When Cassie, Lexi, Faith, Maddy, Kat and I were eight years old, our fathers, despite their differences, and Grace had built us all a tree house out in the woods not far away from the Howard's house.
The treehouse was padlocked shut, and the six of us had keys so only we could access it. Now overtime Maddy, Kat and Cassie had lost their keys somewhere, I kept mine in my junk drawer, and Lexi and Faith were the only ones who still sent there when they needed to escape their parents.
So when Cal finally revealed that he was Faith's father, after almost eighteen years, that's exactly where she went.
Faith didn't know wether she wanted to laugh, cry, or get high. So she did all three, and the amount of drugs she had consumed that day wasn't good for her. Not one bit.
So Faith sat in the treehouse, slumped against the far wall, with her makeup running down her face, small traces of cocaine under her nose and her finger tips, angry at the world, her mother and her father.
Faith's head snapped up when the hatch to the treehouse opened, and she saw Rue sat there.
"Hi, Rue-Rue," said Faith, her voice cracking slightly. She held up a small tray and a bag of cocaine. "Want some?" Her smile didn't reach her eyes, but Rue could tell it was somewhat genuine.
"I do," Rue nodded, scooting closer toFaith and sat with her, their shoulders brushing against each other. "I also got us something," Rue reached inside her hoodie and pulled out two bottles of vodka and a bag of weed. "Raided my mom's alcohol drawer for these."
"Thanks," Faith chuckled, twisting the cap of one of the bottles and drank from it. Wether it was from the drugs or the pain of her father's revelation left her feeling numb, Faith didn't feel the usual searing pain you normally get with drinking vodka. "So, you good?"
"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" Rue chuckled, resting her head back on the wall. "You're the one who went all Harley Quinn on Nate."
"He deserves it," said Faith defensively.
"I didn't say he didn't," said Rue, holding her hands up in mock surrender. "Y'know how long it took me to go through all my shit to find my key?"
"I've seen the state of your room, so I've got a good idea," said Faith, causing both girls to giggle but it quickly died in the back of their throats. "They're all scared of me, aren't they?"
"Well, some are," Rue shrugged, raising the other bottle to her lips. "Some don't care, and some got weirdly horny over it," Faith's lips quirked at that.
"Horny?" Faith asked amusedly.
"Oh yeah, there were so many uncomfortable erections and wet panties after your episode, I was one of them," Rue playfully nudged Faith, both girls chuckling as Faith nudged her back.
"What about Lexi?" Faith asked, the playful nature disappearing again.
"She's out looking for you, along with Maddy, Cassie, your mom and your-"
"Don't say it," Faith said angrily, causing Rue to nod her head in understanding. "For the rest of my life, I'll never call him my dad, and I'll never talk to my mom again. They kept it from me for almost eighteen years."
"I get it," Rue nodded. "What're you going to do?"
"Probably move in with Fez and Ash for a little bit, start helping them out with the business," Faith shrugged.
"What about London?" Rue asked, remembering their conversation not long ago about Faith attending the Royal College of Art in London. Faith was an excellent artist, everyone had said so.
"I haven't painted or drawn anything in months," Faith shrugged. "I'm behind on four art projects, I've lost all hope of it."
"Well... fuck," said Rue when she didn't know what to say.
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Faith and Rue went back to Rue's house after meeting up in the treehouse. The Morales girl wasn't ready to face the reality of the fact that Cal Jacobs was her father, and that Nate Jacobs was her half-brother. She felt dirty. She was horrified to even think that she shared the same DNA with those people.
Faith had sobered up with Rue, and now was walking aimlessly. Like a muscle memory, she somehow ended up in front of her house when she came to the sudden realisation she wanted to run away, but then she remembered Lexi. She couldn't do that to her. She was finally happy.
Grace on the other hand was quiet. She was consoling a very frantic Lexi Howard, who had been crying nonstop for the whole night. Frank was pacing back and forth, trying to call people to track Faith.
Suddenly, front door opened and Faith walked in like she owned the place and if nothing had happened.
Seeing Faith enter the house, Lexi ran to her. She kissed the girl everywhere on her face and hugged her so tight as if the girl would disappear.
"Where were you? I was so worried for you. I looked everywhere!" Lexi rambled, becoming a crying mess once more. "I couldn't find you... I... I... thought I lost you, I thought you left me," Lexi murmured, her left hand resting on Faith's cheek. She took in every small detail of Faith's face, just in case it was all a dream.
"Shh, I won't leave you. I won't ever do that to you, I was at rue 's house," Faith whispered reassuringly in Lexi's ear. "That's why you couldn't find me at the treehouse. "I love you, Lex, and I'd never leave you."
However, Faith was interrupted by Grace clearing her throat.
"You shouldn't have done that, Faith. I never expected that from my daughter," said Grace. Kissing Lexi on her forehead, Faith stepped away from her girlfriend and was now facing her mother.
"Oh, your daughter? Well this is going to be an interesting conversation," said Faith sarcastically, feeling Lexi grab her hand from behind her. "You saw me crying everyday for my dad. You saw me go into depression because I was deprived of fatherly love! You saw me get bullied mercilessly for not having a dad!" Faith began crying once more, her anger and frustration with Grace and Cal slipping through. "And you never fucking told me who my dad was! And now you are saying you didn't expect that from me!?"
"What did you want me to say, huh? You were result of mistake? That you are daughter of a local Saint in disguise? Look at yourself, Faith! You turned into him!" Grace raised her voice, losing her temper. "You are just like him! That monster, that's hint of devil in you is him."
Faith chuckled bitterly and slowly clapped her hands. One lone tear ran down Faith's cheek. "Wow, mom, just wow. I never realised I was such a burden to you. You should take the blame to! You aren't fucking Saint either. You fucked a twenty-two year old when you were fifteen? Am I mistake? Fuck yeah I am."
Faith turned towards Frank, who was sitting uncomfortably on the couch of the Morales's living room.
"Frank, why don't you ask your girlfriend here how much of Saint she is? I'll put it in perspective for you," Faith smiled wickedly, tilting her head at her mother who was shaking in anger. "She fucked an adult while she was underage and now she is blaming everything on the person I never knew, because she never fucking told me who he was," now her anger got best of Faith she slammed her fist into nearest table, cutting open her knuckles on the splinters.
Lexi gasped, her hands covering her mouth. She wanted to go and check on Faith, but Grace's words stopped her. She was furious. How dare her own child raise her voice to her like that?
"You finally proved to me who you are," Grace said bitterly, seething in anger as she slowly approached Faith.
"yeah, go ahead, blame me," Faith chuckled, getting in her mother's face. "I wasn't the horny how who fucked-" there was a loud smack, and Faith's head snapped to the side.
Frank stood in alarm, and Lexi had rushed to Faith's side. The Morales girl had fallen to the floor after the slap from her mother, crying softly as she held her bleeding cheek.
"I knew I should've had the fucking abortion instead of you," Grace said bitterly, throwing two bank cards at Faith's hands. "That's your college fund and your trust fund, all paid for by your daddy. Take it as one last present from me."
"Fuck you," Faith spat, her blood landing in front of Grace's feet. With the help of Lexi, Faith stood on shaky legs. "Don't worry, I'll try to make sure you won't see me again," and with that Faith stormed out of the house with the two bank cards in her hand.
Faith stopped in middle of road and broke down into floods of tears. Lexi came rushing and hugged her girlfriend before she could collapse to the floor.
"Hey, hey. Shh. It's okay," Lexi whispered in her ear, keeping Faith steady. "I love you, okay? No matter what happens, no matter who you're related to. I will always love you. You and me against the world? Remember?" Faith faintly nods, feeling Lexi place a kiss to her head as she held Lexi like her her life depended on her."
"Come on, you're gonna live with me, mom and Cassie won't mind," Lexi said softly, moving them towards her house. "And don't you dare try to object," Lexi said sternly and took Faith to her's and Cassie's en-suite bathroom.
Faith sat on the toilet silently as she watched Lexi run her a bath. Once the bath was set with bubbles galore, Lexi turned towards Faith, gently tugging her shirt up over Faith's head, and once Faith was fully undressed, Lexi lifted her up bridal style and placed Faith in the water.
"I'm going go grab some fresh clothes for you," Lexi whispered softly, running her fingers through Faith's hair. "You stay here, okay?" Faith didn't respond, she just kissed back of Lexi's palm.
When Lexi left, Faith played through everything in her head. Every trauma she went through due to being raised without a father. The merciless bullying in particular.
She couldn't believe she was just a result of something she never could've imagined. Grace had told her that her father loved her dearly, fed her some bullshit story's about him never being home due to his job.
Her mother made a mistake. Her father was a pervert and sexual abuser. Her half siblings were maniac.
Faith hated feeling dirty, and felt dirty and stained. She grabbed the sponge and harshly started to scrub at her body. At some point the water in the tub started turning red, but Faith she couldn't help but still feel filthy dirty and stained.
"Baby? I got you sweats and a crop- Oh my god, Faith!" Lexi gasped in shock, rushing towards her girlfriend and stopping Faith from hurting herself anymore. "Please don't do that. I love you, okay, pleas. And you're not a mistake," as if Lexi could read Faith's mind, she continued on, hugging Faith close to her. "You are nothing like them. You are my girlfriend, my fucking soulmate. You're beautiful, kind and intelligent, and mostly you are you. You're nothing like your mom, your dad or your brothers."
"Please don't hurt yourself ," Lexi cried. She kissed Faith, pouring her heart into it. Lexi smiled in relief when Faith kissed her back, cupping her cheek with delicacy, as if Lexi would break at any sudden moment.
"Thank you," Faith whispered, resting her forehead against Lexi's. Faith's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she watched Lexi pull away and stand up, but giggled when Lexi pulled off her own clothing, getting into the bath behind Faith.
Faith sunk back into a Lexi's arms, her head resting over Lexi's heart, hearing her steady heartbeat.
"I love you," Faith muttered, her hands resting on Lexi's.
"I love you too, Angel," Lexi muttered back, placing a kiss on Faith's collarbone.