth parents are they-" My mom asks but Atlas just breaks into more violent sobs, I can feel her wetting my shirt but I couldn't give a fuck. This is years of emotions that have been bottled inside her spilling out and I will take them, I will absorb every single one for her. I want to take them and burn them into ashes so she can never feel them again.

I think back to the woman in the picture she showed me of her dancing, the blonde woman at Julliard. She's the spitting image of the woman but I wonder what happened. Atlas has always spoken so highly of her so I doubt she abandoned her... willingly.

The wardrobe also makes sense, she has her whole life locked away in the duffle bags and boxes. The parts of her that matter are locked up never to be touched.

"Alright, maybe that's enough for one day. You need some good quality sleep." My mom walks around to us and wipes her face for her, smiling sympathetically. "You're one of the bravest people I've ever met Atlas. What they did to you wasn't okay and none of it was ever your fault." She nods encouraging Atlas to nod back but her head only just moves, "Thank you for trusting us, I promise we're going to do everything we can to help you." More tears build in my mom's eyes and she pulls Atlas into another hug.

"Thank you..." She mumbles weakly into my mom's jumper.

"Blaze honey can you set up the pull-out, " She gestures towards the so tatted couch in the lounge, "It's not the most comfortable thing so I apologise-"

"Oh no no no! I really have to get home. Thank you for dinner and everything but-"

"You are never going back to that house." I deadpan, my mom looks dumbfounded at her. "I don't care if I have to sit by the door all night to make sure you don't sneak out. You're staying with us."

"I can't-"

"Honey. You're staying with us. End of discussion." My mom says sternly and for the first time all night, I see a tiny smile spread across her pale face, that tiny, tiny spark of hope in her greyed out eyes.

"I'm just going to see if I can find something comfortable for you to change into, I'd imagine you want a shower." My mom smiles kindly walking off to her bedroom leaving us in the silence. She looks drained, all determination and fire burnt out.

"Thank you." She chokes, "Thank you for absolutely everything. I can't express how much it means to me that you... care... I didn't know if anyone would believe me." She wraps her arms around my torso and squeezes, I quickly wrap my arms around her and slightly lift her off the ground so her head is resting in the crook of my neck. "I don't deserve you, Blaze."

"It's the complete opposite way round babe. I don't deserve you. You continue to amaze and inspire me every single day. I promise you I'm going to keep you safe Atlas. Nobody is ever going to touch you again." I whisper feeling her warm breath tickle my neck.

"First thing first, tomorrow morning I will get in touch with your social worker and the police." My mom says walking back into the room, Atlas pulls from my grip dropping to the ground her face panic-stricken.

"No, they'll take me away again! I can't go back to Illinois! I'm not eighteen yet! A-and the police. No way! I can't! Please don't... please..." Her breathing quickens and her panic-struck face looks even paler, she's frantic, gripping my shoulder blades.

"I'm not going to let that happen Atlas. No one is taking you anywhere but I need to talk to them and see what happens next. As for the police, what they've done is a crime. They need to be stopped, my love."

She doesn't say anything she just looks at the kitchen counter, struggling to breathe.

"Hey, take deep breaths for me Blondie." I rub her back trying to encourage her to breathe, "How about we talk about this in the morning? It's been a long day and you're tired." I look to my mum for reassurance. She nods and smiles handing Atlas a towel and a spare set of clothes. Before she walks off to the bathroom I grab her hand and pull her flush to me so she's looking directly into my eyes, "I promise you no one is talking you anywhere. I promise no one is going to hurt you again."

Once she's in the shower my mom and I collapse at the kitchen island.

"Christ... that poor girl." That is all my mom manages to say before she bursts into tears. I quickly rush around to hug her, not seeing my mom like this in a while brings back unwanted memories.

"Hey, mom comes on," I say unsure of what else to do. I feel emotionally wiped too.

"Sorry... sorry.... I just- she's been through so much and it hurts me to see a girl so kind and smiley be beaten by people who are supposed to care for her. This world is... just so fucking cruel."

"We can't let her go back." I shake my head, just the thought makes me want to vomit. I couldn't stand it if she left let alone went back there.