(Jasmine's POV)

Ignoring her words and horror filled face; I clamber into Ruby's car and tug my backpack onto my lap. She doesn't waste a second before climbing in on the driver's side of the vehicle. She stares at me incredulously for several minutes, before putting the car into first gear and leaving the parking lot when she realises I'm not going to say anything.

"Jasmine, what's happened to you?" Ruby asks again as she pulls out onto the main road. I glance out the window and I try to relax as I take in all the familiar sights from my childhood.

He isn't here. He isn't here. He isn't here.

I hear Ruby let out a sigh as her hand reaches out and takes mine gently. I try my best not to flinch at her touch but fail miserably. I glance over at Ruby to see if she's noticed but thankfully her eyes are glued to the road in front.

In that instant, I realise how incredibly jealous I am of my best friend. I'm not jealous of her life, her figure, her boyfriend or even her gorgeous little daughter, Mireya. No, I'm jealous of Ruby's ignorance. I'm jealous that she doesn't know anything of what I've been through. I'm jealous of the fact that she doesn't have to look over her shoulder in fear. I'm jealous that she doesn't lie awake at night after her boyfriend abused her for hours until she bled. I'm jealous that she isn't petrified to eat anything more than the food allocated to her by her boyfriend in fear of being beaten to a pulp. I'm jealous that she doesn't know the terror of not knowing when she was going to be next r@ped by her so called boyfriend.

Before I realise, tears start to trail slowly down my face once more. Ruby gives my hand a slight squeeze, nothing painful – just reassuring me as we continue the drive back to her house.

I sit silently in the passenger seat and wonder how Ruby will react when I tell her what's been happening to me. I don't know when or how I'll tell her the truth, but I know I will. She's my best friend and I can't expect her to welcome me into her home without some sort of explanation. We haven't seen each other in over two years simply because Greg wouldn't permit me to do so. I haven't even seen my Dad in those two years. I've spoken to him over the phone, but that's all I was allowed to do.

Fifteen minutes later, I find myself following Ruby into her welcoming kitchen. Toys are scattered across the white tiled floor, evidence that 4-year-old Mireya was having a tea party with her stuffed toys this morning. Ruby places her keys on the kitchen table and makes her way towards the kettle. She fills it up and flicks it on, before turning to look at me.

I stand in the middle of her kitchen; my backpack remains clutched in my hands. My eyes trail over Ruby's clean, healthy appearance. No doubt, I don't look quite as healthy or as clean her. I know I've lost a bit of weight since we last seen each other so I'm sure I look somewhat different.

"Go put your stuff upstairs," Ruby finally says, breaking the silence between us. "You can take the first room on the right."

I give her a weak smile as I leave the room, unable to voice my thanks right now. She seems to notice and returns my smile. Now that I'm here in her home, the worry starts to kick in. How will I tell her? How will she react? But most worryingly, what will she think of me? I glance over my shoulder at her only to find her own worry filled eyes starting back at me.

Upstairs I find a large spacious bedroom. A queen size bed is flush against the wall opposite me, complete with a pink and cream comforter and matching pillows. Floor length curtains in the same colour scheme stand on either side of the large bay window, with a cream chaise lounge sitting underneath the window ledge. Looking down I see a fuzzy cream carpet that looks like fluffy clouds and I instantly know it'll feel like heaven against my feet.

I walk further into the room to notice two doors lead off to the right hand side - on the wall opposite the window. Opening one, I find a small, walk in closet filled with plenty of storage space for clothes and shoes, not that I have much stuff with me. The other door leads to a spacious bathroom.

In front of me is a large, double shower. The in-wall shelves hold an array of soaps and shower gels and I smile, knowing how much time and effort Ruby put into making sure everything in this house was perfect. A double sink lay on my left below a large mirror. Adverting my gaze, I turn and leave the room, taking quick note of the toilet on the opposite wall as the sink.

After depositing my backpack on the floor beside the bed, I make my way back down the stairs to Ruby. As soon as I walk into the kitchen she smiles up at me from her seat at the kitchen table, a mug of steaming tea in her hand. I notice a second cup on the table and let out a smile as I make my way towards her and sit down.

"Is the room okay for you?" she asks as soon as I've taken a sip of the peppermint tea she's made.

"It's perfect, thank you."

I take another sip of tea, the smell of peppermint filling my senses as I do. Without wasting another Ruby addresses the elephant in the room. "Mireya is staying the night in my parents' house and Ryan won't be home from work for another hour at least. We've got the house to ourselves until then, so spill."

As if her words were all I needed, the dam breaks and everything that I've been keeping bottled up all this time escapes. At first it's a tear, then another but within a few seconds I'm a sobbing, sniffling mess at Ruby's kitchen table.

"Oh, Jas!" Ruby gasps before hurrying out of her.

She stands before me and pulls me into her, my head resting against her chest as I cry my eyes out. Tears stream down my face and I feel them soaking Ruby's shirt but I know she doesn't care. Her arms wrap around me and she holds me to her and I know that she'll stay like this for as long as I need her to.

She begins to rub her hands over my shoulders in an attempt to sooth me, but it only results in me flinching on instinct. I pull my head away from her and look down as I wipe my tears against my sleeve.

Ruby disappears from view for a couple of seconds before returning with a box of tissues. "Come on," she tells me, holding her hand out offering me the box. "Let's talk inside."

Nodding numbly I stand and follow her into the living room, the box of tissues clutched in both of my trembling hands. Ruby sits on one end of the sofa, moving Mireya's Olaf toy out of her way. Tentatively, I take a seat on the opposite end and dab furiously at my eyes with a now soaked tissue.

I peek up at Ruby and for a split second I see nothing but pity in her eyes. She blinks and it's instantly replaced with worry.

"How long has this been going on?" she asks.

I stare at her in confusion. What on earth is she taking about? How long have I been crying? "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb with me Jasmine."

"I'm not," I tell her honestly. "What are you talking about?"

"The abuse. How long has he been abusing you?"

I gasp in shock. How did she know? "H-h-how d-"

"You're not seriously going to ask me how I know?" she asks incredulously.

I nod my head before frowning. Why wouldn't I? I haven't told her anything about it. She hasn't seen any scars or bruises. So, how could she know?

"You're telling me, you really don't know?"

"Don't know what?" I ask in utter confusion.

"Jasmine, have you seen yourself?"

I advert my gaze from hers, suddenly finding my hands very interesting, before shaking my head in response.

"No?" Instantly I know by her tone of voice that never, in a million years, did she expect me to say no. "What do you mean no?"

I bite my lip before pondering the best way to tell her. How do I tell my best friend that I fear looking at my reflection?

"Did he control you so much that he wouldn't even allow you look at yourself?" I look up in shock as I hear the horror in Ruby's voice. Tears swim in her eyes and she's looking at me almost in fear of my answer.

"N-no." I reply simply.

"But he did control you?"

Tears fill my eyes and I look down again at my lap, twisting my fingers around each other as I bite my lip.

"Jasmine," Ruby whispers, her voice filled with sorrow. She knows what my silence means and I'm thankful I don't have to explain it to her any more just yet. "How lo-" She clears her throat before continuing. "How long has it been since you looked at your reflection?"

"Six months," I mumble, hoping its low enough that Ruby won't hear. She does. The loud gasp that leaves her mouth is all I need to know that she heard me. "How did you know?" I ask, not giving her room to reply.

To my surprise Ruby stands up and walks towards the door. "Follow me."

"Where are we going?" I ask. I take a handful of tissues from the box and leave the rest on the sofa as I follow her upstairs.

"Just trust me."

Knowing my best friend would never do anything to harm me, I silently follow her. She leads me past my room and further down the corridor, past a pale pink door containing the letter 'M' and into a door on the left hand side.

Ruby leads me into her and Ryan's room, which I notice is much the same as the one she gave me, except larger. Instead of the pink and cream colour scheme in mine, this one is a soft lilac and grey. The window ledge from what I can see is full of framed photographs of the three of them. I feel a pang in my chest when I realise just how much of my goddaughter's life I've already missed.

I continue to follow Ruby through a door in her room, which turns out to lead straight into a large bathroom. This bathroom is an exact replica of the one in my room except it contains more products than mine. Ruby leads me directly over to the large sink, on top of which is a mirror that stretches the length of the wall.

"Look, Jasmine," Ruby simply states.

I peer up at her with tear filled eyes and shake my head.

Ruby turns me towards he and takes my hands in hers. "I know you don't want to, sweetie, but you need to see. You need to know how serious this is."

"I can't," I tell her weakly, as a sob slips past my lips. "I can't."

"Yes," she tells me. "Yes, you can. I'm here with you."

I shake my head again and take a step away from her.

"How about we look at me?"

"What?" I frown in confusion.

"Just look at me in the mirror, not you. You can do that, right?" She smiles encouragingly at me.

"I-I suppose so."

Ruby beams down at me and turns to face the mirror. I watch her, but she doesn't look back at me. Slowly, I turn and also face the mirror. My eyes instantly meet Ruby's and she smiles at me.

"Hey," she says with a smile.

"Hi." I smile weakly in return.

I feel Ruby tightening her fingers around mine and giving my hand an encouraging squeeze. "I'm right here with you." She says. "You can do it."

I shake my head and close my eyes, no longer wanting to even see the mirror.

"Jasmine," Ruby calls. "Look at me." I turn to look at her beside me. "No, in the mirror."

I do as she says and my eyes meet her reflection once more. "You can do this."

I nod my head at her before taking a large shaky breath. I close my eyes and take another big breath. I turn my head so that when I open my eyes I'll be facing my own reflection.

I count to three in the hopes that it willprepare me for what I'm about to see, but it doesn't. Nothing could prepare mefor my first glance of my reflection in six months.