Chosen One Gone Wrong (Villains & Monsters #1)

Chapter Nine

Daija was in a daze for the rest of her walk. So much for clearing her head. She managed to get Vi's snacks and make it back to their apartment before the sun set all the way.

"Hey, I'm home." She called out, "Do you want your lemonade in the fridge?"

Violet was still in the kitchen cooking dinner. She looked up from the stove and said, "Yeah, that'll be nice. Thanks again- Wait..." She put a lid on the pot of stew she was making and raised a single brow, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Don't know, you look a bit flustered."

Right, because Violet had known her for more than half of her life -- and dated her for a year -- and was able to tell whenever she was stressed, excited, angry, tired, or even, like she said, flustered.

"I decided to run for a bit," She lied through her teeth, walking over to the fridge and placing her lemonade inside. "Can you save me some stew, pretty please? I gotta finish studying."

She could definitely tell that she was lying. Her face fell, and she sighed quietly, turning around to focus on getting some cleaning done. "Alright."

Daija's heart hurt. She opened her mouth to say something, but snapped it shut before the words could form. She walked to her bedroom and shut the door, sighing as she flopped on her bed.

Oh, how she hated all of the secrets she was keeping from her. She promised herself that the moment all of this heroic nonsense was over, the first thing she would do is have the longest talk with Vi and her aunt about everything that happened. About her powers, about Aniya and how she held her captive, the other heroes, and about Simon.

Her heart started to race again at the thought of him. She groaned and buried her face into her pillow. The situation was crazy before, but now it was just insane.

Don't be stupid, Daija. This man wants to kill the heroes. He could definitely be talking about you as well. He doesn't feel bad about the one he tortured to death. She thought to herself, sitting up and grabbing her notebook from her bedside drawer.

She flipped to her next open page and started jotting down some thoughts. She spent so much time flirting in the alleyway that she didn't get to ask just how many powers he possessed. She needed to get that information immediately so she knew what she would be up against.

She would not lose to him. That wasn't an option.

Then there were the other heroes. She had to find out more about them so she could figure out a unique way to wreck them. She was stuck on this for a minute, but then came to the conclusion that Aniya, as the leader, knew everything about all of them. She was often held up in her office, so any important details and documents would be in there.

As Daija wrote, she crossed off anything that wasn't as much of a priority and circled things that she had to do as soon as possible. She made a solid plan for the next few days. First, she would find a way to get Aniya out of that office and see if she could find a way in. Then, she'll search for anything important.

Soon, she was flipping back to old pages filled with her writing. She kept this notebook all throughout high school. It was small, but it had many sections and pages. As she continued flipping and reading, the memories returned to her.

There were entries about high school field trips and football games, pulling all-nighters to do homework, baking cookies with her aunt, secret poems about Violet and how she was desperately in love with her, and how much she hated school.

Her heart dropped when she found an entry from when she was fifteen.

Mom still hates me. She still hates me and she's always going to hate me no matter what I do for her. She's screaming downstairs right now and I can't stop crying. My face hurts and my lip is bleeding. I miss dad so much. I want him here right now. She would stop hurting me if he was here. I'm scared I'm scared I'm scared I'm scared.

Quickly, she ripped the page from the journal, crumbling it up and throwing it into her garbage can. She focused on counting her breathing. "It's just a memory." She whispered, "You're twenty, and you're safe."

She shut her journal, gently putting it back in her bedside drawer.

---

That night, Daija couldn't sleep. She laid awake in bed, watching the minutes tick by slowly. It was a little past two in the morning. Her mind kept circling back to thinking about what happened in the alley this evening

Without thinking, she reached up and lightly brushed her fingers against her neck where his lips had been. She started to wonder how they would feel on other parts of her body, or if he was the type to use his tongue to tease, or his teeth to leave a mark. So much of what he said left her so curious.

She tossed and turned, trying to either sleep or think of something else but it was no use. She was mad at herself. He's evil, he's admitted to killing people, and yet she still wanted him. Flirting with him was one thing but the consistent fantasies were starting to drive her crazy.

Throwing off her covers, she made her way to the bathroom. Cold shower it is.

---

Morning came around sooner than she had hoped. She was groggy and exhausted, but couldn't afford to sleep in. She had a therapy appointment today, then she had to go straight to the coffee shop to work. After that, she needed to take her last final, then she still had training with the heroes.

She wanted to slam her head into a wall just by thinking about it.

Her bag was packed with all of the things she needed today, and once she was ready, she quietly walked into the living room where the TV was on. Violet was on the couch, wrapped in a fluffy blanket and sipping coffee with her eyes glued to the screen.

Once Daija was in view, she smiled, "Morning. Did you hear about the riots last night?"

"Riots?" She asked as she walked into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee for her, "What do you mean?"

"That ex-hero who can control fire apparently has tons of supporters. Something about wanting to change Kunross." Vi said as she stretched, "People would dress in all black and set fire to city government buildings to show their support."

Simon's henchmen, She thought to herself, making a mental note to stop by the library later to do some research. She paid attention as Vi continued, "The public is concerned and the Mayor is stressed."

People rioting, concerned crowds, and a stressed Mayor. As she focused on the coffee, she slowly grinned at her new idea.

This. Was. Perfect.