𝗠𝘆 𝗘𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 ⇉ 𝗝𝗝 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸

𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨

Ari woke up to an empty bed. She went into the bathroom that was connected to the room. Ari looked herself in the mirror, she looked bad.

Her skin was kinda pale, her eyes were still slightly red. The bags under her eyes were a dark purple and her hair was a mess. Ari felt tears brim her eyes as she thought about yesterday's events.

"No." Ari shook her head whispering to herself as she held back her tears. "No don't cry. No more crying."

Ari washed her face and brushed her teeth before she went out to get a pair of clothes and towel. When Ari got in the shower she sighs at the touch of the hot water on her skin. She put her whole body under the shower, allowing the water to embrace her body.

After about 20 minutes, Ari came out the bathroom fully dressed and looking way better than she did before. Her skin color was back, her eyes weren't red and she covered up the bags under her eyes with makeup. Ari wasn't one to wear makeup, but in this case she did.

Ariella walked downstairs hearing the distant voices of her Uncle and JJ get louder as she walks closer. She lets the voice led her into the kitchen.

She stepped into the kitchen and her Uncle was the first one to notice her. He smiles at her softly. "Hey, good morning, kid. There's breakfast in the microwave."

"Thank you." Ari smiles back slightly walking over to her microwave checking if it was still hot. When it wasn't she closes the door to the microwave and presses a minute on it.

"Me and JJ were talking about everything." Noah spoke making Ari turn around as she took the plate out of the microwave and walks over to the seat next to JJ.

Ari places a kiss on his cheek softly as she sits. JJ instantly moves his hand to her thigh. "What's everything?"

"Literally everything." JJ mumbles letting his fingers tap on her thigh. "Just not the gold." He whispers. Ari nods and sighs not wanting to meet her Uncle's eyes.

"Why didn't you come to me before? You know I'm always here for you, little bug. I don't get why your dad didn't do anything in the first place." Noah leans against the counter.

Ari chews a piece of her pancake and looks to JJ. "Can we get a moment?"

"Of course." JJ nods. He gets up and places a kiss on her head and walked out to the living room where Isabella happened to be.

"He was abusing me." Ari speaks, her voice low.

"He what?!" Noah pushes himself off the counter leaning closer to his niece making sure he hears correctly.

"Ssshh." Ari shushes him. "JJ doesn't exactly know."

"Since when?" Noah asks. Ari stays quite knowing her answer will only make him more mad. "Ari. Since when?"

Ari takes in a breath. "It started when I was 12. It was more verbal abuse then."

"When did it..." Noah says before he stops and moves over to take a seat next to Ari. He turns her seat so they were facing each other. "When did it get physical?" Noah practically spit out.

Ari plays with a bracelet on her wrist that JJ had given her. "About a month or so ago. I don't remember."

"God. That's so freakin' recent." Noah runs a hand through his hair. "Ari, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew how you wanted to stay away from him." Ari sighs and meets her Uncle's eyes. "I didn't want to involve you again especially when I thought I could handle it on my own."

"I don't care what I said! When that happened you should have came to me right away!" Noah raises his voice slightly. "And how about when Rafe, your brother shot you, Ari."