Do you love me now?

Dad left when she was little.She grew up with many different men, Squeezing her cheeks and hitting her mom. Babysat, she did what they asked. "Do you love me now?" They laughed and left.

At school, she was different. She died her hair and Marked her wrists. She wanted friends, but She didn't know how. She was soiled, and the kids and Teachers all seemed to know. They could sense it on her skin, See it in her eyes, Feel it in her voice. She tried to end it, leaving a note "Do you love me now?" Nobody noticed, and she lived on. Tainted.

Men came and went. She clung to them Like she clung to life. Desperately and With so much shame. She gave them what they asked for, Keeping nothing for herself. "Do you love me now?" She asked desperately, Lying on the kitchen floor. Too many bruises to count.

Her stomach bulged. Who's was it? She would never know. "Do you love me now?" The reflection in the mirror looked back. There was no response.

6 months along. A new man. But this one was different. He didn't get angry. He spoke gently. He touched softly. She almost didn't dare ask, "Do you love me now?" Yes

The baby came. It wasn't his, But he loved him as his own. A small family. They took his last name. The baby grew, Knowing nothing but Joy. A chain broken, and Mended with hope.

"Do you love me now?" She asked, Watching their son take his First steps, Watching their son, On his first day of school, Watching their son, Have a son of his own. Always.