Chapter 65: Chapter 65

Three years later...........

Athena and Zack are still loving each other as they first had. Everyday is a new adventure for them, as their marriage became even more to them after the hard times her case brought to her. They are thankful to this day that a stalker ended up bringing them together unexpectedly pushing her into his arms for the only comfort she could find. Where they found love.

Christy June Gatlin is almost three years old now and keeps them both on their toes. She loves spending time with both of her grandparents on the days her Dad is at work on a case and her Mom has a schedule full of clients. Christy likes to be in the salon with her Mom and Aunts during the lighter days where she has a play section that her Mom bought for all the kids that may come with their moms to get hair done.

Bethany and Brit are officially a couple and have been for a solid year now. Bethany was reluctant to be officially dating again after what had happened with Dason. Brit gently spoke with her through the years and kept the soft touch to help her with her anxieties through it all and is there for her at all times.

Chasity has grown even more and enjoys her days with friends and family. Being an Aunt has been the best she has had and spoils Christy every chance she gets too. Just recently, Chasity has started seeing a local guy in town but not after having her big brother check him out for anything and everything. The guy was understanding and loved that Chasity was so forth coming and knew what she wanted.

Molly still lives in the apartment and is more than happy being in the salon with her cousin and friends. After some talking with everyone around her, Molly got tattoos placed to hide the scares that licked her body from the trauma and has helped her coop with everything since. Molly ended up falling for the young tattoo artist and they have been slowly getting closer the last few months.

Crystal and Gabe are more than happy to be living in town with their daughter. They will forever be grateful for working through their issues and finally having a connection with Athena. Neither of them could be prouder of the life their daughter has formed. Many days that they are not watching their granddaughter, they are out with Carol and Sam doing things within the town to help the community.

Zack and Athena still spend every evening after work together with their daughter. One day they hope to have another little one running around, but let nature take it's course once more. Both figure after the second child they won't have anymore. It is a thing in their house that no matter how busy they may be at least one night or more must be a family movie night.

Every night Zack holds Athena close to where she knows how safe she is in his arms. He never fails to be there for her in however she may need and all the time his Precious doesn't know how many times she has helped him through something hard. Athena can simply smile or laugh and it helps Zack more than anything in the world.

These two came together in an extremely hard time, but found love and it took off from there. Given a stalker out for her, parents at the time that didn't talk with her, none of that accounted for all the happiness they found in each other.

Together family was brought together and love just bloomed even more. Their love shows each time they look at each other and have to always have each others touch when together.

It all started because Athena knew she was safe in Zack's Protective Arms.

END

Hey, this story has been officially ended but i still have a short story coming. You can continue reading if you like and if not, it's up to you. This story has trigger warning so please read at your own risk because it has sensitive content. Thanks!

***

Mia wakes up in the hospital with bruises all over her body and a doctor who claims she's been raped. Later she finds out her best friend Jade was murdered. Furthermore, she is suffering from short-term memory loss and has no knowledge of the events that took place that night. In the attempt to figure out what happened to her and who killed her friend, Mia realizes that the truth is more serious and far more dangerous than she expected...

A short story

"Ms. Wilson"

My eyes blink awake. Three pairs of eyes are staring at me. Before I can try to figure out who they are, I am struck with a severe pain in my head. Why does my head hurt so much? All at once, pain starts to travel throughout my body. I feel it on my legs, my breasts, my wrists and my abdomen. Then comes an aching pain in between my legs.

"Why am I in so much pain?"

A man, who I assume is some kind of doctor, pulls up a chair next to the bed I'm laying in.

"Usually, the first thing a person who has suffered from a concussion asks where they are," he says, trying to make some kind of joke. Instead, the room stays silent.

I touch my head where there seems to be a bandage wrapped around it. Well, that explains the headache. I don't know how they managed to get all my hair pulled back into this bandage.

"My name is doctor Montgomery," the man says. "This is nurse Myers." He points to a young red head female nurse standing with a clipboard in her hands. "And detective Chandler". He then motions towards a tall man with a notepad is his hand. I look down and see a badge attached to his waist.

"You didn't answer my question," I say, my voice sounding groggy and sore. Not that I didn't appreciate the little introduction he gave, but that wasn't important to me.

"Oh yes, sorry,"he says pushing his glasses towards his face." Ms.Wilson..."

"Call me Mia," I say.

"Mia", he continues. "As I already told you, you have a concussion which, judging by your lack of memory, has lead to short-term memory loss. With that, you also have a split lip, bruises on your wrists, thighs, breasts, and swelling in your left eye and your lower abdomen."

Is there a part left on my body that isn't bruised?

He pauses, waits for my reaction and continues to speak. "We're hoping that the memory loss won't be permanent and you will regain your memories in a few weeks" he glances at the officer. "However there is a slight possibility that you may never regain memories of what happened to you last night."

The doctor as well as the nurse and cops are watching me take all this information in. The police officer looks surprised by my little reaction. What I'm I supposed to do? scream? Cry ? All these things won't help me right now. I study the six eyes in front of me. The nurse looks as though both my parents have died and the police officer looks puzzled. The doctor's eyes are filled with remorse and withholding. What else is he not telling me?

"Is there something else?" I ask.

The doctor nods his head and the nurse steps forward towards me.

"Mia" she starts, "when we saw the bruises and blood in between your legs, it was protocol to do a rape kit." She stops talking as if to find the right words to say. "It shows that you were raped. Not only by one man, but three different semen DNA were found in your body. You were ganged raped."

My eyes water but no tears escape.

"But I'm a virgin..." The words can barely escape my lips. Seconds go by, silence.

The doctor is about to start talking again but then is cut off by the police officer. He looks like he is tired of this conversation. Approaching me, he flips open his pad and goes straight to the point. "Mia, as you could tell by your voice and the marks on your neck, you were strangled."

I touch my neck, surprised that I had not noticed the marks.

"In most cases, considering the fact that you've been raped and were bruised in the process, we would just assume the strangle was a part of the rape." He continued. "However, because of the severeness of the bruises and marks left on your neck, there is a chance that this was intended to be more than an act of violence".

"What do you mean?" I ask, terrified of the suggestion he's about to make.

"It means... This is likely an attempted murder. Somebody was trying to kill you."