Ryder's hands slipped off of the steering wheel for a moment when he heard the news of Ella's disappearance. "Please tell me you're joking." Ryder pleaded, grabbing at a small sliver of hope that his god daughter would be okay.

"Kitty got a call about it. She said you were supposed to be picking her up." Jake answered with an unsteady voice.

"I was on my way. Who the hell would of taken her?" Ryder asked, getting back into place on the road.

"Kitty is thinking it was Michael. Ella's father. The same one that hurt her and gave her all of those bruises." Jake replied.

Ryder sighed. "I'll be there soon. Where are you now? Still at the station?"

"No. I'm driving Kitty home so that we can check if Ella is there. Wanna meet up there?" Jake asked Ryder.

"Okay. See you in a few. Bye."

Being a kid isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Ella laid in the grassy part of her local park. She watched the clouds in the air go by and would silently list off what they appeared to be. One was a dog, another was a boat.

"Where is your mommy?" A lady asked, kneeling by her side.

"Home." Ella answered, smiling at the lady.

"Are you here with your daddy?"

Ella stood up from the grass. "I don't have a daddy. Only a mommy and a mommy's girlfriend." She smiled innocently before moving toward the jungle gym. "I came here all myself.

"Hon, what's your mommy's number? I'm going to give her a call, she's probably very worried about you." The lady pulled out her phone. "I'm Jane, by the way. My husband is over there. Stay with us until your mommy comes, okay?"

Ella frowned. "My mommy's number is on my necklace." She pulled it out and showed Jane. "I don't want to get in trouble."

"It's okay, you won't."

Ryder made his way into the apartment room and immediately spotted Ella sitting across from Kitty. "Where was she?"

"She snuck away from the school because she saw her dad." Jake answered. "Kitty doesn't want to speak right now. Shes trying really hard not to freak out."

"Thats understandable." Ryder walked over to Jake and grabbed his hand. "How are you?"

Jake smiled. "I'm okay. Better now that you're here." He leaned forward and kissed Ryder. "I keep telling Kitty that Marley should be here soon, but she's not listening."

"The only thing Kitty wants right now is for that asshole to be dead." Ryder spoke, directing to message to Kitty and not Jake.

"That's your specialty, isn't it, Ryder?" Kitty asked, talking for the first time.

Ryder looked over at the blonde and frowned. "Yeah.. Pretty much." He answered with a scratchy throat. "I'll be right back." With that, he left the room.

Jake sighed. "Really, Kitty?"

"Yes, really. I'm angry." Kitty said.

"Do you know what you just did? Ryder is on anxiety meds, he has a parole officer.. His life was hell and you cant be a little bit sensitive?" Jake left the room as well to calm down Ryder.

"Mean mommy." Ella said, sipping on her juice box.

Marley entered the dimly lit bedroom. She saw Kitty laying on her side holding Ella close to her body.

"I'm sorry I'm late." Marley said, laying on the bed, kissing Kitty on the cheek. "I picked up some food but figured it was too late to eat it. Its in the fridge."

Kitty didn't respond, instead she just ran her hand up and down Ella's hair. "Honey.." Marley grabbed onto Ella's hand. "Why isn't Ella in bed?"

"I'm the worst mother in the world." Kitty cried. "Ella is never leaving my side, okay? Never."

Marley smiled. "You aren't the worst mother in the world."

"Yes I am. My baby went to the hospital, her father pushed her, she ran away. I don't know what I can do to make sure she's okay. She keeps getting hurt and its all my fault." Kitty looked down at Ella, who was biting her nail. "I made a perfect baby girl, and I keep screwing everything up."

"You had Ella when you were a teenager, Kitty. You hardly had any experience in the real world, its difficult for you. Don't blame yourself about Ella getting hurt. Shes a kid, kids get hurt." Marley placed her hand on Kitty's cheek.

Kitty held onto Ella even tighter and started to cry. "I can't do this anymore. She deserves better."

"Kitty.."

"She deserves better."

Jake laid on top of Ryder's body. They were both fully nude with sweat covering ever inch of their body.

"Are you sure you're okay? What Kitty said was pretty harsh." Jake said, caressing Ryder's chest.

"I'm okay. She's upset about Ella. Its totally understandable." Ryder smiled and kissed the top of Jake's head. "But remind me.. Why are we talking about Kitty in bed?"

Jake put his hand on the side of Ryder's face and smiled. "Because she turns me on." He winked. "Do you wanna talk about wedding stuff?"

"That sounds nice." Ryder leaned forward and kissed Jake.

"Great. I'll go take a shower while you get started, okay babe?" He kissed Ryder once more before getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom.

Ryder sighed and blew the hair out of his face.

"You aren't serious." Marley said once Kitty came back from putting Ella to bed. "You can't put Ella up for adoption."

Kitty sat on the edge of the bed. "She's not safe here. She never has been."

"I can't believe that you're even considering this." Marley crawled over to beside Kitty. "Would you keep her if I slept with you? I'd do it."

"Its not that, Marley. And its not your decision. She isn't your kid, she's mine." Kitty looked into Marley's eyes. "You have to stop trying to become a bigger part in her life than me."

Marley frowned. "I can't believe this."

"I've been thinking about this for a while now, Mar. I can't keep watching my baby get hurt over and over again, its killing me. No matter what you say to try and stop me from making that call in the morning.. nothing is going to change my mind. I love you, Marley, I do. So much. Almost as much as Ella, and thats why I know that I cant do this. I can't take care of a kid because if I do, I'll mess up. Like I always do. I know that I cant handle this, and maybe when I'm older and more experienced we could do this together.. But Ella is my kid, so its my choice." Kitty crossed her arms and looked to the ground.

"If you put Ella up for adoption, I'll never speak to you again, and I'll move into Mercedes' house, or Ryder and Jake's place. Wherever I have to go to get away from you." Marley stood up and left the room.

Kitty placed her face into her palms and groaned.

Thank you for reading!