𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 |𝟏𝟖+

03 || Tainted World

Song: Billie Eillish - Power (slowed + reverb)

Trigger warning : r*pe
I put *** around the section. It's not very discriptive because I didn't want to make it too much but it is enough to get the point across.

So please, if you think it will possibly make you feel uncomfortable or trigger anything, just skip the last little bit of the chapter with *** around it.

𝔚𝔚𝔚
Josiphina

"You ought to skip dinner tonight, you're hips are already on the larger side, you don't need your thighs joining them as well."

I sigh, sinking further into the tub with a nod. "Of course, Marie."  She was right, but it didn't mean I was happy about it. Skipping meals always made me grumpy.

A sound of approval sounds from behind as she continues to run her fingers through my hair in helps of preparing me for the graduation ceremony tonight.

It had been a week since the night in the clearing and I knew I was running out of time. I couldn't stop thinking about what this all meant. And while I was hesitant, I was mostly confused.

I had tried calling Daniel to help me make sense of all this random information but he hasn't been taking my calls.

His absence has also been gnawing at the back of my mind and I can't help but worry about him. It was unlike him to be absent for so long, especially when he hadn't taken any of my calls.

Something wasn't right and I could feel it.

But I couldn't bring myself to betray Father Kade. He knew what was best for me and if he had declined the idea of New York University, then maybe it was for the best.

"I remember when Michael and I attended our graduation ceremony." Marie chuckles from behind me and I smile as I hug my legs to myself and stare down into the bubbles in the bath. "The night of the ceremony was so magical." She breathes and I can hear the smile in her voice. "It gave me..." She trails off as a tense silence settles over us.

We both knew what came out of that night.

Daniel.

We never spoke of Daniel much. It often made me more upset than I let on, I didn't understand how they could so easily disregard Daniel-their own son- like they did.

But the tinge of sadness in Marie's voice leads me to believe otherwise and with hesitancy, I speak. "Do you... Miss him?" I dare to ask as I distract myself by treading my fingers through the water around me.

I'm met with more silence before she breaks it. "It doesn't matter." Her tone-sharper than before - snaps and my shoulders tense. "We are not to speak of such traitors anymore. You should know better."

Maybe it's the anger that's been bubbling for years or the fact that I've been worried out of my mind while she sits back and doesn't care for him but I push. "But he is your son."

Her hands tighten in my hair and she tugs my head back harshly, my head tilting so I can stare into her angry eyes. "He stopped being my son the moment he questioned our lord Father Kade and publicly humiliated this family."

I flinch at the hostility and hatred dripping from her tone and she merely lets go of her grip in my hair and moves on to scrubbing my shoulders with the stiff-bristled brush. "We are lucky that Father Kade still shows us hospitality and respect. You should be very grateful." She scolds in that reprimanding tone.