Craving

Chapter Two- Disowned

<<<< V*O*T*E<<<<<<

A sharp pain blossomed on my cheek. The print of her long fingers was sure to show up, already stained in red pigment.

“What the hell is wrong with you!?” It was a rhetorical question, I presumed.

Her face snarled, staring at me. I stood there, trying not to give away how much I was leaning on the wall. “I’m sorry,” what for exactly? I have no idea, but I figured it was safe to assume I was in the wrong.

“Boys are dangerous, Astraea. How many times do I have to tell you!?” She turned and tossed back a glass of whiskey in defeat, letting the impact of her multiple slaps sink deep into my skin. 

“Boys are dangerous?”  I hesitated, “or I am…” I couldn’t look at her, I fiddled with my fingers and looked past them to my shoes. I watched as an unsuspecting tear slid off my eyelash, falling suspended in air, almost in slow motion, before splashing to it's demise on the creased wood floor. 

She stood there, staring at me. I became increasingly uncomfortable and wanted to run and hide under my duvet. Her face was filled with disappointment and disgust.

“I guess it’s pointless not to tell you now. You’re obviously…” she sighed without finishing. The malice and hate in her features were replaced with guilt and sadness.

“Sit down, Ash,” she gestured to the couch. I sat down quickly, relieved to be off my feet.

“Your father…” long silence lingered in her pause. We never talked about my dad. When I was a child she told me he died in a car accident a few month after I was born. I would see her cry at night, a bottle of whiskey comforting her side. I figured it was for him, I could tell she never moved on.

“Your father didn’t die in a car accident,” her eyes became moist, a wall of tears threatening to trickle over the edge. “I killed him.”

I couldn’t move… think…I could barely breathe.  My spine stiffened and chills raked through my skin.

“I am…and I guess you are, as well…a Succubus.” I wanted to start laughing, slapping my knee and saying ‘good one mom’. But I didn’t, I stayed frozen.

“It’s a recessive gene, I was hoping you wouldn’t get it. My mother didn’t, or my grandmother, or even my freaking sister,” she leaned back in her chair, almost looking amused. “We’re just two unlucky bitches.”

She paused and looked at me. For once in my life, she looked like the caring, concerned mother I’ve always wanted. “Look, Ash. I know this is a lot to take in. I’ll explain more on the way to Becky’s.” She got up, smoothing out her pants and looked down at my still frozen frame.

“Hurry and pack, we’re leaving first thing in the morning,” and with that, she left the room.

My mind couldn’t comprehend what just happened, but it thought the appropriate reaction was tears… and lots of them.

I took a Greek Mythology class, I knew what a succubus was. But there was no way in hell I believed those things… that’s why it’s called mythology. Myth.

A suductress, stealing the life from men through sex... was she fucking kidding me? And to think I was one? Bull shit.

But somewhere inside of me, it felt oddly familiar. Like some part of me didn’t reject the news, but embraced it.

And Becky's? Why the hell was she taking me to Aunt Becky's? 

I quickly snapped out of my traumatic induced cry when my phone violently vibrated, lighting up to get my attention.