What Can I Do To Help?

Mason held Ava in his arms until she stopped crying. And then he stood up and wore back his trousers, he handed Ava's night gown to her and she pulled it over her head.

"What is the problem, Ava? Please talk to me, you can't keep shutting me out saying there is no problem when there is one staring at us right in the face."

Ava released a shaky breath as she cleaned her tears with a napkin Mason handed her.

"When I was 9, I almost got raped by one of my mom's boyfriends," Ava said in a low tone.

Mason was shocked, he never knew this about her. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"My mom was right there but she was oblivious of what was going on as she was already stoned out on cocaine. I was lucky not to have gotten raped by that monster because it was a weekend and my dad had come to pick me up to spend the weekend with him like I always did. He walked in on me trying to fight him off."