Mia's P.O.V.
"Dad?"
"Yeah kid?", he asked sleepily.
"I can't sleep." He sat up in bed, clicking on the light,
"Tea or beach?"
"Both."
~~~~
"Did they tell you?", I asked as dad and I sat on the beach.
"I'm gonna need some elaboration.", he chuckled.
"That you were taking me in. When my parents died."
"They called me before they went in for the experiment. The doctor called me when it went wrong and I knew that meant I was in charge of you." He paused, "I'd never been responsible for anything. Not even a plant. I was more of a dictator here and didn't feel that I was responsible for the health or happiness of my students. So I treated you like my student, not my daughter. I'm really glad you snapped me out of that. I thought I was happy and my life was good because it was better than it'd been before. But it wasn't good and you made me realize how happy I could really be."
"Well I thought I had the best parents before you. That was not true."
"They never should have had a kid. But I'm so glad they did."
"Me too."
~~~~
"Dad I'm gonna be late!", I whined as he pulled me into the living room.
"We aren't going to school today."
"I have to. I have a quiz and stuff to do."
"Too bad. You can take it tomorrow and I'll take the fall if it goes bad." I sighed as we sat on the couch, "One of your teachers called me yesterday." My heart dropped,
"W-Why?"
"You tell me."
"I-I-I don't kn-know."
"With how you panicked I think you do which would mean you just lied to me too."
"I-I'm sorry. I really don't wanna tell you.", I whispered.
"Too bad. What happened?" I sighed a little,
"We had a pop quiz in english. I'm already doing really bad and I'm really confused and I panicked and-and cheated."
"I thought you learned last time Remia.", he growled. I nodded,
"I-I know. I'm really sorry." He sighed,
"They called me because there were blood stains on your sleeve. Show me your arms." I hesitated but slowly pulled up my sleeves, revealing the two shallow cuts on my left arm. "Mia why?"
"I was mad at myself for cheating. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I'll call Michael after your punishment." Jake stopped in the doorway,
"What's going on?"
"Nothing.", I whispered, "I messed up. Again."
"Mia-"
"Are you gonna hit me with that thing?", I asked dad. He hesitated,
"I should. I absolutely should."
"Absolutely not.", Jake said, "Do you not remember last time? Did you forget me coming down here to try and fix it? You're not hitting her with that. You can't."
"It's my fault Jake.", I whispered, "Just leave it alone. I deserve it. Just kill me this time."
"Mia don't ever say that again.", dad whispered, sitting next to me as Jake followed, "I-I'd never kill you. I could never. I'm not- I'm not hitting you. You're grounded for two weeks."
"B-But I cheated."
"You hurt yourself. That's much more concerning to me. And you're still talking down like you're going to again."
"I won't I just- I don't deserve all this."
"All what?" I peered down,
"A-A family."
Alex's P.O.V.
I sighed, answering my secretary's phone call,
"Yes?", I asked softly, hoping not to wake Mia.
"I'm sorry sir. I know you're staying home today, but you have a meeting with a man who is refusing to reschedule. Is there anyway you could be here or have the meeting with him through the phone?"
"No, no. It's okay Lisa. Tell him I will be there in half an hour."
"Yes sir. Thank you."
"Is he there now?"
"Yes."
"Is he being aggressive or violent?" She hesitated. "Lisa if you feel like you're in danger or you're on edge around him, tell me and I'll get someone up there until I get there."
"I'm overreacting. It's alright."
"I'll send Ashton up."
"Thank you."
~~~~
"Mr. Mitchel. Sorry I'm late, I had some family stuff to take care of.", I said shaking the man's hand.
"Yeah. Look, I'm taking my son today."
"Zander? Why?"
"We're sending him to a camp to fix him."
"Fix him?"
"He thinks he's gay. He can't be gay. I have a friend who works a conversion camp and Zander will be there for a few weeks. I'm not sure if he'll come back or not."
"Zander does really good here. For him and us. He's top of his class and participates in everything and has so many friends here. Everyone loves him."
"Well he needs to be fixed."
"Where exactly is this camp?"
"Why?"
~~~~
I sighed as Zander's dad left, turning to Lisa,
"If you're uncomfortable or feel unsafe or your gut is telling you something, you need to let me know. That's final. And you need to stop undermining your emotions. You're not overreacting or being dramatic. That guy was a dick. Stop talking down on yourself before I start handling it, understood?" She nodded,
"Yes sir."
"Good. Thank you for handling that situation. Do you need a ride home?"
"No, I'll just walk.", she said grabbing her bag.
"I'll drive you kid."
~~~~
"Hey, will you please talk to me?", I asked Zander softly, sitting next to him on the floor. He shook his head. He was away for almost two weeks before I got the camp shut down. He'd been back for three days and refused to leave his dorm or talk to anyone. "Kid, I want and need to help you. But I can't do that until you talk to me."
"I can't.", his voice came quiet and raspy.
"You can. You've trusted me before. You need help kiddo. I don't know what they did to you, but I've never seen you so messed up. I really need you to talk to me." He stayed quiet for awhile, curled up in a ball on the floor. I gently pushed his hair from his face, "Baby you're safe now. You're safe here." He nodded a little,
"They-They- um-"
"Breathe. Take your time Zan." He nodded, taking a few deep breaths,
"At first, they made me watch these stupid videos. Then they locked me in this chair and electrocuted me for a day or two. I think.", he said showing me the marks on his arms and wrists, "But the last two days they-they decided to 'teach me why it was bad'."
"What does that mean?"
"They- um- they-they raped me.", he whispered, "I-I just- I couldn't process it. I was really scared and-and then I was back and so much happened so fast."
"Zan I'm so sorry.", I whispered, hugging him tightly, "I'm so so sorry."
"I'm just thankful I'm home."
"Me too." I sighed, "Listen, you have to go to the doctor and later, I think you should see a therapist."
"I really don't wanna."
"I know kid. But you need to. And I don't want you to be alone either for awhile. You can stay with me, okay?"
"Okay."
~~~~
When Zander and I walked into the apartment, I heard Emmy screaming and crying from her room.
"Hold on.", I said softly, bolting down to her room. She sat on the bed throwing a tantrum as Jake stood across from her looking lost. "What's going on?", I asked.
"Oh thank God.", Jake breathed, "I told her I was spanking her and she freaked."
"No more hits!", Emmy cried hysterically, "No more daddy! I'll be good girl!"
"Emmy, calm down.", I said softly but firmly. She did so. "No one is going to hurt you love. You need to calm down some."
"Would you rather be grounded for two weeks?", Jake asked. She nodded quickly. "Okay. That's fine."
"Some kids aren't affected positively or at all by being spanked.", I explained to both of them, "You just have to find what works." They nodded.
"I'm sorry I scared you.", Jake said softly.
"I'm sorry I yelled and cussed at you."
"It's okay. Hug?" She nodded, crawling into his lap,
"I love you daddy."
"I love you too baby girl."